Parks
& Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes
January 3, 2012
PRESENT: Azer,
Boehm, Diedrick, Doneen, Etten, D. Holt, M. Holt, Pederson, and Ristow
ABSENT: Simbeck
emailed ahead with excused absence
STAFF:
Anfang, Brokke, Evenson
1. INTRODUCTIONS/ROLL CALL/PUBLIC COMMENT
Walmart Representatives in
attendance, made no comments.
No public comment
2. APPROVAL OF
MINUTES – DECEMBER 6, 2011 MEETING
Commission Recommendation:
Minutes for the December 6, 2011
meeting were approved unanimously.
3. COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE REPORT
Doneen gave a brief update of
recent activities from the Community Engagement Task Force. The Task Force
continues with their work focused on the upcoming presentation to the Council.
Doneen recognized the efforts of Gary Grefenberg in moving the Community
Engagement process forward.
4. PARK
DEDICATION - WALMART
Etten continued the discussion of
park dedication considerations for the proposed Walmart development in Twin Lakes. Earlier considerations included a parcel of land in an area away from the
development that might have served as a nice addition to Langton Lake Park. This land dedication is no longer an option to fulfill the park dedication
requirements. Etten also clarified that the actual size of the parcel is 13.94
acres, rather than the 17.8 acres reported earlier. This change in size is due
to 3.86 acres being sold earlier to the City for the Twin Lakes Parkway. The
updated land equivalency for park dedication is .68 acres and the updated cash
payment would be $411,115, based on 5% of the FMV.
Commission Recommendation:
Motion by Doneen, second by Ristow
to recommend the Roseville City Council accept cash in lieu of land for park
dedication in the proposed Walmart development.
Commission questions followed.
§
D. Holt inquired into what the land options were/are for the
site. Brokke explained that there were no appropriate park development options
for this site.
§
Azer asked for a clarification of how the park dedication funds
can be used. Brokke clarified that the funds cannot be used for maintenance or
ongoing costs but can be used for land acquisitions, park development, and
facility enhancement. The park dedication funds could be used to further expand
the projects identified by the Parks and Recreation Renewal Program.
Motion passed unanimously.
Note: Greg Simbeck favored the
cash in lieu of land option through his email to notify staff of his absence
from tonight’s meeting.
5. MASTER PLAN
IMPLEMENTATION DISCUSSION
Commission Chair Etten informed
the Commission of the impending court hearing for the most recent appeal of the
City Bond process. This hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8, 2012.
Brokke announced that the first round of Bonds were sold on December 29, 2011.
The money has been secured and the bond requirement clock has begun, but the
funds are not available until after the February, 8, 2012 hearing and the
subsequent ruling.
§
D. Holt voiced his frustration with the citizen group that has
filed the appeals. Because of the appeals the interest rate for the first bond
release increased from 2.15% to 2.45% costing the City an additional $260,000
in interest costs. Holt feels it is important that the community know the
impact of this group’s actions.
§
Ristow and other Commissioners inquired into the possibility of a
counter suit to help cover damages caused by these appeals. Brokke explained
that is a Council action and will be left to their choice in how to best handle
the situation.
§
Ristow mentioned how this is similar to past Twin Lakes actions
that resulted in the development falling through. Ristow feels that it is
important that Roseville Citizens realize that their elected officials were
selected to make decisions.
Commissioners would like to remind
the community of upcoming Master Plan Renewal Community and Neighborhood
meetings. Community involvement has been the cornerstone for the Master Plan
process from the beginning and will continue through the upcoming Renewal
Process.
§
January 25 ~ 7pm at the Roseville Skating Center, Rose Room. This meeting will feature updates on renewal program projects, project timeline
for the coming four years and information on the funding schedule.
§
February 8 ~ 6:30pm at the Roseville Skating Center, Rose Room. This Neighborhood and Community Meeting will focus on Lexington Park
Improvements and plans for projects there in 2012.
§
February 15 ~ 6:30pm at the Harriet Alexander nature Center. This Neighborhood and Community Meeting will focus on HANC Improvements and plans
for projects there in 2012, including the replacement of the boardwalk, HVAC
improvements, other possible interior work and natural resource restoration on
site.
The first major decision in the
Parks and Recreation Renewal Program is to consider a general procurement
method. Staff is proceeding cautiously until after the February 8th
hearing. Work needs to take place during this waiting period to allow us to
maintain the aggressive timeline set to accommodate the bond requirements.
Brokke briefed the commission on the three options scheduled to be presented to
the Council on Monday, January 9, 2012. Staff has identified pros and cons for
each method and will look to the Council for direction. The goal is to select a
process that gets the best development program for the City. The Parks and
Recreation Master Plan Renewal Program aims to get good projects for a good
price for a long period of time.
§
Best Value (BV) was the method used during for the Skating Center
Geothermal project. The Best Value Procurement System is facilitated by Arizona State University. With this program ASU assists in the development of RFPs and guidance
with the selection of contractor, consultant and design work as well as
producing weekly reports and project progress reports. The Best Value system
through ASU is known for its on-time, on-budget record (98%). With BV, the City
accepts proposals for project(s); a team evaluates the proposals and rates each
proposal. The ratings are forwarded to ASU for their review and evaluation, the
top 3 proposals are identified and these are the organizations interviewed.
Each Best Value Proposal includes both identified risks and value added items
upfront, which minimizes/eliminates future change orders and additional costs.
Best Value also supports the most appropriate level of staff time needed – BV
will assist in the planning and management costs, funding is needed for either
the BV services or for an outside construction manager/management company.
o
Doneen asked about how the risk is transferred to the contractor
in the BV program. Evenson explained that the contractor takes a larger
technical responsibility in the project and is expected to pre-build plans and
think through the process up-front.
o
Following the BV discussion Diedrick commented that the costs for
BV seem reasonable based on what you get.
§
The Best Overall Value Method is hybrid of the Best Value system
and the Low Bid process. The goal with Best Overall Value is the best
contractor at the best price for the best value to the City. This process
requires extensive staff involvement and time and would need additional project
management support as well and maintenance operations support.
§
The Low Bid process is the system traditionally used by
government agencies.
o
Commissioners commented on their experiences with low-bid
§
Low Bid tends to be low cost up front and then agencies
experience ongoing problems past the completion of the project resulting in
increased costs.
Commission Recommendation:
Motion by Pederson, second by
Ristow, to recommend to the Roseville City Council the Best Value Procurement
system for use in the Parks and Recreation Renewal Program. Motion passed
unanimously.
6. DIRECTORS
REPORT
- Bonds sold on December 29.
- 2011 New Year’s Eve on Ice was a great event and hugely successful.
Over 3000 people attended. Thank you to Goodmanson Construction for your
support and help making this event fantastic.
- Neighborhood rinks are being affected by the weather.
Staff attempted to get the rinks open for the winter break from school but
the unseasonably warm temperatures have made it difficult to make ice.
Rinks at Lexington Park and Autumn Grove Park are now open and we will
open rinks as the conditions improve.
- January 21 & 22 will be a big weekend at the Skating Center. January 21 is Hockey Day in Minnesota. The organization Defending the Blue
Line is hosting a Skate for the Troops event at the OVAL and a NHL alumni
vs. Armed Forces hockey game. On Sunday, January 22 the Wild will once
again be holding an outdoor practice at the OVAL. The Wild will be
practicing from noon – 1pm with an open skate at 2pm.
- Staff has talked with the City Manager about the local
sales tax option and about an opportunity to get together with the
Commission to continue this discussion. Local Legislative members will be
at the January 23 Council meeting and there is hope that the sales tax
option will be part of their discussion with the Council. The League of
Minnesota Cities has the sales tax option on their agenda for 2012. It is
important for the Commission to continue to help make people aware of the
Local Sales Tax Option and the benefits to the community.
7. OTHER
- Doneen shared information on Community Forest Bonding
Grants. Staff will look into these and identify the areas that have
potential in Roseville.
- Anfang shared an article from the Saturday, December 31
Star Tribune about the rise in requests for fund raising runs and events
in the suburbs and how different communities are handling the flux in
requests. Roseville Parks and Recreation was contacted to talk about how
we handle the requests.
- Etten shared a recent Star Tribune article that recognized
increased and expanded youth programs and recreation based opportunities
to reduce crime in Minneapolis and how anti-crime programs are being
connected to recreation experiences. This article helps us refocus on how essential
parks and recreation services are to a healthy City. It is unfortunate
that recent focus on funding concerns have lessened the good that will
come from the renewal program and how this will benefit the City as a
whole.
Meeting adjourned at 7:35pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Jill Anfang, Assistant Director
