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10/04/1999 - 00007895CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING - OCTOBER 4, 1999 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the October 4, 1999 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present Others Present Dave Kondrick Marcy Sibell Sue Price Dick Young Tim Solberg 7ack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Paul Lawrence, Public Works Superintendent APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 13,1999 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES. MOTION by Mr.Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell to approve the minutes of the September 13, 1999 meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission as written. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR OCTOBER 4,1999 MOTION by Mr. Sibell, seconded by Ms. Price to approve the agenda as written. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk referred to the Program Update information distributed as part of the Commission meeting agenda packet. This was a summary of the programs and activities of the Recreation and Natural Resource Department since the last Commission meeting. Ms. Price asked why the Recreation Department did not offer a football program for early elementary grades. The FYSA offers football for 3rd grade and above and the City has a flag football program for ages 4 and 5, but there is not a program for those in between. She thought we should run a program for the ages left out. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - October 4, 1999 Pa�e 2 b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lawrence stated that staff has been busy with mowing grass in the City parks and coming up they will begin to shut down the irrigation systems. He further stated that it won't be long and the maintenance staff will start putting up the boards for the hockey facilities. Ms. Sibell asked about replacement of some of the new play equipment that was damaged with markers and paint. Mr. Kirk reported that the Police Department was successful in apprehending six juveniles that have admitted to "tagging" of the play equipment in the City Parks. Without knowing how the court system will be dealing with these individuals, we are unsure as to whether or not the equipment is going to be replaced. The equipment is still usable, but the graffiti/tagging is still visible as a"ghost image" on the plastic play equipment components. Mr. Young stated that he recalls an attorney stating that there may be an opportunity to go after restitution for damages by minors when they turn 18. He suggested the City look into this. c. Teen Coordinator Position Mr. Kirk stated that 7ean Robinson, Teen Coordinator, has resigned her part-time position and will be moving to Atlanta. Application deadline is October St'` and interviews will follow soon thereafter. We hope to have someone on board starting October 25t'` d. Part-Time Staffing Issue Mr. Kirk stated that the Recreation and Natural Resource Department was experiencing some difficulty in finding enough part-time staff to fill the many openings for activity leaders and supervisors. It has been particularly difficult to find employees to work with the students in the after-school recreation activities and on the weekend evenings at the "Zone". Other Park and Recreation Departments in the Twin Cities area have encountered the same problems and have had to cut back on programs and/or program locations because of the labor shortage. Staff will continue to make every effort to find qualified part-time staff to fill the positions. Mr. Kirk wanted the Commission to be aware of this problem and know that we may have to face some cut back decisions (based on staffing) in the future. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Tennis Court Facilities Mr. Kirk stated that we have many tennis court facilities in our community which are some very nice amenities in our park areas. Many of the court areas are reaching the point where the asphalt surface is in need of replacement. This is going to amount to a sizable outlay of park improvement dollars in the Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - October 4, 1999 pa�e 3 ne�t few years. It can cost from $28,000 to $30,000 to install a new double tennis court area. Maintaining these surfaces by color-coating every three years is also a large expense for the Parks Capital Improvement program. Before the City allocates funds for these upgrades, the Commission may want to look at all of the court locations throughout the city and determine if they are all needed and/ desired in the neighborhood parks. Chairperson Kondrick said we need to find out who is using each facility and how often they are playing. If people are not using the courts, is it because the courts are in poor condition or there are better courts elsewhere. He stated we need to find out if all of the e�sting court locations are needed. Mr. Young asked if the City maintained some of the courts on school property. Mr. Kirk responded that yes, the City maintained the courts at North Park Elementary and Woodcrest Elementary. Mr. Kirk further stated that the City has 26 tennis courts throughout the City and the School District has another 16 for a total of 42 courts available to the public. Twenty of those courts are lighted for extended use. Mr. Solberg asked if there is a way to control the lighting systems so the courts are not lit when people are not playing and on days with inclement weather. Mr. Kirk stated that it could be done with some costly changes to our lighting systems to include different types of lights and new on/off operations. He said he would try and get more information on various options available and the associated costs. Ms. Price suggested that we enlist the help of neighbors to the parks to survey the use of the court facilities. If they could give us an idea of the usage, it would help in our decision making. Mr. Solberg said that we may want to look at what would go into the park if the tennis court was to be removed. Would it become a basketball court, sand volleyball court , or a grass area? This information will be important to share with residents of a park area when the future of the court area in a park is reviewed. Mr. Kondrick stated that people are generally opposed to having something removed from their area and park They may be more receptive if they have options for other facilities. Mr. Young said that he believes we are going to have to look at prioritizing the court areas and he would place a higher priority on the facilities that are lighted, because they allow for e�tended hours of play and we have also spent a considerable amount of money for the lighting systems. Mr. Kondrick summarized that we need to get additional information on the court use and needs in the community so we can address the high costs of court replacements and repairs in the coming years. b. Youth Advisory Council Issues Mr. Kirk stated that in the spring of this year, the City established a Youth Advisory Council to gain input from the young residents in our community on issues affecting them. Does the Parks and Recreation Commission have any issues they would like to seek a youth perspective on? Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - October 4, 1999 pa�e 4 Mr. Young suggested that the Youth Council provide some input on hours of operation at the Youth Center. They could also provide some valuable input on programs and activities to be offered by the Recreation and Natural Resource Department. Ms. Price suggested that we discuss the vandalism / graffiti problem in the parks with the Youth Council to get their ideas on prevention and on how we can get the word out to youth on the high costs of repairs. Mr. Kondrick stated that he thought the Youth Council could help the City by not only providing thoughts on youth related issues, but also by being a contact with the students at the various schools. They may be able to get information to other youth on programs and activities offered by the City. Ms. Sibell suggested that the Youth Council be asked to be part of the survey that goes out to the City Council and various Commission members. Mr. Kirk asked if the Parks and Recreation Commission members would be interested at some point down the road of having a joint meeting with the Youth Commission to discuss a variety of items affecting youth and the delivery of parks and recreation services in our community. The Commission members agreed they would welcome such a meeting. c. Skating and Warming House Locations Mr. Kirk presented a staff recommendation for locations of the skating rinks and warming houses for the coming winter season. These are the same facilities that were provided last year. The recommendation includes general skating rinks at: Briardale, Commons, Creekridge, Flanery, Hackmann, Hayes Elementary, Logan, Madsen, Ruth Circle, Stevenson Elementary, Summit Square, and Sylvan Hills. Hockey locations include: Commons (2 rinks), Flanery, Hayes, Madsen, Moore Lake, Ruth Circle, and Stevenson. Warming House locations would be: Commons, Flanery, Hayes, Madsen, Moore Lake, Ruth Circle, and Stevenson. Ms. Sibell asked staff to clarify why we are not providing a general rink at the Moore Lake site. Mr. Kirk stated that the slope of the parking lot area made it very difficult to provide a general rink near the hockey facility and with the request of the Hackmann Park neighborhood to provide a general rink at that park, the Commission last year had recommended a hockey rink at Moore Lake and a general rink at Hackmann. MOTION by Ms. Price, seconded by Mr. Young to approve the skating rink, hockey rink and warming house locations as recommended by staff for the 1999-2000 season. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - October 4, 1999 pa�e 5 d. Winter Athletic League Fees Mr. Kirk presented the staff recommended fees for the winter athletic leagues. He stated that the Recreation Department tries to stay competitive with neighboring communities with the fees, but the fees are structured so as to cover the costs of the activity. The recommended fees are as follows: Co-Rec Volleyball . ........................................... $95 Basketball (class D ........................................ $365 Basketball (fun league) .................................. $350 Boothockey .................................................... $200 Broomball ...................................................... $180 MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Solberg to approve the winter athletic league fees as recommended by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNIVIENT MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Price to adjourn the October 4, 1999 meeting at 8:23 pm. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE OCTOBER 4, 1999 MEETING ADJOURNED.