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PR 02/07/2000 - 00007992CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — FEBRUARY 7, 2000 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the February 7, 2000 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick Tim Solberg Marcy Sibell Dick Young Members Absent: Susan Price Others Present: 7ack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Paul Lawrence, Public Works Superintendent APPROVAL OF JANUARY 3, 2000 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg to approve the minutes of the January 3, 2000 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR FEBRUARY 7, 2000 MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young to approve the agenda for the February 7, 2000 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk called attention to the program report included in the agenda packet for the meeting. The winter programs have been going very well and staff is currently in the process of preparing information for the Spring activities brochure which will be mailed out in the ne�t couple of weeks. Mr. Kirk wanted the Commission members to be aware of the Environmental Education curriculum that the Nature Center staff is working with the Fridley School District on. The special colored flyer attached to the program update gives an overview of this program. Mr. Kondrick stated that Siah St. Clair does a great job at Springbrook Nature Center and this Environmental Education program is another example of his fine work Mr. Kondrick further stated that people in this area associate Siah with Springbrook and it is important that the City promote Siah's name and picture with the promotion of the programs. He stated that he (Siah) is a good image for the Nature Center and his presence should be promoted more. Mr. Solberg asked about the deer reduction program at Springbrook and if that was taking place this year. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 7, 2000 Pa�e 2 Mr. Kirk responded that the deer management program was underway this past week and 11 deer had been removed. The program will operate for one more evening later this week and that will be it for this year. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lawrence stated that park maintenance activities have centered on maintaining ice at the 20 ice skating facilities. He said that the weather hasn't been perfect, but the maintenance workers have done a good job providing usable ice. The skating season will likely come to close within the ne�t week due to the warm weather being forecast. Mr. Young commented that he has heard of use of softer or more "forgiving" hockey boards to prevent some of the serious injuries in the sport. Mr. Solberg stated that he was aware of soft boards being used for hockey at the Roseville John Rose Oval facility. c. City Council / Commission Survey Mr. Kirk stated that the City Manager's Office will be sending out a survey to all commission members in the ne�t week or so, asking for input on a number of issues facing the City. There are a number of items pertaining to the Parks and Recreation system, but also items relating to Public Works, Police, Fire, and Planning. Mr. Kirk thanked the Commission members in advance for their help in completing and returning this survey. Mr. Kirk also stated that the City Manager, Mr. Bill Burns, has suggested that the City Council meet with the Parks and Recreation Commission to discuss the results of the survey. A special meeting will be scheduled some time in April for this purpose. The Commission members indicated that they thought a joint meeting with the City Council to discuss the survey would be a good idea. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Softball Tournament Request - Fridley Lions Club Mr. Kirk stated that staff recommends approval of the request by the Fridley Lions Club to run a softball tournament at Fridley Community Park on August 18-20, 2000. He further stated that the Lions Club would like the opportunity to make a donation to the City of Fridley in lieu of the rental fee normally charged to non-profit Fridley organization. The donations to the City in past years have always been significantly more that the City would have received with the rental. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young, to approve the softball tournament request by the Fridley Lions Club with the opportunity to make a donation in lieu of the rental fee. Details of the donation are to be worked out by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 7, 2000 Pa�e 3 b. Softball Tournament Request - FYSA Girls Softball Mr. Kirk stated that staff recommends approval of the request by the Fridley Youth Sports Association (FYSA) Girls Softball to run a softball tournament at Fridley Community Park on July 14 -16, 2000. This will be a Minnesota Recreation and Park Association official state softball tournament event. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to approve the softball tournament request by the FYSA Girls Softball. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. c. Softball Tournament Request - Fridley Wrestling Boosters Mr. Kirk stated that staff recommended approval of the request by the Fridley Wrestling Boosters to run an invitational softball tournament (The 7t'` Annual John Gargaro Memorial Classic) at Fridley Community Park on June 16-18, 2000. This tournament would be held during the Fridley 49er Days City Celebration. The carnival and much of the activity for 49er Days will be held this year at the Columbia Ice Arena / Locke Park site. Mr. Young stated that with the tournament and all of the 49er events happening in the same general area this year, that there is potential for problems with people crossing back and forth on University Avenue. He asked if it would be possible to have the speed limit for this area to be lowered during the event. Another possibility would be to post signs alerting motorists to increased pedestrian traffic ahead. Mr. Kondrick stated that it may be necessary to enlist the assistance of the police department to help patrol pedestrian traffic in the area during the tournament and 49er Days. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the softball tournament request by the Fridley Wrestling Boosters. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. d. Soccer Tournament Request - Fridley / Heights Soccer Club Mr. Kirk stated that the Fridley / Heights Soccer Club was once again requesting the use of the soccer fields at Commons Park, Locke Park, and the Fridley Middle School. The fee charged by the City in past years has been $50 per field (for e�sting fields) and $200 for laying out and lining any additional fields. All additional costs associated with the tournament such as portable restrooms or additional maintenance workers would be billed to the tournament as well. The fee per field has not been adjusted since 1995, even though the cost of maintenance for these facilities has risen. Mr. Kirk said that staff is recommending that the cost per field be $60 for the tournament and that there be a$50 charge on use of the Commons Activity Building. Any additional fields to be lined would remain at the $200 fee and all additional costs for the tournament would be billed back to the tournament sponsors. Additional costs need to include the cost of providing a dumpster at Commons Park due to the volume of garbage that is generated at each tournament. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 7, 2000 Pa�e 4 MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to approve the request for a soccer tournament by the Fridley / Heights Soccer Club with a fee of $60 per field and $50 for the Commons Activity Building. All Additional costs for items such as portable restrooms, garbage dumpsters, and additional maintenance workers shall be billed back to the tournament sponsors. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. e. Baseball Tournament Request - FYSA Little League Mr. Kirk stated that the Recreation Office has received this request for a baseball tournament at the Little League fields on June 2- 4, 2000. This is a new request and staff would like to know if the Commission members have any concerns or issues that should be addressed. Mr. Young stated that the Little League fields are in a residential area and a weekend tournament such as this could have an impact on neighbors. It might be advisable for the tournament sponsors to notify these people in advance and explain why the tournament is being conducted. Mr. Solberg asked how many teams would be participating and what hours the tournament would run. Mr. Young asked how the parking of cars would be handled for the tournament. Would parking be allowed in the residential neighborhoods or be directed to the high school parking lots? Has the high school been notified of the tournament and have they agreed to allow parking? Mr. Kondrick suggested that since this is a new tournament and there are so many unanswered questions, that it might be advisable to table this item and have the tournament directors attend the ne�t meeting. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to table this item and invite the Little League baseball tournament directors to the ne�t meeting to provide more detailed information regarding this event. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. f. Summer Playground Format and Program Fees Mr. Kirk presented a staff proposal for the summer playground program format and the participation fees. The Preschool Playgrounds would all be held at Commons Park and would run on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings during the two, four-week summer sessions. The 4 and 5 year old program would run for one hour and fifteen minutes each of the days and the 3 year old program (new this year) for forty-five minutes. Cost for the preschool playgrounds is recommended at $25 per session, an increase of $3 over last year. Mr. Kirk further reported that the Elementary School age Playground program would provide several opportunities under this staff recommendation. All of the playgrounds would operate four days per week, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. An all afternoon or 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. program would run at Hayes Elementary and Flanery Park at a cost of $35 per four week session, an increase from the $31 per session rate of last year. Staff is also planning for some sites to have one and one half-hour activities on the four days per week at a rate of $18 per four-week session. The summer ROCKS program, the all day (7:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) option, would cost $75 per week with a$50 discount for a Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 7, 2000 Pa�e 5 pre- pay of all eight weeks or a$25 discount for a pre-pay of four weeks. The Wednesday special event/ trips program will be a separate registration and fees will vary depending on the event. Mr. Young suggested changing the time for the 3-year-old program and the 4-5 year old program. He would suggest the 3 year olds have the later starting time in the morning. MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the staffrecommended format and fees for the Summer Playground Program. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young to adjourn the February 7, 2000 meeting at 8:35 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE FEBRUARY 7, 2000 MEETING ADJOURNED.