5.b Administrators reportSCANDIA
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: April 2, 2018
To: Parks & Recreation Committee
From: Neil Soltis, Administrator
Re: Administrator's report
Wind in the Pines — At the March 20 City Council meeting John Haus, 22729 St. Croix Trail, described the
difficulties he is having with numerous trespassers going onto his property from the adjacent Wind in the
Pines Preserve. Property damage and littering, with signs and fences torn down, are consistently
occurring. He asked that the access and parking lot be closed as he has concerns that someone could get
hurt on his property which they are illegally using to access the River and he could be held liable. Deputy
Yetter noted that he has issued many citations for trespassing, drug, and alcohol violations. He also noted
that if the parking lot were closed, those hikers who want to legally use the park could still have access
through the Falls Creek SNA. Public Works Director Hawkinson described the barriers and signage that
have been placed at the park boundaries, but they are quickly torn down. The Council discussed the
illegal activities occurring at Wind in the Pines Park and directed staff to provide a plan for closing the
parking lot access at Wind in the Pines for discussion at the April 4th Work Session. A copy of that report
is included in the meeting information.
Tennis Court reconstruction — At the March 20 meeting the Council discussed the PRC's recommendation
to modify the plans for the reconstruction of the tennis courts to include the additional costs for multiple
pickleball courts. The reconstruction project is scheduled in this year's Capital Improvement Fund at a
cost of $40,000. The Council approved moving forward with the project seeking alternate proposals for
all of the configuration options so that a final determination can be made once the final costs are known.
The options for which proposals will be sought are:
• The current configuration with 2 tennis courts that have additional striping for pickleball
• A configuration with 1 tennis court and 2 pickleball courts
• A configuration with 1 tennis court and 4 pickleball courts.
Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails prairie plantings - At the March Work Session the Friends presented a
plan to install a prairie planting on a 0.25 -acre area within the former Rasmussen home site, now the
Uptown Sewer expansion area at 20780 Olinda Trail. The plan would include the relocation of the
pollinator plantings currently at Lilleskogen Park to the new location. Council approved entering into an
agreement with the Friends using an agreement based on the Soaring Eagles 4-H Club planting on the
City's Swensons Goose Lake Farm Estates outlot. The terms of the agreement will provide that all costs
for the installation and maintenance of the project will be the responsibility of the Friends.
Capital Funding — the 2018 Park Capital budget includes funds from the sale of city -owned property on
Goose Lake. At the March 20 meeting the directed legal staff to draft a Right of First Option agreement
with language that requires the adjacent property owners to be responsible for any fees that may be
necessary for the transaction. If the property owners do not purchase the property, the property will be
offered to the public through an on-line auction.