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2014-01 CSCJanuary 21, 2014 REGULAR COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Richfield Community Center (7000 Nicollet Ave) PRESENT CSC: Gerry Charnitz, Arlan Nelson, Reed Bornholdt, Terry Heinze, Dan Edgerton, Greg Mangold STAFF: Jim Topitzhofer, John Evans, Amy Markle PLAN COM: Tom Rublein COUNCIL: Edwina Garcia ABSENT CSC: Tracy Hollenback, Bob Shotwell, LuAnn Werner, Michele Thompson, Andrew Seffrood Call to Order/Approval of Minutes Charnitz called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. Bornholdt moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the minutes of the regular November meeting. Approved, ayes all. Staff Reports Recreation Services Topitzhofer reported on the following: Hennepin County Youth Sports Grant: Application was submitted for synthetic turf at Academy of Holy Angels south field. The grant was approved for $200,000. New Year’s Eve Events: About 270 people came to Wood Lake, which was good, considering the cold. FOWL has considered making the event into more of a fundraiser for FOWL. Also well-attended: Skating Party & Magicians Game @ Arena. Action Items Renaming 77th Street Topitzhofer said that the Council has directed staff and the CSC to study the issue of renaming 77th Street/76th Street. He said that a Councilmember first brought up the subject in 2008 during the Richfield Centennial, naming it Centennial Boulevard and continuing the name into Edina, similar to Bloomington’s renaming of American Boulevard. He said that Edina wasn’t interested in that at the time, but the idea has been revived. Councilmember Garcia said that it may provide a real shot in the arm at the east end of 77th Street for businesses, etc. Rublein said that the topic of naming things after individuals has come up before and has been controversial; the consensus at the time was to not name amenities after individuals. Nelson suggested Babcock Boulevard; Garcia said that others have suggested Bartholemew Boulevard. Edgerton asked if Edina was on board with the idea yet; he said that it may be strange if the new name stops at the Edina border. Charnitz asked about the cost of signage; Topitzhofer said that it’s somewhere in the $2,000 range and not a significant cost. Bornholdt said that residents and businesses on 76th/77th Street may have to change their materials. Rublein said that Bloomington and many other municipalities are able to accomplish it. Rublein said that some cities have tacked on an additional honorary name, but have kept the original name so things didn’t have to be changed. Veterans Blvd, Wood Lake Blvd, Lindberg Way were also suggested (Richfield-related and airport-related words). Topitzhofer said that he would check the covenants of the original 77th Street reconstruction. Friends of Wood Lake Board Appointment Bornholdt moved, seconded by Heinze, to approve Jody Rioux to the Friends of Wood Lake Board of Directors. Approved, ayes all. Cancellation of regular December CSC Meeting Nelson moved, seconded by Hollenback, to cancel the regular December CSC meeting. Approved, ayes all. Discussion Items Community Garden Relocation Nature Center Manager Shragg said that the gardens have grown in popularity and it has always been considered to move it back into Richfield. She said that more gardeners who want to do a heavier-duty form of gardening, she is suggesting that the funds previously allocated to moving the gardens could be used to invest in the gardens for more soaker hoses and storage. She said that they’ve also considered offering two different sized plots to accommodate the larger-scale gardening. Shragg said that theft has been a serious problem at the garden; she has talked with City I.T. about issuing photo IDs to the gardeners, which they must wear when they’re on site. She said that they may also somehow pay for an emergency-only cell phone that gardeners can have on hand to call if they see theft occurring. She also suggested some marketing to help educate the gardeners about certain pesticides that aren’t allowed at the gardens. Garcia asked how they have communicated with the Latino gardeners. Shragg said that they have a couple of volunteer translators who will attend a meeting in late February to talk about the proposed new equipment. Rublein asked what is planned for the old City garage site; Topitzhofer said that it might be a question for the HRA, but it may be hard to locate the gardens in some neighborhoods with close residential neighbors. Rublein asked about fencing; Shragg said that it makes maintenance difficult with the mower and the tiller. Rublein said that a photo ID could be a swipe card to get in the fence. Garcia asked if the gardeners are Richfield residents; Shragg said that they are. Shragg said that she wants to accommodate the different style of gardening and have a solution for those who have had things stolen or those who have seen non-approved pesticide use. Garcia said that she would be happy to attend the meeting. Shragg said that they have limited the number of plots per person to two, but they have worked around that and have done trench irrigation and used $3,000 worth of water. Event Permits for Use of Parks and Public Streets DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE CSC. January 21, 2014 Wood Lake Naturalist Markle, the director of the Urban Wildland Half Marathon & 5K, said that more and more running events are popping up everywhere, which is creating a greater demand on City streets and green spaces. She said that many municipalities have adopted policies for granting permits to these different races and events. She said that Richfield has been receiving quite a few calls lately because other neighboring communities have reached their quota of these types of events and/or have tightened up the parameters and raised the cost of their event permits. She said that these events are extremely taxing on municipal public safety personnel, street and park maintenance people, the convenience of the residents (street parking, road closures), however, she said that these events can be a great showcase for Richfield and a great way to boost business at Richfield hotels, restaurants, and businesses. She suggested that we allow one such event a month, no consecutive weekends, a participant capacity of 350, routes that have low impact on streets and green spaces, the right to deny any event applications, and other criteria that would ease the burden on city staff, residents, and infrastructure. She said that some communities have additional fees for park trail events, which helps to pay for trail repair, mowing, etc. She said that permits would be issued May through November only and a specific course could only be used once a year. She suggested that events near a structure like the Vets Park shelter would require the rental of the shelter, etc. She suggested increasing the cost of the permit from $100 to at least $150, which is in line with other municipalities. Edgerton suggested including some exception wording, like possible winter events that might coincide with a City event in the winter that would agree with our own policy. Markle said that we could exempt City events. Mangold asked if we need to be over-acommodating to the running-event community at the expense of our parks, streets, and staff time. He asked if we should be more restrictive to protect our infrastructure. Markle said that the parameters were prepared to really limit the number of such events that are held; she said that it would really only allow for about five events per year, which is roughly what we allow now. Rublein said that we may want to be particularly restrictive to for-profit events and ensure that charges are applied to compensate public safety personnel for their efforts. He said that the process may also involve notifying local businesses, hotels, and restaurants. Markle asked if the group liked the idea of a percentage charge that goes directly back to an investment in the green space of the city; the group approved by consensus. Committee Reports Transportation Commission: Edgerton talked about the Gateway Subcommittee, which has been working with MNDOT, discussing the sites and designs for border monuments near Richfield’s entrance corridors. He also provided the Transportation Commission report. Planning Commission: Rublein provided the report. Arts Commission: Thompson provided the report in absentia. Departing Members The group recognized Charnitz and Mangold for their service on the CSC (Werner and Seffrood were absent). Next Meeting/Adjournment Regular February Meeting Tuesday, February 18, 7:00 pm, Richfield Community Center (7000 Nicollet Ave). Mangold moved, seconded by Nelson, to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:37 pm.