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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 01-17 PRM MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION JANUARY 17, 2017 COMMUNITY ROOM #221, COMMUNITY CENTER CALL TO ORDER Chair Sorenson called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. ROLL CALL Chair Sorenson and Commissioners Bonovsky, Dalton, Ebert, Shinnick, Thorbus and Witalka were present. Also present was City Council Liaison April Graves and Community Activities, Recreation & Services Director Jim Glasoe. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Sorenson asked if there were any additions or changes to the proposed agenda. Commissioner Thorbus indicated she would like to have an item added, updating the Commission on the planned 2017 Entertainment in the Parks schedule of events. Commissioner Dalton also asked that an item related to Willow Lane Park skating rink be added. Chair Sorenson asked that the items be placed under New Business. By consensus, the agenda was approved as amended. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – November 15, 2016 There was a motion by Commissioner Witalka, seconded by Commissioner Dalton to approve the minutes of the November 15, 2016 meeting of the Park & Recreation Commission as presented. The motion passed unanimously. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Councilmember Graves reported that Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson and newly elected Councilmember Marquita Butler were sworn in at the last City Council meeting. Councilmember Graves also reported the City Council had approved their legislative agenda for 2017 and noted that the City Council would be receiving an update from Vitalink, the City’s Branding and Identity consulting firm, at the next meeting. Councilmember Graves noted she had some questions for Vitalink regarding the makeup of the respondent group. Commissioner Witalka asked about the status of Home Furniture and the former Kohls site. Councilmember Graves responded that she believed there was still interest on the part of Home Furniture but no formal items had been brought to the City Council for consideration at this point. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Chair Sorenson opened nominations for Commission Chair. Commissioner Shinnick nominated Commissioner Sorenson. Commissioner Witalka seconded the nomination. The motion was unanimously passed. Chair Sorenson named Tom Shinnick as Vice-Chair. 2017 MEETING SCHEDULE Chair Sorenson presented the draft Commission meeting schedule for 2017. After some discussion, the meeting schedule was approved by consensus. 2017 AGENDA ITEMS Chair Sorenson requested Commissioners continue to identify and forward agenda items they would like discussed in 2017 to him and/or CARS Director Glasoe for inclusion in an upcoming agenda. EVERGREEN PARK-BASEBALL PARKING CARS Director Glasoe reported that this year’s neighborhood street reconstruction project would be in the Evergreen Park neighborhood and noted that, accordingly, no baseball games would be able to be scheduled at the park. Mr. Glasoe added the games would be scheduled at alternative fields. CARS Director Glasoe also noted the Public Works Department, in preparation for the street improvement project, was looking for input regarding parking near the baseball field. Mr. Glasoe reported that Public Works staff had received one resident comment on a pre-construction questionnaire stating, “There is not enough parking for ball games at the NE corner of Evergreen Park”, and that this had been brought up by two additional residents at the project informational meeting. CARS Director Glasoe reviewed a list of parking suggestions that could potentially be implemented around Evergreen Park including; 1.Expand the parking lot slightly. This could potentially add an additional five parking stalls by shifting the entrance to the west. nd 2.Allow parking on the west side of Camden Avenue south of 72 Avenue in front of the ball field. This area could potentially accommodate about 14 vehicles. Engineering staff nd recommends maintaining the current “No Parking” on 72 Avenue and the remainder of Camden Avenue due to the single-family houses. 3.Maintain parking and signage as is with no changes. Mr. Glasoe noted there has historically been ample parking in the Evergreen Park parking lot but it was not adjacent to the baseball field. After some discussion, Commission consensus was that adding three to five parking spots to the current parking lot area was not cost effective. After further discussion, the Commission identified questions around the history of the “no nd parking” designations on the south side of 72 Avenue and the West Side of Camden. CARS Director Glasoe indicated he was not aware of the history but could ask Public Works staff to attend a future meeting. After some additional discussion regarding game scheduling, there was a motion by Commissioner Witalka, seconded by Commissioner Ebert to request that the Brooklyn Area Babe Ruth Association not schedule back-to-back games on the field, or that they schedule ample time in between games. It was hoped that by implementing these scheduling improvements, the current baseball parking should be adequate. The motion passed unanimously. 2017 ENTERTAINMENT IN THE PARKS UPDATE Commissioner Thorbus provided an update on the proposed schedule of musical acts for the 2017 Entertainment in the parks events. Commissioner Thorbus noted the Entertainment Committee made the decision to reschedule concerts instead of going inside during inclement weather, expand the use of social media to promote the concerts and potentially invite food trucks that would complement the musical acts. WILLOW LANE PARK SKATING RINK Commissioner Dalton handed out “thread’ from the Friends of Brooklyn Center Facebook page regarding the lack of skaters at the Willow Lane Park skating rink. After significant discussion, there was a motion made by Commissioner Dalton, seconded by Commissioner Ebert to have the skating rinks lights turned off at 9:00 p.m. for all rinks without warming houses. The motion passed unanimously. LITTLE LEAGUE MASTER PLAN-GRANT UPDATES CARS Director Glasoe reported the city had received notification from the Hennepin Youth Sports Fund and the Minnesota Twins Community Fund that they had approved grant fund requests of $100,000 and $50,000 respectively. Mr. Glasoe noted staff had recently met with representatives of the Brooklyn Center Little League to try to identify a phasing plan and next steps for using the funds. NORTHPORT PARK PICNIC SHELTER CARS Director Glasoe shared pictures of the new picnic shelter at Northport Park, noting the stone pillar accents and the center serving station. Mr. Glasoe noted the shelter was essentially complete but some landscape restoration work would be completed next spring. CENTENNIAL PARK PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENT CARS Director Glasoe reported that the proposed playground replacement in Centennial Park had been purchased and is being stored in the vendor’s warehouse. Mr. Glasoe noted the plan was for the equipment to be installed in May 2017. Chair Sorenson noted he would still like to see some playground equipment for older children. CARS Director Glasoe indicated the Commission would have ample opportunity to provide input for playground replacements that would begin in 2018. SET NEXT MEETING DATE By consensus, the next meeting of the Park and Recreation Commission was set for February, 21 2017 at 7:00 p.m. MEETING ADJOURNED A motion was made by Commissioner Shinnick, seconded by Commissioner Bonovsky to adjourn the meeting at 8:16 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.