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01/07/2002 - 00010428CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — JANUARY 7, 2002 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the January 7, 2002 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present Others Present Dave Kondrick Tim Solberg Dick Young 7ack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Paul Lawrence, Public Works Superintendent APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 3, 2001 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg to approve the minutes of the December 3, 2001 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR JANUARY 7, 2002 MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young to approve the agenda for the January 7, 2002 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 Commission meeting packet includes a program update of activities during the past month. The above normal temperatures caused a delay in the opening of the skating facilities, but the colder temps around the holidays have allowed us to open. The skating facilities have been getting a lot of use by the public, more use than in the past several years. The forecast of warmer weather once again will likely cause us to lose the ice and close down for a while. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Recreation and Natural Resource Department staff participated in a staff retreat last week to do some planning and goal setting. The Department used the Riedel House at the Anoka County Riverfront Park for this activity and a lot was accomplished. With staff members at three different sites (the Municipal Center, Springbrook Nature Center and the Fridley Community Center) it is sometimes difficult for staff to get much opportunity to work closely together. The retreat allowed us to spend some time working as an entire department to do some important future planning. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Januarv 7, 2002 Pa�e 2 Mr. Kirk also called attention to the Senior Citizen Holiday Party that is sponsored each year by the Fridley Lions Club. This year there were 491 Fridley seniors that participated in the lunch and party at the Kelly Inn on December l lt'`. It is very generous of our local Lions Club to support an event like this for our seniors every year. Mr. Kondrick asked if the City Manager had given staff an estimate on the budget shortfall that the Recreation Department can expect due to the State's budget concerns, how much less money are we going to be dealing with. Mr. Kirk responded that although he does not have any exact figures at this point, he would expect that the Recreation and Natural Resource Department will need to be cautious in our spending and be ready for some possible reductions this year. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lawrence stated that during the month of December, the park maintenance workers plowed snow with the Street Department and cleared snow from the skating and hockey areas. They picked up litter in the parks and accomplished other repairs and maintenance that is usually not possible this time of year due to the temperature. When the weather finally did turn colder and conducive to making ice, the workers started flooding the rinks. Mr. Lawrence further stated that some of the other work completed during the month was cleaning and organizing the indoor storage facilities, getting new light fi�tures installed at the Commons softball field, completing the repairs and alterations to equipment and facilities as required by the OSHA inspector. c. City Council / Commission Survey Mr. Kirk stated that the City Manager's office would be sending out a survey to the Parks and Recreation Commission members sometime in February. This opinion survey is used to gain input on issues that are affecting the City. There are a number of questions in the survey that deal with the park system and the recreation/naturalist programs. Mr. Kirk told the commission members that their assistance with completion of the survey was greatly appreciated. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Showmobile Rental Request — Mound Fire Department Mr. Kirk stated that the City has received a request from the Mound Fire Department to rent the showmobile on June 1, 2002 for a concert. They rented the unit last year for a similar event and there were no problems with the moving or setting up the showmobile. Last fall, the Parks and Recreation Commission revised the showmobile rental guidelines to reflect a maximum travel distance of 25 road miles from Fridley. This rental location is appro�mately 26.8 miles. Mr. Kondrick stated that he is in favor of renting the showmobile to bring in the revenue to our city. The rental last year was not a problem and he would like to see us approve the request. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg to approve the showmobile rental request by the Mound Fire Department. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Januarv 7, 2002 Pa�e 3 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Young stated that he made the motion to approve even though the distance is beyond the 25 miles because this organization has rented from us in the past and there were no problems with the rental or delivery. Had this been a new request for a rental of the showmobile, he would not have made the motion and would have voted no. b. Softball Tournament Request — Spiker's Grill and Beach Club Mr. Kirk stated that the City has received a request from the Spiker's Grill and Beach Club to host a National Softball Tournament at Community Park on Labor Day Weekend (August 31 — September 2, 2002). This tournament would be held in cooperation with the Minnesota Sports Federation and would be a National ASA tournament. The same sponsors put on a tournament last Labor Day Weekend and it appeared to go very well. The major concern with a tournament that time of year and on a holiday weekend is finding the maintenance personnel to work the event. Most, if not all of the part-time maintenance workers are finished with their summer employment at that time of year and the provision of maintenance support for the weekend falls on our full-time staff. At over-time hours and double time holiday pay, this becomes a very costly expenditure for the tournament sponsors. We have explained this to the tournament directors and they are aware that the maintenance costs could run as much as an additional $1200, over and above the $1400 facility rental fee. Mr. Kirk further stated that he had received a letter of support for this tournament from Mr. John Connelly, the Executive Director of the Minneapolis Metro North Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Bureau is offering to assist Spikers and the MSF with up to $500 toward the expenses of the tournament. They believe that the benefit to local hotels and restaurants by this tournament is worth the expenditure. Mr. Kirk stated that staff would recommend approval of the tournament with two stipulations. One, that the tournament sponsors will pay for the additional maintenance worker costs at the full-time employee overtime and holiday pay rates. These cost could run up to $1200 additional or more in fees. The second stipulation is that the tournament is being co-sponsored by the Minnesota Sports Federation with "no strings attached", meaning that the MSF will not be expecting or requesting Fridley Recreation Softball teams to join their association in exchange for the National Tournament being conducted at the Community Park. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the request by the Spiker's Grill and Beach Club to hold a tournament at Community Park on August 31 — September 2, 2002 with the two stipulations as outlined by Mr.Kirk. 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 January 7, 2002 meeting at 7:50 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE JAN UARY 7, 2002 MEETING ADJOURNED.