PRC 2011 01 25
CHANHASSEN PARK AND
RECREATION COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
JANUARY 25, 2011
Acting Chair Scharfenberg called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Steve Scharfenberg, Tom Kelly, Glenn Stolar, Elise Ryan and Cole
Kelly
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Jeff Daniel and Scott Wendt
STAFF PRESENT:
Todd Hoffman, Park and Rec Director; and Jerry Ruegemer, Recreation
Superintendent
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Scharfenberg: Any changes to the agenda?
Hoffman: One missing piece of information is item number 3. The spread sheets were not
attached so we’ll go through those on the document camera when we put them, when we go
through that.
Scharfenberg: Okay. Anything else?
Stolar: Motion to approve.
Tom Kelly: Second.
Stolar moved, Tom Kelly seconded to approve the agenda as published. All voted in favor
and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Scharfenberg: Todd, any public announcements?
Hoffman: Yes Chair Scharfenberg. The advertisement for commission vacancies have been
published. You’ll see them in the Villager this week and then also probably in the Connection.
The upcoming Connection. Those are April interviews with the commissions and the council,
City Council and we have Glenn Stolar, Steve Scharfenberg and Scott Wendt who are due for
their term, either reappointment or retirement and then next year we have Jeff and Elise on deck
so it goes fast.
Ryan: It does.
Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
Hoffman: So look forward to that. And then last night under public announcements the mayor
did read the invitation to February Festival in front of a packed house here for a street assessment
and then the people at home to see so invitations to February Festival are out and we’ll pick that
up later in item number 4.
Scharfenberg: Okay.
VISITOR PRESENTATIONS:
None.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Tom Kelly moved, Cole Kelly seconded to approve the
verbatim and summary minutes of the Park and Recreation Commission meeting dated
December 14, 2010 as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously
with a vote of 5 to 0.
2011 PARK AND TRAIL ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) OVERVIEW.
Hoffman: Thank you Chair Scharfenberg, members of the commission. Annually at the first of
the year we just take a glimpse forward to make sure that all of us are at least at a beginning
point of an understanding of what we’re doing to do in capital improvements for the season.
This year’s list includes one item from the capital replacement fund which is a fund other than
the park fund for investments in our community and that includes $10,000. The fourth
installment of new fitness equipment at the Rec Center. You’ll see a Connection newsletter
article talking about what we’ve purchased the past 3 years and then what we can expect for this
year. The original equipment was purchased in 1995 and so it’s 16 years on down the line we’re
purchasing, upgrading the equipment. So if you have any questions on that or you’d like to see
the equipment, stop out and see Jodi. It’s been a nice addition. The patrons have really
appreciated it. After 13 or 14 years that equipment starts to look pretty familiar for a regular
customer so it’s been nice to trade some of that out.
Stolar: Todd is this the last one or is there, were there 5?
Hoffman: There are 5, yep.
Stolar: I couldn’t remember.
Hoffman: That goes back, again good work of the commission back when you were talking
about these items and we need to refresh that and you sought that allocation of $50,000 through
the City Council and they approved that so that was a good allocation back for the Recreation
Center. Park dedication items. These are items directly out of the park fund include annually we
purchase somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 or less in picnic tables and benches. All of
the memorial benches that we then re-sell to the public are purchased out of here and then any
benches and tables that need replacement or need addition in our park facilities so a new bench
for the new tables. Trees. This has been upped from $10,000 to $25,000 in anticipation of the
onset of Emerald Ash Borer. This last year our tree planting project was at the Chanhassen
Recreation Center. In the coming years we’ll select other projects as they come along.
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
Bandimere has a fairly sizeable project coming up. We’ll be focusing on the groomed areas of
our park system. Not the forested areas but the groomed areas. Lake Ann. Bandimere. The Rec
Center and all of our neighborhood parks have a lot of ash trees. You know upwards of 60 to 70
percent ash trees in those locations so we’ll be moving in along side of those ash trees and those
groves of ash. Planting other trees to make sure that we don’t lose the character that we
currently have in our existing park system.
Scharfenberg: Todd with respect to the tree plantings, is there a plan to do like we did last year
with the Environmental Commission? A planting in the spring coming up.
Hoffman: Yes.
Scharfenberg: Okay.
Hoffman: Lake Ann again.
Scharfenberg: That will be Lake Ann again. Alright. And is there a tentative date yet for that?
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Hoffman: I believe it’s May 5? Sound familiar?
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Ruegemer: I think the 7.
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Hoffman: 7?
Scharfenberg: Okay.
thth
Ruegemer: I think the 7. Yeah I think it’s Saturday the 7. I just booked out the picnic stuff
here last week.
Scharfenberg: Okay excellent. Thank you. And we’re going to invite groups from the city to
come if they want to and assist with that?
Hoffman: Yes.
Scharfenberg: Okay.
Hoffman: These are the spread sheets that were omitted from the, so that’s the details. Just how
the fund is allocated. The fund is identified down here. Park dedication. $10,000 annually and
then the description up above so we’ll take a look at those as we go through. Highway 41
pedestrian underpass and the trail grant. We’re going to switch to a, I just want to show you a
presentation that was given to the City Council. So Highway 41, this is going to be a very
significant project in our community this coming year. It’s the trail along Highway 41 and then
the underpass and then the other work that the commission and the council are undertaking with
extending the trail north of the Minnetonka school to Highway 7 and then building the stairway
at the Highover neighborhood. The regional park master plan revision called for an underpass
and a connecting trail back in 2002. That’s the traffic counts there. Highway 41, you’re just not
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
going to cross it safely without some type of a trail underpass or overpass. There’s the master
plan for the trail. I guess the main, it shows the beach is way out on the point on the left and
that’s where the trail inside the park is going to go so kind of the purple line and the trail’s going
to go underneath Highway 41. There’s a mile of pedestrian trail so that’s going to be asphalt.
That trail within the park and that’s part of the project that I think some people maybe aren’t
aware that’s happening and so it’s a mile of trail in the ditch line. A mile of trail in the park and
then the underpass.
Tom Kelly: So all the purple is asphalt throughout the entire park or does it end, become more
crushed limestone?
Hoffman: Not sure if that’s what it’s showing. Yeah, is there a key there?
Scharfenberg: It says multi-purpose trails and walks.
Hoffman: Yep. The one, the one going from the road down to the beach is going to be asphalt.
I can’t speak to the other ones.
Scharfenberg: But those will be new trails that the County’s going to build.
Hoffman: This summer.
Scharfenberg: In conjunction with the underpass.
Hoffman: Correct. The trail from the road to the beach. That one they’re building this summer.
And that will be really the first asphalt within the park. There’s no asphalt road currently. No
asphalt parking lots and it’s something that, if you’re going to bike all the way from the
underpass to the beach, it’s something that people are going to appreciate. One thing to keep in
mind with the county project is that inside the park they’ll be taking care of, maintaining that
trail long term but outside of the park they have a policy that they do not maintain long term any
trail that they build or that is built in their right-of-way so once they construct that trail and, or
this project, this joint project constructs that trail, the City will be responsible for it’s short term
maintenance on a winter maintenance schedule and then it’s long term maintenance so the
County will hand that back over to the City. And that’s a County policy that they currently
maintain. T-funds were applied for. There’s a million dollar grant that was received to connect
the middle school to the park and the trails. 2 ½ miles of trails and then the underpass. That’s
just a diagram that was in the submission. The two dashed lines represent the trails that are
being built. The Minnetonka Middle School West. When the school would cross Highway 41
they would call the sheriff’s department and have a squad come out and stop traffic, which in and
of itself is not a safe condition either for the kids to get across to the park. Preliminary
construction costs, a million and a half. The million dollar grant and then equal county and city
participation. The total project budget now, with all the design and engineering costs is a million
eight and so the county portion and the city portion currently is estimated at $400,000 or less and
that’s what’s in your CIP currently. So right-of-way costs, wetland mitigation. One of the
biggest areas is to get by that lake that is on Highway 41. That’s going to be a challenging. One
positive thing is there is no right-of-way easements that have been identified currently and so the
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project will not have to go and seek easements, either temporary or permanent from any of the
property owners along that location. 50/50 cost share that we talked about between the city and
the county. And then the city and the county, the county’s the lead agency. We’re a partnering
agency. And you can see the bottom on our side, maintenance and stewardship of the trail, new
sod is our long term maintenance requirement. Timeframe is, it’s going to be bid down at the
bottom this later winter. Spring of 2010, or 2011. We think it will be bid in March. And then
bid opening sometime in later in March and construction starting this year. You’ll see a lot of
activity along that roadway. There’ll be a road closure most likely mid-summer. Mid to late
summer when they’ll put the underpass in and that will be a full weekend closure they think
currently with bypasses probably on Highway 101 and then Rolling Acres Road so significant
interruption in traffic to get that, so there’s not going to be very many people that aren’t aware
that this project’s underway once it gets started. And typically that’s when a lot of people start
asking questions. Really, we’ve been talking about this so we put this back in our Connection
for this year. For this spring so people become, continue to be aware of it. The property owner
meetings, there was a little bit of spirited conversation in those, throughout those but then when
it came to the on site meetings, I know Councilwoman Ernst went out and County Commissioner
Workman went out with staff from the County and the project engineer and there really weren’t
any issues that could not be addressed with the residents so it seems to be set to move forward.
So that’s going to be a significant project. Keep your eyes on it. I think fortunately we’re not
into it for the full million eight with the federal grant and other things helps out. And this is the
project budget sheet. Spread sheet. It has the $400,000. That’s coming out of park dedication.
Getting a lot of work done in that particular project for $400,000. If you go back to the Highway
40, or excuse me. The Highway 101 north, that was a million dollar project. Half a million
coming from the State DNR grant and $400,000 coming from the city so. In this one you get not
only the trail but then the underpass as well. You flip over the page and we have the trail
extension and then the stairway and the trail extension is the first two sheets on your cover
sheets. There are two alternatives. This is Alternative A and that’s the mall on the Chanhassen
side of Highway 7 and 41. This is the just down at the bottom is the Middle School West just off
the page. That’s Chaska Road. So the project, the County application for the grant stopped at
the school and so when we started conversations with the school we said well we need to
continue that up to Chaska Road to allow those people to connect through those neighborhoods
down to this trail, and then also to get all the way up to Highway 7. This one starts to get fairly
complex at the crossing at Highway 7. The State was not real excited about crossing on the free
right with the pedestrian movement and then adding the additional lanes so we went ahead with a
consultant and took a look at making that crossing closer to Chaska Road. So you put in a safe
island. There is no stop light but you have a safe island and then we would follow up this
construction with an application for the pedestrian crossing where the signals are flashing and
they’re identified when the pedestrian is in the crosswalk. This is the location currently where
the kids come up from the trail on the west side of 41 so this makes, this makes right on this trail
so that makes good sense for that crossing at that location. And then we just have to build two
small segments or modify two small segments of trail to connect up to the existing crossing at
Highway 7. So then you complete the full movement. You can get into Shorewood. Up to the
mall. All the way down to the park and all the way to southern Chanhassen so now you have
Highway 41 pedestrian access from Trunk Highway 7 to Trunk Highway 5.
Ryan: So there’s a center island and a crosswalk?
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
Hoffman: Yep. There would be. The center island would be constructed. The safe island.
Ryan: Okay.
Hoffman: It provides pedestrians an opportunity to get out to the center. Wait.
Ryan: Wait, okay.
Hoffman: And then allow for another opening in traffic.
Ryan: And it’ll just be a sign with blinking lights for crosswalk or?
Hoffman: Currently there would just be signage. The blinking lights would be a separate
application for safe route to school funding.
Stolar: On the upper part there when you go into the mall, was there going to be a crosswalk put
in there because I don’t think there is one there is there? Because there’s no walkway so you
wouldn’t have a crosswalk.
Hoffman: You know I’ll have to take a look at that. If that would be an appropriate location for
a crosswalk.
Stolar: And that’s a hard turn there.
Ryan: It is.
Stolar: Because when you turn at that mall you don’t really see.
Ryan: Right.
Hoffman: We’ll study that as well. This is one of the trails that we get a vehicle on from time to
time because of it’s, it’s such a nice short cut out of that long dead end neighborhood. So from
time to time you get a vehicle that comes up there and heads south on 41 instead of driving all
the way around through the neighborhood and coming around. They use it for a short cut.
Scharfenberg: So we don’t know if they’re going to use Figure A or B at this time?
Hoffman: Right now we’re recommending B.
Scharfenberg: Okay.
Stolar: What’s the cost of B?
Hoffman: A lot less than A. Don’t know what the final cost will be.
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Stolar: And it’s safer because it’s the standard crosswalk there at 7 already right?
Hoffman: Yeah. And no wetland mitigation. No easements needed in that large property on the
right on the east side so.
Stolar: What about the, so the right turn from 7 to 41, I’m sorry. That crosswalk’s already there
so.
Hoffman: This crosswalk is here.
Stolar: So people know to, when turning. Not something new. I definitely like this better than
the option A because just that right turn from 41 to 7.
Hoffman: Is very fast.
Stolar: It’s very fast.
Hoffman: And it’s not to say that we don’t have this condition in the city. We do in a couple
locations but we don’t have to create it… Pioneer Pass neighborhood park. This is in the CIP
for acquisition only at this time at $290,000 and that check has been written and the property has
been acquired. The development of this site will start with your CIP this year. We’ll have to
talk about the cost estimates on all these varied improvements. In at least looking at the
preliminary cost for both Pioneer Pass and the Reflections at Lake Riley site, I really feel we’re
going to have a benefit to go in and construct these using our own public works forces. Our own
park maintenance employees. We’ll bring you the options of contracting it out and what those
contract costs would be and then building these things in-house. Part of building them in-house
is that we need to allow the neighborhoods to at least start to be developed and so we have some
labor and some investment back into installation of the playground and some of the other work
items within the park and so we get some of that buy in. But I would say we’re going to
probably bring those in for at least half of what the estimated cost would be to have them
constructed through a contractor. And traditionally that’s been the major source of how parks
have been built from Chanhassen. We have a few that have been built for contracts. Bandimere
Park for example and some of the larger parks but most of our neighborhood parks we’ve build
them in-house.
Stolar: Todd have they put in these roads yet?
Hoffman: Those roads are in.
Stolar: Because we had talked at one time, I can’t remember if it was this one, would it be worth
while to try and contract them to do the parking lot since they were putting the road in.
Hoffman: Yeah we talked about that but we decided to let that opportunity go, let it slide.
Stolar: Currently is this just an open field right now?
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
Hoffman: Currently.
Stolar: All these trees would be planted?
Hoffman: Yes. The trees on the right hand side.
Stolar: These are in.
Hoffman: Yeah, take a drive. It’s worth a drive to go up and look at it now. It’s a very
impressive park site. People are happy that it’s there. The neighbors to the west are very excited
about the potential of the park coming in. Shakopee is going out for bid on two neighborhood
parks that people have been waiting for over 5 years. There was quite an article. I don’t know if
you saw it in the Star Tribune so that was a good read I think to take a look at you know just
what, you know when people buy into a neighborhood and there’s a park plan out there, what
their expectations are. Sometimes you have to wait but it sounded like they were overdue for
their development of those park sites. Disc golf course construction, $20,000. That item was not
selected by the City Council in their last night’s meeting as one of their initiatives that they
would choose to move forward. It did not rank high enough in their ranking system so the
council has asked us to table it for another year, until they. The item would have been just to
formulate the plan and present that to them for their consideration and they elected not to have
that plan be developed and pushed forward.
Scharfenberg: Was there any comment with respect to that at the meeting?
Hoffman: Yeah there was. Councilman Laufenburger talked about the fact that, if a private
group would come forward would they allow that to happen and they were indecisive on it. New
Councilmember Laufenburger knows some folks who do this for a living. Design courses and
so, but there just wasn’t support on the.
Stolar: For the disc golf in general?
Hoffman: Yes.
Stolar: But they didn’t give a reason why they don’t support a very cheap, effective way to
recreation? Not that I’m opinionated.
Hoffman: I read minutes.
Stolar: I know that at one point the question was using the, using some of that space in
Bandimere and would it get in the way of others. That was a comment that was talked to me
privately. Just a concern of having that going around in Bandimere and having the disc flying.
That was a concern.
Hoffman: Yeah, they didn’t talk about that. They rank these things and then there was no
discussion other than Councilmember Laufenburger’s question. Next item is Trunk Highway
101/Pleasant View Road intersection and trail improvements. Those are two plans that you have
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
in place and this was developed as a part of your CIP discussions a number of years ago but this
particular project, the estimates at the time due to walls and other things were fairly, fairly high
for what the commission thought, where this ranked but now with the improvements, the surface
improvements down at the intersection, there’s a funding application through our engineering
department to improve that intersection and a trail was included and so the trail was received an
award in the funding process so you’ll see this work coming this year and it will include those
intersection improvements and then this trail connection both north to Town Line Road and then
west to the intersection with the Near Mountain connection at that point. I’ll show you the
project budget and then this is the, these are all the easements that are required so unlike the last
project on Highway 41, this project requires easements from each one of those parcels to make
that trail improvement possible so we are currently, our engineers are currently soliciting
appraisals on each one of those easement costs and those will be incorporated into the project.
Ryan: And is there water on the corner?
Hoffman: There’s a pond there.
Ryan: A pond, okay.
Hoffman: There’s a pond right here.
Stolar: So do you have to go all the way to the west there? Those last 3 parcels there because
doesn’t it cut across before then?
Hoffman: Cuts across right there.
Stolar: Over there yeah, so you’ve got about 4 or 5. Do we need easements on those?
Hoffman: Those aren’t for the trail. I think they’re for the water. Some ditching improvements.
Stolar: Ditching, okay. I was going to say, got it.
Scharfenberg: So just for clarification purposes Todd, this wasn’t in the CIP for 2011 but is
being moved up because of the award of the grant?
Hoffman: Correct, and I’ll show you the project split on that.
Stolar: Can you go back to 2000 when it was first on the CIP?
Hoffman: Yeah. Yeah.
Stolar: It’s been at it for a long time.
Hoffman: For the project in total is $700,000 and the grant is a half million. Park dedication
fund $95,000. Street pavement management $90,000 and surface water utility $20,000 so
originally I think our estimated cost for the trail alone was $400,000. I think that was the number
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
so we’ve turned that back into a $95,000 contribution and these allocations were split out and
recommended by our engineering division and then you taken to our City Council for approval.
So you’ll see that work happening this summer.
Scharfenberg: And they approved that last night?
Hoffman: Ah no. This was approved, well the grant application was approved. I can’t tell when
the project is going to be approved. Don’t know the time schedule just yet.
Scharfenberg: Okay.
Hoffman: I’ll send you updates as we move along with that project. And the trail connection all
the way up to the intersection. This is the last piece that comes up and then this direction. It’s a
significant hole in our connectivity to both Eden Prairie and Minnetonka. I think it’s going to be
widely used down in that area of the community.
Stolar: And the street improvements, are they doing any crosswalk across from Eden Prairie side
to Chan?
Hoffman: I don’t know that they are but they’re doing turn lane improvements. I don’t know
what the crosswalk improvements are but once those plans are developed I’ll bring them, send
them down to the commission.
Stolar: I know that’s one of the issues that was brought up a while ago was even to just cut
across from Eden Prairie to Minnetonka. I know now you can go all the way around if you want
but people cut across at Pleasant View to even just take the south 101 trail.
Hoffman: Yeah. There are no crosswalks anywhere in 101.
Stolar: I know.
Hoffman: Yeah, I would doubt that they, I’m not sure what the warrants would be there. The
sight line requirements and there’s no stopped conditions so it’s difficult to put in a crosswalk. A
state highway I don’t think is going to put a crosswalk in when there’s a no stop condition. No
stop signs or stop light. Okay that’s the 101 project. Really good news, our engineering division
worked very hard. We supported that application. The trail was not going to be financed so
there was a risk that the trail would drop out of the project and it would only be the intersection
improvements. We went back and modified. This is a 2030 Comprehensive Plan section in the
County’s comp plan. That’s you know Met Council supports that and so we had to present that
data back to the folks looking at the application and they came through and financed that portion
of the project as well. And then upcoming projects currently not in, or not currently in your CIP
include the Reflections at Lake Riley park acquisition at $200,000. You have the concept park
plan for that and this was the acquisition of this was approved as a part of the subdivision process
for Reflections at Lake Riley. Formerly Lakeview. They have not final platted. They most
likely will final plat in March or April of this year and then the transaction of the acquisition of
the park will go forward. And then the same type of scenario here. We’ll wait, allow some of
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the neighbors to move in. Call a neighborhood meeting at the Park and Recreation Commission
to finalize the park plan. Take a look at the capital numbers. The investments to initiate
development of the park with the parking lot. The trail loop. The playground and then see
where the commission wants to head with those. There’s no sidewalk on the north side of
Lyman so the pedestrian crossing, this is the pedestrian crossing to the south side of Lyman. The
pedestrian trail. The comprehensive section of the trail connects. Again nice piece of property.
4.7 acres so not quite as large as the one in Pioneer Pass. These two are likely some of the last
neighborhood park acquisitions I think within the community. It’s just really surprising that
they’ve been the first two in 15 years within the city. So there was a large range of acquisitions
back 15 to 25 years ago and then development really came in and in-filled and now we’re back to
where we have these new areas of the community with the 2005 MUSA area and then this
property. And then there’s a couple other attachments and these relate to, these are both at the
intersection of Minnewashta Parkway and Highway 5 and again this is another grant application
for a much larger project which includes the intersection with all the turn lanes so the project will
look something, the intersection will look something like this when, you’ll have all the turn lanes
in place for the turning movements. No stop light at that intersection and then the underpass
coming in at this location. This map, the first map that you have is the easements so this
easement has been acquired from the church for the underpass. The easement is smaller on the
south side. When this underpass is built then it will come out on the Arboretum property and it’s
really up to the Arboretum at that point to decide how they want to make improvements for
pedestrians within their property. Right now they’ll drive on that old road that’s back there. If
you’ve been back in that area you’ll be able to access the Arboretum freely but it’s going to be
kind of a gravel roadway condition currently until they make some future improvements.
Tom Kelly: What’s the time line on this or is it still?
Hoffman: This is 2012.
Tom Kelly: This is 2012, okay.
Hoffman: And you can see it’s a much larger project. This is the sheet. CIP sheet. $9 million
dollars. MnDOT’s contributing $8.82. Park dedication $80,000 and street pavement $120,000.
Then the park dedication allocation will go for easement acquisition and then just partial funding
of the underpass and the rest of the costs are all incorporated into one application. So this is a
2012 project. You also see a variety of other projects going on in 2012. In Victoria they’re
going to be taking out the sink hole in Victoria on the east end of town and then they’ll be
replacing the bridge in 2012. That was one of the reasons why they wanted to get Highway 41
project with the trail and the underpass completed in 2011 before they started this in 2012. So
that’s the information I have for you currently. I’ll continue to forward updated documents and
then also you’ll be taking a look at a variety of these for your 2012 CIP process and then
whenever approvals are needed we’ll be bringing those items back to you.
Scharfenberg: Anybody have any other questions for Todd regarding those projects?
Tom Kelly: Kind of a quick question already on another project. When Highway 101 south gets
realigned will park dedication be responsible for any trail improvements on 101?
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Hoffman: Currently I don’t believe so.
Tom Kelly: Okay.
Hoffman: That’s going to be another very large project. 2013, Highway 101 south of Lyman
Boulevard between Lyman and Pioneer will be upgraded with another underpass and trail
improvements on both sides. It may be a situation where we’re into this $80,000 to $90,000 type
of allocation but I just currently don’t know.
Scharfenberg: Thank you Todd for that summary.
RECREATION PROGRAM REPORTS: 2011 FEBRUARY FESTIVAL.
Ruegemer: Thank you very much. Good evening again to all the commission members here
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tonight. We’re going to go through the 18 annual ice fishing contest and Feb Fest coming up a
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week from Saturday. February 5. We have a nice schedule of events programmed again for
that day. A lot of different groups involved again with the Chanhassen Rotary and Culvers, the
Boy Scouts, the Friends of the Library. New Camp Tanadoona will be involved this year kind of
doing a free fishing demo for beginning fishermen out on the ice so kind of a new partnership
that we’re exploring here for this year. So that’ll be fun. Just a lot of different events going on.
The hay rides or sleigh rides will be going on again out on the ice and we’ll plan to have a real
nice path for the horses and that sort of thing. We’re also going to plan for another road to go
through if other people are fishing that day, that they’re not going right through the contest area
so we’ll kind of skirt around the outside of the contest in case people are there just to fish that
day. So we’re pretty excited about that. We have worked on a, this is just a paper version of it
but an Excel spread sheet to sort fish by weight, by name, by serial number. Whatever we need
to do. It looks like we have that finalized and that is pretty much all ready to go so, and we can
sort it out by at the, if the weight is the same we then we can separate it out by order of entry so
then when it comes to putting those names on the leader boards, we should have it all set to go
with that. We’re going to have a laptop and a printer out on the ice that day. I think I’m going to
bring one of my old fish houses down there so it’ll be a fully heated enclosure with that so we’ve
got it all figured out so.
Stolar: A projection screen where you can just flash the results up?
Ruegemer: So we will not be repeating history like we learned last year so, like I said this is just
kind of a version of it that we can kind of have our criteria for sorting so we have been playing
around with that here the first couple weeks in January and looks like we’ve got all the bugs fine
tuned and we should have that all ready, ready to go so.
Hoffman: Duplicate systems, yep.
Tom Kelly: What happened last year?
Hoffman: There was just confusion over sorting.
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
Ruegemer: Order of entry.
Hoffman: Collating.
Tom Kelly: I don’t remember all that.
Hoffman: Oh yeah.
Ruegemer: I remember it vividly.
Ryan: So do I.
Hoffman: We straighten it out but we missed one winner so we had to go back and award one
winning prize after the fact so this year we’ll get it straighten away. It gets a little complex when
you get all those multiple fish and entries.
Tom Kelly: Oh I don’t think I was, maybe I wasn’t there last year. I don’t remember all that.
Hoffman: Well we can see in the video.
Tom Kelly: Yeah. Yeah.
Ruegemer: But we’re real excited about it. Just a general information. We’ve done some
advertising here. Just within the Villager and Herald, that sort of thing. It’s been on the city
website. A lot of different things. Doing email blasts and different things to Facebook and the
electronic sign out here so we’re really trying to kind of hit a lot of different areas of marketing
for that so we’re excited about it. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for a nice day and we’re due
for some decent weather here about that time so. But we’re just, a lot of things we’re going to
be, we’ll be doing the door prizes again. We’ll be handing out tickets and as people come on the
ice or they can get them under the kind of the big tent, by the prize board area and we should be
all set to go for that so. We’re going to take a look at a quick You Tube video that this
gentleman.
Hoffman: This is two years ago.
Ruegemer: Two years ago? I thought it was last year. This is just the City webpage under
community events. Here’s all the information about Feb Fest. The current information. The
prize, fishing prize winners from last year. This is really kind of a cool deal that Scott Nelson
shot all the footage of this and put it to music and gave it to the City and said use it however
you’d like to so.
Hoffman: And he puts it on his site and it’s on You Tube so, I just when we have events I just
like to go and Google what’s going on and see what people are posting out there and this is
posted out there. You’ll, look for yourselves. You’re in here.
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
Ruegemer: So we’re pretty excited about it. It’s really a cool, a cool. Enjoy.
Hoffman: We also keyed up the Villager with…
(A video was played at this point in the meeting.)
Ruegemer: So if anybody has any questions we’ll entertain those at this point. We’ll put just a
copy of the information here by your work sessions tonight so hope to see everybody there. If
anybody would like to, I think John had sent out some emails to see if anybody was interested in
being down there and we can certainly resubmit those if you’d like. If not, any questions let us
know.
Ryan: I don’t have a question but I think I made this suggestion last year by the skating rink to
have chairs or a couple benches because there wasn’t a place to put, for kids to put skates on.
Ruegemer: Okay.
Scharfenberg: Anybody else? Alright.
SELF-SUPPORTING PROGRAMS: 3-ON-3 ADULT BASKETBALL LEAGUE
REPORT.
th
Ruegemer: League started, winter league started on Monday, January 10. We have 5 teams,
one division this year for that and we’re playing 8 weeks ending the end of February and after
the regular season we’ll have a post season tournament with that. With a tournament and a
consolation champion crowned at that point and about the second week in March and then we’ll
start the spring league about the third week in March for that. Just an informational update for
the commission. We’re playing out at the Rec Center for that and on Monday nights.
ADMINISTRATIVE: RECREATION CENTER FEE INCREASE.
Hoffman: Wanted to let you know that the City Council did approve a 50 cent increase in the
recreation center daily punch pass so it’s, for resident it goes up from $2.50 to $3.00. This was
going to be an administrative amendment but we discovered that it is in the ordinance and so it
had to go to City Council and there were some timing issues and so we would have brought this
to the commission for your review and comment and recommendation to City Council under any
other circumstances but we had, this is the second fee increase in the 15 years of the center.
They opened up at 2 bucks and then went to $2.50 so now to $3.00 for those punch cards so.
Still feels very competitive. Most other daily fees are in the $6.00 range. Granted not the same
facilities as some of those other locations but to remain competitive and it’ll help us pay our heat
bill.
Scharfenberg: Anybody have any questions for Todd regarding that? I had just, I had emailed
Todd today about that because I had some question about what kind of prompted that or had
brought that to his attention so I appreciate the feedback on that Todd.
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Park and Recreation Commission - January 25, 2011
Hoffman: You’re welcome. Yeah it’s just a timing thing. 7 years I believe or 6 years since our
last fee increase so it was time.
Scharfenberg: Okay. I don’t think we have any committee reports. Anybody else have anything
else they want to bring up at this time?
COMMISSION MEMBER COMMITTEE REPORTS:
None.
COMMISSION MEMBER PRESENTATIONS:
None.
ADMINISTRATIVE PACKET:
Scharfenberg: Just a question with respect to the agenda. Can we adjourn at this time and deal
with the administrative packet then?
Hoffman: Unless there’s something else. You can adjourn and then do the Distinguished
Service. If there’s something else in the Admin, we should do that prior to adjourning.
Scharfenberg: Okay. Anything else in the administrative packet?
Hoffman: Your meeting schedule is attached. Pull that off. Keep it in your work folder or
wherever at work wherever you keep those things.
Scharfenberg: Can I get a motion then for adjournment?
Tom Kelly moved, Stolar seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the
motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0. The Park and Recreation Commission
meeting was adjourned.
Submitted by Todd Hoffman
Park and Rec Director
Prepared by Nann Opheim
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