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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03.20.2019_Park Commission Meeting MinutesMedina Park Commission Meeting Minutes March 20, 2019 Medina City Hall Page 1 of 3 The Park Commission of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on March 20, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at Medina City Hall. Park Commission Chair Steve Lee presided. 1) Call to Order Commissioners Present: Steve Lee, Jeff Rumsey, Ann Thies, Elizabeth Weir, Mary Morrison, Terry Sharp Commissioners Absent: John Jacob Also Present: City Council member John Anderson, Public Works Director Steve Scherer, and Assistant City Administrator Jodi Gallup 2) Additions to the Agenda: Gallup will provide an update regarding the tennis court at Hunter Lions Park during the staff report. Terry Sharp will provide an update regarding his cricket pitch research during the staff report. 3) Approval of the Minutes from: January 16, 2019 Regular Meeting A motion was made by Weir and seconded by Morrison to approve the minutes from January 16, 2019 as presented. Motion passed unanimously. 4) Public Comments (on items not on the agenda): Residents Rashmi and Addie Williams, 1910 Katrinka Road, expressed a desire to help contribute to the parks through hosting events such as lemonade stands where kids could be actively involved in the process. Rashmi Williams stated a need for Medina’s parks to become more accessible. She said she currently drives 20-30 minutes to Maple Grove and Plymouth parks to enjoy park amenities that are accessible and offer enough variety to fit the needs of the various age groups. 5) City Council Update Council member Anderson updated the Park Commission on recent actions of the City Council. He stated that the City Council is beginning to look at preliminary budget numbers for 2020 and noted there are a staggering amount of demands on the budget. He stated that he did not want the Municipal Park Fund to get crowded out and encouraged the Park Commission to stay engaged and in front of the City Council. 6) Independence Beach Neighborhood Parks Residents from the Independence Beach neighborhood: Betsy Everts and Kristine Stehly stated that they conducted a park survey in their neighborhood and received 20-30 responses. The survey sought feedback from residents on the three neighborhood parks: Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes March 20, 2019 Medina City Hall Page 2 of 3 Maple Park, Walnut Park, and Lakeshore Park. Everts and Stehly presented the following results to the Park Commission: Maple Park – The neighborhood thanked the city for paving the parking lot and installing a new pavilion at this park. The survey results suggested adding an outdoor grill near the new pavilion/picnic area. The main concern with this park is the amount of illegal dumping from people outside of the neighborhood. The park is highly visible from County Road 19, which makes it inviting for outsiders to dump their unwanted bulky garbage (i.e. couches, mattresses, refrigerators, etc.). The neighborhood suggested adding additional signage notifying people that it is illegal to dump outside garbage at this site. Scherer suggested moving the outdoor grill from Lakeshore Park to Maple Park to see if it would get more use there. Walnut Park – The neighborhood understands that this park is a drainage area but feels that it is underutilized. The survey suggested adding a volleyball court. Scherer noted that there previously was a volleyball court in that park, but no one ever used it. Scherer also noted the importance of keeping this area as a drainage area. Stehly suggested adding activated carbon sand to help improve the water that is filtered through this park. Weir suggested adding educational signs informing the residents of the true function of the park. Stehly stated the importance of utilizing Walnut Park as a park because of its central location in the neighborhood. Stehly emphasized her belief that there is a solution for the park to be used for recreation and water quality. Lakeshore Park – The survey results showed a need for a baby swing at this park and new playground equipment for older kids. The current play structure is built for 2-5-year-old children. Everts suggested holding a community build event, where residents in the neighborhood would be invited to help install the new playground equipment. She stated that the Discovery Center in Maple Plain held a similar community build event and could be used as a model. The survey results also suggested installing a bench by the water and building a storage rack for kayaks. The Park Commission thanked Everts and Stehly for their efforts in collecting neighborhood feedback and asked them to support the Park Commission’s initiative to increase the Municipal Park Fund to adequately fund future park replacements. 7) Trail Plan Update Thies and Rumsey stated that the trail subcommittee had completed the first draft of the updated trail plan, which reflects the current 2020-2040 Comprehensive Plan. The Park Commission reviewed the plan and directed staff to make a few grammatical corrections. Medina Park Commission Meeting Minutes March 20, 2019 Medina City Hall Page 3 of 3 The Park Commission will submit any final comments to Gallup to be incorporated in the Plan and brought back to the next meeting for approval. Thies noted that the park and trail map in the 2020-2040 Comprehensive Plan is missing future passive parks. 8) 2019 Goals – Municipal Park Funding/Resident Engagement Events Weir reported that she had attended the February 19th City Council Meeting to present the Municipal Park Funding/Resident Engagement action plan, which was well received by the City Council. The action plan includes holding a series of smaller neighborhood meetings in the city parks to engage residents on the need to support future park replacement. The Park Commissioners volunteered to attend these events and requested that staff notice the events as public meetings. The following event dates have been set so far: Lakeshore Park – Annual Ice Cream Social on May 4th from 2-5 p.m. Bike Safety Rodeo – Medina Police Department on May 18th from 11-2 p.m. Hamel Baseball Jamboree – Hamel Legion Park – June 21 and June 22 Night to Unite – Medina Morningside and Fields of Medina – August 6 from 6-8 p.m. Medina Celebration Day – Hamel Legion Park – September 21 from 4-8 p.m. 9) Staff Report  Tennis Court at Hunter Lions Park – Gallup reported that she learned of a possible USTA grant to help fund the tennis court replacement at Hunter Lions Park. Scherer suggested working with a professional park designer from WSB to determine the best layout for Hunter Lions Park before moving forward with replacing the tennis court.  Cricket Pitch Research – Sharp stated that he has been unable to connect with the Medina resident that was interested in the cricket pitch. He has been able to collect some information from Maple Grove on their proposed cricket pitches. He will continue to research the subject.  Little League Field Dugouts – Scherer stated that he met with a resident that is pursuing his Eagle Scout to build the new dugouts at the Little League Field in Hamel Legion Park. He is coordinating the project with the Hamel Athletic Club and they are tentatively planning to install the dugouts on April 13th.  General Items – None. 10) Adjourn A motion was made by Weir, seconded by Thies and passed unanimously, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jodi Gallup