CR 88-145 Knowlwood Pond Area Maintence
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July 14. 1988 Report: 88~145
. KNOLLWOOO POND AREA MAINTENANCE
Proposed Action.
Park Board recormnends the fa I 1 uW f ng motIon: Dlscontfnue
!:urF and Ice rInk ma I ntenance at the Kno 1.1 wood Pond Area.
OvervIew.
The Kno 1 1 wood Pond area has been maIntaIned for many years
at no cost by Park maintenance per sonne I . Thl~ maintenance
consists of mowIng the turf areas around the pond and on the
Island, and maintaining an Ice rInk when condItIons al low.
ThIs maintenance was approved wIth no formal agreement of
any type.
DurIng the recent review of the parks by a vi rtua 1 1 y new
Park Board the question of maIntenance of this prIvately
owned area was questIoned.
The Main concern that surfaced during dIscussIons was the
questIon of fa 1 rness and precedent. These were Felt to oFf
set the attempt to provIde some servIce In place of a CIty
owned Park.
. The Knol 1 wood AssocIation was approached wIth the concept of
the area beIng turned over to the City as Park. They
expressed no desire to have the City assume the area as a
park.
The only other possIble solut~on could be a well deffned
agreement with strict stipulatIon of responslbflltles and
speciFying availabIlity of the ar-ea for 1 i m i ted general
recreat. i ana 1 use.
Primary 1 ssue to Cons I der' .
0 Should rns i nt enance of the Kno 1 I wood Pond area be
continued?
.supportlnq Information.
0 Park Board. 6/27. Knol I wood Pond Area Maintenance
Minutes.
0 J. M I I 1 er. 5/16/88. Park Board Memo
0 .J. Th i e I. 5/12/88. Pdrk Board Memo
. on M. Q~ -------------
Thiel. Publ Ie arks DIrector
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. CITY OF HOPKINS PARK BOARD
MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 27. 1988
HOPKINS CITY HALL
A regular meetIng of the Hopkins Park Board was held on June
27 ~ 1988 !n the Counci I Chambers of Hopkins City Hall.
I. Chairwoman Connors called the meetIng to order at 7102
p.m.
I I . ROLL CALL
Present were members; Connie Connors. ..John Hutchison.
Christy Smith. Marcia Taubr. Michael Winship snd
Counc ~ I 1 I a i son; Chuck Redepenning. Also present was
start" member; Jon Th I e 1 .
I II . MINUTES OF THE MAY 16. 1988 MEETING
The minutes of the May 16. 1988 meetfng were approved
by consent.
I V. BUSINESS
. '; A. KNOLL WOOD POND AREA MAINTENANCE
The status of the Knol 1 wood Pond area maIntenance
was discussed with representatives of the
Knollwood Association.
The repreosentatives of the Association, repOrted on
th~ consensus of the area residents present at the
.June 14 Association meeting. They requested that
the City continue the same maintenance program as
had been estab 1 i shed by inFormal agreement. but
with a formal written agreement. The maintenance
t.hat was e<stabl ished to have been done was mow'ng
of all grass around the pond and on the Island and
clearing and rna I nta r n i ng a recreational ice
skating rink on the pond when Feasible. They
Indicate they were not fnterested In donating the
area to the City for park space.
The> Board discussed the situation again and the
consensus was as at ea r 1 i e r meet f ngs. That the
City should concern itself with 1 f ab i I f ty .
precedent. and fa j rness issues.
. Jon Thiel
1 of 3 Public Works Director
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H. Winship moved and M. Taubr seconded a motfon to ..
recommend to the City Counc i I that mowing and fce
. rInk maintenance be discontinued at Knollwood Pond
and any other prIvately ownea arees. On the vote;
Connors. Hutchison, Smith, Taubr, and Winship
voted yes. The motIon was approved.
B. SHADY OAK PARK/SHADY OAK SHORES OUTLOT a UPDATE
The Park Board was updated on the Coune f 1 Action
at thefr June 7th meeting, and fnFormed that
Minnetonka would be reviewing the requirement of
increasing to 12 parking spaces at their next Park
Board meeting.
C. HOPKINS AREA LITTLE LEAGUE ,
The Hopkins Little league was present to ask For
help in relocating their present Little League
field (M.B. Hagen field) along 11th A.ve South.
THis 15 seen as necessary because of the proposed
11 th Ave South Impr~vement projects and the
possible 6th St South construction dfrectly south
of their Field.
The Board dlscuss~d the various locattons that may
be feasIble and the deslrabJ 1 Ity of a t~ttle
League program. Staff was directed to investigate
. the ownershIp, value and p05stble Interest in the
schoo' donatIng or se I ling Maetzold Field to the
City. The Recrea.t f on Department was to (nclude 'n
the review a recommendation of" the recreatIonal
need and compatibility with the Little League.
D. HOPKINS CITlZEN SURVEY
The Citizen survey that Is cur r"ent 1 y be'ng
completed was reviewed and commented on. a survey
that t.he Eden Prairie Park and Ree is using was
revfewp.d and discussed.
E . HOPKINS SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNITY SERViCES
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING REPORT
C. Smith reported that no meetIng was held durIng
this period.
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C I T Y 0 F H 0 P K I N S
MEMO
Date: May 16, 1988
'1'0: John Thiel
From: Jerre Miller
Re: Knollwood Area Pond
't'his will confirm our telephone conversation of May 12, 1988
concerning the Knollwood area pond.
Although I am not enthused about the City's involvement in
maintaining private amenities, I would consider 1~~bi11ty to
the City for injuries or damage caused to be scant ~4 any.
. However, it is always a source of amazement how creative the
legal profession cen be in formulating~unique basis to
support damage or injury claims. The opportunity to
hypothecate on the basis of such claims becomes a little
easier where the City is preparing the pond for skating in
the wintertime.
There is also the possibilit.y the other associations or
entities can request the City maintain amenities such as the
pool in the Plaza apartments, homeowners' association
pocketpar(s and the like.
This could create a discomforting precedent for the City.
Obviously the issue of liability on the part of the City
depends on the extensiveness and the nature of its
involvement in maintaining privately owned amenities and
without a specific factual circumstance. I can only say each
claim would depend on the facts arising from the damage or
injury claimed in using the amenity but it is certainly
something for the park~ to consider in formulating 8
policy on this subject.
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