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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/19/1991 � � CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 19, 1991 Minutes of the Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee held March 19, 1991, at the Apple Valley Community Center. PRESENT: Chairperson Greg Kopischke; Committee Members Connie Scheid, John DiRico, and Russ DeFauw; City Council Member Tom Goodwin; Parks and Recreation Director Randy Johnson; Recreation Supervisor Randy Quale; Associate Planner Meg McMonigal; a Valley Athletic Association Representative. ABSENT: Charlie Maus, Tina Rankin and David Gross. Item #l. Chairman Kopischke called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. Item #2. Approval of the Agenda. Randy Johnson asked to have an addition made to Item #5 for staff resignation. MOTION: by Russ DeFauw, seconded by John DiRico to approve the agenda with the addition of "Staff Resignation" under Item #5. VOTE: Yes - 4, No - 0 Item #3. Approval of February Minutes. Change the 12th paragraph on page #2 to read "A new lot at 127th Street could possibly accommodate 150-200 cars. " Also include in paragraph #1 of page #4 the dollar amount projected for 1991 of $166,104. MOTION: by John DiRico, seconded by Connie Scheid to accept the February minutes with the noted changes. VOTE: Yes - 4, No - 0 Item #4.A. New Business - Eastview Soccer Field Upgrade. At the request of the City Council, Randy Johnson put together some information on soccer stadium cost projections to upgrade an existing soccer field to "championship" standards. Since this information was 1 , . • page 2 of 6 March 19, 1991 meeting minutes compiled, Mr. Johnson found that the Eagan soccer stadium has a SO foot candle light level. Mr. Johnson will check with the high school league to determine, their requirements for lighting. If the 50 foot candles light level is needed, the estimated cost of the four pole lighting system would increase to $83,000 from the $58,000 projected for the 30 foot candle light level; bringing the total to $103,000. Council Member Tom Goodwin addressed the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee with his request to use park dedication funds to cover the cost of upgrading a soccer field. He reports that the Valley Athletic Association feels that the lack of available field space is getting very serious, almost impossible. national park standard guidelines state that Apple Valley is short approximately 12 fields for soccer. Last fall Tom Goodwin and Randy Johnson took a look at all of the flat areas in Apple Valley to determine where any new fields could be located. A decision had to be made quickly and the sod put in place before too late in the fall so that the new fields would be playable for the 1991 spring season. They c�me up with Moeller Park, Huntington Park, Valley Middle Field "F", and Tintah Park. Up until the City Council's vote, Council Member Goodwin believed that the approximately $110,000 to pay for the development of the four new soccer fields was to come from one of the other city funds rather than the park dedication fund. At the time they had to make a choice, either forget the new fields or use the park dedication funds. Council Member Goodwin felt that the need for additional fields outweighed the temporary setback of the park dedication fund. It was a tough decision, but Mr. Goodwin feels that they made the right choice. Even with the four new fields, there still is not enough field space for the demand, so the idea of lighting a field was developed. Over the last couple years, Mr. Goodwin has discussed the idea with some of the Committee members, The cost of building a field from scratch was compared to the cost of lighting an existing field. The choice was made to find an existing field. ISD #196 will not allow VAA/RAAA soccer programs to use the high school fields. At the same time they have made a policy decision to transport five of the Apple Valley high school athletic teams off campus to Eagan for their "home" games during the 1991-92 season. 2 , . - • • page 3 of 6 March 19, 1991 meeting minutes Council Member Goodwin made reference to the city's building fund and the possibility that it may be available to finance the lighting project. Randy Johnson stated that by lighting a field, it would in fact add field use to equal about .33 � of a field timewise. According to Council Member Goodwin, the school district will not accept a "gift" from the city for installation of lights on one of their fields because the other two high schools do not have lighted fields and the school district tries to keep the amenities fairly equal at all three high schools. Russ DeFauw stated that the school district also turned down an offer from the Al1 Sports Booster Club to raise $100,000. Connie Scheid asked if there would be other groups that would use a lighted soccer field. Mr. Goodwin said the older teams of VAA soccer would be able to use the fields along with the varsity soccer team from Apple Valley high school. Originally he wanted to work into the parks and recreation budget one field a year for the next three years to be lighted. Russ DeFauw stated that by adding lights to a field, it would add about an hour to an hour and a half of playing time each day during the season. This becomes a very high cost when you decide how the fields will be used. The $103,000 needed for the lighting project will take some time to be replaced in the park dedication fund. Mr. Goodwin stated that he is just requesting the lighting at this time. He also questioned why the $25,000 needed to move the bank building from County Road 42 and Cedar Avenue to Valleywood had to come out of park dedication. He suggested that it should possibly have been taken from the Valleywood account or the city's building fund. Russ DeFauw asked what other use can the field accommodate besides soccer to justify the $ amount required for lighting a field. Mr. Johnson answered that the only logical thing would be to extend the fall soccer program. Mr. Goodwin added that the Apple Valley high school varsity soccer program could be brought back into the city. It would make a travel distance difference for the team of approximately seven miles round trip. Bussing the team to Eagan means a ten mile trip and bussing them to Eastview would be about three miles. Russ DeFauw pointed out that he has not always been a strong proponent for maintaining the $500,000 balance in the park dedication fund. He feels that if needed it should be available. 3 l • • ` t page 4 of b March 19, 1991 meeting minutes Connie Sheid questioned what to do with the other special interest groups like Apple Valley Hockey Association when they want additional ice. Mr. Goodwin believes that they are not really comparable because the hockey association would need more than a million dollars for their second ice arena. The question was raised about the earliest forecast for any available land to be used for park land/athletic complexes. Randy Johnson answered that the land is very expensive and a lot depends on the gravel operations. Some land owners don't want to sell at any cost. Council Member Goodwin discussed a possibility of the property in Lakevilie owned by the City of Apple Valley and currently used by the County as a compost site being used in a land trade with the County. Meg McMonigal believes that over the next few years the park dedication fund can expect about $70,000 to $100,000 each year in revenue. Chairperson Kopischke reminded the Committee that the Apple Ponds property will need to be purchased in the very near future. He also agrees with Mr. DeFauw in that if something important developed and the park dedication fund needed to go below the suggested $500,000 for a short time, they would have to just "bite the bullet" and deal with it. But the use of the lighted field would have to be considered in that seven days a week, three to four games a day would create problems for field conditions. It would take about a year to ruin the field. Randy Johnson and Randy Quale have been working with Valley Athletic Association (VAA) and Rosemount Area Athletic Association (RAAA) to control the addition of new teams when there is no available field space available. Russ DeFauw questioned whether the VAA would be willing to contribute financially to the lighting of a field. He believes that the idea may be more palatable if the funding came from some other sources rather than just park dedication. Randy Johnson reported that the VAA went into debt by approximately $65,000 to renovate the VAA field house. He doesn't believe they have any additional funds for field lighting. Tom Goodwin made it clear that the ISD #196 does not feel that they have a problem with the current available field space. He personally feels there is a problem with the lack of space for soccer. It was mentioned that field "B" at Eastview already has conduit running to it, but only field "C" is large enough (360' x 220') to meet high school standards. 4 ^ � • • page 5 of 6 March 19, 1991 meeting minutes When asked if the Committee endorses part of the cost for lighting field "C" at Eastview, can he go to the City Council and procure the balance out of another city fund, Tom Goodwin answered that the Police Department needs will have to be addressed first. There has been some resistance to the issue of using other funds. Chairperson Kopischke questions whether Council Member Goodwin was looking for a recommendation to take to City Council? Mr. Goodwin answered "yes. ° The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee inquired as to the current available funding in the park dedication account. Randy Johnson stated that a lot depends on the Apple Ponds development. It appears that the development will reach the sale of 102 units sometime this summer. Once that happens, it is up to the developer, Bart Winkler, to initiate the sale of the property to the city for park land. The last information shows that 98 units have been sold. If the $500,000 minimum balance is to be maintained, there will be approximately $70,000 over and above the already approved 1991 expenditures to purchase the Apple Ponds property. This does not allow for the $103,000 required to light the soccer field. Council Member Goodwin suggested that he discuss with the Mayor the possibility of the city's building fund borrowing to the park dedication fund the money to light the soccer field with the agreement that it would be paid back at a later date. Members of the Committee seemed skeptical that this agreement would work out. Mr. DeFauw feels that there was obvious payback by bringing the four soccer fields on last fall. This new plan of lighting a soccer field entirely with park dedication funds is hard to justify just to add ten additional hours of playing time a week. Mr. DeFauw also feels that if the park dedication fund were to be a contributor rather than carry the whole amount, the idea may be worth taking a second look at. Council Member Goodwin stated that he did not realize just how close the Apple Ponds development was to the 102 unit mark. MOTION: by Russ DeFauw, seconded by John DiRico as follows: As a consensus of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, the idea of lighting a soccer field does have some merit and the Committee is interested, but given the other funding obligations, feel they can not endorse the use of park dedication funds at this time. The Committee however, would entertain the idea with some other alternative to funding. VOTE: Yes - 4, No - 0 5 . • • , page 6 of 6 March 19, 1991 meeting minutes Item #4.B. - Job Fair March 29, 1991 Randy Johnson gave a brief description of the city's annual Job Fair to be held on Friday, March 29, 1991 from 9:OOam to 7:OOpm at the Apple Valley Community Center. A major portion of the city's seasonal employees will be hired through this process. Item #S. - Other Staff Resignation: Park Maintenance Superintendent Tom Wahl has submitted his resignation to be effective May 10, 1991. A farewell recognition event will be planned and notices will be sent to the Advisory Committee members announcing the time and date. A public job posting will be announced with the opportunity for anyone currently on the city's payroll to apply also. The position will probably require the minimum of a bachelor's degree in park maintenance. Item #6. - Adjourn MOTION: by Russ DeFauw, seconded by Connie Scheid to adjourn the meeting at 8:30pm. VOTE: Yes - 4, No - 0 The next Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting will be scheduled for April 16, 1991. 6