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11/04/1996 - 00007887CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING - NOVEMBER 4, 1996 CALL TO ORDER: Vice-chairperson Young called the November 4, 1996 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present Members Absent Others Present Sue Price Marcy Sibell Dave Kondrick Dick Young Tim Solberg 7ack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Paul Lawrence, Public Works Superintendent APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 7, 1996 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell to approve the minutes of the October 7, 1996 meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission as written. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON YOUNG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR NOVEMBER 4, 1996. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Price to approve the agenda as submitted. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON YOUNG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk presented the Program Update of department happenings during the past month. He wanted to call the commission members' attention to the hiring of the new Program Assistant at the Fridley Senior Center. Her name is Denise Stodolka and she will be working primarily with the Senior Handyworks (formerly Chore Services) and the Senior Companion Programs. She started appro�mately two weeks ago and has been doing a nice job getting the programs restarted. Another item Mr. Kirk called attention to was the senior fundraising efforts through the summer concession sales at the Community Park ball fields and Bob's Produce. The seniors have raised some money to help support new purchases and/or future programs at the Senior Center. Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting - November 4, 1996 Page 2 b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lawrence stated that the Park Maintenance workers have been busy picking up leaves in the parks and preparing the skating rinks/warming house sites. The three temporary warming house shelters will be delivered and set up within the ne�t couple of weeks. Actual ice preparation will begin in early December. Mr. Lawrence also informed the commission members that the water control structure at the North Innsbruck Park has been completed by the Public Works staff. After the recent rains, an on-site inspection shows that the structure is working properly and has both ponds at an appropriate water level. c. Park System Guide Mr. Kirk called commission members' attention to the new Park System Guide (map). There have been a few changes in recent years, so this is up-to-date information on parks and recreation areas and facilities available for use in this community. The guide will be mailed to all Fridley residents ne�t spring along with the Spring Recreation Activities brochure. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. 1997 Commission Meeting Schedule Mr. Kirk presented a tentative list of Parks & Recreation Commission meeting dates for 1997. Commission members agreed that the first Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. is a good meeting date and time. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Price to approve the proposed meeting schedule as presented by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON YOUNG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Letter & Request from Stevenson P.A.W.S. Mr. Kirk called attention to a letter addressed to the City of Fridley from the Stevenson Elementary Parents in Action Working for Students (P.A.W.S.) committee. As part of the remodeling of the school, some old playground equipment had to be removed and the school is planning on replacing the equipment some time ne�t year. This school site does serve the neighborhood as a park area, and the school would like the City to consider participating with them on the new equipment purchase and installation. Mr. Young suggested that we inform the School District that we will be soliciting bids on equipment in 1997 and a combined bid may produce better prices for both the City and the School. MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Ms. Price, to receive the letter from the Stevenson P.A.W.S group and invite them to a future meeting to explain in further detail the plans for their playground project. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON YOUNG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks & Recreation Commission Meetin� - November 4, 1996 Pa�e 3 c. Fee Waiver/Scholarship Policy Mr. Kirk stated that the current Fee Waiver/Scholarship Policy followed by the Recreation and Natural Resource Department has been in place for many years and is serving a need in the community. Staff has noticed in the recent past, a reoccurring problem with some people who are having fees waived and then not showing up for the activity or program. These people are not notifying the office that they will not be in attendance, and this non-notification causes concern for a number of reasons: 1. The City is often times out costs for either tickets, hiring additional staff, or buying supplies based on a certain number of people. 2. The money that was used from the scholarship fund to pay for tickets for the individuals who did not show up could have been used toward others. 3. With proper notification we could have filled many of these participant slots with people from a waiting list. 4. Often times the activities or trips are delayed while waiting a period of time for individuals who are not planning on showing up. Because of these concerns the staff is recommending that we revise the Fee Waiver/Scholarship Program Policy and implement the following: 1. When an individual signs up for an activity using the Fee Adjustment Program they will be given written guidelines to be followed. 2. The first time that a participant does not notify the Recreation Department of their absence (prior to the start of the activity) they will be contacted in writing by the office staff. We intend to tell them that we are pleased to offer the opportunity of a Fee Adjustment to them, but would appreciate notification if they are not going to participate. These individuals would also be advised that a second absence without prior notification will make their family ineligible for use of the Fee Adjustment Program for one calendar year. 3. The second time that a participant is absent without notifying the Recreation office they will then be suspended from using the Fee Adjustment Program for one full calendar year. Participants will be notified in writing of this action. Should the family unit wish to have their eligibility for this Fee Adjustment Program reinstated, they may reimburse the fund the amount of the fees that were waived. If these funds are reimbursed, the family will once again be eligible to participate in the Fee Adjustment Program. Mr. Solberg stated he thought this was a fair policy because we need to have some cooperation from people using the Fee Adjustment Program. Ms. Price stated that we must make it clear on the guidelines what we expect from these participants, and what phone number they call to inform us that they will not be at a given activity. Mr. Young stated that the opportunity to pay back the scholarship fund and retain eligibility in the program is a fair way of treating participants. Ms. Sibell asked if we intended this policy to apply to individuals or family units. Mr. Kirk stated that staff had intended this policy to apply to families. Ms. Price asked if the policy would be enforced for someone signing up for a series of activities in a 6 or 8 weeks long program. Mr. Kirk stated he thought it should apply to all department programs where activity fees are adjusted or waived. The commission members agreed that a participant should be expected to attend 75% or more of the activities in a series or notify the Recreation Department of their expected absence. Parks & Recreation Commission Meetin� - November 4, 1996 Pa�e 4 MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Price, to accept in principle the Fee Waiver/Scholarship guidelines as recommended by staff. After making suggested changes on the final guidelines, the Commission would like them brought back to a future meeting for further review. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON YOUNG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 3. OLD BUSINESS a. Continued Discussion on Park Service Area Study Mr. Kirk stated that staff continues to put together information on the Park Service Areas. There are several questions that have arisen and he would like input from the Parks & Recreation Commission on those. 1. Should School District and County park land property be recognized as serving neighborhood areas in the City of Fridley Park Service Study? 2. Should city-wide community parks, such as Springbrook Nature Center and Community Park, be viewed as servicing certain neighborhoods with park facilities? 3. What standard should we use to determine the level of service a park area is receiving in terms of the distance of the park from the residents and the amount of park land for every thousand people in the area? MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Solberg, that the staff recognize the School District property, County parks, and the community-wide use parks as serving the neighborhood areas when completing the Park Service Area Study, and that the National Recreation and Park Association recommended distance of one half mile from the park land be the guideline for this study, and that our park service areas be compared to the NRPA recommended amount of at least one acre per thousand people of neighborhood park land being provided for our citizens. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON YOUNG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON YOUNG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE OCTOBER 7, 1996 MEETING ADJOURNED.