HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/19/1999 s
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ITEM #3.
CITY OF APPLE VALLEY
PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
October 19, 1999
PRESENT: Committee Chair Greg Kopischke; Committee Member Tina Rankin;
and Parks and Recreation Director Randy Johnson.
ABSENT: Royal Bakke, Russ DeFauw, John DiRico, Charlie Maus, and
Priscilla Zee.
There being no quorum, agenda item numbers 1 through 3 were skipped and
informal discussion was held on the remaining items.
ITEM #4.A. New Business - Regatta Park Draft Park Design
Included with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee agenda packet is
a draft copy of staff' s recommendation for park development. The ponds
are a part of the Vermillion Watershed District and a required part of the
land area.
There is no designated on-street parking; therefore, staff sees no
alternative to the parking lot entrance from the street, running between
the two lots (#1 & #14) . The 80' easement will accommodate an 8' pathway
and a 24' drive, leaving space on both sides. As the area continues to
develop, staff recommends consideration of additional park land rather
than park funds for the dedication requirements.
The draft plan does not include any heavy use facilities because the area
will be within a short distance of the proposed 38 acre sports complex.
Staff will forward the draft park plan to the Planning Commission for
their consideration.
ITEM #5.A. Old Business - Park Bond Issue Project Update.
Mr. Johnson gave an overview of the projects : bids have been accepted and
work is beginning on the second phase of the bond projects; Alimagnet
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shelter floor reconstruction to bring it in line with ADA requirements,
construction of a new Redwood Park shelter complete with water and
electrical outlets, expansion of Redwood' s parking lot, the addition of a
Johnny Cake Ridge Park concession stand, and a park shelter behind
Valleywood clubhouse. Completion date for these projects is set for early
December 1999.
Construction should begin within the next two weeks on the two outdoor ice
rinks at the Teen Center/Johnny Cake Ridge Park. Eastview High School has
approached staff with an offer to contribute $8, 500 toward the cost of
blacktopping one of the rinks. Staff hopes to begin this in the spring of
2000 . Cost estimates received in 1998 indicate the cost of blacktopping a
hockey rink would be approximately $17, 000 . Mr. Kopischke suggested
checking the possibilities of aggregate vs blackstopping for the rink.
After checking with the League of Minnesota Cities liability insurance,
staff believes there are some small ramps and jumps that could be placed
on the blacktopped rink area for skateboard and bike use.
Apple Valley Hockey Association has contacted staff regarding possibly
blacktopping one of the Hayes Park hockey rinks also.
Staff continues to work on the punchlists to finish off the major
construction projects. Having some difficulty getting response from some
of the construction crews. The City is still holding approximately 10% of
their contract payments.
Staff should have a final financial report for the Apple Valley Family
Aquatic Center' s 1999 operation available at the next Advisory Committee
meeting. Preliminary reports indicate approximately $370, 000 in revenue
and $280, 000 in expenditures for the season.
Mr. Kopischke stated that the Committee would be interested in comparing
Eagan' s Cascade Bay revenue vs Apple Valley' s Family Aquatic Center' s
revenue to evaluate the justification of added construction of amenities
discussed, such as the lazy river. One of the public comments staff at
the Aquatic Center heard several times was " we really liked Eagan' s lazy
river, wish you had one." Staff is very happy with the way the Apple
Valley Family Aquatic Center operations worked this year. The facility
employed approximately 115 people and received many good compliments .
Staff will do some brainstorming during the next few months to fine tune
some of the operations. Specifically they will look at the punch card vs
the season pass option.
The last of the athletic fields opened in June 1999. Lots of games were
held over the summer, and will continue into the next month.
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Teen Center attendance continues to fluctuate. A recent after-football
game pizza party had approximately 75-100 students attend. The facility
has hosted several other events, such as Battle of the Bands, video game
tournaments, etc. A Halloween lock-in is scheduled for later this month.
Recreation Specialist Bill Bird has been working with a Teen Advisory
Committee and the schools to get the word out about the Teen Center.
Announcements are broadcast at the local high schools and Mr. Bird also
attends Student Council meetings to help promote the facility.
Teen programs have traditionally been a hard sell . Interest is great for
a while, then it declines, and returns again later.
ITEM #6.A. Other - Ice Arena Operations Update.
School District 196 has a levy vote scheduled for November 2, 1999. If
that passes, they plan to go to a bond referendum vote in early spring.
If the levy fails, the bond referendum vote will not be held.
One of the bond referendum item proposals is to construct an arena at
Eastview High School, to be owned and operated by the School District.
While the Hayes Park Arena had a break-even year for operations last year,
it is still $2 million in debt for the construction of the facility.
Based on the current revenue stream, it is anticipated that this debt will
be paid off in the year 2014 .
Another discussion item from Apple Valley Hockey Association is to cover
one of the Hayes outdoor hockey rinks at an approximate cost of $1
million. It may be an agenda item at a future Parks and Recreation
Advisory Committee meeting.
Current projections include the same amount of hocke�/pleasure skating
rinks as last year for the City of Apple Valley. Usage numbers for these
outdoor facilities have been declining in recent years. Staff believes it
to be in response to the additional availability of indoor ice. Ten new
arenas have been constructed south of the river in the last five year.
ITEM #6.B. Other - Group Photo for Brochure.
The photograph will be delayed until a full contingency of inembers can be
arranged.
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Scheduling of future Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meetings will
be addressed at the January 2000 meeting. By-laws state that the first
meeting of the year should be the organizational meeting. At that time the
suggestion of holding four scheduled meetings per year (January, March,
May and September) , with the option of additional meetings as needed
during the calendar year, will be discussed and a Committee vote taken.
ITEM #7. Adjourn.
There being no further business, the Parks and Recreation Advisory
Committee ineeting was adjourned at 7 :45 p.m.
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