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8 Referendum StatusCITYOF CHANHASSEN MEMORANDUM TO: Park and Recreation Commission FROM: Todd Hoffman, Park and Recreation Director DATE: October 21, 1998 SUB J: Referendum Project Status Bold print indicates changes from last week. park refcren projcctstamsl 0-95.doc 1997 PARK, OPEN SPACE AND TRAIL BOND REFERENDUM COMPONENTS $4.9 million NEIGHBORHOOD PARK IMPROVEMENTS Carver Beach Park Parking Improvements Carver Beach Playground Playground Refurbishment Park Trail Chanhassen Hills Park Skating Rink Light Curry Farms Park Half Court Basketball Galpin Boulevard Park Access Road, Parking Lot Construction Phase I Playground Equipment Herman Field Park Phase II Playground Kerber Pond Park Trail Improvements Signage Meadow Green Park Neighborhood Picnic Shelter East Trail Connector Minnexvashta Heights Park Playground Refurbishment North Lotus Lake Park Neighborhood Picnic Shelter Park Trail Pheasant Hill Park Phase II Playground Equipment Power Hill Park Neighborhood Picnic Shelter Complete Anticipated to be completed by 11/15/98 Complete Complete Complete Under construction (see attached flyer) On hold Complete Under construction Complete Anticipated to be complete by 11/15/98 Under construction Complete Complete Under construction Prairie Knoll Park Phase 1I Playground Equipment Complete Rice Marsh Lake Park Replace Neighborhood Picnic Shelter Playground Refurbishment Under construction Anticipated to be complete by 11/15/98 Roundhouse Park Phase II Development South Lotus Lake Park Phase II Playground Equipment Park Trail Playground and concrete border are complete, final grade and seeded, gravel for future basketball court, roundhouse renovation postponed until 1999 Anticipated to be complete by 11/15/98 Deleted Stone Creek Park Park Trail with Bridge Complete Sunset Ridge Park Half Court Basketball Complete TRAIL CONSTRUCTION State Highway 7 Construct an 8 fi. wide off-street bituminous pedestrian trail on the south side of Highway 7 fi'om Minnewashta Park~vay east to Washta Flay Road. Length: Approximately one mile. Complete Galpin Boulevard Construct an 8 fl. wide off-street bituminous pedestrian trail fi'om Highway 5 north to the City of Shorewood. Length: Approximately 13/4 miles. Nearing Completion Started 9/14/98 Powers Boulevard Construct an 8 fi. wide off-street bituminous pedestrian trail fi'om Saddlebrook Trail north to the City of Shorewood. Length' Approximately 1 ½ miles. 4 weeks of above and below ground utility work slowed progress. Expect completion within 2-3 weeks. Great Plains Boulevard Construct an 8 ft. wide off-street bituminous pedestrian trail from Lake Susan Hills Drive north to connect with the existing east/west Lake Susan/Rice Marsh Lake trail. Length: Approximately ½ mile. Bluff Creek Trail Connector Complete the first phase of the Bluff Creek trail from the Chanhassen Business Center south to the intersection of Audubon Road and Lyman Boulevard, including a connection to the Bluff Creek Estates neighborhood. Length: Approximately 3/4 mile. Pioneer Trail/Great Plains Boulevard Construct an 8 ft. wide off-street bituminous trail from Kiowa Trail south to Pioneer Trail then east to connect with the Hennepin County Regional Trail Corridor. Length: Approximately 1¼ miles. COMMUNITY PARK DEVELOPMENT Bandimere Community Parkland/Youth Athletic Facility Construct a full service youth athletic facility on 37 acres of existing parkland. City Center Park/Youth Athletic Improvements Purchase an additional 2 acres of open space. Reconfigure ball fields and add parking. OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION Purchase Highly Desirable Open Space City Center Park Expansion Complete Postponed until 1999 Complete Substantially complete Making good progress On hold Complete g:',park',re feren\components3 update.doc A well'traveled path Newest amenity Trying t~ navigate the winding road that is Highway 101 south of Highway 5 is no easy task. Driving it in a car is hazardous enough, never mind trying to ride a bike or head off along the fringes on foot. It was down right dangerous. The key word in that last sentence is was. In all due respect to our president, let's deb.ate people on foot. It was a dangerous piece of road for someone on Cameron Potts S taffwriter the word was. It was a dangerous track for a bike. It is no longer that bad. Why? Because of the new paved trails put in by the city of Chanhassen and paid for by the citizens after a referendum last year. While people hate taxes and we all know that we pay more than our fair share in Chanhassen, this was a tremendous idea all around, especially as the city itself contin- ues to grow. The city of Chanhassen itself is an unusually large parcel of land, still a long way from full develop- ment, with pockets of residential homes spread out across its expanse. There is a pocket of homes in the south, one in the north, one in the west andso on. But many of these places were almost landlocked, cut off from other residential areas only a stone's throw away, separated by a busy stretch 6f road, be it Highway 5, 101 or others. makes strangers What to do about this dilem- ma? Build a pathway and they will come. They will ride, they will walk and jog and run and be gleeful, all at the same time. It will be wonderful, you will see. Take the new paths around 101, leading from the Chanhassen Hills area past Mission Hills and on to Lake Susan Park and St. Hu- bert's Catholic Community. If ever there was a need for a trail, it w~ this area. My wife and ! moved into the' new development of Mission Hills three years ago, a place to start our lives in our first home. While have taken numerous walks arbund the development in those years, we never felt safe enough to venture down 101 on foot, as cars speed by at 50 miles an hour. We twice tried to take our bikes down the road to the park, but that was equally dangerous. Trips to the park meant packing our dog,. Oscar, into the car before heading to the parking lot. It Wasn't that big of a deal, but we did feel land- locked. The same must have been true for residents of Chanhassen Hills, - because as soon as the paths were dug, people from both areas came out in droves. Much of the paths had only gravel and noi concrete yet, but people were using them, on bikes, on foot, walking'their into neighbors dogs or pushing a baby carriagel Two weeks ago, when the final asphalt was laid down, the project seemed complete. Neighbors and friends took different routes for their nightly walks. Instead of head,ingaround the development, they dhead down the path, to the parks, past the church. We can even head up to Highway 5 now, to the other side, to the oasis of shops and restaurants. All on foot,' or by bike. In the long run, all the paths have done is connect one section of town to another, but it is more than that. Just watch all the people walking around, greeting each other, smiling. That is how a community is bulk. As Chanhassen grows, the areas will grow closer together, the people will become more familiar with each other. Yes, more taxes are expensive, but in the long run, creating a community is priceless. Come winter time, the paths will be covered in snow, but residents will bundle up, greet a few more neighbors, and take the road less traveled down along Highway 101. No longer do residents have to take their lives in their hands, dodgingspeedihg motorists. Instead, theycan walk a paved, winding path, that makes ieople less like strangers, and more ke neighbors. (Cameron Ports isa resident of Chanhassen and the news editor of the Eden Prairie" News, the Villager's sister newspaper.) Bd,ng Duning i On Any:[ Offep good 345 War appe~ ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION Letter from Dave Pokomey, City of Chaska, dated August 19, 1998. Ice Arena Contribution Agreement. MN DNR Permit For Aeration System on Lake Susan. Letter to Jon Raymond dated September 25, 1998. Lettcr to the Chanhassen Elementary School from Jon Raymond dated September 18, 1998. Letter to Dave Owen dated September 17, 1998. Letter to Mike Wegler dated September 23, 1998. Letter to Todd Ingrain dated September 23, 1998. CCHA Newsletter dated September 1998. Picnic Evaluations from Lake Ann Park and Lake Susan. Chaska August 19, 1998 Don Ashworth City Manager City of Chanhassen 690 City Center Drive Chanhassen, MN 55317-0147 Dear Don: The Chaska City Council at its August 17 meeting took action approving the Ice Arena Contribution Agreement between the City of Chaska an~the City of Chanhassen. Enclosed - / are two _executed_. copies _of. the agreement; Once the agreement has been_ e~'4ecuted b_-~7 ' voUr~ff and the Mayor of Chanhassen, please return one copy to me. __Upon substantial ---completion~f-t~ project, which we anticipa(e to be Tfi-'~id-S-ept--~nS-b-e-~ we will send the City of Chanhassen an invoice for the first S6,000 payment. / / / Thank you tbr your cooperation in participating in this exciting project. If you have any DP:jms Enclosure questions concerning the Council's aqtii0n, please feel free to contact me at your convenience. Sincerely, Dave Pokornev cc: Jim Leone, President of CCHA