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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-05-23 Parks Minutes Minutes of the Maplewood Parks Commission Council Chambers May 23, 2007 Members Present Carolyn Peterson Bruce Roman Kim Schmidt Donald Christianson Peter Fischer Craig Brannon Michelle Gran Staff Present: Duane Konewko, Environmental Manager Pauline Staples, Maplewood Community Center Harriet Rydel, Recording Secretary Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Peter Fischer, Chairperson. 1. Welcome/Introductions/Housekeeping Items/Hand-outs - Requests . Chairperson Fischer asked for any additions to agenda. None were requested. Mr. Fischer asked Dewey if there would be minutes to approve at the next meeting. Dewey said there would be and should be sent out with the next meeting's agenda. . Donald moved to approve the meeting minutes from the April1Sth meeting. Bruce seconded. All - ayes 2. Maplewood Celebrates Nature Festivities . Bruce Roman reported that the event at the Nature Center was a success. Ron Cockriel also stated it was a positive event with over 250 people in attendance. There were treats, games, trees were given to participants. . Bailey Nursery donated heritage trees for the event. . The Tree City Banner was hung to recognize the City of Maplewood as the Tree City. 3. Updates on the Nature Center and Open Space Activities . There were approximately 270 participants for the event. . 37 adults attended the rain garden seminar. . 11 people attend the Weed of the Month. . The Friends of the Nature Center now has 30 members. There was a recent donation of $500. 4. Maplewood Park Clean-Up Day . Five Maplewood Parks were cleaned by volunteers. . Peter Fischer asked DuWayne if volunteer hours are tracked. The volunteers' hours and numbers are tracked. The numbers are a part of the NPDES report. Dewey will share the information he has at the June meeting. . Kim thanked the Nature Center for borrowing the workers bags and gloves. . Bruce thanked the people who helped at Wakefield. . Peter cleaned at Joy Park. Found a dumping station near Lake and Century. It has since been locked. 5. Bike Tour/Bus Tour Bike Tour- . Ron Cockriel thanked Michelle Gran and Craig Brannon. . Would have been nice to have an electronic map of the trails on the Web site. . There was a 5 mile route that went from the Maplewood Community Center to Lake Phalen. . There was also a 50 km that included the whole City. . Craig thanked the Police and the Police Reserve for their help. Bus Tour . Nothing has happened yet. The Commission will be working with the Maplewood Community Center to work on the tour. . Carolyn Peterson will be the liaison from the Parks Commission. Dewey will be the staff liaison. . A person will be needed to be on board the bus to give narrative to the tour. . A report will be given at the next meeting on the progress of developing the Bus Tour. 6. Maplewood Community Center - Pauline Staples . The Community Center now has a contract with five caterers and one alcohol provider. All are excellent. We have not had any complaints. . Membership Campaigns include: . A three month membership. Flyers were sent to school teachers in ISD 622. . Returning member campaign . The Community Center also offers birthday parties, high school lock -ins and end of the school year parties. . Peter asked what have been the contributing factors in the increase of bookings at the Community Center. Pauline responded that the Wedding Fair helped, the caters have been suggesting to brides and grooms the use of the Center and the current marketing plan have been the major factors in the increase of bookings. Pauline noted that because of age demographics, weddings are usually smaller than the past and the average bride and groom are 26 years of age. . Pauline asked the Commissioners for help at June 14, 2007, Taste of Maplewood White Bear Avenue Style. She will need someone to check in with the vendors to make sure they have everything they need. Michelle Gran and Donald Christianson volunteered. The event already has 10 food vendors and 14 exhibitors. The White Bear Avenue Business Association will partner with the City of Maplewood on this event. Volunteers are needed for the dunk tank. . July 4th at Hazelwood Park - Pauline will also need help at this event to help coordinated games, contests and help with the talent show. . Recreation Programs o Jim Taylor has been hired for youth/adult activities. One of his first events was a dance at Carver school, approximately 210 kids attended. o Doug Taubman has been very busy coordinating Adult organized athletics for the summer. There are 96 softball teams to coordinate. There are currently no senior leagues because of lack of interest. o Audra has been doing a fantastic job with the Summer Camp program based out of the Maplewood Community Center. Wednesday field trips seem to be a great success. There will also be a Drama Camp with an expectation of approximately 100 kids participating. . Peter asked what type of activities should the Commission be looking at with a growing population of younger retirees? Pauline stated having more fitness programs and other programs geared toward the more active daytime member. . Jim Taylor will be in charge of the summer soccer program. Craig brought to attention of the Commission the bad shape that the soccer fields are in because of the overuse of them. Pauline stated there is signage at all the fields saying you need a permit to use the field. It has been hard to police this. Dewey stated there is a grant in the amount of $30,000 to update the fields with synthetic turf. Hazelwood has been designated as the demonstration site. NESA and MAA have concerns about the synthetic turf. It was suggested they be invited to Parks Commission Meeting to voice their concerns. It was also suggested that neighboring areas be surveyed such as Oakdale and White Bear Lake to find out how they are able to keep their fields in good playing condition. Carolyn suggested that there be a rotating plan where fields would get a rest. It was suggested to come back to this issue and include the information in the Comprehensive Plan and that the Commission should invite stakeholders to the meeting. 7. Gladstone Update . Peter reported that a lot of information was disseminated at the meeting. Items discussed were contamination of soils, design (make it more interesting). As a focal point, good planning is necessary to spend the right amount of money and preserve native vegetation. It was suggested that Developers pay a park fund fee since TIF money cannot be used for Parks. Dewey will check into this and report back at the June meeting. 8. Discussion/Review of 2006 Annual Report - Goals for 2007 . Peter prepared a two page report highlighting items from the Commission's minutes, staff, accomplishments, highlights (four grants totaling $330,000). He suggested that the Mayor and City Council be invited to look at the system and Comprehensive Plan. . Parks Director - It was asked if there will be a new Parks Director. Dewey stated there would not be a new Parks Director and that the role of Parks will fall into the Public Works Department with Chuck Ahl as Director and Dewey taking on some of the Parks Director duties. . Craig made a motion to accept the 2006 Annual Report. It was seconded by Peter and passed unanimously. 9. June 5, 2007 -Sustainable Development . Green Buildings, energy conservation, recycled materials were topics of discussion. . Peter suggested that Parks look at new practices for park maintenance. . Landscaping using energy. . Peter suggested that recycle barrels be put in all parks. . A joint meeting with the Environmental and Natural Resources Commission was suggested to come up with other ideas. . Tree preservation ordinance and diseased trees. 10. Park Planning Process - Development of Comprehensive Park Plan . Dewey stated that one he would like to see staff be challenged to put together maps of trails in Maplewood and have them available on the Web. Also to work with neighboring cities, the County to create a regional map of trails. . Craig suggested identifying bottlenecks. (Crossing Highway 36) . Update trail system. . In South Maplewood, look at working with neighboring cities to make trail connections such as New Port. . It was suggested to allot an hour and half at the June meeting for the Comp Plan. 11. Other . Policy about sidewalks. Dewey will check if there is a policy. Need to find a balance between continuity and the wishes of neighborhoods. . Carolyn reported that National Preservation Meeting will be held in St. Paul for the first time. There will be a book at the X-cel Center to spotlight Breutrup Farm. . Bruce reported that WaterFest was a success. Maplewood had some booths at Phalen Park. Thank you Bruce for attending. . Kim Schmidt stated that if you have comments for Gladstone to contact her. . Peter reported that the Friends of the Maplewood Nature Center is now a 501 (3)c and has Website. They will be identifying projects that need funding. . There is one vacancy on the Commission. Peter asked that the Commission be notified when interviews will take place at the City Council. . Legacy Park's water fountain is not working. Dewey reported that Public Works is looking for the part needed to fix the fountain. There also has been a lot of vandalism of the sculptures at this park. . Michelle Gran stated her concerns that there is not a central person to go to when dealing with the City's Web site. Dewey stated he would take a leadership role for the Commission. Meeting Adjourned.