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6.a 3.13.23 MSAchanges_Scandia Comments from Scandia MSA Changes 1 Typo page 8, “dedicate” to “dedicated” (bottom right, last full paragraph) Changed to “dedicated” 2 Include PRC programs to the last paragraph on page 10 Added the following text to the “Recreational Programming” section of Chapter 2: Scandia’s Parks and Recreation Committee also leads recreational programs and community events throughout the year, including the following: • Youth skating classes (“Learn to Skate” and “Pleasure Skating”); • Arts in the Park; • Yoga & Tai Chi; • Vinterfest; • Partnerships with Taco Daze, Gammelgarden, Farmers Market, and Scandia Marine Lions. 3 Chart on page 19 lists the same number of acres of parkland prior to and after the city acquired Liten Park. How was this original figure calculated to confirm accuracy of 106.0 acres when this chart is obviously missing data? Added park description to “About Scandia” chapter, added individual spread to “Recommendations” chapter, added Liten Park to GIS maps in Appendix C Replaced existing bullet points with the following: The map below shows three City-owned parcels that could be considered for future park development: • Site A is a City-owned parcel on the corner of Oren Rd N and Olgilvie Ave N, north of downtown Scandia. off of Orwell Avenue N, south of downtown Scandia. It is relatively flat and devoid of trees or major obstructions. This could be a good location for a pollinator garden and/or a minimally-developed walking trail, such as mown grass or woodchips. • Site B is a wooded City-owned parcel on the corner of Manning Trl N and Mayberry Trl N. There appears to already be a driveway access point off of Manning Trl N. • Site C is a wooded parcel off of Orwell Court N. This could be a good location for a mountain biking course, which was brought up by multiple community members, or another obstacle-type course. 4 Inaccurate, page 47 Maintenance section, as Scandia does have online reporting for park maintenance concerns Replaced existing text with the following text: Requests for maintenance of various parks facilities and trails appeared throughout this Plan writing process. Scandia already has a Service Request Form integrated into the Public Works page of its website We have a method to report park issues (‘system recommendations’) but maybe just need better info sharing. www.cityofscandia.com); however, it is not visible or easily accessible to most residents. The City should consider adding the Service Request form to the homepage of its website, as well as creating flyers with the link/QR code to post at parks around the City. This will ensure that the City is kept apprised of urgent maintenance needs as they appear. 5 Wayfinding Goal #3 – what do they mean? (Page 16) Fischer suggested signage in Wind in the Pines as a possible example. Discussion about past MnDOT signs and an option to install a city sign over reinstalling MnDOT’s. Changed wayfinding strategy in Goal #3 to: “Improve wayfinding within and around trails to allow easier navigation of trail system, as well as increase visibility of trailheads.” 6 Improve the examples of other items to offer in the strength & weakness box on page 23. Added the following description underneath the table label “Summary of Stakeholder Interview Feedback”: “Each bullet point summarizes feedback that emerged multiple times throughout the stakeholder interview process.” 7 Questioned if there is a template, or better support for grant writing efforts, in relation to page 52. Hinz indicated willingness to volunteer on this type of project, but wants more support or direction. Gorham added a related concern, to recommend adding a Goal 5 on page 16 to address making park expansion or improvements sustainable. Grants could be included in this vision. Fischer clarified that grants require matching funds from the city, so inclusion in the CIP for future years is important, otherwise resources are wasted if matching funds are not available. The grant funds for the Community Center playground awarded in 2022 was a 52-page document submitted by staff. More reason to make sure these sustainability and improvement long term goals are included in this new park plan to guide the CIP process. Added the following goal and strategies to Chapter 4: GOAL 5: Ensure that ongoing park improvements and future system expansion are financially sustainable. • Utilize the “Grant Opportunities” table on pages 50-51 as a resource for funding solutions to recreational needs; update regularly as new funding sources become available. • Establish process for identifying, writing, and championing grant applications. • Work closely with Scandia’s City Council to identify park/recreational projects to be incorporated into the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP). 8 Requests one map showing all Scandia Parks be included in the final proposal. Terry determined that the Existing Parks and Trails map on page 13 satisfied this request. 9 Disappointed in the rating system, real dollar amounts are placeholders in the CIP process 10 Priorities and Time Frames listed are obscure and confusing 11 Hay Lake – Zauner noted the water fountain is missing. Fischer estimated a safe water source at this park starts at $15, 000. While this project must remain as a low priority due to the high cost, it should not be dropped from the long-term goals. Added “Install drinking fountain near pavilion” to recommendation spread, with low prioritization, short- term timeframe, and $5k – $20k cost. 12 Lilleskogen Park – - screening the trail close to Hwy 97/Scandia Trail should be included. This area is in MnDOT’s Right of Way, but there are options to request that they will approve for safety on the trail inside the park. - The request is for a pavilion, and not a gazabo. - A safe crossing from Scandia Elementary School to Lilleskogen Park will be in upcoming discussions with Washington County regarding their roads in Scandia. Gorham mentioned the importance of this feature in potential plans to develop a DNR Forest School in partnership with Scandia Elementary school in Lilleskogen Park. Further discussion on the past failed attempts to alter crossing options over MnDOT’s Hwy 97/Scandia Trail North. Changed “gazebo” to “open air pavilion” and changed example image. 13 Tomteskogen – noted concerns of resources needed for both staff and supplies if a wooden boardwalk is ever constructed, but the map is inaccurate for its location. Other options available to consider, to pave city owned 238th Street North. Added recommendation to “add park identification signage” with medium prioritization, immediate timeframe, and <$5k cost estimate 14 Community Center – correction, tennis courts are NOT to be converted to Pickleball courts. Realign existing park features to incorporate pickleball courts. Zauner suggested considering instead converting the T-Ball field to Pickleball courts and approaching area Added recommendation to “Convert existing tennis courts into a multi-use racket sports area by painting four pickleball courts perpendicular to the tennis courts and acquiring moveable pickleball nets”, with high prioritization, immediate timeframe, and $5k – $20k cost estimate businesses (Meisters) to consider contributing to this improvement. Also added “Repair/refinish the southwest corner of the racket sports area,” with high prioritization, immediate timeframe, and $5k – $20k cost estimate 15 Wind in the Pines – Change recommendation to rebuilding the paths to make them equipment accessible for ongoing maintenance needs instead of revamping the trail. Currently inaccessible to Public Works except on foot. Trees down require carrying cutting equipment, and safety protocols require two people for any task in this park. Added recommendation to “Rebuild paths to be accessible for maintenance equipment”, with medium prioritization, long-term timeframe, and $20k – $50k cost estimate 16 Wojtowicz Skating Park – inaccurate cost estimate to replace the rink boards. This project is $100,000 or more. Fischer responded to Hinz’s questions regarding the drainage and cracked concrete slab issues. Further discussion included investigating if professional organizations (MN Wild) support facility improvements, similar to support for ballfields by the MN Twins, and noting the success of neighboring communities to partner with local hockey associations for large projects like refrigeration systems to extend the skating seasons. Added recommendation to “Add refrigeration system to existing rink”, with low prioritization, long-term timeframe, and $100k+ cost estimate Added the following text to the “Tools to Fund Implementation” section: Professional Sports Foundations Scandia’s proximity to the Twin Cities offers the potential for the City to receive financial aid from professional sports teams to fund park improvement projects. Local teams like the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Wild both have community foundations that fund improvements to kids’ sports facilities, often in the form of a matching program. More information can be found at www.mlb.com/twins/community/fund/grants/fields- for-kids and www.nhl.com/wild/community/minnesota-wild- foundation. 17 T-Ball Field – recommend instead converting to a grass field, leaving the backstop. This reduces maintenance costs in an underutilized ballfield and provides a field as requested from residents as a space for soccer or other unorganized field games. Added recommendation to “Convert ball field to open grass field by removing infield and benches (leave backstop)”, with high prioritization, short-term timeframe, and $100k+ cost estimate Added the following text to the “Water Tower Barn” section of “Current Community Initiatives”: “Rylaur also developed a conceptual Master Plan for the area surrounding the proposed Scandia Arts & Heritage Center site. This plan involves constructing a boardwalk around the adjacent wetland, connecting the site to the Scandia Community Center. The plan also envisions a longer-term goal to expand the Community Center directly east to Oakhill Road N; this would require the City to acquire abutting residential parcels as they become vacant.” 18 Wayne Erickson Memorial Ball Field – - reduce to one ballfield when the South Ball Field converts to the Scandia Arts and Heritage Center, and converted the T-Ball Field to a grass playing field - focusing city resources to restore and improve the WE Memorial Ball Field. - Convert some currently maintained grass areas to additional parking spaces (less expensive to maintain) and as utilization of the field increases - expand the concession stand infrastructure as suggested in the past. Added recommendation to “Expand parking area”, with medium prioritization, short-term timeframe, and $20k – $50k cost estimate Added recommendation to “Expand concession stand infrastructure”, with medium prioritization, short-term timeframe, and $5k – $20k cost estimate 19 Benson – questioned if a Disc Golf Course would be incorporated into this Park Plan recommendation. Discussion concluded the most viable set up would be at Wind in the Pines with a small course, which could be expanded if it proved to be used and apricated by the community. Benson also questioned if a Dog Park would be incorporated into this Park Plan recommendation. Discussion concluded that other communities closed dog parks due to pet owners neglecting clean up duties and underutilization. Property lot sizes show the majority of residents have enough physical space to exercise their pets in on their own premises. Pet socialization is the only obvious advantage, but it has not outweighed the disadvantages in surrounding communities in Scandia where park funding resources are scarce. Added recommendation to “Develop disc golf course”, with low prioritization, long-term timeframe, and $20k – $50k cost estimate 20 Gorham – summarized his comments as echoing many of the points already mentioned, many grammatical and editorial corrections or clarifications, structural inconsistencies of documents referenced but excluded from this new document and the like. Gorham confirmed PRC support to add an additional goal to include the sustainability of parks and their features or improvements. 21 Exec summary – re replacement of the playgrounds, is MSA aware of the plan at the community center? “Enhance the community’s existing amenities before adding new parks: replace aging playground equipment, add restroom facilities, and maintain baseball fields” in the Community Input section came from recurring suggestions in the survey, not a formal recommendation by MSA 22 The pickleball courts should be shared with the tennis courts, vs designated pball courts (or, perhaps that definition should be clearer). Need to respect the legacy of those courts as well as the small number of people who play tennis. See #14 23 I still would like to see a funding ‘goal’. This is, identify funding sources and grant opportunities to continue to invest in the assets (there is a better way to say that), i.e., goal #5. See #7 24 Not sure the existing t-ball field should just be fixed up, or repurposed? See #17 25 Under greater scandia, should hwy 91 be hwy 95? That is referenced in several places. Changed incorrect references to Hwy 91 to 95 26 Do we have the appendices? Yes, not attached to the file for sending purposes but can be attached moving forward 27 It seems we need a marketing plan. E.g., activity at Lilleskogen or ways to let people know that they have input to the work going on at the parks. Also, we need to enhance the programming to bring more people, e.g., to Wayne Erickson0 Added the following text to the “Additional Recommendations” section of the Recommendations chapter: Marketing Strategies In order to bring community awareness to less-visited park facilities within the City, social media platforms could be utilized to advertise park improvements and upcoming on-site recreational programming. The City could consider holding organized hikes, yoga classes, birdwatching workshops, and other activities in each of its parks to encourage people to explore parks they wouldn’t normally visit. 28 As I read through it, especially regarding the recommendations, hard to see order of prioritization. What is still missing (referenced on page 54) is that singular list sorted by high priority / community feedback. Is that the appendix? The singular list that sorts all recommendations by priority will be created once recommendations, prioritizations, and cost estimates are finalized Defer to survey responses Pickleball, cycling amenities 29 Is a positive that the parts of the 2040 comp plan are identified. Great! 30 Add: “Install second boarded rink in current location of the seasonal, non- boarded rink” at Leonard Wojtowicz Added with low prioritization, long-term timeframe, and $50k – $100k cost estimate 31 Add: “In partnership with the DNR and Scandia Elementary, develop a school forest” to Lilleskogen Added with high prioritization, immediate timeframe, and <$5k cost estimate. Add more accurate cost estimate numbers to recommendations tables The project scope outlines that the Recommendations chapter will include “planning-level cost estimates” for each park-specific recommendation. While multiple rounds of PRC feedback have asked for specific numbers instead of dollar sign symbols, we realize that attempting to provide numbered cost estimates without a deep understanding of each park’s unique conditions would likely prove inaccurate and therefore unhelpful for use by the City. Larger recommendations within the plan document, such as constructing a boardwalk or developing a disc golf course, require a design process that is much more robust than the “high-level” view of the park system that we have been focusing on. Instead, we have made the following changes to the document to aid in planning for recommendation implementation: • Removed the dollar sign symbols completely in favor of numbers, but retained the cost estimate numbers that they represented (for example, a recommendation that once said “$$” now says “$5k-20k”). There are also now 5 ranges to make the cost estimates more specific: o <$5k o $5k-20k o $20k-50k o $50k-100k o $100k • Added an explanation of the steps needed to develop a Park Improvement Plan for larger recommendations, located within the Implementation chapter. The text reads as follows: Some of the recommended park improvements in Chapter 5 will require a large budget and robust design process to implement. The following are steps that the City should take to complete these projects: 1. Concept Development: Identify community needs, site issues, and possible design solutions. This Master Plan aligns with this stage as it provides preliminary/high-level ideas for park improvements based on community feedback. 2. Survey: Instrumental in determining the physical conditions of the park property, such as topography, property lines, and existing infrastructure. 3. Environmental Assessment: Determine natural processes and conditions that may be interrupted by human intervention, such as soil and groundwater quality, erosion, and water flow direction. 4. Design Process ▪ Pre-design/Cost Estimating: Identify space requirement issues, constraints and opportunities of the proposed site, and cost versus budget. ▪ Schematic Design: Develop three-dimensional concept(s) to solve identified issue. ▪ Final Design: Narrow possible schematic designs to one implementable design. 5. Specifications and Bidding: Identify specific materials, construction methods, and contractors to complete the project. 6. Construction/Construction Administration: Implementation of project and on-site work to ensure that project is moving smoothly. Highest priority recommendations: Develop a school forest at Lilleskogen Park Convert existing tennis courts into a multi-use racket sports area by painting four pickleball courts perpendicular to the tennis courts and acquiring moveable pickleball nets. Repair/refinish southwest corner of the racket sports area at Scandia Community Center Work with Scandia Heritage Alliance to implement plan for Water Tower Barn project Revamp Wind in the Pines Preserve’s primary trail entrance (off of St. Croix Trl N) with new information kiosk and detailed trail map Replace rink boards at Leonard Wojtowicz – to be completed in 2023 Convert Scandia T-Ball Field to multi-use, open grass field by removing infield and benches