PARK COMMITTEE MEETING
April 5, 2006
Minutes
Chairman
Woody Woodburn called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.
Woody Woodburn, Jennifer Young, Hans Larson, Lucy Hicks, John Dupont, John Flynn, Council Liaison John Wheaton, Administrator Dana Young
Charty
Oliver, Bryan Sykora, Jean Midthun
The Committee approved the March 1, 2006 minutes on a motion by Hans Larson, seconded by John Flynn. Motion carried 6-0.
Dana Young stated that Matt Sorenson has completed the construction of the two lifeguard boxes at Sandy Beach and Robinson’s Bay Beach in order to obtain his Eagle Scout badge. John Dupont stated that the Sandy Beach latch was somewhat hard to open and the Robinson’s Bay box doors did not quite fit together as well as he would have liked. He stated that he had asked Matt to fix these two items. John Wheaton presented photos of the two boxes for Committee review and stated that the lifeguard chair at Sandy Beach needs to be rebuilt.
Hans Larson moved to approve payment in the amount of $311.71 to Matt Sorenson for the materials purchased for the two boxes. Seconded by Lucy Hicks. Motion carried 6-0.
Dana
Young stated that George Howarth is planning to repaint the Village Hall gazebo
this weekend for his Eagle Scout badge.
He added that George also intends to prepare a flower bed around the
gazebo. Further discussion was held on
constructing a proper enclosure around the porta-potty at Village Hall Park. Woody Woodburn suggested that this might make
an excellent Eagle Scout project in the future and encouraged Committee members
to generate a list of possible projects at each of their assigned parks and
beaches.
Discussion was held on whether to increase the triathlon registration fees in order to account for the cost of the free t-shirts that would be provided to each participant. The Committee recommended an entry fee of $15 for single participants and $35 for family participants in order to cover the cost of t-shirts, which are estimated to run about $7.50 apiece.
Subcommittee members John Dupont and Jennifer Young presented their recommendations on bench & equipment standards. They include the following list of items from DuMor Manufacturing:
· Recycled plastic bench with back support: #88-60 PL; 6’ length; cedar color
· Recycled plastic bench without back support: #103-60 PL; 6’ length; cedar color
· Metal bench: #118-60; 6’ length; bronze color
· Picnic table with recycled planking: #71-60; 6’ length; black powder coated frame
John Dupont stated that he, Jennifer Young and Jean Midthun had looked through countless brochures and decided that their bench and table selections looked nice, were durable, reasonably priced and matched many of the benches and tables that the City already had in stock.
Hans Larson asked if this meant that the Committee would no longer consider other types or styles of donated benches, such as the stone bench that was donated at Thorpe Park last year. Woody Woodburn stated that these recommendations are standards that we would ordinarily use but the Park Committee still has the option to consider other unique designs.
Jennifer Young moved to approve the recommended bench and table standards. Seconded by Woody Woodburn. Motion carried 6-0. Woody Woodburn stated that while he appreciated the work done by the Committee and supported the motion, he personally felt the recycled material looked cheap and felt that higher quality standards would be more appropriate for Deephaven.
The Committee thanked subcommittee members Jennifer Young, Jean Midthun and John Dupont for their excellent work.
Discussion was held concerning the development of Paddle Tennis Park. Hans Larson stated that he had asked for this item to be on the agenda so that the Committee would not forget about the development of this park. The Committee discussed their vision of the park, which consisted of limited parking, improved aesthetics, native plantings, trees and green space.
Additional discussion was held on the current parking spaces at the proposed park that presently provided parking for people using the LRT trail, the boat launch, the bus stop and the paddle tennis court. It was the general consensus of the Committee that they felt little obligation to provide parking for any current use other than the paddle tennis court.
Woody
Woodburn suggested that each member should review and draw his or her own
version of a plan for Paddle Tennis Park for discussion at next month’s
meeting.
Woody
Woodburn stated that he would be meeting with the Shorewood Park Committee to
discuss the proposed 2007 Winter Festival on April 14th.
John
Wheaton asked if the tennis backboard has been purchased. Dana Young stated that he understood that
Bryan Sykora had ordered the backboard last December.
John
Wheaton stated that several members of the Council were interested in the
possibility of installing decorative lighting at various key locations
throughout the City. He invited the
Committee to consider key locations at parks or beaches.
John
Wheaton stated that the City Council is also interested in attracting
firefighters to serve at the East Side Station in Deephaven and would entertain
any suggestions on additional park amenities that would entice firefighters to
hang out at the station.
John
Flynn suggested moving the path at Thorpe Park such that it would connect with
the new basketball court. He stated that
the Committee could review the path when touring the parks next month.
John
Flynn also suggested looking into the cost of running a water line from the
well at Thorpe Park to the Warming House in order to have water available in
the winter for the ice rinks.
Lucy
Hicks stated that she had noticed that one of the benches at the Main Beach had
been decorated for the holidays and asked if the Committee was concerned about
this practice. The Committee didn’t
state a particular concern on this matter.
Motion to adjourn by Jennifer Young, seconded by Lucy Hicks. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Park Committee will be held on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. in order to tour the parks and beaches.