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2007-05 CSCRICHFIELD COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Wood Lake Nature Center PRESENT CSC Members Gordon Vizecky, Michael Christian, Gary Ness, Catherine Peloquin, Gerald Charnitz, Jim Lunderby, Joe Springer, Sarah Till, Barb Kritzman, Rodney Schmidt Staff Jim Topitzhofer, John Evans, Mike Eastling, Kristin Asher Others Jim Bradley (Richfield Schools) ABSENT CSC Members Rodney Schmidt Planning Com Liaison Rick Jabs Council Liaison Fred Wroge Call to Order Vizecky called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. Approval of Minutes Kritzman moved, seconded by Ness, to approve the minutes of the regular April meeting. Approved, ayes all. Other Items Evans added to the agenda the tennis court discussion with the Richfield Public Schools. Staff Reports Recreation Services Topitzhofer reported on the following: YMCA/Tri-City Skate Park: Attendance numbers were provided and attendance is fair. Richfield may consider a tier-one facility within Richfield’s borders. Parks Master Plan: Work on the Comprehensive Guide Plan has progressed. Peloquin reported on a comp guide planning meeting. A meeting will be held at Centennial; notices will be sent out. Fire at Vets Park: No injuries or damage. Plastic posts were charred, but it looks natural and will not need replacing. Other Items Tennis Courts-Richfield Public Schools Business Manager Bradley described how winter took its toll on the school-owned tennis courts on 70th Street. He said that there were repair options, but they didn’t think they’d be well-timed or effective (a new layer of asphalt has been done once and can’t be done again). He said that 2008 would be the soonest they could expect to repair them, so they wanted to consider renovation options. He said that they’d like to have one extra court for competition that could be built either south of the existing courts into school-owned green space or east into the adjacent City park land east of the courts (Augsburg Park). Charnitz asked if the City would own the one court; Topitzhofer said that the City and the Schools would get together with attorneys and discuss joint powers and construction, but the Schools would be responsible for the space and the maintenance. Kritzman and Vizecky asked about covenants on the land. Topitzhofer said that a covenant would require us to invite Augsburg College, the land donor, to use the facility. Topitzhofer said that the City would be investing attorney fees; he said that court usage has been declining and we may even switch some of our existing courts to other usage. He said that we do have sufficient courts per capita and doesn’t really need another one; he said that many of our courts, including our courts at the south end of Augsburg Park, have been resurfaced. Bradley said that most districts use seven to nine courts for tournaments. Christian said that he would rather see the court built to the south; he said that park land continues to be chipped away and the south would be a better option. Schmidt said that, since tennis participation has been on the decline, it wouldn’t behoove the City to spend money on it. Ness said that the south option would probably be the best option, especially considering the loss of trees and land in a community park. Kritzman and Christian said that the group would have to see the site in order to make a recommendation. Bradley said that the Schools would probably drop the east option if there was not a strong recommendation from the CSC. He said that he could report a general group consensus to the School Board. Bradley said that the south option would not encroach onto park land at all. Lunderby and Till support the south option because the School land is available; Kritzman and Vizecky support the east option because it would be a total savings. Discussion Items Richfield Lake Stormwater Improvement Plan City Engineer Asher followed up the stormwater ponding open house. She said that most of the comments were in support of the stormwater ponding plan. Charnitz said that he received three comments in support of keeping some shade over the trail. He said that opinions on widening the trail for bikes were mixed. Topitzhofer said that he talked with somebody about the shade and showed him that many new trees were slated to be planted along the paths. Asher said that she’d carry on with any additional comments from the CSC. Ness asked if there should be another public forum on the subject. Vizecky suggested that the CSC just add the item to their next agenda. Asher suggested formalizing the decision with a public hearing at the meeting. She said that 90% of the plans have been submitted to MnDOT, so plans need to be submitted in June or July…a decision from the CSC needs to be made in June. Ness moved to add the item to the June agenda and consider the decision as a public hearing with a 30-minute public-input period, seconded by Kritzman. Approved, ayes all. Park Reports Taft Park Schmidt provided the report. Committee Reports Transportation Commission Kritzman provided the report. City Hall TF Ness provided the report. FOWL Kritzman reported that the FOWL Dinner was Friday, April 20. Honoring All Veterans Memorial Topitzhofer and Schmidt mentioned the Memorial Day event: Monday, May 28, 11 am – 4 pm. Peloquin approached the group for donations for a silent auction basket for the Memorial Day event. Planning Commission No report. Celebrations Commission Topitzhofer provided the report. Community Human Services Planning Council Till provided the report. Next Meeting Tuesday, June 19, 7:00 pm, Richfield Community Center Adjournment Ness moved, seconded by Peloquin, to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm. May 15, 2007 DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE CSC.