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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.23.23 Parks and Rec Minutes Farmington Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes from the October 23, 2023 Regular Meeting Members Present: Katharine Caron, Cody Fishman, Megan Merricks, and David McMillen Members Absent: Katie Putt Other’s Present: Parks and Recreation Director Kellee Omlid I. Call Meeting to Order Vice-chair McMillen called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Quorum was present. II. Approval October 23, 2023 Meeting Agenda Moved by Fishman and seconded by Caron to approve the meeting agenda. All persons in favor (APIF). Motion carried. III. Approval of September 13, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes Moved by Merricks and seconded by Fishman to approve the meeting minutes with no revisions. APIF. Motion carried. IV. Presentations A. Public Comments There were no public comments shared at the meeting. V. Business Items VI. Discussion Items A. 2024 Work Plan Ideas Director Omlid provided an overview of the development and timeline of the 2024 work plan. Chair Putt sent an email regarding feedback on the agenda: “Do we have another park to replace Flagstaff Meadows for the 24 workplan? Or will we need to continue working on it?”. Director Omlid stated we won’t have a master plan to work on in 2024. Vermillion Commons would likely be the next park needed to be master planned and will probably be in 2025. Improvements at Flagstaff Meadows Park and Sunny Hills Park need to be completed and ribbon cuttings in 2024. Completing the improvements at Rambling River Park could be included in the 2024 work plan. Commissioner Caron suggested including Depot Way Arts Park in the work plan. With the apartment complex being built, having an appealing and aesthetically pleasing place to go is important for these residents. Keep it as an art park and collaborate with the Farmington School District for a rotating art display. Vice-chair McMillen mentioned a Tobacco Free Parks Policy. Director Omlid mentioned Dakota County Public Health and Tobacco-Free Alliance will be at the November 8 parks and recreation commission meeting to do a presentation and commission can decide after if they want to include in the 2024 work plan. Commissioner Fishman suggested a MN DNR or Trout Unlimited explore fishing in the Vermillion River presentation. Items in the 2023 work plan that should be included in the 2024 work plan are: 2025-2029 Capital Improvement Plan for the Park Improvement Fund, Parks and Facilities Tour, Work Session with City Council, Bike Pedestrian Plan Priorities, Food Truck Event(s), Joint Meeting with Empire Parks and Recreation Commission, and periodic presentations from parks and recreation department and city staff. There will be an opportunity to add more items to the 2024 draft work plan in December with approval of the plan to take place in January. B. Review 2023 Work Plan Progress Vice-chair McMillen reviewed the progress of the goals and objectives of the 2023 work plan. VII. Commission Roundtable McMillen: Didn’t have anything to share. Caron: There is a Virtual Mural Street Art class at Dodge Middle School that is looking for opportunities and a potential partnership with the city and parks and recreation department to paint a mural. Discussion regarding if there was a side of a building or perhaps Rambling River Center to paint a mural and inviting the students to a parks and recreation commission meeting to present their ideas. Putt: N/A Merricks: Didn’t have anything to share. Fishman: Reached out to two contacts at the MN DNR about presenting at a future parks and recreation commission meeting. Hasn’t heard anything back. Commissioner Caron has a contact at the DNR and will get the information to Commissioner Fishman. Director Omlid will send a follow-up email to the two contacts at the MN DNR. VIII. Staff Report/Updates Director Omlid provided information on the following: A. Pilot Knob Road Trail Preliminary Design City and Dakota County staff had a Pilot Knob Road trail preliminary design meeting with Bolton & Menk a few weeks ago. Two preliminary layouts were presented with the goal of getting to one. Staff preferred the layout that keeps the trail furthest from Pilot Knob Road. There will likely need to be a retaining wall(s). There will be an open house for the project, but will likely move it to after the holidays. Pushing the open house back won’t affect anything as Dakota County has final design in their 2024 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). B. North Creek Greenway Trail Dakota County is constructing 2.2 miles of the North Creek Greenway between 189th Street in Farmington and 173rd Street in Lakeville. The project will reconstruct 1.2 miles of existing trail in Farmington and construct 1 mile of new trail in Lakeville. The finished greenway segment will consist of a 10-foot-wide paved trail and two new trail bridge crossings of North Creek, including one in Farmington. Weekly construction meetings have started. Dakota County has a “Current Construction” web page for the project and can be found by searching North Creek Greenway Lakeville Farmington on their website. There will be some trail closures this winter for the project. The project timeline is October 2023-January 2024: site access preparation, bridge structure pile driving, and pier construction; February-April 2024: bridge structure placement and bridge deck construction; April-July 2024: trail removals, grading, and paving; and; July- August 2024: trail node construction and site restoration. C. Mystic Meadows Trails The trails at Mystic Meadows were reclaimed in summer 2022. The root barrier was installed in the wrong location and willows have started busting through the new trail. Staff is working with the engineer and contractor to develop a solution to fix the situation and looking for it to be completed this fall. D. Flagstaff Meadows Park The playground is in, but fenced off as the Engineered Wood Fiber (EWF), safety surfacing material, isn’t in place yet. A load of EWFs was dropped today and two more truck loads are to be delivered tomorrow. The construction of the concrete border for the playground will start tomorrow. The trail now goes from the park to Farmington High School. The park will be dormant seeded in two weeks after the first hard frost. There will be improvements that will be completed in the spring including park sign installation, park bench pads, and trees. We will hold a ribbon cutting for the park in the spring when all the improvements are completed. E. Park Dedication Study Almost a whole year after oral argument, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of the City of Burnsville in the Puce v. City of Burnsville case. The city attorney is reviewing the case, but one clear takeaway is “Although park dedication fee formulas were found valid, there needs to be rational as to how a city gets to a particular formula. From other attorneys who have read it, there is good guidance in the opinion about how to provide sufficient individualized determination while using a formula.”. Once the city attorney has fully reviewed the opinion and shared thoughts, staff will meet with HKGi to finish the park dedication study. F. Schmitz-Maki Arena Drop-Off Lane and Pillars As part of the 2022 Spruce Street Improvements a drop-off lane was added in front of the Schmitz-Maki Arena. Pillars were put on the south side of the lane, so people couldn’t run from Spruce Street through the drop-off lane. The three western pillars obstructed the view from drivers exiting the drop-off lane. A consultant reviewed the stopping sight distance (SSD) for a 30 MPH roadway speed and indicated the exit appears to meet the required SSD. However, the driver experience leaving the drop-off lane gives a sense your vehicle is well out of the exit before you can see past the pillars. Thus, the top of the three western pillars were lowered by approximately 20 inches today. G. Emerald Ash Borer in Parks Natural Resource Specialist, Ed Rutledge, applied for and was awarded a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Community Forest Grant. Parks Maintenance staff removed several dead and declining ash trees in Hill Dee Park, Rambling River Park, Tamarack Park, and Westview Park. Tree contractors will remove several larger ash trees this winter. Each tree removed will be replaced with a new tree as part of this project. Tree replacements will start in spring 2024. H. Halloween Havoc Tour and Halloween Walk The Halloween Havoc Tour started October 16. There are 16 houses on the tour with two homes playing music on radio station 91.9 and two houses collecting non-perishable food items for the Farmington Food Shelf. The Halloween Walk is Friday (October 27) from 5:30-7 p.m. behind Dodge Middle School. Twenty (20) businesses and organizations are registered to participate. Weather dependent, the Walk will be held outside in the bus parking area. I. Rambling River Center Annual Breakfast and Silent Auction Fundraiser The annual breakfast and silent auction fundraiser is Saturday (October 28) at the Rambling River Center. Breakfast is 8-9:30 a.m. and the silent auction is 8-10 a.m. Breakfast is $12 per person which includes egg bake, cheesy hashbrowns, caramel / cinnamon rolls, fruit, juice, and coffee. IX. Meeting Agenda Topics The following items were tentatively identified by the commission for its November 8, 2023 meeting agenda: 1. X. Adjournment Moved by Fishman and seconded by Caron to adjourn the meeting. APIF. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 6:46 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Kellee Omlid Parks & Recreation Director and Recording Secretary