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Correspondence SectionAdministrative Section Youth Commission Minutes September 8, 1996 Chaska High School Conference Room The meeting was called to order by Kathy Wellens. Those present included Rachel Berg, Anna Bleck, Steve Floe, Chris Hoff, Sean Holmes, Christina Osborn, Shannon Siegfried, Mollie Starr, Jeanne Straus and Kathy Wellens. OLD Business We decided to hold another New Student Party at the Community Center on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6:00. The committee includes Christina, Shannon, Kathy, Chris, and Rachel. All Youth Commission Members are encouraged to attend! Christina - will call the Community Center Done. Sean & Shannon - invitations Done Kathy- list of students, music (List - done) Rachel - welcome table Chris H - food and pop (soda) NEW Business 1. We discussed projects for the year and voted on them. We decided on the following events: E_V.e, nt Number of Votes Music event 7 Seasonal clean-up 5 Big Brother/Sister 4 Volunteer at Women's 5 Shelter Camp Courage 1 Talk It 2 Recycling 2 Paint-A-Thon 1 Committee Members Kathy, Steve Chris, Anna, Molli Shannon, Christin Rachel, Chris, Mollie Christina, Shannon, Kathy Sean, Steve, Rachel, Shannon Mollie, Christina Chris, Rachel We decided to work on the following for October: Big Brother/Sister program, Seasonal Clean-up, Loaves & Fishes, Homework Help, and Student Surveys. 2. For Oct. 13 meeting, Kathy will bring treats, Mollie - soda. Don't forget to work on your projects! Meeting will be held at the Straus house. Note from Christmas in May meeting: We need two youth each Saturday to work on a small fall project. October 5 we scrape the house. October 12 we paint, etc. Need only 2 volunteers each time! Leave me a message at 368-3686 or stop in the office at ~Eir~r), SEP 3 0 1996 CITY OF CHANHASSEN CITY OF 690 COULTER DRIVE · P.O. BOX 147 · CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 (612) 937-1900 · FAX (612) 937-5739 September 23, 1996 Local Grants Program Office of Planning, Box 10 Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4010 To Whom It May Concem: Please ensure that the City of Chanhassen's Departmem of Parks and Recreation remains on your local grant mailing list. Thank you. Sincerely, /, / Todd Hoffman Director of Parks and Recreation TH:grnb pc: Don Ashworth, City Manager Mayor Don Chmiel Chanhassen City Council LCtfanhassen Park and Recreation Commission g:Xpark~th\LocalGrantsProgram Keeping Up September 1996 State Grants Funding Update By Wayne Sames, Local Grants Program Supervisor, Department of Natural Resources As many ofyou know, Congress failed to allocate any Land and Water Conservation Fund (LAWCON) money to the states last year, and prospects do not look good for any LAWCON funding this coming year. The future of this valuable program is unclear. The outlook, however, is somewhat brighter for state grant assistance. While no bonding funds were provided for local pa'lc grants as a result of the last legislative session, an $895,000 supple- mental appropriation was received. This helped fund an additional 22 local park grants, as well as 5 additional Coopera- tive Trail Grant projects and several more Conservation Partners projects. This summer, the Legislative Com- mission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) completed its work on 1997 proposal funding recommendations. These recommendations include an additional $2.2 million forgive local grants programs (local park, natural and scenic area, conservation palmers, cooperative trail and environmental partners grants). The Legislature will consider these LCMR recommendations during its next session. Many excellent local projects were assisted through the state grant pro- grams during the past year. Trails, playgrounds and athletic facilities continue to be among the most popular projects funded with local park grants. Several outstanding open space acquisi- tions were assisted with natural and scenic area grants. The new Conserva- tion Partners Grant program, which provides small grants of up to $10,000 to private organizations for fish and wildlife and native plant habitat improvement projects, was given a good start with $500,000 provided to almost 80 projects. Many of these were cooperative projects with local governments. Several quality trail projects were supplemented with grants from the Cooperative Trail Grant program. Most of these grant programs are available to cities, counties and town- ships. School districts and private organizations are eligible for some of the programs. The announcements for the next round of grants are tentatively sched- uled to be mailed by November. The trmal application deadline will probably be March 31. If you would like more information about any of the local grant programs, please write to: LocalGrants Program OfficeofPlanning, Box I0 MN Dept. of Natural Resources 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4010 CITY OF 690 COULTER DRIVE · P.O. BOX 147 · CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 (612) 937-1900 · FAX (612) 937-5739 MEMORANDUM TO: Kara Willems, Senior Coordinator FROM: Todd Hoffman, Park and Recreation Director DATE: October 4, 1996 SUB J: Historic Street Sign Markers Members of the Chanhassen Park and Recreation Commission are interested in seeing a Historic Street Sign Marker Program implemented in Chanhassen. The Senior Men's Club has expressed some interest in this area. Please assess the level of their interest in order to determine if they would like to implement the program. Thank you. Attachment: Memo to Park and Recreation Commission and Seniors Men's Club dated August 29, 1996. c: Park and Recreation Commission g:~park\th~kara.mcm CITY OF 690 COULTER DRIVE · P.O. BOX 147 · CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 (612) 937-1900 · FAX (612) 937-5739 MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: Chanhassen Park and Recreation Commission Chanhassen Senior Men's Club Todd Hoffman, Park and Recreation Director DATE: August 28, 1996 SUB J: Historic Street Sign Markers Park and Recreation Commissioner Fred Berg visited Concorde, Massachusetts, and observed historic street sign markers. These 10" x 24" oval signs sit atop street signs and explain historic and/or interesting information about a particular street. Commissioner Berg was intrigued with the idea of bringing this program to Chanhassen. Mr. Ted Osgood, former Chair of the Concorde Historical Commission, organized this project. Mr. Osgood can be reached at 1-(508)-371-0666, in Concorde, or at I-(603)-367- 8469, at his summer home in New Hampshire. The signs explain the people and places behind street names. The investment in each marker is $30. City crews install and maintain the signs. Three prototypes were investigated prior to selecting an oval shape (catches the eye) and brown lettering on a white background. pc: Mayor and City Council Don Ashworth, City Manager Karen Engelhardt, Office Manager Kate Aanenson, Planning Director G:~park\th\PRCMemoHistoricSigns CITY OF 690 COULTER DRIVE · P.O. BOX 147 · CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 (612) 937-1900 · FAX (612) 937-5739 Oclober 14, 1996 Mr. Jeff Marsh Westwood Church Dear Jeff.' Thank you for volunteering the time and talent of Westwood Church. I am pleased to assist you in facilitating a community project for your junior high youth. The attached map depicts the "good" spots Io find litter deposits in downtown Chanhassen. As agreed, the city will provide the following supplies: Westwood Community Youth Downtown Chanhassen Trash Pick Up Wednesday, October 16, 1996, 5 - 7 p.m. City to provide: o Project map o Trash bags · Disposal location · Camera for promotion photos · Follow up with the Chanhassen Villager Westwood to provide: · Approximately 15 volunteers and a group leader Jeff, please compose a good photo with lots of trash bags. Return the camera to city hall with a diagram indicating the names of your volunteers. Thank you for initiating a great volunteer project! Sincerely, Todd Hoffman Park & Recreation Director c: Mayor & City Council Park & Recreation Commission g:\park~th'~arsh.c October 17, i996 Mr. Todd Hoffman City of Chanhassen Dear Todd, Thank you for the opportunity for the community project. Overall, it went very well.. I think we were a little surprised to see how much there adtually was. I didn't have as big of a group as I thought--many of them were headed for Washington D.C. with school ' early the next morning. We only made it as far as the Festival Foods in the time that we 'had (all of our bags were full, too!) We will have to look into making this happen again--from what we saw, there is a need. Thanks again for the oPportunity! Sincerely, Jeff Marks Westwood Student Ministry 406 WEST ?8TH STREET CHANHASSEN, MN 612-934-7115 P.O. BOX 9 8~ 553 7 CITY OF 690 COULTER DRIVE · P.O. BOX 147 · CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 (612) 937-1900 · FAX (612) 937-5739 October 14, 1996 Ms. Colleen Dramdahl 6451 Pleasant View Drive Chanhassen, MN 55317 Dear Colleen: It was my pleasure to meet you at your home last week. I understand the reasons for your concern over on-street parking on Fox Hollow Road. At present, we are considering signing the north side of the non-curbed section of Fox Hollow Road "No Parking." Dave Hempel, Assistant City Engineer is coordinating the inquiry into this signage. Mr. Hempel will copy you on his correspondence to the city council. Dave can be reached at 937-1900 ext. 123. Thank you for your insight. Sincerely, Todd Hoffman, CLP Park & Recreation Director Mayor and City Council c,'l~rk & Recreation Commission Planning Commission Dave Hempel, Assistant City Engineer g:Y~rk~th k~ramdahl .e October 16, 1996 CITY OF 690 COULTER DRIVE · P.O. BOX 147 · CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 (612) 937-1900 · FAX (612) 937-5739 R.e~ Traffic Control Request - NO PARKING Fox Hollow Road from Pleasant View Road to Gray Fox Lane - PW056 Dear Resident: The City is considering establishing a NO PARKING zone along the north side of Fox Hollow Road between Pleasant View Road and Gray Fox Lane. The City is considering this traffic control due to the limited street width which makes it difficult for emergency vehicles to access the neighborhood with parking on both sides of the street. This item will be considered at the Monday, November 12, 1996 City Council meeting at City Hall at 7:30 p.m. Persons wishing to express their opinions on this item may be heard before the City Council at that time. If you are unable to attend the City Council meeting and would like to express your viewpoint regarding this consideration, please forward your letters to my attention or call me at 937-1900, ext. 123. On the back side of this letter is a map indicating the proposed NO PARKING zones. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, CITY OF CHANHASSEN David C. Hempel Assistam City Engineer DCH:jms Charles Folch, Director of Public Works Todd Hoffman, Park & Recreation Director \xcfsl'wol2'~cagMavc~lcllcrs~fox hollow rd no parking. Itt.doc ~arver October 13, 1996 Mr. Todd Hoffman, CLP Director of Parks & Recreation City of Chanhassen PO Box 147 Chanhassen, MN 55317 CITY OF CHANHASSEN Re: Pheasant Hill Neighborhood - Park & Other Dear Todd: I want to n~xite and compliment you and the City on the wonderful job of landscaping that was designed and installed on the Wood Duck Lane outlot entrance to the Pheasant Hill neighborhood park. The design was excellent and gives a welcoming feeling to the park entrance. The quality of the plantings was surprising considering you most likely were working off a tight budget. This whole project was well done and gives a nice gateway to the park and will hopefully enhance property values immediately adjacent to the park and beyond. I think history will tell you that it ~vas a wise decision to obtain the park property, and preserve it in a natural way I've had a couple other thoughts in mind over the past few months that I thought I would lay out: Park Safety I ~vas glad to see that you put the final touches on the asphalt pathways around the park to give it a much more finished look. A concern is that the pea gravel spills out of the contained playground equipment area sometimes causes a safety hazard to bikers heading north down the steep grade. I don't have an)' kids this age, but I can see that a bad accident is imminent or has already occurred. Does the Park & Rec have the ability to keep the asphalt and the cushioned landings within the equipment area somewhat swept? I've been to Chanhassen Elementary (which has a very nice playground facility) several times where I have seen several fairly nasty accidents occur due to slips and falls on the excess gravel over concrete at the bottoms of slides, etc. I realize the cushion material is much more forgiving, but the area is very full and pea gravel at the bottom of slides, on pathways, etc. is a somewhat hazardous. I don't want to be an alarmist, but these kids run corners a~fful fast and the bike speeds coming from the south are sometimes quite high. Park Utilization Like a couple of our neighbors, I was concerned during the spring and early summer (primarily) concerning the use of the Open Playing Field area. My concern is primarily SAFETY and secondarily utilization. I'll get to Safety shortly, but first a comment on utilization. In my opinion, the utilization of the Open Pla)' Field during the spring and sun~mer as team practice field violates the purpose of the park at its' very purpose - to be a neighborhood park. The reference to it being a neighborhood park is indicated all through the original park planning correspondence that I reviewed from my file. I realize that there is a shortage of practice areas for soccer teams, etc., but this was acquired for neighborhood park purposes - to kick a ball, to throw a ball, to pla)' tag, to fly a kite, to throw a Frisbee, etc. etc. etc. None of these activities can be done when the Excelsior Pizza Hut (or whatever the name) soccer team is practicing their drills. I don't want to discourage young people from practicing, but that's not the point. I saw a simple sign in another city that I thought was just perfect: No Team Practice, Neighborhood Use Only. Sounds about fight to me~ I realize it is hard to monitor park usage, but a sign would clearly set the policy. The other piece to this is Safety. About 35 kids (many preschool and below) live in the relatively small area comprising Pheasant Hill 4th - from Wood Duck/Ringneck east. These kids are all experimenting with Big Wheels, Traceless and Bicycles and are not fully aware of the dangers of autos. When the parents come rolling in to catch the last of their kids' practice or pick them up, they don't have our kids in the front of their minds. Mr. and Mrs. Yuppie seem to be in quite a rush, a few have car phones stuck to their ears, and seem preoccupied with getting to where the)' are going, rather than watching out for our kids. Some then pull U-turns on Wood Duck Lane in a rush and head directly into the setting sun as they go West without any more care than they came into the development. We already have Mr. & Mrs. Richard Petty and Mr.& Mrs. Al Unser, Jr. living up the street and don't need to invite any other speeders on to Wood Duck Lane. The other hazard is cars parked butted up against each other on both sides of Wood Duck Lane to jockey for the closest spots to the park entrance. Kids are darting in and out of yards, crossing the street and ninny are just learning to pa)' attention to traffic. I don't think the City wants this kind of liability ~vhere it is effectively "inviting" the traffic to park on Wood Duck Lane and ~ve the neighborhood parents certainly don't want the accident potential. I believe you mentioned at one time that a sign might be possible along the lines of"Caution - Children Playing" or something along that line. Is that still a possibility? Most neighborhoods have some kind of regrettable (and most likely avoidable) accident and I just don't want to be a part of any accident if possible - either with my kids or anybody else's'. A second level concern is just esthetics and outdoor enjoyment. The good weather season is so short as it is and it is discouraging to come home from a work da)' that starts early and ends late, only to see a bunch of cars parked in from of the neighbors houses. The practice then breaks up and then it has been cutting across yards to get to the car, although the split rail fencing should help "channel" most traffic on to the path. Don't get me xwong, I want maximum park utilization, but I am for neighborhood utilization. I think I am correct that we all paid a big park fee in connection with our original Building Permit Fees, plus significant property taxes each year. In my opinion, the park should be at our option first. The bottom line is that if I come over to play catch with my son while a team is practicing, I can't do it. We've enjoyed the park, it's xvell done, fairly quiet, will get better as it progresses and the latest entrance work is tremendous. These comments are meant to be constructive and we certainly appreciate your efforts to nmke Chanhassen a great place to live. My dad was a Park Comnfissioner for many years and I know how hard it can bo to please the citizenry and I don't want to come across as negative. I am concerned about safety primarily and I thought it would make sense to take stock of these issues now that the park is ful~- operational. If you would like to contact me during the da)' may phone is 6364320. Thank you for the time to read this letter. 1741 Wood Duck Lane Excelsior, MN 55331 OF 690 COULTER DRIVE · P.O. BOX 147 · CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317 (612) 937-1900 · FAX (612) 937-5739 October 17, 1996 Mr. JeffJessen 1741 Woodduck Lane Excelsior, MN 55331 Dear Jeff.' Thank you for your letter of October 13. I am encouraged by your positive outlook towards the provision of public services at Pheasant Hill Park. The Park & Recreation Commission will also be pleased to receive a copy of your letter. Please allow me to respond to your inquiries. · Park Safety: "Pea gravel spill over onto hard surfaces." The Park & Recreation Department holds the same concerns that you describe in your letter. The mandate to provide "hard surfaced" access to playgrounds nation wide has dramatically increased the number of playground sites exhibiting hard surfaces adjoining resilient pea gravel or sand. I will advise our Park Superintendent to increase the frequency of sweeping at this site. I will also investigate the merits of increasing the height of the containment border in this area. As you recognize, neither of these solutions will totally eliminate spill over of pea gravel; however, I believe these measures are reasonable and in the best interests of public safety. I will also consider the placement of a warning sign, something to the effect of, "Warning: Loose gravel" in appropriate locations. · Park Utilization: "Keeping organized practice out of neighborhood parks." You may be aware that the Park & Recreation Commission is a staunch advocate of reserving neighborhood parks for neighborhoods. Year in and year out, the commission is approached by representatives of athletic leagues requesting that neighborhood parks be open to league play and practice. To date, the commission has refused to reserve neighborhood field space for organized activities. Carver Beach Playground and Rice Marsh Lake Park are exceptions Mr. Jeff Jessen October 17, 1996 Page 22 carrying "grandparent" status. However, the Park & Recreation Commission has yet to actively police independent coaches who take it upon themselves to schedule practices in neighborhood parks. I will review this issue with them at their November meeting (the October agenda has already been published). Jeff, please be aware that the coaches organizing these practices will also claim their rights to utilize city and neighborhood facilities. Many of these individuals reason that even though their collective rights as an organization can be governed, their rights as individuals are immune from such rules. I will mail you copies of my correspondence to the commission allowing you the oppommity to provide further input on this issue. The commission's November meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m. The commission meets in the city council chambers. Again, thank you for your encouraging letter. Sincerely, Todd Hoffman, CLP Park & Recreation Director TI-kk -' Park & Recreation Commission Don Ashworth, City Manager Dale Gregory, Park Superintendent