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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.08.19 Parks and Rec MinutesFarmington Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes from the May 8, 2019 Regular Meeting Members Present: Laurie Suchanek, David McMillen, Brian Tennant, Ashley Crabtree and Elizabeth Koss Members Absent: None Other’s Present: Parks and Recreation Director Randy Distad I. Call Meeting To Order Chair Suchanek called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Quorum was present. II. Approval of May 8, 2019 Meeting Agenda Moved by Crabtree and seconded by Koss to approve the meeting agenda as written. All persons in favor (APIF). Motion carried. III. Approval of March 13, 2019 Regular Meeting Minutes The meeting minutes were approved with no revisions identified. IV. Presentations None V. Business Items A. City Council Parks and Facilities Tour Commission members were informed the August 14 date will work for the City Council to tour parks and recreational facilities with the Commission. Director Distad asked if there were any park and or faciliites the Commission would like to tour. The following locations were identified:  Prairie Pines Park (ribbon cutting of new playground)  Marigold Park (ribbon cutting of new playground)  Schmitz-Maki Arena (look at future facility improvements)  Rambling River Center (look at general condition and recent improvements)  Evergreen Knoll Park (see site of community garden)  Flagstaff Meadow Park in Regetta Fields development  Rambling River Park (streambank restoration area)  Farmington Preserve Park (basketball court surfacing project) Director Distad shared he would develop a tour schedule around the park and recreational facilities the Commission identified and it would be reviewed at the next Commission meeting. B. Commission Member Group Photo Commission members posed for a group photo that will be placed on the Commission’s webpage on the city’s website. C. June Meeting Date There was general discussion around the June 12 meeting date and it falling during the city’s Dew Days celebration. Director Distad shared the meeting could be cancelled if the Commission wanted to because currently there wasn’t anything pressing to make a decision on at this meeting. He suggested the Commission select a different date in June to have the meeting and if there wasn’t a need to have the meeting, it could be cancelled. After some general discussion, it was determined the alternate meeting date would be June 19. Moved by McMillen and seconded by Koss to move the meeting to June 19, but the meeting could be cancelled if there wasn’t a pressing need to have it. APIF. Motion carried. Director Distad said he would inform Commission members if the meeting was cancelled due to no pressing issues to meet on. He said if the meeting was cancelled, official notice would be sent out about the meeting being cancelled. D. Approve Park Improvement Fund Financial Plans Director Distad reviewed the 2020-2024 Park Improvement Fund’s five year capital improvement plan. He noted during the years 2020 and 2021 there were only a few projects identified to be completed in order to allow the fund balance to grow. He shared in 2022, it was projected that Flagstaff Meadow Park would be initially developed. Then beginning in 2023, existing parks would be funded to receive redevelopment work in the park, which would primarily include replacement of the playground equipment, because it is on a 20 year replacement cycle, and finishing other improvement that were not completed when the park was initially developed. There is also funding being shown in 2024 for the initial development of Jim Bell Park and Preserve, which would include site grading and seeding. He asked that the capital improvement plan be approved by the Commission, so it could be included in the 2020 and 2021 budget document and be approved by the City Council. Moved by McMillen and seconded be Tennant to approve the Park Improvement Fund’s 2020-2024 capital improvement plan and include it in the 2020 and 2021 budget document. Director Distad also reviewed the Park Improvement Fund’s 2030 Financial Plan. He highlighted how over the next 11 years many of the city’s existing parks are scheduled to be redeveloped because of it being 20 years since each park had received improvements. He noted this plan still needed some revisions in order for it to match the 2020-2024 capital improvement plan. As a result, he is not requesting any action on the plan until it can be revised and brought back to the Commission’s next meeting where it will be approved. VI. Discussion Items A. Review Joint Meeting with Rambling River Center Advisory Board Commission members discussed the meeting that occurred prior to their regular meeting. McMillen shared that he thought it went well. Crabtree stated she learned a lot about the building and didn’t realize it was available for the public to rent. She also thought there were many opportunities for projects and partnerships at the RRC. Tennant said he learned a lot also about the building and would like to see more communication about the building and the programs offered. Suchanek said it is beneficial to meet with the Advisory Board in order to learn more about what they are doing at the Rambling River Center for senior programs and events. Koss thought it might be beneficial to publicize and advertise the RRC during the Dew Days event when people are around the building. By general consensus the Commission felt it was beneficial to continue meeting annually with the Advisory Board and thought it would be good to do a park and facilities tour with them in 2020. B. Review 2019 Work Plan Suchanek reviewed the work plan and Commission members identified the following goals and objectives that have been completed since the last Commission meeting:  Goal #1 and objectives #1 and #2 because it took action during tonight’s meeting to provide to the City Council an approved 2020-2024 park improvement fund capital improvement plan Director Distad shared he would update the work plan to show these items being completed. C. Bike Pedestrian Plan Update Bike Pedestrian Plan public input process has ended and the plan is now moving into creating recommendations and strategies for implementing the plan and made Commission members aware of the presentation of the draft Bike Pedestrian Plan being made on Monday, May 20 at 6:00 p.m. to the City Council, Park and Recreation Commission and Planning Commission. D. Sapphire Lake Development Park Name Director Distad suggested that the park name in the development be postponed for the next 3-4 years because access to the park will not occur until then because the development is being built out west to east and the park is located in the east part of the development. He offered that this would still leave the option open to name it after the developer if he had a change of heart about donating the land as a park. E. Meeting with Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission Director Distad shared the Commission meets with Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission every other year. In 2019 this would be the normal year the meeting occurs. The last time a sit -down meeting was held, besides the park tour in 2017, it was held in Farmington. This means the meeting would rotate to Empire Township and would be held on their normal meeting night and time, which is the second and fourth Monday’s of the month. Commission members discussed possible meeting dates in November and determined November 25 would not be a good night because it falls around Thanksgiving and the November 11 date will not work because that is a legal holiday. The Commission then discussed possible October meeting dates and by consensus determined it would like to see if Empire Township would be available to meet at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 28. Director Distad said he would contact the chair of the Empire Township Park and Recreation Commission to see if this date would work to meet. VII. Commission Roundtable Tennant: Noticed there was work being done along Denmark Avenue and next to Boeckman Middle School and asked what work was being done. Distad shared that it was work being done in preparation of de-watering the Westview Acres neighborhood for the street infrastructure improvement project that will be occurring in 2019. Crabtree: Didn’t have anything to share. McMillen: Didn’t have anything to share. Koss: Didn’t have anything to share. Suchanek: Didn’t have anything to share. VIII. Staff Report A report was given by Director Distad on the following items:  Events the city offers during Dew Days will be modified to include the bike auction being moved to Friday evening before the bed races to hopefully have more participation in the auction bidding and the Dew Run start and end location being moved from the Rambling River Center to City Hall.  Prairie Pines and Marigold Park sites have been graded for playground installation  Provided an update on the Fairhill Estate at North Creek development moving forward with having the preliminary and final plats being approved by the City Council and staff have requested the additional grading of the park site and an additional trail connection from the gas pipeline easement along the 190th Street right of way to the entrance road of the development and are waiting to hear back from the developer on these two requests IX. Next Meeting Agenda Items The following items were identified by Commission members for its next meeting agenda: 1. Review 2019 work plan 2. Finalize details for the parks and facilities tour with the City Council 3. Approval of the Park Improvement Fund’s 2030 Financial Plan 4. Presentation about the Schmitz-Maki Arena’s winter ice and turf seasons 5. Bike Pedestrian Plan update 6. Meeting with Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission 7. 2020 Park and Recreation Department’s fees and charges recommendation 8. Presentation about the Summer Activities Passport program X. Adjournment Moved by Koss and seconded by McMillen to adjourn the meeting. APIF. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Randy Distad Parks and Recreation Director and Recording Secretary