Loading...
11/03/2003 - 00028672CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — NOVEMBER 3, 2003 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the November 3, 2003 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:16 p. m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick, Tim Solberg, Dolores Varichak and Dick Young Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Siah St. Clair, Naturalist Jeremy Powers, Springbrook Nature Center Foundation Malcolm Mitchell, Springbrook Nature Center Foundation APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 15, 2003 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES Mr. Young stated that he had a correction to be made on the September 15, 2003 minutes. On page 5, the third paragraph down should read "Mr. Young stated he would like to see us eliminate all hockey rinks that would be at a site that did not have a warming house. This would eliminate all hockey rinks except at Commons Park." MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young, to approve the minutes of the September 15, 2003 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, with the correction noted by Mr. Young. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR NOVEMBER 3, 2003 MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the agenda for the November 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 stated that the Program Update for the past month identifies some of the programs and activities of the Recreation and Natural Resource Department. He wanted to let the Commission members know about the very successful Halloween event at Springbrook Nature Center on Saturday, October 25t". Over 2,000 people attended the "Pumpkin Night in the Park" event — a really great turnout for this special event. The nature center staff works with many volunteers (close to 100) to make this event happen. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 3, 2003 Paqe 2 Mr. Kirk stated that the senior program sponsored a craft show at the Fridley Community Center on October 10 and 11. Over $1000 was raised to help support the operation of the Community Center. The goal is to make this craft show an annual event. Mr. Kirk stated that he wanted to update the Commission on the status of a warming house facility at Commons Park. The Fridley Lions Club had responded to Mr. Kirk's request for funding by saying that they would provide 50% of the money ($1800), provided that the balance of the donations needed could be raised from the Fridley business community. Mr. Kirk stated that thanks to the generosity of Dave's Sport Shop, Joe DiMaggio's Restaurant, Bob's Produce Ranch, and Newquist and Ekstrum Law Firm, he now had the necessary funding to make the Commons Park Warming house happen this winter. The warming house will be open Monday through Friday from 3 pm to 9 pm and weekends from 12 noon to 9 pm. Commons should be a great central location for the one warming house. The two hockey rinks, skating oval and sliding hill provide more options for winter sports than the other potential warming house locations. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Kirk stated that Dave Lindquist could not be at the meeting tonight, but he had provided a list of accomplishments over the past month. The Parks Maintenance division has winterized all the irrigation systems in the parks; installed and made repairs for all the hockey rinks; removed all the summer sports field equipment (soccer nets, goals); removed the old press box at the Commons 2 ballfield; repaired fencing and gates in the park system; and completed fall leaf pickup in the parks. c. Springbrook Nature Center Budget Status Mr. Kirk stated that since June of this year, when the City Manager's proposed budget was presented to the City Council, the future of Springbrook Nature Center has been uncertain and Springbrook has been a hotly debated topic. The proposed budget called for elimination of the Naturalist programs and the closing of the interpretive center building. In response to the budget recommendation, the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation members and other Springbrook supporters have held rallies and attended numerous City Council meetings to show support for continuing the nature center operation. A petition was circulated in the community to try and persuade the City Council to put a Springbrook funding question on the November ballot. The City Council decided to wait until 2004 to put the question of Springbrook funding on the ballot and the Council committed to providing some funding for the nature center staff in 2004. City staff was directed to meet with representatives of the City Council, the SNC Foundation and the Parks and Recreation Commission to discuss funding options for Springbrook Nature Center. After looking carefully at eight potential funding levels, the City Council ultimately decided it would support a 2004 Springbrook Nature Center budget level of $262,000. This represents about a 12% reduction from the full funding proposal for 2004 that City staff had originally submitted to the City Manager last spring. The revenue to support this budget level would include $103,000 in program fees and charges, a$56,400 contribution from the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation and $102,600 from the City of Fridley general fund budget. This Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 3, 2003 Paqe 3 represents approximately a 60% decrease in City budget dollars for Springbrook from the 2003 budget level. Mr. Kirk further stated that while the raising of contributions for Springbrook and the increased revenue expectations from the various programs will present a challenge for the coming year, he believed that the budget level selected was really the best that we could have hoped for. It was almost a sure thing that Springbrook would not receive full funding for 2004, and the $262,000 level (Level "B") was the next highest funding option being considered. Staff is pleased to have the opportunity to operate the nature center programs for this community next year. Mr. Kirk also stated that the City Council did stipulate that they would review the status of the revenues and contributions at a mid-year point next year. Adjustments to the 2004 budget may have to be made if the revenues do not appear to be on track to reach their projected goals. d. Canada Goose Program Report Mr. Kirk stated that the agenda packet included some information from the Canada Goose Program. The City of Fridley has participated in this goose removal at Moore Lake since 1990. This past summer, crews removed geese on June 17t" and again on June 24t", with a total of 60 geese being taken from the Moore Lake area. For the past six years, we have been averaging about 66 geese removed each summer. That compares with 183 birds removed the very first year (1990) and an average of 119 geese over the first six years. The program appears to be doing what it was intended to do, that being an overall reduction of the number of birds at the site and keeping most of the geese away during the summer swimming beach season. Mr. Young noted that the Goose removal program now costs the City an average of almost $25 per bird. The increased cost is partially due to the $15 per bird processing fee for the adult geese. Mr. Kondrick asked the Commission members to think about this expenditure for the Canada Goose Program in light of all the budget concerns of the City. At a future meeting, the Commission should discuss the continued participation in the program. Mr. Kirk stated that in 1990, it cost an average of $5.46 per bird for the removal of the 183 geese. In 2003, it cost an average of $24.75 per bird for the removal of the 60 geese. e. MS Challenge Walk Thank You Letter Mr. Kirk stated that he had received a letter from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (Minnesota Chapter) thanking the City of Fridley for supporting the Challenge Walk with the use of our parks and trails. It sounds like the event was a big success. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 3, 2003 Paqe 4 f. Islands of Peace Park Building Mr. Kirk stated that Anoka County Parks is going to be leasing the use of the visitor's center at the Islands of Peace Park to the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association (MRPA) for administrative offices. The visitor's center has been closed much of the time over the past ten years and this use would allow the facilities restrooms to be open to park users when the office is open. A staff presence on site would also help to reduce some of the vandalism at the park that has encountered in the past few years. Because the park is City of Fridley property and we have a lease agreement with the County for use of the facility, the County needed concurrence from the City to proceed with the rental to MRPA. g. Recreation Program Specialist — Margo Prasek Mr. Kirk stated that the Recreation Division has a new employee in the Recreation Program Specialist position. Her name is Margo Prasek, a recent graduate of the College of St. Benedict with a Bachelors Degree in Communication and Art. Margo has over four years of experience working with our recreation programs in Fridley, primarily as a Youth Recreation leader in the summer programs. Her primary duties will be overseeing the elementary age after-school program, the various trips and outings, the youth instructional activities and the summer ROCKS and Playground programs. She replaces Jamie Ramacher, who left in August. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Admission Fees at Springbrook Nature Center Mr. Kirk stated that according to chapter six of the City Code, the Parks and Recreation Commission shall be authorized to establish charges or fees for the restricted use of any facility or to make any phase of the recreation program wholly or partially self-sustaining. As part of the plan to keep Springbrook Nature Center operating in 2004, the City Council has stated that there should be a user fee for people visiting the nature center park. It would be helpful if the Commission would determine the level of those fees this evening, so plans can be in place to institute the new fees on January 1, 2004. Mr. Kirk stated that the 2004 budget for operating Springbrook Nature Center will rely upon $31,000 being generated from daily admission fees and season passes. That is a net figure, so any costs related to raising that amount of revenue will be in addition to the $31,000 target. There may be costs for some staffing of ticket takers, a ticket building, drop boxes for payment when staff is not present and even some fencing or gates at certain areas of the park. Mr. Kirk further stated that the admission fees/passes were discussed by Department staff and the City Manager at a series of ineetings in September. Staff had looked at the possibility of charging a certain fee for Fridley residents and a slightly higher fee for non-residents. A Fridley resident would pay $2 per person, with a$1 fee for children and senior citizens. Non- residents would pay $3 per person, with a$2 fee for children and senior citizens. This information was presented to the committee looking at the possible funding levels for Springbrook Nature Center in 2004. Members of the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation thought that some alternative fee levels and ticket taking procedures could be looked at and still generate the same or better revenue dollars to support the operation. Members of the Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 3, 2003 Paqe 5 Foundation are at the Commission meeting tonight to offer a proposal for charging admission fees at Springbrook. Mr. Jeremy Powers, representing the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation, stated that the proposal being brought forth by the Foundation was not meant to be critical of what the Recreation Department staff had come up with; rather it was trying to find the best way to raise the needed revenue. Many of the Foundation members are involved with raising revenue in their own places of business and worked at coming up with a plan that is not too far away from what staff had originally proposed. They did not want the Nature Center to be stuck with paying for high fixed costs on the admissions project, such as a lot of money into a building used to take tickets. He would ask Siah St. Clair to explain the details of the proposal that was worked on by Foundation members and staff. Siah St. Clair stated that the reason for an individual user fee rather than a parking fee (like those collected at many of the regional nature centers), is that Springbrook has six different entrances that people use to gain access to the park. More than half of the estimated 150,000 visits to the nature center each year are by people who come into the park through an entrance other than the main gate. By charging a user fee, rather than a parking fee, we would hope to generate revenue from all those that were using the park. The Foundation proposal also looked at ways of keeping the costs of administering the project low. Rather than putting an additional staff person in a booth out in the parking lot to collect fees, we could use staff or volunteers at the Interpretive building to handle the selling of fees. Mr. St. Clair further stated that there are many people who walk Springbrook trails on a regular basis and there should be some opportunity to buy an annual pass rather than paying a daily admission fee. There are also those people who only come to the center a couple of times per year and for those people, a daily admission fee would be more appropriate. Because Springbrook Nature Center is such a family oriented facility and many of the visitors don't have a lot of money, the Foundation proposal is for a$2 per individual fee and $3 for a daily family admission. With this proposal, there would not be a separate or different fee for non-residents. One of the reasons for the $3 family fee is that is the current per car fee charged to enter the Coon Rapids Dam Park. Mr. St. Clair stated that he understands that the fee for a car to enter the Coon Rapids Park next year will be raised to $4. Mr. St. Clair further stated that the Foundation then looked at how they would best implement an admissions program at the nature center. Should a person sit in a booth and sell tickets or was there a better way? In talking with people who have done this at other parks around the country, it appears that having people purchase and wear (or display) a daily pass sticker was effective. People could purchase these daily or annual passes at the interpretive building. Staff would be more multi-purpose if they would issue the passes from the building. They could help supervise the facility and in the down times, they could help with building maintenance. This would not be possible if that individual was in a ticket booth in the parking lot. It may allow us to have the building open more hours than we otherwise could which will be better for park visitors to see the exhibits and have access to the restroom facilities. Mr. Powers stated that they recognize there is a part of our population in Fridley that is underprivileged and may not have the financial resources to visit the nature center when a user fee is required. We would try to find a corporate sponsor for one day per week, which Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 3, 2003 Paqe 6 could be a"free" day, when no admission would be required. The sponsor would essentially be covering the admission for everyone on that particular day. Mr. Powers further stated that this proposal would also call for annual passes to be sold at $25 per individual and $40 per family. The Springbrook Nature Center Foundation will be selling memberships to their "Friends of Springbrook" organization and as part of the membership they would include an annual pass for admission to Springbrook. The Foundation would buy the annual passes at full price from the City. Any additional dollars that came in with the membership dues would also be coming back to the City as part of the $56,400 donation that the Foundation has committed to for 2004. Mr. Young stated that as far as the daily passes, he thinks that $3 per family is too low and he would like to see it raised to $5 per family. The difference in the individual and family daily fees should be proportionate to the difference in the individual and family annual pass fees. Mr. Powers suggested that the City consider $4 per family, because that is what Coon Rapids Dam will be charging per car in 2004. Mr. Young thought that the $4 per family would be fine. Mr. Young further stated that what the Minnesota State Parks did this year was to raise the daily fees much higher, so it would encourage people to buy the annual passes. They hope to generate more revenue with this approach. Mr. Young also stated that he would like the City to consider all memberships to be for one year from the date of purchase, rather than just for a calendar year. If someone does not purchase an annual pass until September, it would not have the same value if it were only valid for four more months or until December 31. Ms. Varichak questioned going from "free" for a family to visit Springbrook now, to a$5 admission fee. She said that she would favor staying with a$3 per family fee. We can look at increasing it again in the future, but she would like to start at the lower level. Mr. Kondrick stated that he thought the $5 family fee was too high also. He asked staff if we could meet the needed revenue numbers with the fee levels suggested by the Foundation. Mr. St. Clair stated he believes we would make the projected revenue numbers with a daily fee of $2 per individual and $3 per family. We have based some number projections on 40 individual and 40 family admissions per day in the summer, 30 per day in the spring and fall and 15 per day in the winter. Even with slightly lower paid admissions, we should be able to meet the revenue goals. Mr. Powers said that while not everyone on their committee was in full agreement with the numbers being proposed, the majority of the group thought they should keep the numbers low at the beginning. They did not want people to become very upset at high admission fees being charged and then not return to Springbrook again. They would rather bring in smaller admission fees and have people return and keep supporting the center. In the long run, if people see the fees as affordable, they will come to Springbrook and the Foundation believes the revenue will be higher as a result. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 3, 2003 Paqe 7 Mr. Solberg stated that he did not feel the proposed fees were a huge amount and those that went to Springbrook on a regular basis would have the opportunity to purchase an annual pass to save money. He thinks that charging fees at Springbrook is something we have to do given all the cuts that we are seeing in the budget. He would support the fee levels proposed by the Foundation. Mr. Powers stated that something else he would like to mention is that instead of charging non-residents a higher fee, the Foundation would like to suggest that all Fridley residents be given a coupon which would get them $5 off an annual pass. This would be a benefit to Fridley residents and may encourage people to purchase an individual or family annual pass. He would suggest that the pass be "transferable", so someone in Fridley could buy the pass as a gift for a family member that is a non-resident. Also, the coupons would have an expiration date of March 31, 2004, which should encourage people to buy the passes early in the year. Mr. Kondrick stated that the fees being proposed were good numbers to "start" with. We could always raise the fees at a future date. He would be in favor of supporting the admission fee proposal being presented. He thinks the numbers are reasonable, but not too expensive. MOTION by Ms. Varichak, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to set the 2004 admission fees for Springbrook Nature Center at $2 per individual and $3 per family. Season passes would be set at $25 per individual and $40 per family, with Fridley residents being given a$5 off coupon for the annual passes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DELARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Facility Rental Fees at Springbrook Nature Center Mr. Kirk stated that part of the increased revenue for Springbrook Nature Center in 2004 would come from additional rental fees for use of the building facilities. The staff has put together a recommended rental fee schedule, with the suggested fees as follows: • Classroom —(Monday through Thursday) .... $160 for up to four hours use; $30 for each additional hour • Interpretive Center —(Monday through Thursday) .... $300 for up to 4 hours use; $50 for each additional hour • Interpretive Center and Picnic Shelter —(Friday through Sunday in the months of April — October) .... $500 for up to 6 hours use; $50 for each additional hour • Interpretive Center —(Friday through Sunday in the months of November — March) .... $400 for up to 6 hours use; $50 for each additional hour Mr. Kondrick stated that his initial response to the proposed rental fees is that we are too expensive. Will there be additional staffing costs associated with the rental. Will someone be there to help the group who rents the building? Mr. Kirk stated that there would be a part-time staff person hired to work all the hours of the rental. This has been built into the proposed rental fee. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 3, 2003 Paqe 8 MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Varichak, to approve the staff recommended rental fee schedule for the Springbrook Nature Center facilities. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. c. 2004 Adult Softball League Fees Mr. Kirk stated that staff has provided the Commission with information on softball league fee levels for the past five years. We have generally been increasing the fees some each year, but we try to stay "competitive" with what other neighboring communities are charging for their leagues. We know there is a need to bring in additional revenue to support the various recreation programs, so this year's fee increases are a little higher than those in past years. The staff recommended fees for adult softball are as follows: • Mens Sunday Leagues -$610 ($30 increase over 2003) • Mens Monday — Thurs. Leagues -$675 ($35 increase over 2003) • Womens Fun League (new league) -$370 (this league is co-sponsored with the City of Blaine and we will have the same fee as Blaine) • Co-Rec Friday League -$400 (no increase. This league is also co-sponsored with the City of Blaine and we will have the same fee that Blaine charges) MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young to approve the staff recommended adult softball fees for 2004. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. d. 2004 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Schedule Mr. Kirk stated that he has a proposed meeting schedule for the Commission for 2004. The meetings would be on the first Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., with the exception of the September meeting, which would be the second Monday. The Commission has not normally met in July, so that meeting date would be listed as tentative. The meeting dates would be as follows: January 5 February 2 March 1 April 5 May 3� June 7 July 12 (tentative) August 2 September 13 October 4 November 1 December 6 MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg to approve the Parks and Recreation Meeting Schedule for 2004. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 3, 2003 Paqe 9 ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms.Varichak, to adjourn the November 3, 2003 meeting at 9:35 p. m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE NOVEMBER 3, 2003 MEETING ADJOURNED.