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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/18/2007 CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE September 18, 2007 Minutes of the September 18, 2007 Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. PRESENT: Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Chair Russ DeFauw, Committee Members, Charlie Maus, Tina Rankin, and Chris Steadman; City Council Member John Bergman; City Administrator Tom Lawell; Parks and Recreation Director Randy Johnson; Park Maintenance Superintendent Tom Adamini; Recreation Superintendent Scott Breuer; Valleywood Golf Course Acting Manger Jim Zinck; Police Chief Scott Johnson, Police Captain Mike Marben; and Public Works Director Neal Heuer; Katie Mintz of the SunCurrent Newspaper; and thirteen members of the public. ABSENT: Committee Members Patrick Sullivan and Lee Strom ITEM #1. Committee Chair DeFauw called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m. ITEM #2. Approval of Agenda MOTION: by Charlie Maus, seconded by Tina Rankin to approve the agenda as presented. VOTE: Yes – 4, No – 0 ITEM #3. Approval of the May 15 and June 26, 2007 Meeting Minutes MOTION: by Charlie Maus, seconded by Russ DeFauw to approve the May 15, 2007 meeting minutes as presented. VOTE: Yes – 4, No – 0, MOTION: by Charlie Maus, seconded by Russ DeFauw to approve the June 26, 2007 meeting minutes as presented. VOTE: Yes – 4, No – 0, - 1 - CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE September 18, 2007 ITEM 4.A . Disc Golf Review Alimagnet disc golf course is a twelve-hole course. Various adjustments have been made to the course during its two and a half years existence. The park is 85 acres in size; six acres are mowed, and of that, three acres of wooded acres are designated as disc golf course. Parks and Recreation Director Johnson gave an overview of the data collected at the park by city employee attendants on site during the past summer season. A copy of the End of Season Report for 2007 was included in the agenda packet. The Police Department report shows no unusual activity at the park and the Public Works Department report shows traffic counts were typical for the street design. Copies of these reports were included in the agenda packet. Public Comments: McGregor Grier of Edgewood Lane – Proud to hear there are positive reports. Friends of Alimagnet don’t represent the majority of neighbors or residents. Concerns have been met. If there is a problem with the park, he suggested maybe a neighborhood watch program. Mr. Grier thanked everyone for their work. Jim Doering representing Friends of Alimagnet - The group membership comes from the Alimagnet area, both the Apple Valley and Burnsville sides of the lake. Mr. Doering read a letter submitted by David Chase. Copy on file. Bill Gossman of Friends of Alimagnet offered his observations. He appreciates the effort put into the reports; however, he debates the number of park visitors recorded. Based on four to six hour attendant shifts, with their having other park responsibilities to attend to on site, he believes the counts were based on two hours per day. There may have been six to eight additional hours of play per day. He questioned what is the acceptable user count, amount of damage, number of people problems. Is there a plan to manage the disc golf course? Mr. Gossman commended the staffing at the park this year. He believes it is the cleanest the park has been. Mr. Gossman is concerned with the number of users in the park after hours. He proposed shutting down the park, gated, after hours. Additional recommendations are: post signs on the tees stating “respect neighbors”  move the #4 tee away from residential area  re-locate #5 tee. People have been standing on Walnut Lane waiting their turn to  play. Parks and Recreation Director Johnson responded that staff is confident that the counts are pretty accurate. Administrative and maintenance staff conducted various visits through the park during the day. They saw relatively few cars in the park. Park attendants were on site during peak usage hours of 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. weekdays and 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. weekends. - 2 - CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE September 18, 2007 Jim Fury of the neighborhood, as a resident, thanked the Parks and Recreation Department for addressing many of the concerns. He stated, “It’s been difficult bringing a park back to life, but you’ve done it well, and very fair.” Terry Becker of Burnsville – Disc golf players cover multiple demographics. He plays at Alimagnet and is also in a league. It’s an economical and physical way to play. He’s been introduced to the trails and fishing at the park as a result of the disc golf course. He believes it is a well maintained course that is fun and challenging. He would support a course in Burnsville, but would still come back to Alimagnet to play. Empathizes with the park neighbors, but suggests they understand that they are sharing a park with others. He hopes the course remains in Alimagnet Park. Chair DeFauw responded that there is no limit to the variety of human behavior. It’s always a tough issue. Greg Gotts, resident of Shasta Court in Apple Valley, read his rendition of an incident he witnessed involving disc golfers and two people in Alimagnet Park. His belief is that the couple, as they walked through the fairway, was trying to provoke the disc golf players. He also believes that if the course were closed, it would be a disservice to the community. Josh Brennecke of Farmington thanked Apple Valley for the use of the park. He’s disappointed that Farmington re-appropriated their suggested disc golf course in his area. He and his twelve year old son play two or three times a week at Alimagnet. It’s an activity that they both can participate in. Deon Erbes of Apple Valley, questioned whether part of the Parks and Recreation Department’s mission is to attract people to the park. The park is clean. The Committee has done a great job trying to appease the public. Chair DeFauw responded that the park is open to everyone, just like other cities’ parks are open to residents and non-residents alike. We know that Apple Valley people use other neighboring city parks. The City spent over $28,000 extra in the past year, unprecedented in Chair DeFauw’s tenure, to protect the user’s rights (park neighbors and park visitors). There is a balance to be reached. Bill Gossman of Friends of Alimagnet appreciates the time and effort by the Committee. Special thank you to Park Maintenance Superintendent Tom Adamini. The Apple Valley Police Department also stepped up patrols in the park. Council Member John Bergman stated that City Council would like to see a list of members of Friends of Alimagnet. Committee Member Rankin stated that Apple Valley isn’t an island. It attracts people from outside the community. Alimagnet Park’s disc golf has been more successful than initially thought. That can shift; it’s greatly impacted by supply and demand. She suggested that - 3 - CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE September 18, 2007 people talk with their friends outside Apple Valley and encourage surrounding communities to build disc golf courses. Recognizing Ms. Johnson’s recommendation of placing a disc golf course at Valleywood Golf Course, Chair DeFauw asked if she had a recommended space for a disc golf course, noting there are lots of wood around the Valleywood entrance and maintenance building? What’s the assessment of the environmental impact? There are no existing trails, and we would have to bulldoze a lot of trees, virgin forest land. Ms. Johnson responded that it would eliminate so many of the problems. It could be specifically designated for disc golf. Valleywood is not a forest. She would like to protect Alimagnet as a forest. The park doesn’t bring in income. She would also like to see a disc th golf course at the 160 Street complex. Chair DeFauw responded that it’s inconsistent with the environmental assessment. It’s okay at Valleywood, but not at Alimagnet? Seeming degradation of the forest at Valleywood is okay, but not at Alimagnet. Ms. Johnson stated that Alimagnet is designated by the State as a “forest.” She’s confident that if a disc golf course were placed at Valleywood, environmentally, it would be looked at very closely. Chair DeFauw noted that disc golf anywhere close to play on the golf course is a non-starter. It’s too dangerous. Committee Member Maus stated he’s never seen so much money spent on one park issue. The City has 50+ parks. We need to move on. If the bond referendum is passed, we could building another course. Chair DeFauw read a note from Committee Member Strom suggesting the city retain disc golf in Alimagnet Park and the year-to-year provision approved in September 2006 be dropped. Committee Member Steadman noted that he uses Alimagnet Park for cross-country and has never experienced any problems. If you take away (the course), you take away a place for teens to hang out and have fun. MOTION: by Russ DeFauw, seconded by Charlie Maus to retain the Alimagnet Park disc golf course. This would not be subject to a year to year formal review. DISCUSSION: Interested parties can continue to attend Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meetings and have discussion. - 4 - CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE September 18, 2007 Parks and Recreation Department staff will continue to regularly assess the course and take any corrective action deemed necessary by city staff to minimize the environmental damage. Staff recommendation is that the course is a compatible use in the park, noting the traffic and speed standards for the neighborhood, and the decrease in serious crime incidents within the park. VOTE: Yes – 4, No – 0 ITEM #4.B. Park Bond Referendum – November 6, 2007 Three public open house meetings will be held in September and October. An informational brochure will be available later in the week. MOTION: by Chris Steadman, seconded by Tina Rankin to designate September 22, 2007, 10:30 a.m. at Redwood Community Center; October 2, 2007, 6:30 p.m. at Apple Valley Teen Center; and October 18, 2007, 6:30 p.m. at Apple Valley Community Center as special informal meetings of the Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. VOTE: Yes – 4, No – 0 ITEM #4.C. Valleywood Golf Course Update Chair DeFauw stated that he is excited about the new approaches that have been implemented. Director Johnson complimented Acting Manager Jim Zinck on his hard work this summer. Mr. Zinck noted that Valleywood has been focusing on existing customers. He and the staff have been energized. They’ve been running promotions using discount rates, but not discounting golf. It’s something they feel they can do long term. A massive email list has been created to tap into the current customer base to do the promotion job without spending on advertising. Maintenance has done a fantastic job at the course. There is no substitute for a course in good shape. Valleywood is fortunate to have very good staff. Liquor sales have been upgraded and Valleywood has seen a 30% increase in beer sales. One of the issues was staff training on the liquor sales policy and process. Staff has a number of plans heading into 2008. Valleywood will be building on something that will continue to grow. One area will be promotion of more group outings. Employee costs have been lowered the last three years. - 5 - CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE September 18, 2007 Chair DeFauw stated that the Committee has clearly not forgotten about replacing the clubhouse. It’s been the philosophy, that as an enterprise fund Valleywood is forced to run like a business, but then it’s hit with the government standards. The Committee would like to see the course on a breakeven standing and then explore the options with City Council. Director Johnson explained that Valleywood Golf Course was set up by the voters on a breakeven basis a long time ago. The course isn’t going to make enough to buy an $80,000 lawnmower. To be successful, City Council needs to get behind this, support it as a park, and make an investment to cover these costs. There are 182 golf courses competing within the area. ITEM 4.D. Set Meeting Dates for Bond Referendum Open House Motion was made under Item 4.B. to designate three dates and meeting sites. ITEM 5.A. Other - Money Magazine Best Places to Live: Apple Valley is #28. Apple Valley was ranked in the top 100 places in the country to live. A lot of the things that helped achieve that ranking, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee works on. ITEM 6. Adjourn There being no further business, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting was adjourned. MOTION: by Charlie Maus, seconded by Tina Rankin to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m. VOTE: Yes – 4, No – 0 - 6 -