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02/03/2003 - 00028640CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — FEBRUARY 3, 2003 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the February 3, 2003 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick Tim Solberg Marcy Sibell Dick Young Others Present: 7ack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Paul Lawrence, Public Works Superintendent Mike Hreha, Teen Coordinator David Solberg, 1654 Kristin Court NE APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 2, 2002 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young to approve the minutes of the December 2, 2002 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR FEBRUARY 3, 2003 MOTION by Mr.Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell to approve the agenda for the February 3, 2003 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk called attention to the program report included in the agenda packet for the meeting. He stated that he would like to mention a couple of the activities that have taken place. Springbrook Nature Center staff hosted a New Year's Eve Party on December 31gt and it was a big success with 110 participants. After an outdoor hike on the nature trails and a variety of entertaining games, the guests enjoyed counting down to the new year. The Senior Program has a new staff member, Jenny Bidwell, who is the Handyworks — Senior Companion Program Coordinator. She replaces Nancy Shaw, who was with us in the same job for the past five years. Nancy is still working with seniors in her new job with Anoka County as an outreach worker. Springbrook hosted their annual Volunteer Recognition event and appreciation dinner on Saturday, January 25, 2003. It was an enjoyable evening for the 120 people in attendance. Staffplanned the event around a Polynesian theme. Volunteers at Springbrook contributed over 8,000 hours in the past year, helping with animal care, bird banding, the Garden Club, camps, special events and other programming. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 3, 2003 Pa�e 2 Mr. Kirk stated that staff is currently completing the Spring activities brochure, which will be mailed out to Fridley residents in the ne�t two weeks. Staff is also involved in the detailed planning of the summer recreation and naturalist programs. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lawrence stated that park maintenance activities have centered on maintaining ice at the hockey and general skating facilities. The weather in December was not very conducive to making ice, but we did manage to get the rinks open at the end of the month. January has been a lot colder and ice making conditions have been much better. Throughout the skating season, there has been more use of the rinks than the past four or five years. Mr. Kirk stated that Mr. Lawrence had announced his retirement and would be in his position for only a couple of more months. The Parks and Recreation Commission members congratulated Mr. Lawrence on his upcoming retirement and wished him well. c. Teen Coordinator — Mike Hreha Mr. Kirk stated that Mike Hreha joined the Recreation staff in September as the Teen Coordinator. Before starting as Teen Coordinator, Mike had worked with the ZONE as one of the activity leaders and for the past four summers has been the summer work crew supervisor at the Springbrook Nature Center. Mr. Kirk stated that he wanted to introduce Mike to the Commission members and have him tell about some of the activities for the teens in Fridley. Mr. Hreha stated that he likes working with the teens and has enjoyed setting up the programs with the Recreation Department. The ZONE is a teen center that is open everyday after school for the middle school students from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.. We usually get 20 or more students that come to the ZONE on a daily basis. Friday nights we have the ZONE open from 6:00 - 10:30 p.m. for high school students and the older (7t'` and 8t'`grade) middle school students. Mr. Hreha further stated that we regularly schedule trips or other events on non-school days for the students and this spring will be offering several clubs for the teen to be involved with. During the summer months, the teen program provides a playground type program at Commons Park, trips and outings, and the ZONE is open in the afternoons and on Friday evenings. The Commission members welcomed Mr. Hreha to the staff. Ms. Sibell asked if there were any long-range plans for the ZONE that the Commission should be aware of or any needs for the facility that Mr. Hreha has identified. Mr. Hreha stated that he is sure we would draw even more teens to the facility if more gym space were available. As it stands now, the most gym time we have available during the after school ZONE time is one hour. The teens really enjoy using the gym, but unfortunately the single court does not provide for enough space. Mr. Hreha stated that there is not an activity bus for students to ride home after the ZONE. He believes that more students would attend the ZONE after school if they had transportation home. The Commission members thanked Mr. Hreha for attending the meeting. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 3, 2003 Pa�e 3 d. City Council / Commission Survey Mr. Kirk stated that the City Manager's Office would be sending out a survey to all commission members in the ne�t week or so, asking for input on a number of issues facing the City. There are a number of items pertaining to the Parks and Recreation system, but also items relating to Public Works, Police, Fire, and Planning. Mr. Kirk thanked the Commission members in advance for their help in completing and returning this survey. Mr. Kirk also stated that the City Council would like to meet with the Parks and Recreation Commission to discuss the results of the survey questions on May 5, 2003 at 6:00 p.m. This is a regular meeting night for both the City Council and the Commission, so at the conclusion of the joint discussion session, the Commission will convene for a short business meeting. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Showmobile Rental Request — Mound Fire Department Mr. Kirk stated that the Mound Fire Department has once again requested the use of the Showmobile for a concert in early June. We have worked with them before and staff would recommend approval of the request. Ms. Sibell asked if the requested dates would be a concern, since it was so close to 49er Days. Mr. Kirk responded that it should not be a problem on the requested weekend. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young, to approve the showmobile rental request by the Mound Fire Department for Saturday, June 7, 2003. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Softball Tournament Request — Fridley Wrestling Boosters Mr. Kirk stated that staff recommends approval of the request by the Fridley Wrestling Boosters for a softball tournament (the lOt'` Annual John Gargaro Memorial Classic) the weekend of June 13 — 15, 2003. The tournament would be held at Community Park during the Fridley 49er Days Festival. MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the softball tournament request by the Fridley Wrestling Boosters. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. c. Softball Tournament Request - Fridley Lions Club Mr. Kirk stated that staff recommended approval of the request by the Fridley Lions Club to run a softball tournament at Fridley Community Park on August 1- 2, 2003. This tournament would be part of several National tournaments being coordinated in the North Metro area by the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association. These tournaments are for the Masters Division softball players ages 50 to 70. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 3, 2003 Pa�e 4 MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to approve the softball tournament request by the Fridley Lions Club. The Commission would give staff authorization to work out the details for and accept a donation from the Lions Club in lieu of the facility rental fee. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. d. Summer Playground Format and Fees Mr. Kirk stated that staff is recommending that the two four-week session format for the summer playground program and the nine week program for summer ROCKS remain the same for this year. We are recommending that Stevenson Elementary School be added back as site for the Playground program. The Fridley School Dstrict will be running an a.m. summer school program at Stevenson and have asked us to work along with them by offering a playground location at this site. This Stevenson program will run for seven weeks from June 16 to July 31. Mr. Kirk further stated that staff is recommending a slight increase in registration fees for our summer programs to cover some increased staffing costs for these activities. The recommended fees for the summer programs are as follows: Preschool Playgrounds 3-4 year olds .....$20 / session 4-5 year olds .....$34 / session Elementary Playgrounds Grades K-4 .....$37 / session Stevenson location . . . . . . $12 / week (or $75 for 7 weeks) ROCKS Grades K-5 .....$82 / week Teen Programs Chill . . . .. $26 / session ZONE @ FCC . . . . $2 / day MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the format and fees for the summer playground program as recommended by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. e. Garden Plot Fees Mr. Kirk stated that the Recreation Office rents out individual gardening plots at Locke Park (ne�t to the City Maintenance Garage). There are 48 of the 15 x 20 foot plots available to rent and last year all of them were taken. The City recently completed a study of all city related fees including the Community Gardens program. It costs the City appro�mately $40 per year to provide each garden plot and related services. Plots have been renting for $20 each or $15 for senior citizens. The fees were last raised 8 years ago in 1995. Mr. Kirk further stated that 10 of the 48 renters last year were not Fridley residents. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 7, 2000 Pa�e 5 Mr. Young stated that he thought the fees should be raised to help keep pace with rising costs. Mr. Young asked if there were requests for garden plots after all 48 were taken. Mr. Kirk stated that yes, they did have to turn away potential gardeners because they were full. Mr. Young stated that he would like to see Fridley residents have priority for signing up for the garden plots. Non-residents could rent plots after a set date if there were still any available. Mr. Kirk asked if there should be a different rental rate for non-residents. The Commission members agreed that the non-residents should pay a higher rate for garden plots and recommended a$40 fee, since that is what the gardens cost the City of Fridley to provide. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to charge $25 for Fridley residents to rent a garden plot, $20 for a Fridley senior citizen and $40 for all non-residents. Fridley residents need to have first priority for signing up for the community gardens. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. f. Refund Policy — Picnic Shelter Rentals Mr. Kirk stated that, as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission, the fees for renting the picnic shelters and activity buildings were raised last year. For the most part, the users of the facilities have accepted the higher fees and rental requests have remained about the same as before the increase. With the particularly rainy weather of last summer and fall we received a lot of requests for refunds of rental fees after the scheduled rental date. People would call and say that because of the rain they cancelled their picnic or reunion and would like a refund of the rental fee. Our current practice is not to refund the fees for cancellations after the date. Mr. Kirk asked the Commission members if there should be a provision to refund any or all of the fees for shelters if inclement weather is a factor. Ms. Sibell stated that she did not believe that there should be a refund after the fact. You reserve the facility to give your group exclusive use of the building for a specific time period and if it is reserved in your name, no one else can use it. She recommends that we stay with our current practice of no refunds. The Commission members agreed with Ms. Sibell's comments and would not want to start giving full or partial refunds due to the weather. Mr. Young stated that the current park shelter rental form does not state an age requirement as decided upon by the Commission. He would recommend changing the form to include the words "non- refundable" ne�t to the rental fee and list a minimum age of twenty-one for facility rentals. The Commission members agreed with Mr. Young's suggestions. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� — Februarv 3, 2003 Pa�e 6 g. Softball Tournament Request — Minnesota Sports Cafe Mr. Kirk stated that the City has received a softball tournament request from Minnesota Sports Cafe (formerly Spiker's) to use the Fridley Community Park on May 17 — 18, 2003 for an ASA softball national qualifier tournament. This group has rented from the City in the past and staff would recommend approval. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to approve the softball tournament request from Minnesota Sports Cafe for use of Community Park on May 17 & 18, 2003. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Next Meeting The Parks and Recreation Commission has set the ne�t meeting for Monday, Apri17, 2003. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell to adjourn the February 3, 2003 meeting at 8:46 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE FEBRUARY 3, 2003 MEETING ADJOURNED.