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VII.3. Update on Central Park Master Plan; Imihy CITY OF HOPKINS Memorandum To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members Mike Mornson, City Manager From: Laila Imihy, AICP – Special Projects and Initiatives Manager Date: April 15, 2025 Subject: Central Park Master Plan Update _____________________________________________________________________ PURPOSE To provide the City Council an update and next steps on the Central Park Master Plan project. INFORMATION In Fall of 2024, staff began working with a consultant team from Bolton and Menk, BARR Engineering and JLG Architecture to complete a master planning process for Central Park. This effort was made in collaboration with the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District (NMCWD) in an effort to both renovate the park as well as work to improve flooding and water quality issues that exist within and because of the park. Over the fall and winter, concurrently with an existing conditions analysis, staff from the City as well as NMCWD engaged the community in a variety of methods including pop- up and planned events, door knocking and a digital survey to gain feedback on what amenities were most important to the community in a redesigned park. Using the master plan in the Park System Master Plan (PSMP), community members were asked to provide more detail on how these amenities could truly meet community needs. Highlight from this engagement were working with the NMCWD Community Advisory Committee to door knock nearly all of the avenues, partnering with the Hopkins-Minnetonka Youth Advisory Board to host a youth focused engagement session, visiting classrooms at Alice Smith Elementary and meeting 1:1 with community organizations who use the park regularly like Raspberry Festival and the Pickleball Community. Bolton and Menk worked to summarize the findings of this engagement, which is attached to this report, which reports that: • 50% of survey respondents said that either equipment quality or lack of facilities which interested them discouraged them from using Central Park which mirrored engagement in the PSMP where residents shared that outdated or poorly maintained equipment was a large barrier to using City Parks. • Overwhelmingly during in-person and online feedback, residents asked for the playground and play features to be updated. • Maintaining fields and the outdoor rinks were also highly requested in both online and in-person engagement Administration • Finally, plans to add natural elements and improve sustainability were a focus for all groups with the survey identifying enhanced plantings and landscaping as the number one new amenity desired by survey respondents. Using this information, in addition to environmental assessments such as soil borings and historical knowledge of the property, the consultant team developed a plan which works to incorporate community desires while also working to improve soil conditions, reduce flooding and improve stormwater quality. The park in its current form has several challenges which must be addressed to make any improvements to the park: • Soil Quality: Because of its historical use as a dump site / unregulated landfill, the park has significant soil issues that need to be addressed to safely construct any new amenities in the park. As was required with the 2015 Pavillion Construction process, soils will need to be remediated. • Flooding: Field quality is consistently an issue with this park. Following rain events, fields flood and stay well for several days, and the combination of flooding and soil quality issues make playing on these fields challenging. Neighboring parcels in this area also experience significant flooding which could be improved with flooding improvements to the park. • Stormwater Quality: The park sits just north of the headwaters to the Nine Mile Creek and runoff traveling through this park is further contaminated by the aforementioned poor soil quality. An ability to improve this as well as create a true headwaters for the creek has lead NMCWD to partner with the City on this project. • Design: Residents largely felt the parks biggest issue was that the existing amenities needed to be improved, rather than a need for many new amenities. When thinking about what could be added residents identified items like shade, plantings and naturalization as their top priorities in addition to improving the quality and condition of existing amenities like the playground, fields and shelter spaces. The consultant team worked to combine these conditions and feedback into a plan, which is attached to this memo. The proposed plan leaves most amenities in place, moves and expands the playground, includes many stormwater treatment and flooding best practices to re-naturalize elements of the park, while also providing a larger and improved soccer field, additional shelter space and closes the roadway which bisects the park. While working on this project the team learned of two grant opportunities which could help fund the park – an MPCA Implementation Grant for Stormwater Resilience of up to $5 million dollars, and the Priority Project List (PPL) for the Minnesota Clean Water Fund. The later grant is multi-step process which requires the applicant to create and adopt a Stormwater Management Plan which will determine what amount, if any, might be eligible for a grant. This is likely to be several million dollars but will not be known until approved. This Stormwater Management Plan also allows the applicant to be on the PSIG List, providing eligibility for low-interest and/or forgivable loans. These interest rates are likely to be far lower than what the City could bond for if financing the project. In looking at these two funding opportunities, staff and the consultant determined that the best course of action would be to design the park in a way that would best attract funding. The City should know by late May if it will receive funding from the MPCA grant, however additional steps must be taken to continue seeking funding from the Minnesota Clean Water Fund, including holding a public hearing and adopting a resolution on a Stormwater Management Plan. Staff plans to bring these both forward at the May 6, 2025 meeting. Should the City be unsuccessful in obtaining funding through either of these grant programs, the park design will likely need to be modified and further conversations about what sustainability elements should be prioritized will happen with the Council, Watershed district and community. Tonight, Staff seeks to provide an update on the park plan, financing strategies and next steps. FUTURE ACTION At the Council Meeting on May 6, the City will hold a public hearing on the Stormwater Management Plan for Central Park, and consider a Resolution supporting the Stormwater Management Plan. Over 1,000 people were engaged as part of the planning and design process for the Improvements at Central Park Project. The following outlines the events, methods, and findings from those efforts. DATE EVENT PURPOSE ATTENDEES Nov 05, 2024 Email to Adult Recreation League Managers Inform + Invite to Pop-Up 30 Nov 13, 2024 Email reminder to Adult Recreation League Managers Inform + Invite to Pop-Up 30 Nov 13, 2024 Pop-Up Engagement Event at Bear Cave Brewing Inform + Invite to Online Survey 8 Nov 16, 2024 Pop-Up Engagement at Hopkins Farmers Market Inform + Invite to Online Survey 41 Nov 23, 2024 Pop-Up Engagement at Hopkins Farmers Market Inform + Invite to Online Survey 74 Nov 2024 Chesterton Academy Staff Survey Inform + Survey 6 Nov 2024 Chesterton Academy Student Survey Inform + Survey 30 Dec 2024 Ubah Academy Staff Survey Inform + Survey 16 Dec 03, 2024 Pop-Up Engagement Event at Hopkins Community Cinema Inform + Invite to Online Survey 35 Dec 05, 2024 Email invite to Adult Recreation League Managers to Movie Night Open House Inform + Invite to Open House + Online Survey 30 Dec 05, 2024 Email invite to apartment building managers to Movie Night Open House Inform + Invite to Open House + Online Survey 10 Dec 09, 2024 Email to Alice Smith Elementary teachers for engagement opportunity Inform + Arrange Meeting 16 Dec 09, 2024 Door-knocking + Door hanger Distribution at Vista 44 Community Inform + Invite to Open House + Online Survey 50 Dec 10, 2024 Door-knocking + Door hanger Distribution at Avenues Neighborhood Inform + Invite to Open House + Online Survey 350 Dec 11, 2024 Movie Night Open House at The Hopkins Pavilion Inform + Invite to Online Survey 43 Dec 17, 2024 4th Grade Classroom Visit + Engagement Exercise at Alice Smith Elementary Inform + Gather Input 20 Dec - Jan Online Engagement (Survey and INPUTiD Map) Inform + Gather Input 182 Jan Stakeholder Listening Sessions Inform + Gather Input 16 Jan 09, 2025 1st Grade Classroom Engagement Exercise (Mailing) at Alice Smith Elementary Inform + Gather Input 20 Jan 26, 2025 Youth Advisory Board Skating Event at Hopkins Pavilion Inform + Gather Input 20 January 28, 2025 4th Grade Classroom Visits + Exercise at Alice Smith Elementary Inform + Gather Input 40 Engagement Events Community Engagement Survey Respondents at a Glance How often do you visit Central Park? Overall Visitor Experience Rating How safe and welcome do you feel in Central Park? 182 119 Total Responses Comment Responses to Survey Questions Daily or Almost Daily Several Times a Week Several Times a Month Once a Month Several Times a Year I do not visit Central Park Very Safe & WelcomeSomewhat Safe & WelcomeNeutral 18% 12%31%6% 50% Excellent Good Neutral Fair Poor 6.4% 44.6% 29.3% 2.6% 17.2% 9%24% 33%14% Community Survey Summary 2 Hopkins Central Park Improvements 65% Answered Good or Excellent 55% Answered Good or Excellent 54% Answered Good or Excellent 31% Answered Good or Excellent 30% Answered Good or Excellent What time of day do you typically visit Central Park? 13% 68% 65%42% Night Evening Afternoon Morning Top 5 Reasons for Visiting Central Park Top 5 Facilities Visitors are Most Satisfied With Attend an Event Walk/Run Visit the Pavilion Take Kids to the Park Use the Playground23451 Multi-Use Path Pickleball Courts Outdoor Hockey Pavilion Tennis Courts 11 22 554433 3Community Engagement Summary Top 5 Amenities to Expand or Improve Top 5 Amenities to Maintain 1st 1st Playground 65% of Respondents 72% of Respondents 70% of Respondents 68% of Respondents 65% of Respondents 60% of Respondents 60% of Respondents 64% of Respondents 60% of Respondents 34% of Respondents Ball Fields Outdoor Hockey Rink Soccer Field Outdoor Skating Rink Pickleball Courts Pavilion 5th 5th 2nd 2nd Picnic Shelter/ Seating 3rd 3rd Public Restrooms 4th 4th Multi-use Path 4 Hopkins Central Park Improvements Enhanced Plantings/ Landscaping More Permanent Restrooms Shade Lighting Bike Racks Top 5 Amenities to Add to Central Park 11 22 554433 Nothing Equipment Quality No Facilities of Interest What discourages people from using Central Park? Community Movie Events Sports Leagues / Clubs Events for children + caregivers Top 3 Programming Desires in Central Park 40% 38% 28% 80% 41%22% 5Community Engagement Summary Stakeholder Listening Sessions - Key Takeaways Access Hopkins January 6, 2025 Pickleball Users January 8, 2025 Raspberry Fest January 8, 2025 Adult Softball January 10, 2025 More stormwater features, less More stormwater features, less mowing, more natural areasmowing, more natural areas Vehicle and bike parking near Vehicle and bike parking near the courts is very importantthe courts is very important Raspberry Jam needs to be Raspberry Jam needs to be enclosed with temporary enclosed with temporary fencing to support beer salesfencing to support beer sales Raspberry Jam needs an Raspberry Jam needs an elevated stage for the band elevated stage for the band performances – anything performances – anything permanent would have to permanent would have to account for thisaccount for this The fields are considered sub par by the softball community The way the paths create a The way the paths create a ring of walking around the park ring of walking around the park works well for usersworks well for users Increasing the number of courts Increasing the number of courts would ease the amount of time would ease the amount of time people wait to play a gamepeople wait to play a game This project creates an This project creates an opportunity to build a multi-opportunity to build a multi- use path along the north side use path along the north side of Excelsior that connects to of Excelsior that connects to multi-use paths to the eastmulti-use paths to the east Restrooms that are close to the Restrooms that are close to the courts and easily accessible for courts and easily accessible for playersplayers Hopkins has many mobility Hopkins has many mobility scooters users who need well-scooters users who need well- maintained, accessible pathsmaintained, accessible paths Additional, convenient seating Additional, convenient seating that allows people to socialize that allows people to socialize by the courts and watch gamesby the courts and watch games The northern half of the The northern half of the park is large enough to host park is large enough to host Raspberry JamRaspberry Jam Like playing at Central Park Like playing at Central Park because it’s convenient and because it’s convenient and Main Street commercial district Main Street commercial district is nearbyis nearby Food vendors/food trucks Food vendors/food trucks need to park in a way that need to park in a way that attendees can patronize them attendees can patronize them comfortablycomfortably The shelter and green space The shelter and green space near the fields is heavily used as near the fields is heavily used as a place to socialize before and a place to socialize before and after games after games Desire to maintain a flexible Desire to maintain a flexible hang out space near the fields hang out space near the fields for kids that is safe from trafficfor kids that is safe from traffic 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 2 2 1 1 3 3 4 4 6 Hopkins Central Park Improvements Minneapolis Soccer Club January 17,2024 Use the playground on school Use the playground on school district property because it is district property because it is more accessiblemore accessible TU hosts a significant spring TU hosts a significant spring tournament and would use a tournament and would use a competition-level field to host competition-level field to host tournament games if it were tournament games if it were available, ideally 350’ x 200’available, ideally 350’ x 200’ Programming for a 9 v 9 field is Programming for a 9 v 9 field is 70-80 yards x 45-55 yards wide70-80 yards x 45-55 yards wide Artificial turf would be ideal, Artificial turf would be ideal, could get 7months out of the could get 7months out of the year whereas natural grass is 5 year whereas natural grass is 5 months/year in Minnesotamonths/year in Minnesota If the Pavilion expands, AKA If the Pavilion expands, AKA Sport would use the second rink Sport would use the second rink or additional gym spaceor additional gym space Artificial turf and lighting would extend play time (less field resting and night games) Needs lawn/open green space Needs lawn/open green space but can adapt to the space but can adapt to the space providedprovided Any sort of facility build out is key; there are not enough fields The open skate area is a key The open skate area is a key spot for programming because spot for programming because it is close to the building and it is close to the building and kids do not have to cross the kids do not have to cross the parking lot/road to get thereparking lot/road to get there Tonka United is always looking Tonka United is always looking for turf and field space year-for turf and field space year- roundround A field that is 120 yards x 70 A field that is 120 yards x 70 yards would be ideal to support yards would be ideal to support 11 v 11 (13 years old and above)11 v 11 (13 years old and above) One of MCSC’s goals is to One of MCSC’s goals is to provide opportunity for youth provide opportunity for youth of all income levels to compete of all income levels to compete at a high levelat a high level 1 2 3 4 2 2 1 1 3 3 4 4 Stakeholder Listening Sessions - Key Takeaways Active Kids Association of Sport January 14, 2025 Tonka United January 14, 2025 7Community Engagement Summary Youth Engagement Finding: Top Ranked Playground Amenities Desired for Central Park Zip Line Slides Swings Hills Bars23451 Over the course of two visits, city staff engaged directly with approximately 60 4th grade students at Alice Smith Elementary School. Students learned about the project and completed an exercise to share their dreams and desires for the playground improvements at Central Park. The exercise was also sent home with a classroom of 1st graders to help inform families of the projects. 8 Hopkins Central Park Improvements Tower Tunnel Merry-Go- Round Spinners Pool789106 9Community Engagement Summary 1. Restoration of Natural Areas 2. Upgraded + Accessible Play Equipment 3. Open Field Space + Trails Youth Advisory Board Pop Up Skating Engagement Event January 26, 2025 Finding: Top 3 Programming Desires in Central Park The Hopkins - Minnetonka Youth Advisory Board is a group of 9th through 12th grade students from the Hopkins and Minnetonka school districts. These students volunteer to help shape youth programming in Hopkins and donate their time to attend monthly board meetings and leadership retreats, and create new programming for youth. One January 26 they hosted an Ice Skate In Central Park event from 12pm to 4pm where they gathered feedback on the Central Park Improvements project. Approximately 20 people attended the event and provided feedback on desired park improvements. 10 Hopkins Central Park Improvements Engagement with Neighboring Schools November - December 2024 Staff ranked beneficial features Staff ranked beneficial features to include:to include: 1. 1. Native plant observation Native plant observation areas areas 2. 2. Access to sporting areasAccess to sporting areas 3. 3. Tree observation areasTree observation areas 4. 4. Water observation areaWater observation area 5. 5. Data gatheringData gathering 6. 6. Trails Trails 7. 7. Fitness area/equipmentFitness area/equipment Staff ranked their need for Staff ranked their need for 1. 1. SeatingSeating 2. 2. Shaded areas Shaded areas 3. 3. One large group gathering One large group gathering area area 4. 4. Spaces for independent Spaces for independent learninglearning 5. 5. Multiple large group Multiple large group gathering areasgathering areas 6. 6. Small group gathering areasSmall group gathering areas All staff would like to use All staff would like to use Central Park for educational Central Park for educational purposespurposes 2 1 3 Chesterton Academy Students (30 respondents) Students ranked beneficial Students ranked beneficial features to include: features to include: 1. 1. TrailsTrails 2. 2. Water observation areasWater observation areas 3. 3. Access to sporting areasAccess to sporting areas 4. 4. Native plant areasNative plant areas 5. 5. Fitness area/equipmentFitness area/equipment 6. 6. Tree observation areasTree observation areas Students ranked their desired Students ranked their desired uses for Central Park:uses for Central Park: 1. 1. Break timeBreak time 2. 2. Moving existing classes Moving existing classes outdoorsoutdoors 3. 3. SportsSports 4. 4. Collecting dataCollecting data 5. 5. Art projectsArt projects 6. 6. ExerciseExercise 7. 7. Measuring seasonal changeMeasuring seasonal change 8. 8. Creative writingCreative writing Most students would like to Most students would like to use Central Park for outdoor use Central Park for outdoor learninglearning 2 1 3 During the months of November and December of 2024, project partners at Nine Mile Creek Watershed District conducted in-person and online engagement with staff and students at Ubah and Chesterton Academies. Both schools are located north of Central Park. Findings from these efforts are summarized below. Chesterton Academy Staff (6 respondents) 11Community Engagement Summary Ubah Academy Charter School Staff (16 respondents) Staff ranked beneficial features Staff ranked beneficial features to include: to include: 1. 1. Native plant observation Native plant observation areasareas 2. 2. Tree observation areasTree observation areas 3. 3. Fitness area/equipmentFitness area/equipment 4. 4. Trails Trails 5. 5. Access to sporting areas Access to sporting areas 6. 6. Data gatheringData gathering 7. 7. Water observationWater observation Staff ranked their need for:Staff ranked their need for: 1. 1. Shaded areasShaded areas 2. 2. Small group gathering Small group gathering spacesspaces 3. 3. SeatingSeating 4. 4. Spaces for independent Spaces for independent learninglearning 5. 5. One large group gathering One large group gathering areaarea 6. 6. Multiple large group Multiple large group gathering areasgathering areas Most staff would like to use Most staff would like to use Central Park for educational Central Park for educational purposespurposes 2 1 3 Findings from Engagement with Neighboring Schools November - December 2024 12 Hopkins Central Park Improvements HOPKINS CENTRAL PARK IMPROVEMENT PLAN APRIL 4, 2025 0’100’200’ 1 4 5 6 6 6 6 8 9 92 2 3 3 2 2 SOFTBALL FIELD 1 280’ FENCELINE SOFTBALL FIELD 2 275’ FENCELINE SUNKEN SOCCER/ FLEX FIELD BASIN STORMWATER NODE STORMWATER PRETREATEMENT + SCIENCE YARD GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE PLAY AREA SUNKEN SOCCER / FLEX FIELD WEIR / SPILLWAY SHELTERS SKATE LOOP PARK ENTRY NODE STORMWATER NODE INTEGRATED SEAT WALLS DRY CREEK BED EXISTING PICKLEBALL EXISTING PARKING EXISTING TENNIS HOPKINS PAVILION EXISTING HOCKEY + WIFFLEBALL FUTURE PHASE FUTURE PHASE FUTURE PHASE FUTURE PHASE EXPANDED PARKING PARK ENTRANCE PARK ENTRANCE EXISTING HOCKEY RINK + WIFFLEBALL PLAY AREA SKATE LOOP SHELTER 1 7 6 4 5 55 8 9 10 10 7 FUTURE PHASE SHELTER