Parks Committee Meeting Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - 9:00 a.m. Bunker Hills Activities Center, Cedar Room Agenda Parks and Recreation Update County Board Items 1. Authorization of Joint Powers Agreement – City of Fridley 2. Authorization of Access Agreement – Rice Creek Watershed District 3. Authorization of Master Contracts – Utility Locating Services 4. Authorization of Matching County Funds - Minnesota Legacy Fund Grant Programs 5. Award of Contract - Exhibit and Displays/Design Build Services for Wargo Nature Center Committee Items 6. Bunker Beach Water Park Wave Pool Renovation Recommendation 7. Chomonix Golf Course Professional Golf Services Consultant Informational Items 8. Rice Creek Maintenance Building Concept Plan, Phase II 9. Bidding Bunker Beach Parking Lot and Park Trail Improvements 10. Open House for proposed changes to Rum River Regional Trail Master Plan 11. Contracts Processed Public Comments Please Limit to Two Minutes ANOKA COUNTY PARKS the connection may • 2019 VOLUME 26 ISSUE 5 CONTENTS EVENTS AND UPDATES From the Director 3 Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve Maintenance Facility 4 Camping Season Begins 4 Lake George Dam Reconstruction Preparations 5 Earth Day at Wargo Nature Center 5 Brighter Days Ahead for Bunker Park Stable 6 Training Time at Bunker Beach 7 Meet Chomonix’s New Golf Operations Manager 7 - 2 - FROM THE DIRECTOR: With Spring well under way, one of the many unique outdoor recreation opportunities the Anoka County Parks System has to offer is located at the Bunker Hills Archery Complex in Bunker Hills Regional Park. The evolution of the Bunker Hills Archery Complex is an interesting story that began about 40 years ago when Anoka County partnered with a local archery organization, Rapids Archery Club, to build the original building and field ranges near the south gatehouse in the late 1970’s. This archery facility operated successfully for approximately 20 years in this location. In 1998, as part of the master planning process for Bunker Hills Regional Park, the plan called for the archery range to be relocated to the far west side of the park to better serve the long-term needs of the archers, minimize potential conflicts with other park uses and to minimize the impacts to the high-quality natural resources. In early May of 1999, ironically, a train passing through the park sparked an intense wild land fire that burned 145 acres in the west quadrant of Bunker Hills Regional Park. The wildfire caused significant tree mortality of 3,700 mature pine trees and 200 oak trees. Park staff conducted a tree loss appraisal of the damages and submitted a restoration claim to the railroad company. As a result, a claim was negotiated and settled and provided the needed financial framework to move the archery complex over to its’ current location on the west side of the park, achieving the goals of the recently completed master plan. In 2001, a state-of-the-art archery complex was constructed that included an 8,400 square foot clubhouse that offers 24 shooting stations, a full-service kitchen, seating area, restrooms, and training room. In addition, there are 5 outdoor ranges consisting of a large field-tip practice range, a broadhead range, and three National Field Archery designed loops with 56 unique shooting stations that co-exist with the surrounding oak savanna habitat and sand dune formations. Rapids Archery Club is one of largest clubs in Minnesota that plans and coordinates multiple state- wide and national shooting events, year-round classes and programs for all ages, Junior Olympic Archery Development, and competitive leagues. When scheduled events are not taking place, the outdoor ranges are always open for public use and there are open public shooting opportunities at the indoor range. If you haven’t visited the Bunker Hills Archery Complex yet, it is well worth your time to experience what has been described as one of the premier archery facilities in the Upper Midwest! Jeff Perry - 3 - RICE CREEK CHAIN OF LAKES PARK RESERVE MAINTENANCE FACILITY In 2017/18, the first phase the Rice Creek maintenance facility was constructed. This included the construction of a cold storage building for equipment. The second phase of the project is to construct the office/breakroom area, restrooms, and a work and tool storage area. The County has hired BTR Architects for the design. Plans and specifications are underway, with construction scheduled to start in September or October of 2019 with completion in 2020. Funding for this project is provided through a Metro Regional Parks and Trails Legacy Grant. CAMPING SEASON BEGINS Several new and exciting changes have been made in the campgrounds and they are ready for the 2019 season. Based on customer feedback, additional concessions have been added to the Bunker Hills Campground and Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Campground to accommodate requests for water and other beverages. The Bunker Hills Campground has new upgrades in the visitor center and out in the campground. Inside the visitor center, the meeting room was transformed into a warm and welcoming visitor lounge that has already been well received by our guests. Another exciting change in the Bunker Hills Campground is the new nature play area. This new space will create more opportunities for families to enjoy the outdoors and allow for guests to take full advantage of the creativity and adventure that is possible in Anoka County Parks. - 4 - LAKE GEORGE DAM RECONSTRUCTION PREPARATIONS The natural resource winter logging crew addressed an access issue associated with tree removals to the Lake George dam site. The access is located on property owned by the City of Oak Grove. A 600’ long by 16’ wide by 12’ tall access road was cleared to allow trucks and heavy equipment into the site. A large area near the dam was also cleared to stage equipment and materials. Wood from the removal of these trees will be utilized for a public firewood sale and campground firewood. The dam is being replaced as part of a grant from the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. This project will be a change in design from a sheet pile dam to a more natural weir that will facilitate fish passage while maintaining the historic water level in Lake George. EARTH DAY AT WARGO NATURE CENTER Make every day Earth Day! The weather finally cooperated and earth-friendly visitors flocked to Wargo Nature Center on April 20 for the annual Earth Day Celebration. Earth Day has been a great collaborative event with the city of Lino Lakes for more than 20 years. During the morning hours, more than 40 volunteers did a great job removing invasive plants, taking down fencing around the bird feeding station, and removing the aging signs along the trail. In the afternoon, focus shifted to a celebration of the earth. Thanks to the City of Lino Lakes, Tricia and the Toonies entertained kids with their earth-friendly message. Another thanks to a grant from the Anoka County Libraries, the Roe Family Singers kept the toes tapping and music filled the outdoor amphitheater. Visitors also enjoyed earth-friendly vendors, crafts, face painting, and outdoor fun. It was a wonderful day reminding us all to take care of the Earth! - 5 - BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD FOR BUNKER PARK STABLE The Maintenance Unit is charged with making sure our partners are well taken care of, and that the maintenance and upkeep of these facilities is at our high-quality standard. Over the past few years, the Maintenance Unit in conjunction with Facilities Management & construction staff have made great progress in standardizing the interior lighting at these buildings and facilities. With the relatively recent introduction of LED technology and ongoing maintenance needs with fluorescent light fixtures, the decision to begin converting to LED was financially sound and has reduced long-term maintenance costs by reducing the number of visits for bulb repair. A recent project at the Bunker Hills Stables will quickly show the many benefits of converting. Between the Stables Riding Arena and Horse Barn, there were 62 eight-foot long double lamp fluorescent light fixtures. Each fixture totaled approximately 440 watts cost $70 for complete replacement and were expected to last about 12,000 hours. In addition to the energy and monetary costs of the lighting components, ongoing maintenance costs were high due to the specialized lift equipment and staff needed to efficiently replace these bulbs due to the unique use of the buildings, the harsh environment they were in, and the demands for good lighting for the Stable’s operation. Over the course of approximately 2 days, a team of Facilities Management and Construction personnel skillfully retrofitted these two building with brand new LED fixtures. Each of the 62 fixtures were converted to the energy efficient 72-watt LED’s. At an almost identical replacement cost of $71.50 per fixture and an expected four-time greater life of 50,000 hours, the return on investment will be noticed almost immediately. In addition, Connexus Energy offers a rebate for converting to more energy efficient fixtures. In this case, the 72-watt retrofit kit will get reimbursed $25 each. A special note of thanks goes to the four Facilities Management and Construction staff that completed the work: Tim Norling, Tim Barthel, Mike Herzog and Stalin Ballesteros. - 6 - TRAINING TIME AT BUNKER BEACH Bunker Beach completed seasonal interviews for the 2019 season. In total, 200 interview requests were sent out to applicants interested in maintenance, lifeguarding, concessions, and guest services. Next up is training for all departments. Before Bunker Beach opens for the season, each employee will go through an all-staff training and a department-specific training. These training sessions typically take around 15 hours to complete.