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Home My WebLink About2013-07-17 PRC PacketAGENDA CITY OF MAPLEWOOD PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING Wednesday, July 17, 2013 7:00pm Meeting Council Chambers - Maplewood City Hall 1830 County Road B East 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes a. June 19. 2013 5. Visitor Presentations a. 6. Unfinished Business a. Parks System Plan Task Force Agenda b. Disc Golf Subcommittee 7. New Business a. Turf Parking Lot at Prairie Farm Preserve 8. Staff Presentations a. Park System Plan Neighborhood Meeting Schedule 9. Commissioner Comments 10. Adjourn — (9:00 p.m.) 2013 Goals 1. Assist in the creation of the Park System Plan 2. Address referendum funding 3. Complete Inventory of our parks 4. Create Commissioner service areas 5. Form Disc Golf Sub Committee 6. Organize a Roselawn Park Buckthorn Removal and Cleanup 7. Schedule a Walk Through at the Gladstone Savannah 8. Continue to work on funding for fish creek to finish the acquisition. 9. Convene a meeting with the Human Rights Commission to discuss increasing multi - cultural inclusion. 10. Plan a parks tour 11. Improve Parks and Trail signs 12. Brainstorm collaboration with county for at risk youth 13. Continuation of a discussion on an off -leash dog area. K MINUTES MAPLEWOOD PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION 7:OOp.m., Wednesday, June 19, 2013 Council Chambers, City Hall A meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission was held in the City Hall Council Chambers and called to order by Vice Chair Schmidt at 7:03p.m. Commissioners Commissioner Roy Adams Absent Commissioner Craig Brannon Present Chair Ron Cockriel Absent Commissioner RJ Erhardt Present Commissioner Terri Mallet Present Commissioner Kim Schmidt Present Commissioner Nora Slawik Present Commissioner Mike Wilde Present Commissioner Matt Prom Present Staff Parks Manager, Jim Taylor Present Natural Resources Coordinator, Ginnv Gaynor Present 3. issioner M Commissioner Wilde Ayes — All The motion 4. APPROVAL OF MINUI a. May 15, 2013 Commissioner Prom moved to approve the May 15, 2013 minutes. Seconded by Commissioner Erhardt Ayes - All The motion passed. 3 S. Visitor Presentations a. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Parks System Plan Task Force Agenda Parks Manager, Jim Taylor, presented the Parks System Plan Task Force Agenda and discussed it with the commission. Natural Resource Coordinator, Ginny Gaynor, updated the commission on her presentation to the Parks System Task Force. b. Fish Creek Update Natural Resources Coordinator, Ginny Gaynor, updated the commission on the funding to complete the acquisition of Fish Creek. She also updated the commission on the restoration and management of Fish Creek working with Great River Greening and the University of St. Thomas students. c. Gladstone Savannah Up Natural Resources Coord Gladstone Savannah and 7. NEW BUSIN a. 8. PAK419 JiIJiI Parks Manager, J Plan Neighborho for August 22 at Parks Manager, J community outrc 10. ADJOURNMENT , updated the commission on the of the commission. iorhood Meeting Schedule invited the Parks Commission to attend the Parks System ngs. He also gave an update on the Parks Bus Tour scheduled hat will depart from the Maplewood Community Center. , also discussed that they are working on scheduling tings with the Hmong community. Commissioner Brannon moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Mallet Ayes — All The meeting was adjourned at 8:05PM. Next meeting is July 17, 2013. 4 AGENDA REPORT TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Jim Taylor, Parks Manager SUBJECT: Parks System Plan Task Force Meeting Agenda DATE: July 10, 2013 INTRODUCTION Wednesday, July 24, 2013, staff will hold our fourth Maplewood Parks System Plan Task Force meeting. This meeting will be a continuation of the Natural Resources section of the comprehensive plan. In addition, staff will be soliciting input on a variety of subjects as it pertains to our Parks System and the Parks System Plan Task Force's role in creating the plan. DISCUSSION The Parks Commission has two representatives on Task Force (Commissioner Cockriel and Commissioner Adams). Staff will present a draft agenda to obtain Commissioner input on the topics. Also, attached you will find the entire presentation from last month's meeting for your review and discussion. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends discussing the May meeting presentation and the June agenda. Attachments: 1- June Meeting Presentation 6/28/2013 6/28/2013 6/28/2013 6/28/2013 0 6/28/2013 10 6/28/2013 11 6 MEMORANDUM TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Ginny Gaynor, Natural Resources Coordinator Jim Taylor, Parks and Recreation Manager RE: Turf Parking Lot at Prairie Farm Preserve DATE: July 10, 2013 for July 17, 2013 Meeting INTRODUCTION In 2012, Maplewood amended its ordinance to allow for turf overflow parking areas. The Maplewood Area Historical Society would like to provide an overflow turf parking area at the Bruentrup Heritage Farm. BACKGROUND The Maplewood Area Historical Society (MANS) manages the Bruentrup Heritage Farm (Farm). Maplewood leases 2.36 acres of land that the buildings reside on to MAHS. The site is surrounded on three sides by the 22 -acre Prairie Farm Neighborhood Preserve, which is part of the City's Neighborhood Preserve System. The 21 -stall parking lot east of the farm buildings is on the preserve land and is maintained by the City for visitors to the Farm and to the preserve. Under the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) approved for the Farm, MAHS may host six large public events and six large private events annually. The private events are typically rentals for weddings or other celebrations. Revenue from these events goes to MAHS to help support the Farm's programs and facilities. The 21 -stall parking lot is not adequate for large events. Under the terms of the CUP, MAHS is required to have agreements with local businesses to use their parking lots. Getting permission to use these lots has not been an issue, but it is inconvenient for visitors, since they must cross a street and walk about a block to the Farm. While this can be an enjoyable walk and a fun part of a public event, it is very inconvenient for some elderly visitors and groups like wedding parties that may come in formal clothing and footwear. In addition, MAHS has concerns about safety since some visitors park on local streets and cross County Road D without a crosswalk. County Road D is very narrow and it is dangerous for pedestrians to walk along this road. MAHS would like to expand the existing parking area to provide overflow parking for its events (see Attachment 1 and 2). Because they are restricted to 12 large events per year, they do not need an asphalt lot. They would like to install an overflow turf parking 12 lot east of the existing parking lot, on city land. In 2012, Maplewood amended its ordinance to allow for overflow turf parking lots in the city. Overflow turf parking lots are lawn areas that accommodate occasional parking. They typically have a mesh product on the soil surface, which the grass grows through. This product helps spread out vehicle weight and reduces soil compaction. Turf parking areas have environmental benefits since they reduce the amount of impervious surface needed for parking, they allow rain to infiltrate, and they are cooler than an asphalt lot. MAHS would like to use the product GrassProtecta for this project (see Attachment 3). MAHS has talked to adjacent neighbors and neighbors support this project as long as an evergreen buffer is installed to screen the property to the east of the parking lot. The landscape design includes evergreen screening. The city and MAHS would seek a grant from RWMWD for this project, with matching funds from MAHS and in -kind services from Maplewood staff. DISCUSSION The Bruentrup Heritage Farm is a valuable asset to the City. Its facilities and programming are funded by MAHS. The City typically participates in one or two public events at the Farm each year, but it benefits in many ways from what the Farm provides to the community. Maplewood's Parks and Recreation Department supports the installation of overflow turf parking lot on this site. If installed, this would be the first turf overflow parking lot in Maplewood. One of the City's goals is to continue to be an environmental leader. This project is consistent with that goal. The Farm is an excellent site to demonstrate this type of project due to its location, existing parking lot, and the level of use is appropriate for turf parking. MAHS representatives and staff from Maplewood and RWMWD toured a site at Lebanon Hills Park that used the GrassProtecta product. The product was installed in fall 2012. Cars began parking on it before the turf established and the turf failed to establish. However, the product was stable, is being parked on, and the staff there likes it enough that they will use it on other projects, making sure it is not used until grass establishes. MAHS, RWMWD, and the City understand that this lot will be somewhat experimental. But we think we have an excellent chance of success with the GrassProtecta product if installed properly. We would like to have a demonstration of turf parking in our community. If this project is approved by the City, it would proceed only if grant funding is received from RWMWD. MAHS has submitted a CUP application to increase the amount parking at the Farm. Their request will go to Community Design Review Board and Planning Commission for recommendations and then to City Council. 13 RECOMMENDATION Staff requests that the Parks and Recreation Commission makes a recommendation on whether or not to approve installation of an overflow turf parking lot at Prairie Farm Neighborhood Preserve. Attachments: 1. Parking lot design 2. Landscape design 3. Grass Protecta Case Study 14 BRUENTRUP FARM MH ot am o. s,.� a wi � DEP�IRTMEWORXS CONCEPTUAL .� FNCivFe,�irvc- �ivisiory GRADING AND ssww DRAINAGE PLAN ( ®u m �nq 2, +1 EMEM WN Who , a_ rQ a • 2 1C� y s YY i . !. a 0 Client: Church of the Redeemer Location: Nashville, Tennessee Product:: GrassProtecta" (Heavy) Application: Overflow Grass Parking Solution (7,300 sq ft) PROJECT The church has seen its congregation grow rapidly over the years, resulting in the RATIONALE: surrounding grassed areas having to be used for parking, due to a limited parking lot and on- street parking. The unreinforced turf was unable to withstand the amount of use and reduced to a bare, unsightly, muddy and slippery surface when wet. THE Boddingtons GrassProtecta " Heavy was selected and installed on a large grass area SOLUTION: designated specifically for grass parking. The GrassProtecta " was pinned directly to the surface allowing the grass to grow through the mesh, creating a strong reinforced surface for parking. Due to the historical site conditions, a secondary Geogrid mesh layerwas used, which was installed directly below the GrassProtecta " mesh to enable usage during wet months. Special 'Push-in' Parking stall markers were used to clearly show individual stalls, enabling tidy parking. These special parking stall markers are a useful GrassProtecta " accessory. The reorganized and reinforced grass parking improved capacity by 30 parking stalls. GRASSPROTECTA TM Case Study No: GPP1 /0710US Client: Church of the Redeemer Location: Nashville, Tennessee Product:: GrassProtecta" (Heavy) Application: Overflow Grass Parking Solution (7,300 sq ft) CONCLUSION: Boddingtons GrassProtecta " allowed the Church of the Redeemer to employ a green solution to their parking problem while preserving the natural appearance of the site. The permeable grass surface eliminated the effects that would have been caused by a paved surface (water run -off, construction mess etc.) and offered a cost effective, discreet and easy to install solution, that maximized parking. PRODUCT SPECIFICATION: FURTHER ADVICE : Contact: Jason Lamers - Business Development Manager Telephone: (651) 330 -2920 jason.lamers0boddingtons. us GRASSPROTECTA TM Case Study No: GPP1/0710US Structure Oscillated Polymer HDPE (80% Virgin, 20% Recycled) Colour Greer UV Stabilised Yes • 4 • Roll Width 6.56' Roll Length 65.6' Roll Weight 176.44lbs Weight per square foot 0.41lbs /ft Thickness 0.55" Mesh Aperture Qi&nondOval> 3:1 ratio Measurement Method Results Tensile strength WD) 16kN /m Yield point elongation (MD) SO 10319 35% Residual thickness Q 500 kPa ASTM D1621 60% Slip risk PTV value BS7976: 1 -3 >d0 (low slip) FURTHER ADVICE : Contact: Jason Lamers - Business Development Manager Telephone: (651) 330 -2920 jason.lamers0boddingtons. us GRASSPROTECTA TM Case Study No: GPP1/0710US