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PR 07/06/1982 - 31280� CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING JULY 6, 1982 CALL TO ORDER: Vice-Chairperson Schreiner called the July 6, 7982, Parks & Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:36 p.m. ROLL CALL: M�bers Present: Mary Schreiner, Dick Young, Dan Allen Menbers Absent: Dave Kondrick, Jan Seeger Others Present: Charles Boudreau, Parks & Recreation Director APPROVAL OF JUNE 1, 1982, PARKS & RECREATION COM�iSSION MINUTES: MOTIDN BY MR. YDUNG, SECONDED BY MR. ALLEN, TD APPROVE THE JUNE�1� 1982� PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES AS WRITTEN. � � UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE� VICE-CHAIRPERSON SCHREINER DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: The following items were added to the agenda: Briardale Park - Item A under "New Business" Date of Meeting - Item B under "New Business" Northeast Chamber Ensemble and City Band - Item C under "Old Business" MOTION BY MR. ALLEN, SECONDED BY 1�II2. YOUNG� TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON SCHREINER IECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: a. Communication - Councilman Barnette Dr. Boudreau stated the Commission members had received a copy of a � letter fron� Counci� 7mar�-at-Large Bob Barnette and a copy of a 1 etter fram Todd �ierson, Staff inember of Westwood Elementary School, in which Mr. Pierson and the school staff thanked Mr. St. Clair and the staff at Springbrook Nature Center for an excellent program. � PARKS_& RECREATION CONMISSION �EETING,�JUCY 6, 1982 PAGE 2 �-. Dr. Boudreau stated that in Mr. Barnette's ]etter, Mr. Barnette was inquiring about the use of the nature center as far as the total operat- ing maintenance costs and programs for 1981-82, the user fee schedule, if any, and the policy on the use of t�e facility by "other than Fridley" residents. Dr. Boudreau stated Mr. Barnette was at an earlier commission meeting held at the nature center where he had requested this same information. Dr. Boudreau stated he had informed Mr. Barnette at that time that after the nature center has been in operation for a complete year, he would be able to supply Mr. Barnette with detailed information as far as the opera- tion and maintenance costs. Dr. Boudreau stated the nature center has only officially been open since October 1981. Dr. Boudreau stated that Mr. St. Clair has been directed to prepare a user fee schedule for the nature center and the programs, generally geared toward the schoo] population, and Mr. St. Clair will present that to the Commission at their next meeting. Dr. Boudreau stated that regarding a policy for use of the facility by "other than Fridley" residents, the Commission wi71 be �tarting the process of developing a policy manual and Staff wil] be giving its recommendation on the use of that facility by "other than Frid7ey" resi- �-. dents. Dr. Boudreau stated he has verba]ly communicated these things to Mr. Barnette, and Mr. Barnette was in agreement that after one year of operation, he would like the answers to his three questions. MOTION BY 1�Z. YOUN6� SECONDED BY MR. ALLEN, TO RECEIVE THE COMMUNICATION FROM MR. BARNETTE TD DR. BDUDREAU DATED JUNE 15� 1982� AND TO DIRECT STAFF TO RESPOND TO !�. BARNETTE THAT AFTER ONE YEAR OF OPERATIDN AT SPRINGBRDOK NATURE CENTER, STAFF WILL SUPPLY MR. BARNET7'E WITH DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING TRE OPERATIQN AND XA.INTENANCE COSTS AND THE POLICIES. UPON A VDICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON SCHREINER DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, Mr. Young stated fie would guess that if a random survey was made of the people at Moore Lake Beach on a weekend, they would find that a vast majority of those people are not Fridley residents. Yet Mr. Barnette does not raise any question as far as city expenditure of funds to provide a swimning area for non-residents. � b. Community Park - Update Dr. Boudreau stated the grading is finish�d on the City's section of the comnunity park. ThQ irrigatian is gaing in and should be completed by the end of the week. The backstops are going in and should be com- � pleted in 1-1� weeks. The whole area is scheduled to be seeded within _ PARKS & RECREATION CON�IISSION �EE7ING,�JUCY 6,�1982 PAGE 3 � two weeks after the irrigation is working. He stated he would encourage the Comnission members to take the time to walk out into the complex to really appreciate what it is going to be like when it is completed. He stated it is going to be a very attractive area, and he was glad they have taken the time to do tE�e jo6 correctly, c. Anoka County Ordinance Dr. Boudreau stated the Comnission members had received a copy of a new ordinance by Anoka County, which was an attempt to stop the keg parties in the county parks. He stated this was for the Commission's information as he thought they should be aware of this new ordinance, because the County does cooperate with the City by maintaining Locke Park and Islands of Peace. d. Springbrook Pond Development Dr. Boudreau stated the Commission members were familiar with what Mr. St. Clair had talked about at the April 6 Commission meeting regarding the pond development at Springbrook. He s�ated they have sent to City Council a packet of information including a copy of a memo from Mr. St. Clair regarding the "Permanent Pond Development Improvement Needs", maps, excerpts from the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation minutes of ,,-� Mar. 2, 1982, and excerpts from the Parks & Recreation Commission minutes of April 6, 7982, on this subject. He stated the Comnission members also received this information. It was for tf�eir information and record and no further action was needed by tfie Commission at this time. 2. NEW BUSINESS: a. Briardale Park Mr. Allen stated Briardale Park is right across the street from his home. He stated there has been a lot of work by Staff as far as land- scaping, turf, and a sidewalk system in the park. Right now, they are in the process of building an open air shelter. He stated he has heard many favorable comments fran the neighborhood, and several peop7e asked him to pass along their appreciation and admiration to the Parks & Recreation Department staff for a job we17 done. Mr. Allen stated that if all the neighborhood parks develop like Briardale, the City is going to be in good shape. Dr. Boudreau thanked Mr. Allen for the positive co►nrnents. .. b. Date of Meeting Mr, �,tlen stated the Tuesday meeting date has become a problem for him, and he wondered if there was a better time of the month for the Commission ^ to meet, ar the possibility of the Canmission meeting less often than once a month. He would suggest the Commission discuss this at the next meeting. PARKS & RECREATION CONl�ISSION MEETiNG,�JUCY 6, 1982 PAGE 4 Ms. Schreiner stated this was briefly discussed at the last meeting, and it was her fee]ing that the Commission should continue to meet once a month, especially if they are going to be working on a policy manual. Dr. Qoudreau stated that at the last meeting, he had suggested the Comnission meet quarter7y, because it was very frustrating for Staff to be at work all day and then come back to a meeting in the evening to sit with an advisory commission that has only three members out of five. He stated this is supposed to be a recreation advisory comnission. to help Staff� He w3s not saying that three members couldn't help Staff, but if a Con�nission is supposed to have five members, he felt five members' irput was better than three. Maybe meeting once every three months was less to ask of a volunteer appointed canmission member. - Mr. Young stated that if the Commission went to a quarterly meeting time, he would probably lose interest in the Commission. He definitely fe7t the Cor�nission should meet on a mont�ly basis. He stated the two times he has missed was because of a work conflict. Dr. Qoudreau asked that before the next Commission agenda is mailed out, the Comnission members send him a brief synopsis of their best meeting times so he can have those typed up and included in the next agenda. Ms. Schreiner stated this would be put on the next agenda for discussion. 3. OLD BUSINESS: a. Proposed Capital Outlay Request 1983 Dr. Boudreau stated that at the last meeting, he had asked the Commission members to review the proposed capital outlay request for 1983 and bring any com�nents or recorr�nendations to his attention at this meeting. He stated he had already presented this to the City Council. Dr. �oudreau reviewed the proposed capital out7ay request and indicated the items he had deleted at City Counci7. He stated the new capital outlay totals were as follows: Park Division - $123,876 (was $183,876) Natural Resource Division - 10,478 (was $76,747) Recreation Division - 10,850 (was $12,910) MOTION BY �2. YO�7NG� SECONDED BY MR. ALLEN, TD APPROVE THE AMENDED CAPITAL DUT.LAY REQUEST FOR I983 AS PRESENTED. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE� PICE-CHAIRPERSON SCHREINER DECLARED TFIE MOTION CARRIED UNANIM�ISLY. n � /'� �, PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING,�JUC� 6 1982 PAGE 5 b. Policy Manual Development Dr. Boudreau stated he had sent the Commission members some information out of a textbook, "Creative Administration in Recreation and Parks" by Joe Bannon. He stated this information would give the Commission members an idea of what Staff is tajking about when they refer to policies and a manual. He had also copied an index and a page out of a policy manual actually used in the Glenview Park Dis�rict in Illinois. He felt this was the type of thing they are talking about in a policy manual and it gave some idea on how a policy manual is written. Dr. Boudreau stated he had also included the Parks & Recreation Cor�nission's "Purpose, Scope, Program, and Funds" as established by City of Fridley Ordinance No. 606 on Jan. 5, 1976, the "�ity of Fridley Parks & Recreation Department Philosophy Statement", and the "Departmental Po7icies for Recreational Leaders" developed.by Staff. Dr. Boudreau stated that if each Corrmission member would choose an area he/she was interested in working on, then Staff would get together with each member to discuss these areas. Then, each Comnission member would come up with a rough draft of a policy for each area within a month. Mr. Young chose the area of "Participants", Mr.Allen chose "Program", � and P1s. Schreiner chose "Rdministration" and "Corrrnunity Relations". Dr. Boudreau stated he felt this was going to be a good exercise for them all to get invo7ved in, and he was eager to begin. Ne stated he would appreciate a call from each Commission mem�er to set up a time to discuss these areas. Ne stated he would contact Mr. Kondrick and Ms. Seeger. c. Northeast Chamber Ensemble and City Band Mr. Young stated it was brought to the attention of the Comnission recently that the Northeast Chamber Ensemble had requested $1,600 from the City of Fridley for the coming year. In the past, he has not been opposed to the City's funding the City Band or the Northeast Chamber Ensemble; but in light of the City Council proceedings on June 7, 7982, he would like to go on record as opposing any continued funding of these two organizations and possibly any other such organizations in the future. Mr. Young stated he was referring to Item 6 of the June 7 City Council minuies regarding the "'Comttuanity Service Organization Funding for ]983". He stated the Commission may feel th?s is a prejudice viewpoint because he is the President �f S��thern Anoka Corr�nunity Assistance (S.A.C.A.), but �ran a moral point of view, he did not think the City can continue ta fund persons who are interested in cultural pursuits and deny community assistance to those who are less fortunate. � PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION �EETI�G, JULY 6, 1982 PAGE 6 � Mr. Young stated that at the June 7 City Council meeting, the City Council decided to deny any funding to service organizations that are meeting the needs of citizens of our carmunity. He stated S.A.C.A. was not the only organization denied funding; they also denied funding to Central Center for Family Resources, North Suburban Family Service Center, The Alexandra House, and Frid7ey Creative Play Center. Mr. Young stated that in 7ieu of the financial situation, the City should consider reducing funding for such things as the Northeast Chamber Ensemble and the City Band when the City is denying funding for the health and wellbeing of citizens of our community. Mr. Young stated it may be that because of financial cutbacks the City is facing (6-8%), they should possib7y consider reducing the funding provided to the F.Y.S.A, to offset the cost of umpires, etc. Mr. Young stated he has been involved in this community for 12 years working with people of all ages and handicapped people, and S.A.C.A. is near and dear to his heart. He did not think the City could deny things to the ]ess fprtunate and then provide for the cultural pursuits of others. Mr. Young stated that right now S.A.C.A, is serving about 30 families per month in the City of Frid]ey, either providing them with household r� g oods, food, clothing, or financial aid. By figuring an average fami7y of three people, that is 90 people per month, 1,080 people per year in the City of Fridley being served by S.A,C.A. He stated these people are what they classify as the working poor, those who are going from week to wee�, who do not qualify for public assistance in many cases, but need that little extra boost. Yet, the City is continuing to fund a group where the people could probably afford to pay something in order to parti- cipate in the City Band or Northeast Chamber Ensemble. Anyone else who wants to participate in a city function must pay to participate. From information he has gotten, people do not pay to participate in either group. He stated he would also like to know how many people actually belong to each group, and if it is limited to Fridley people or is open to anyone. Dr. Boudreau stated that from the Parks & Recreation Department Staff's viewpoint, the City Band is a traditional function that was started in Fridley and was underwritten by the City to get it started. It is some- itang that has been continued through�ut the years, and no one has ever questioned the validity of it. The first question brought to their atten- tion was it was one of twQ volunteer groups that utilizes city funding to pay for leadership. Leadership is not paid for in the F.Y.S.A. or the Hockey Association. He stated that, traditionally, most city bands are strictly volunteer groups. He stated they have an obligation from the City Band to �rovide six-band concerts for the playground programs each summer, but outside of that, the City has very litt7e to say about the City Band's ^ operation. h PARKS & RECREATION CO�P�IISSION �EETiNG, J�LY 6,�1982 PAGE 7 Ms. Schreiner stated she felt Mr. Young had raised a very good point, but she would like to have some more information before the Commission took any formal action. Mr. A1]en stated he felt this was definitely something the Cor�nission should look into further, but there were some questions he wou7d 7ike answered: (1) the names of each service organization denied funding and the amount of monies reqqested by each organization; (2) the exact amount of monies funded to the City Band and Northeast Chamber Ensemble; and (3) the composition of the City Band and the Northeast Chamber Ensemb]e. Dr. Boudreau stated he would get this information. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION BY MR. YOUNG� SECONDED BY MR. ALLEN, TD AUJOURN THE MEETING. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON SCHREINER DECLARED THE JULY 6� 1982, PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING ADJOURNED AT 9:36 P.M. Respectfully subm'tted, .�,...� �`�`-� ^ y eSaa Recording Secretary