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05/07/2001 - 00008960CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — MAY 7, 2001 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the May 7, 2001 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 8:19 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick, Sue Price, Marcy Sibell, and Dick Young Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Dave Lindquist, Park Maintenance Supervisor Paul Lawrence, Superintendent of Public Works APPROVAL OF APRIL 2, 2001 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Young to approve the minutes of the April 2, 2001 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR MAY 7, 2001 MOTION by Ms. Price, seconded by Mr. Young, to approve the agenda for the May 7, 2001 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that the Program Update for the Recreation and Natural Resource Department was included in the agenda packet for review by the Commission members. This is a summary of some of the activities that have been held since the last meeting. On this month's update is information on the Senior Ceramics, Pre-school soccer, Springbrook Nature Center Saturday activities, Senior Computer classes, Senior Golf League, Earth Day activities, and the High School Dinner Theater. Mr. Kirk pointed out that the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation has received two generous donations in the last month. The first one from Micro Control Company in Fridley was in the amount of $10,000 to be used for programming items. The second donation was from the Medtronic Foundation in the amount of $10,000 to be used for the architectural services associated with the Springbrook entrance re-design project. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq - Mav 7, 2001 Paqe 2 b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lindquist stated that the maintenance staff got a very late start in the parks this year due to the weather conditions. They really weren't able to get into the parks with their equipment until the week of April 16t" Mr. Lindquist stated that they have started preparing the softball and baseball fields for games as the season is now underway. Fields are dragged and chalked on a daily basis for game play. They are also working with the Fridley school district on the renovation of some soccer fields by Fridley Middle School. Mr. Lindquist further stated that the Fridley Little League organization had a clean-up day at the fields last weekend and did a good job of sprucing up the area. They painted the dugouts and the building in addition to the general clean-up work. c. Fridley `49er Days Mr. Kirk stated that the annual city celebration, "Fridley `49er Days", is scheduled for June 13- 17 this year. There are many of the regular popular attractions such as the carnival, the Friday night street dance featuring the White Sidewalls and the Saturday street dance featuring the Rockin' Hollywoods. The annual parade is set for Thursday night with a 6:30 p.m. starting time. The Fridley Jaycees will be sponsoring a Kids Day event on Saturday afternoon at the arena with activities from 1:00 — 5:00 p.m. The Fire Department is sponsoring a vehicle extrication competition at the Fire Training site. With the Craft Show, Horseshoe Tournament, Teen Dance Party, new street dance / concert on Thursday featuring the band "Power of 10", and the Miss Fridley Pageant, this year's festival should be one of the best ever. Mr. Kirk invited the Commission members to participate in the `49er Days festivities. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Showmobile Rental Request — Mound Fire Department Mr. Kirk stated that the Mound Fire Department has requested the use of the Showmobile for an event on June 2, 2001. Mr. Lindquist commented that Mound was quite a distance from the City of Fridley. He stated that the distance might be more than the maximum listed in our rental policy. Mr. Lawrence pointed out that according to the rental application-agreement, the travel distance might not exceed a 25-mile radius from Fridley. That would be as the crow flies and the distance to Mound may be within that maximum. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell to deny the showmobile rental request by the Mound Fire Department if the distance is greater than the 25-mile radius from the City of Fridley maintenance garage. The request is to be approved with all appropriate fees if the distance is within the 25-mile radius. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq - Mav 7, 2001 Paqe 3 3. Funding Request — Fridley City Band Mr. Kirk stated that the Fridley City Band is asking for financial support by the City of Fridley. For many years, the City did provide funding for the band; however, the financial support of this group was stopped with the budget cuts of 1996. During the last year that the City funded the band, the City was providing $150 to the band for each concert they played, up to a maximum of 9 concerts in a year. Mr. Kirk further stated that since 1996, the City has supported the band when possible by providing free use of the showmobile for concerts and occasionally paying the band for concerts played. Mr. Kondrick asked if there were members of the Commission that feel the City should change its current relationship with the Fridley City Band and provide additional funding for this group. The Commission members were not in favor of providing additional funding for the band. They want the band to know the Commission and the City appreciate them, but additional funding from the Recreation budget is not being recommended at the current time. MOTION by Ms. Price, seconded by Ms. Sibell to deny the request for reinstatement of funding (to 1996 funding level) for the Fridley City Band as requested in the March 28, 2001 letter. City staff is asked to provide assistance where possible to this group by coordinating use of the showmobile and helping to advertise the concerts. Staff may also want to consider payment of the band for 2 or 3 local concerts during the year. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 4. Park Identification Signs Proposal Mr. Kirk stated that the replacement of the park identification signs is one of the items in the 2001 and 2002 Parks Capital Improvement budget. The City has made some very nice improvements to the look of the park system over the past several years with the new play equipment. Replacing the old park signs will be another major improvement in enhancing the image of our parks. The plan is to replace half of the park signs this year and the other half next year. Mr. Kirk showed the Commission members a picture of a proposed park sign. It draws from the theme used in the new City entrance signs and clearly identifies each park. Ms. Sibell asked if the signs would be less expensive if the color insert of the park / river theme were not included. Mr. Young stated that when deciding on which parks to replace this year, he would suggest doing a random drawing for selection. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Mav 7, 2001 Paqe 4 Mr. Kondrick asked what the signs would be made of. Mr. Kirk stated that the signs and the posts would be redwood. Mr. Kondrick stated that he is concerned about the support posts being redwood. He does not believe that will last into the future. He would suggest that some alternatives for the support posts be looked at. Mr. Lindquist asked how long the painting would last on the signs and what costs we would be looking at for repainting in the future. Motion by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Ms. Price to concur with the design and concept of the park identification signs and get proposal pricing for the signs with and without the painted insert. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 5. Parks Tour — Prior to June Commission Meeting Mr. Kirk asked the Commission members if they would like to have a park tour prior to the regularly scheduled meeting on June 4t". The Commission members were in agreement to start the park tour at 5:30 p.m. and have the meeting and picnic dinner around 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Commons Park activity building after the tour. Mr. Kondrick suggested that the tour include Riverview Heights Park to see the condition after the spring flooding. Mr. Young suggested the tour include Logan Park and Terrace Park so we can evaluate the tennis court concerns we are facing. Mr. Kirk suggested that the tour also include a trip to the skateboard park in the City of Coon Rapids to get a first hand look at an operating facility. The Commission members also agree to include the Little League fields in the tour. 6. Softball Tournament Request — Chamber of Commerce / Spikers Mr. Kirk stated that the City of Fridley has received a request from the Southern Anoka County Chamber of Commerce and Spikers restaurant to host two softball tournaments at Fridley Community Park. The first tournament is for the weekend of May 19 and 20. The second request is for Labor Day weekend, September 1, 2 and 3. Mr. Kirk stated that with the extremely wet conditions of Community Park this year and the inability of the park maintenance workers to complete work this spring, he is concerned about the May 19 and 20 request. It is less than two weeks away and would put an awful lot of games on the fields at this time of year. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Mav 7, 2001 Paqe 5 Mr. Lindquist stated that he is concerned about providing a staff person to handle the maintenance function over the Labor holiday weekend. MOTION by Ms. Price, seconded by Mr. Young to deny the requests for the softball tournaments by the Southern Anoka County Chamber of Commerce and Spikers for May 19 & 20, and September 1, 2& 3. The poor field conditions this spring and the high labor cost for the Labor Day weekend are the reasons for the denial. The Commission would like staff to work with this organization to consider some alternative dates that may work for their tournaments. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 7. Fridley Youth Baseball Tournament Request Mr. Kirk stated that the City has received a request from the Fridley Youth Baseball organization to use Commons #1 and High School #1 baseball fields for a small tournament the weekend of May 19 and 20. There is no admission being charged and the tournament is not being used as a fundraiser. Mr. Kirk suggested that there be no field rental charge assessed since this was not a fund raising event, but just some scheduled games being hosted by the Fridley group. If the City incurred some additional expense with this event such as a garbage dumpster or portable toilet cleaning, that would need to be charged back to the Fridley youth baseball group. Mr. Young suggested that the group check with the High School to make sure that rained out high school games have not been rescheduled for the same times. MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Ms. Price to approve the request for a tournament by the Fridley Youth Baseball under the same fee structure as the Little League and Soccer tournaments, if this is to be a fund raising event. If not, there will be no rental charge and the tournament may proceed with the stipulations outlined by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 3. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Logan Park Tennis Court Project Mr. Kirk stated that at the April 2"d meeting, the Commission asked staff to draft a letter to the residents of Logan Park explaining the plans for tennis court work this summer. A copy of the letter is attached with the agenda for the meeting. Mr. Kondrick asked if staff had received any feedback from this letter. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Mav 7, 2001 Paqe 6 Mr. Kirk stated that he had received two calls. Both were concerned that a basketball playing area was part of the plans for the park. Mr. Kirk further stated that he told the callers that a half court basketball area was going to be included. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell to proceed with the plans for court surfaces at Logan Park by removing the two tennis courts, replacing with one new court and placing a half court basketball area adjacent to the tennis court. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Ms. Price, seconded by Ms. Sibell to adjourn the meeting at 9:40 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MAY 7, 2001 MEETING ADJOURNED.