10-18-16CCOOMMMMUUNNIITTYY SSEERRVVIICCEESS CCOOMMMMIISSSSIIOONN AAGGEENNDDAA
Regular CSC Meeting
Tuesday, October 18, 2016, 7:00 pm
Richfield Municipal Center (Heredia Room), 6700 Portland Ave
Commission Members Staff/Others Liaisons
Reed Bornholdt (Chair), Anne Basso, Danielle Indovino Cawley,
Joannette Cintron de Nunez, Carolyn Engeldinger, Art Felgate,
Emma Nollenberger, Lisa Rudolph, Dan Smieja,
Michele Thompson (Vice Chair)
Jim Topitzhofer (Staff Liaison)
John Evans (Secretary)
Chris Link (Public Works)
Rick Jabs (Planning Com)
Edwina Garcia (City Council)
Crystal Brakke (School Board)
1. Approval of Minutes/Agenda
Regular Meeting Minutes: September 20, 2016
2. Public Comment
Resident comment and items not printed on agenda
3. Staff Reports
Recreation Services (Topitzhofer)
4. Action Items
Geocaching Policy (Topitzhofer)
5. Discussion Items
Public Works Project Update (Link)
Alternative Planting Areas in Parks (Link)
6. Committee Reports
Transportation Commission (Felgate)
FOWL Board (Engeldinger)
Planning Commission (Cintron de Nunez)
Arts Commission (Rudolph)
Friendship City Commission (Topitzhofer)
7. Next Meeting
Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 7:00 pm
Richfield Municipal Center (Heredia Room), 6700 Portland Avenue
8. Adjournment
September 20, 2016
REGULAR COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING
Tuesday, September 20, 2016, Richfield Municipal Center (6700 Portland Ave)
PRESENT CSC: Reed Bornholdt, Art Felgate, Michele Thompson, Emma Nollenberger, Anne Basso, Dan Smieja, Lisa Rudolph, Joannette Cintron de
Nunez STAFF: Jim Topitzhofer, John Evans, Chris Link PLAN COM: Rick Jabs SCHOOL BOARD: Crystal Brakke
ABSENT CSC: Carolyn Engeldinger, Danielle Indovino Cawley COUNCIL: Edwina Garcia
Call to Order/Introductions
Chair Bornholdt called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Anne Basso and Dan Smieja shared introductions with the CSC.
Approval of Minutes/Agenda
Thompson moved, seconded by Felgate, to approve the minutes of the regular August meeting. Approved, ayes all. Bornholdt proposed an
addition to the agenda: consideration of a Friends of Wood Lake appointment. Thompson moved, seconded by Basso, to approve this
evening’s agenda. Approved, ayes all.
Staff Reports
Recreation Services Topitzhofer reported on the following:
Band Shell Sound Testing-Vets Park: Based on a recommendation from the Planning Commission, a sound study was conducted at Vets
Park, simulating the volume and music of a concert at the proposed band shell site. The sound engineers measured decibel levels at 12
different sites around the park. Rudolph said that she was surprised how the sound carried at various points around the park, although she
said that it may have been turned up louder a concert would be. She heard from some residents to the east and south of the park, saying that
they could hear it very clearly. Topitzhofer said that the consultant will be offering recommendations on how to control the sound and good
levels to maintain. Smieja said that he was in the neighborhood at the time and couldn’t hear it at the store on 66th Street, although he said
that some events can be heard two blocks away (not during last night’s test, however). Felgate asked if the sound-test data can be compared
to any industry-standard data from other similar locations. He said that one particular threshold they will be observing is the noise ordinance.
Action Items
Friends of Wood Lake Board Appointment Thompson moved, seconded by Rudolph, to appoint Dylan Klopp to a three-year term on the
Friends of Wood Lake Board. Approved, ayes all.
Discussion Items
Park Monument Signs Topitzhofer presented some designs for new park entrance signs to replace the current ones, which are aged and
looking fatigued. Operations Coordinator Link described the plastic composite material and thickness, saying that the signs are designed to be
low-maintenance; no repainting and cleaning with a pressure washer. Topitzhofer said that they are roughly 2’ by just under 8’ and would be
phased in over four or five years at a cost of roughly $1,000 per sign. He said that they considered renovating the ones we currently have, but
Link said that trying to clean up the existing ones may not end up looking very good. Topitzhofer said that there are just over 40 signs over the
22 parks. He said that they would start with parks that no longer have a sign, then replace ones in particular disrepair, and move on to ones
where other work is being done, like playfeature replacement. He said that they were favoring the one with a curved shape at the top and the
City logo; he said that staff would work with the City’s graphic design contractor to finalize the design. Thompson said that she did not prefer
the green sign; Felgate said that the brown and white has greater contrast; he suggested not using the gold color and maybe not the original
colors, but going with an all white version of the logo for greater contrast. Link said that other cities that have used this style of sign and they
look very clean and visible. Thompson suggested removing the “Urban Hometown” lettering from the logo since it’s almost too small to be
legible. Smieja suggested doing a sign that is consistent with the new City border signs, which have the red logo. Brakke liked the idea of a
red “Richfield” without the white background. Rudolph agreed that greater contrast is better; she said the tan on green isn’t as visible.
Topitzhofer said that they will bring other designs to the group, but wanted their reaction to the general shape and materials. The group
agreed that these signs have a nice, simple style to them, the logo should be the original color or possibly all white, and the materials sound
good.
Geocaching Policy Topitzhofer said that he received an inquiry from a person, asking for the City’s policy on placing geocaches. He said
that it may be losing popularity, especially with games like Pokemon Go. He said that staff assembled policies from other cities and counties,
most of which were fairly simple. He said that most agencies asked people to register a cache with their department before placing it, requiring
that the cache not require geocachers to violate any park ordinances. Rudolph said that most geocachers she knows have common sense
and respect for the natural resources. Thompson asked if there is ever a time limit on how long a cache can be there; Basso said that there
usually isn’t. Felgate suggested that the cache not be in a location that wouldn’t be safe. Jabs suggested that we ask that the placement and
hunting not involve any property destruction.
Committee Reports
Transportation Commission: Felgate reported. Arts Commission: Thompson reported.
Planning Commission: Cintron de Nunez reported. Friendship City Commission: Topitzhofer reported.
Next Meeting/Adjournment
Regular October Meeting Tuesday, October 18, 7:00 pm, Richfield Municipal Center (6700 Portland Ave)
Adjournment Thompson moved, seconded by Felgate, to adjourn. Meeting adjourned by consensus at 7:59 pm.
DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE CSC.
RICHFIELD COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Meeting Date: October 18, 2016
Agenda Item
Public Works Update
Agenda Section
Discussion Items
Attachments
None
Contact
Jim Topitzhofer
Recommended Action
None (discussion only)
Chris Link, Operations Superintendent, will discuss the following projects:
Portland Ave
Northwest Richfield Bicycle Route
69th Street Pedestrian Improvements
The discussion will include the new design elements and how Public Works will maintain these items.
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Agenda Item
Alternative Planting Areas in Parks
Agenda Section
Discussion Items
Attachments
None
Contact
Jim Topitzhofer
Recommended Action
None (discussion only)
Park Maintenance Staff would like to revisit introducing alternative planting areas into Richfield’s Parks. This
process was first introduced to the Commission last year. The process would include an Open House with
residents that live around each neighborhood park that would occur prior to a Community Service Commission
meeting. Chris Link, Operations Superintendent, will make a short presentation highlighting what alternative
planting areas could look like.
RICHFIELD COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Meeting Date: October 18, 2016
Agenda Item
Geocaching Policy
Agenda Section
Action Items
Attachments
None
Contact
Jim Topitzhofer
Recommended Action
Approve the proposed Geocaching Policy for Public Parks
The Recreation Services Department recently received a request for permission to place a geocache in one of
the City parks. This was the first official request involving geocaching the City has received and no policy has
been established on the matter. The Commission discussed the matter at the last meeting and gave guidance
to staff in preparing a draft policy. Staff recommends the following policy:
CITY OF RICHFIELD GEOCACHING POLICY FOR PUBLIC PARKS – DRAFT
The City Richfield welcomes responsible geocaching in all City public parks and has developed the following
policy regarding the activity:
1. For consideration of placing a geocache in any Richfield public park, a geocache hider must notify
Wood Lake Nature Center (612-861-9342) with the geocache name, coordinates, URL of geocache
listing, and valid contact information when a geocache is hidden.
2. Persons hiding, finding, and trading items in a geocache are subject to all applicable federal, state, and
local laws including park hours.
3. Caches must be placed at locations where they do not negatively impact natural areas, visitor safety,
and/or other park uses and users.
4. Caches may not be buried, nor may vegetation, rocks, or other natural features be moved, marked or
damaged in the process of placing, accessing, or maintaining the cache.
5. Caches placed in natural and/or unmaintained areas within parks must be located within reach of a
park trail or maintained area.
6. The City of Richfield reserves the right to disallow geocaching in any area of any park.
Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS)
receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or
"caches", at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world (a typical cache is a small waterproof
container containing a logbook with a pen or pencil). The geocacher enters the date they found it and signs it
with their established code name. After signing the log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the
person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers (Tupperware or similar) or ammunition
can also contain items for trading, such as toys or trinkets, usually of more sentimental worth than financial.