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2008-11 CSCRICHFIELD COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Richfield Community Center (7000 Nicollet Ave) PRESENT CSC Members Gerry Charnitz, Gordon Vizecky, Greg Mangold, Jim Lunderby, Sarah Till, Gary Ness, Joe Springer, Joe Hoover, Mike Christian, Rodney Schmidt Staff Jim Topitzhofer, John Evans Planning Commission Rick Jabs ABSENT CSC Members Council Liaison Fred Wroge Call to Order Vizecky called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Approval of Minutes Ness moved, seconded by Christian, to approve the minutes of the regular October meeting. Approved, ayes all. Other Items Ness said that a resident attending a Transportation Commission meeting relayed complaints from the neighborhood north of Richfield Junior High, saying that cars were parking on the sidestreets during big events while the parking lot remains empty. Ness mentioned to him that people would be likely to park on the other side of the park for City functions at Donaldson, so anyone parked north of the school must be there for school activities (closer to the building). Wroge said that parking on streets is legal, but driveways were being blocked. Wroge said that any parking issues related to parking violations should be a law enforcement issue. Hoover asked if the police are responding; Ness and Wroge said that, in some cases, the police weren’t being called and, in other cases, the police aren’t responding. Topitzhofer said that staff has talked with the resident and has told him that letters do go out to associations, reminding them to park legally. Jabs asked if a letter could go to the neighborhood, alerting them to illegal parking situations and what they can do about it (call police). Charnitz asked if a certain league or association could suffer consequences if they are repeat offenders; Topitzhofer said that it’s a variety of offenders (visiting teams, school functions, some City functions). Discussion Items Skate Board Facility Location Evaluation Topitzhofer said that last month’s CSC meeting was preceded by a neighborhood meeting about the facility idea. He said that resident Roger Schmidt had been driving the idea and attended both meetings. He said that a few people opposed the location choice (Augsburg); some CSC members decided that they wanted to review the site evaluation process. He said that there is some subjective scoring, so he’s opening the process to interpretation. He said that Wroge had talked with the Augsburg Library and they may have been more apprehensive about the plan than Topitzhofer and Schmidt had originally assessed after talking with him. Wroge said that the Acting Library Director expressed apprehension about the skaters using their facilities, but they don’t want to dictate how the City uses park property. Hoover said that it didn’t sound like the library was opposed to the idea and some proactivity might prevent issues. Lunderby said that one important selection criteria was left out: how heavily used the hard court surface is used. Topitzhofer said that he intended to evaluate that with the wording about lesser than average use for hard-court locations. Ness asked about the scores for the Donaldson site and asked if there might be better uses for such space; Topitzhofer said that it scored highly because of the close proximity to the junior high. Christian asked about Heredia; Topitzhofer said that there isn’t the residential buffer. Mangold asked how much bearing the park type should have in the decision; Topitzhofer said that, because of the criteria used, community parks scored high. Jabs said that he was surprised that Vets didn’t score higher, but the absence of a hard court might have brought down the score. He said that the central location will be very important. He said that Augsburg may be the best site, but assurance may need to be given to the library. Wroge said that he visited two of the smaller skate parks in Minneapolis; neighbors said that the users are noisy, but they like them better than previous users when it was a basketball court. He said that, at another skate facility, the kids were noisy and swearing. He said that he thinks the facility is needed, but location will be very important and it shouldn’t be built at the expense of an existing basketball court. He said that the park may be used all winter long, when parents and little kids are sledding nearby (with bad language from the users). He doubts the estimated number of users and is not sure about spending money on something being driven by one resident who lives nearby. Wroge wonders what the demand is and said that you don’t see a lot of skateboarders out and about. Ness said that there are a lot of skateboarders using different areas to skateboard. Wroge asked if 800-1200 Richfield users will really come to use it, as Schmidt said. Hoover said that, even though users may be less in a certain sport, should the facility be removed in all cases. Jabs said that facilities shouldn’t necessarily be removed, but some resources need to be repurposed to offer new uses. Wroge said that Augsburg shouldn’t be selected just for its central location. Jabs said that the proximity to a bus line should not be a factor because they won’t take the bus, so central location would offer the shortest average distance from any resident. Jabs said that, being a court that is underused, the facility could be reworked to meet a real need. He said that Roger Schmidt may be able to have a presence and a positive influence there. Jabs said that so many kids skate and, if this is built, the users will come. Vizecky asked how well-attended the community meeting was compared to other meetings. Topitzhofer said that 50 people attended, versus 25 at the average neighborhood park play equipment meeting. He said that flyers at the schools attracted 25 kids to the meeting. He said that, of the 25 adults, 5 spoke in opposition. Vizecky pointed out that the 1:1 ratio of kids to adults is impressive and it’s hard to get kids to attend meetings, so that meeting should be read as an assessment of the strong interest. Wroge said that this isn’t an accurate measure because kids can be told to come to any meeting to prove a point. Topitzhofer said that the question on which to focus is the location, since nobody in attendance is opposed to the construction of such a facility. Wroge suggested Vets, near the Arena. He said that the bathrooms at the Arena would be available, as well as other recreation facilities. He said that the central location is probably not as essential as it’s made out to be. Topitzhofer said that about five additional people have called since the last meeting, expressing their opposition to using Augsburg as the location because of tranquility of the park. Christian said that, realistically, Donaldson, Vets and Augsburg are probably the only three choices. He said that Christian is more out of the way than the others, and Augsburg does seem to be a park with less active use. Charnitz said that, at this rate, would all active recreational facilities will end up at one of three parks? He said that the active-use facilities should be spread around a bit. Hoover asked if other neighbors and Council members will end up being opposed if Donaldson is suggested as a location. Wroge said that he’s not opposed of this location because he lives near it; he said that it would be unfair to the library to put more demand on their facilities. Hoover asked about basketball uses at Augsburg, which is an active sport and would have put demand on the library’s facilities. Wroge said that he has observed worse behavior at skateboard facilities (bad language) and the users don’t stay all day and don’t heavily use the library bathrooms. Lunderby said that, if the Arena’s parking lot is being redone, could that area be a good candidate at the same time? Jabs said that the cost would have to be assessed. He said that the Augsburg location has great visibility from the street. Hoover said that Vets is also perceived as a natural area, which could see encroachment with a new facility. Schmidt said that you might get more opposition at Vets, for all of the same reasons (the tranquil nature of parts of Vets Park). Christian asked what location would be used at Donaldson. Lunderby said that the hockey rink could be used in the off-season if the equipment was portable. He said that cricket players sometimes use the hockey boards, but not too heavily. Topitzhofer said that he can look into the portability of some tier-one equipment and further investigate other feasible locations before the next meeting. Park Ordinance Review Topitzhofer said that, as written, the park-related ordinances do not have a great deal of substance. He said that White has suggested a trespassing clause that would enable us to make a person leave the park if they are repeat lawbreakers at the park. Hoover and Vizecky wondered if that would be legal. Topitzhofer asked the group to provide any thoughts about items that could be added to the park ordinances. Hoover said that many issues may be solved by enforcing existing laws. Vizecky asked if the City would ever offer a permit to have alcohol in the parks. Christian said that there is one provision for community groups to have alcohol at events. Jabs said that Richfield’s parks are very special to the community and feels that there’s a pristine nature that might be ruined if alcohol is permitted. Wroge asked if staff has heard of any issues that call for an ordinance revision. Hoover asked if there are any concerns with the farmers market that might require an ordinance of some kind. Topitzhofer said that staff could investigate non-motorized boats as a possibility for Mother Lake (or possibly paddle boats). He said that the 4th of July Committee asked about laws against panhandling or soliciting. Christian asked if a skate facility, or a similar facility, would make reference to a curfew that closes the facility at sundown. Wroge said that it might not be enforceable if the overall park curfew is later. Action Items Canceling December meeting Ness moved, seconded by Schmidt, to cancel the December meeting. Approved, ayes all. Committee Reports Transportation Commission: Ness provided the report. Honoring All Veterans Memorial: Schmidt and Topitzhofer provided the report. Lincoln Planning Team: Topitzhofer said that the architect contract will be considered at the 11/26 meeting. Public meeting will be held on December 17, most likely at Oak Grove Lutheran Church. Planning Commission: Springer provided the report. Celebrations Commission: Topitzhofer provided the report. An insert will run in the Sun; New Year’s Eve at Wood Lake is last event; a Council Member asked staff to investigate renaming 76th and 77th Street to Centennial Boulevard (with the possibility of asking Edina to do the same). Wroge said that the issue should go to the Transportation Commission; Ness (Trans Com member) agreed. CHSPC: Till provided the report. Arts Commission: Hoover provided the report. Adjournment Motion was made and seconded to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm. Next Meeting Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Richfield Community Center November 18, 2008 DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE CSC.