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2016-05 CSCRICHFIELD COMMUNITY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES UNTIL APPROVED BY THE CSC.REGULAR COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, May 17, 2016 Richfield Municipal Center (6700 Portland Ave) PRESENT CSC: Reed Bornholdt, Art Felgate, , Michele Thompson, Lisa Rudolph, Emma Nollenberger, Carolyn Engeldinger, Joannette Cintron de Nunez STAFF: Jim Topitzhofer, John Evans < </wCOUNCIL: Edwina Garcia </w: <PLAN COM: Rick Jabs <SCHOOL BOARD: Crystal Brakke ABSENT Call to Order Chair Bornholdt called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Approval of Minutes/Agenda Engeldinger moved, seconded by Felgate, to approve the minutes of the regular April meeting. Approved, ayes all. < Thompson moved, seconded by Rudolph, to approve the agenda of the regular May meeting. Approved, ayes all. < Other Items Resident Jerry Haaven said that she is advocating for a city-wide curbside garbage pickup, similar to what the Cities of Bloomington and Minneapolis, offer. She said that she started an online petition, which currently has almost 600 signatures. She suggested that residents be given the option to pay for the service, if they choose. Chair Bornholdt gave some background, talking about how the City of Richfield has been directed by Council to study the possibility of organized garbage hauling. He said that Richfield has been waiting for the ruling of a lawsuit against the City of Bloomington to determine future direction. Topitzhofer said that one of the lawsuits was dismissed, but the judge has given the City of Bloomington the direction to go ahead with planning for organized hauling. He said that the petition for a city-wide cleanup will be brought to the Council, along with a report on the status of the City of Bloomington’s efforts, and will assess the Council’s thoughts about including a city-wide cleanup as part of an organized hauling contract. Haaven said that, while Bloomington residents pay about $33/year, they understand that the amount may be significantly different for a smaller city. Engeldinger asked if Haaven’s group has inquired about the number of residents required to opt in to such a service to make it viable. Haaven said that they may have to make that determination further down the road. Councilmember Garcia said that the Council has studied this option in conjunction with the organized hauling efforts and have depended on the studies done by the League of Women Voters on the subject.< A resident asked how if organized hauling was a sure thing and, if not, how possible will a curbside cleanup be on its own. Garcia says that it may or may not be viable as an effort on its own, but the current plan is to bundle it with an organized hauling effort. <Maureen Scaglia, Richfield League of Women Voters, said that the garbage haulers have said that they would not be interested in launching a curbside cleanup in an area unless it was part of an organized hauling program. A resident asked about the possibility of a garbage dropoff site to prevent items from sitting by the curb forever. Staff Reports Recreation Services Topitzhofer reported on the following: City-Wide Garage Sale: Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21, 100 sales Farmers Market: Begins Saturday, May 21 Friends of Wood Lake Dinner: 175 attendees.< Honoring All Veterans Memorial-Memorial Day Ceremony: Monday, May 30, 2:00 pm< 77th Street Underpass and Roosevelt Park: The Council has plans for Richfield Parkway to extend south through the east end of Washington Park to connect with the road under Cedar Avenue. A hill at the west end of that park will be removed and the parking lot will be extended to accommodate soccer players at the park, as well as acquire additional land to build a second soccer field.< Discussion Items Organized Garbage Collection Topitzhofer reported that again that a judge ruled on a lawsuit against the City of Bloomington and advised that the City could move forward with organized garbage collection. He said that there is a 60-day period after the ruling before the efforts will proceed. Roosevelt Park Sound Wall Topitzhofer reported that Public Works Operations has been discussing the possibility of removing portions of the sound wall along 77th Street near Roosevelt Park, to improve visibility into the park to aid police in patrolling the park, as well as visibility for cars pulling out of the park. Felgate said that the wall must have been constructed for a reason and suggested consulting with the original project engineers to determine the need for them. Jabs also suggested that the noise level and traffic activity be determined for the residents north of the park to ensure that removing the wall doesn’t cause disruption to the residential neighborhoods. Nollenberger asked how much of the wall would be removed; Topitzhofer said that it hadn’t been specifically discussed, but possibly as little as ten feet. Thompson suggested trimming some of the trees near the entrance. Rudolph said that the park is difficult to see, so better signage may warn oncoming motorists of the possibility of cars leaving the park. Boating Ordinance for Taft Lake Topitzhofer said that allowing boats on the lake will involve more than just an ordinance amendment. He said that the Minnesota DNR requires a thorough application process first and some determinations would need to be made regarding the size and type of water craft allowed (he suggests canoes, paddleboards, kayaks, and remote-control boats), motors (he recommends electric motors only), direction of travel (no directional controls), speed limits (slow/no-wake), time of use (sunrise to sunset), area of use (just Taft Lake) and other prohibited conduct (swimming/diving). He asked how the group felt about allowing remote control devices; Rudolph said that the size of the lake would probably only allow for canoes and kayaks and not remote-control boats. Rudolph suggested that boating will likely lead to swimming activity in the lake. Bornholdt asked if the City Attorney has discussed the City’s liability with such activity; Topitzhofer said that our insurance would be similar to cities that do have bodies of water on which boats are allowed that aren’t attended by a lifeguard. Brakke said that paddleboards may be a popular recreational craft. Thompson asked about life jacket laws. Topitzhofer said that boats up to a certain size only require a throwable floatation device; users under 10 require wearable floatation devices. Rudolph asked who would enforce it; Topitzhofer said that the DNR or our own Police Department could enforce it. Topitzhofer said that the projects going on at Taft Lake are efforts to allow better access for fishing; he said that Three Rivers Park District has also offered kayak and canoe lessons, sponsored by LL Bean. Topitzhofer suggests allowing electric motors only, but said that all motors could be prohibited. The group agreed on allowing electric trolling motors. Topitzhofer suggested no mandated direction of travel on a small body of water. He suggested a speed limit of slow/no-wake (5 mph); the group agreed. He suggested a sunrise to sunset usage time, which agrees with our park curfew. Jabs and Felgate said that at Centennial Lakes, the remote-control boats don’t seem to conflict with other usage and could draw hobbyists. Bornholdt suggested certain times for remote-control boat events. Design for Park Monument Signs Topitzhofer reported that our current park signs are old and in satisfactory condition, but have the old logo on them. He said that he has two park signs to replace and, rather than order the old style, he is proposing a different design for the park signs. He showed a sample idea for the group to consider that has a background image that could be unique to each park with some distinguishing feature from that park; the metal would have a graffiti-resistant finish. He said that this design, which would be ten feet wide, would cost $700 per sign. He said that each neighborhood could even weigh in on ideas for what would be on their sign. Rudolph said that a nature scene might make the sign blend in and hard to see. Felgate asked if different neighborhoods have names or identities; Topitzhofer said that these signs could contribute to that identity. Thompson liked that each park’s sign has its own individual look. Rudolph thought maybe a collage of pictures on the sign might be better. Topitzhofer said that the sign designs would, ultimately, be approved by the Community Services Commission. Rudolph suggested online polling; Cintron de Nunez suggested showing options and gathering feedback at Penn Fest. <Topitzhofer said that there are park signs that are more elaborate, like stonework, etc. He asked if the group liked simple or more grandiose; Thompson said that anything too elaborate might be overkill at some of the smaller parks. Committee Reports Transportation Commission: Felgate provided the report. Friends of Wood Lake: Engeldinger provided the report. Arts Commission: Rudolph provided the report.Friendship City Commission: Topitzhofer provided the report. Other Jabs reported that the Friends of the Band Shell group is launching a fundraising effort with collection boxes at the Richfield Liquor Stores. Next Meeting/Adjournment Regular June Meeting Tuesday, June 21, 7:00 pm, Richfield Municipal Center (6700 Portland Ave) Adjournment Thompson moved, seconded by Engeldinger, to adjourn. Meeting adjourned by consensus at 8:19 pm. May 17, 2016