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02/02/2004 - 00028694CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — FEBRUARY 2, 2004 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the February 2, 2004 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present Others Present Dave Kondrick Tim Solberg Marcy Sibell Dolores Varichak 7ack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Dave Lindquist, Parks Supervisor APPROVAL OF Januarv 5, 2004 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Ms. Varichak, seconded by Mr. Solberg to approve the minutes of the January 5, 2004 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR FEBRUARY 2, 2004 MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell to approve the agenda for the February 2, 2004 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 a Program Update report has been included in the meeting agenda packet. The programs and activities have gone pretty well this winter without many problems. Some of the outdoor activities had to be cancelled with the recent cold snap and this evening's activities were cancelled because of the heavy snowfall. Other than some weather related adjustments, the participants have been enjoying the winter programs. Mr. Kirk stated that he had another item he would like to report on. At the last meeting, the Commission had some discussion on the sales tax being added on to the rental fee for use of the Community Park for tournaments. Since a portion of the total rental fee is for a park maintenance worker to help with the softball tournament, Ms. Sibell asked if the field rental fee could be divided into two parts: one for the rental to use the fields and the remainder for the maintenance worker. She asked if the group renting the fields could avoid paying sales tax on the amount used for the City staff person doing the maintenance. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 2, 2004 Pa�e 2 Mr. Kirk stated he had discussed this with the City Finance Department staff and they had looked into the State of Minnesota revenue policy. Since maintenance or custodial services and lawn care services were taxable, the maintenance worker services for the tournament would be taxable as well. It would be the recommendation of staff to have the fee remain as one set amount that would be taxable to the group renting the ballfields. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lindquist stated that park maintenance activities have centered on maintaining ice at the hockey and general skating facilities. The weather in early December was not the greatest for making and maintaining ice. It has gotten better and we have all the skating facilities open. Mr. Kondrick asked if the Parks Division had received many calls about the parks or skating facilities this winter. Mr. Lindquist stated that they have not received many calls at all. People seem to understand the budget situation of the City and that staff are doing what they can with the resources available. Mr. Kondrick asked if we were getting many skaters using the rinks this year. Mr. Lindquist stated that it appears that the rinks are getting quite a bit of use this year. Madsen Park rink has been seeing a lot of use, even without a warming house facility being provided. c. Winter Carnival Mr. Kirk stated that the attendance at this year's Winterfest was lower than previous years and was a disappointment to staff. The cold weather likely kept the people away. The people who did brave the weather and come out for Winterfest appeared to have a really good time. Mr. Kirk stated that he felt his staff did a good job preparing for the event and they would likely sponsor this type of activity again ne�t winter. d. Dave Kondrick Presented MRPA Award Mr. Kirk stated that he was pleased to announce that Dave Kondrick has been presented the 2003 Minnesota Recreation and Park Association Board and Commission Award. This award is given to a member of a citizen's advisory or policymaking board that has demonstrated outstanding service to the community and has promoted programs, services and facilities that enrich the lives of the citizens. Mr. Kondrick thanked Mr. Kirk for nominating him for the very nice award. Mr. Kondrick stated that the success of the Parks and Recreation Commission is not because of any one individual; rather it is due to the input of all of the members. We have had some real good Commission members throughout the years. We have had members that are smart, are interested, care about the community and don't have a personal agenda to pursue. Mr. Kondrick stated that he believes that the Fridley City Council values and respects the opinions and recommendations of the Parks and Recreation Commission. That is because of people like you — the current members of this Commission. The members of the Parks and Recreation Commission congratulated Chairperson Kondrick on the MRPA award. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� — Februarv 2, 2004 Pa�e 3 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Letter of Support for Anoka County Parks Department —Rice Creek West Regional Trail Grant Application Mr. Kirk stated that Nick Eoloff of the Anoka County Parks Department called and informed him that they are applying for a Federal Recreation Trail Grant through the Minnesota DNR. The grant proposes to make improvements to the regional bikeway-walkway trail located between University Avenue and Highway 65 in our community. Anoka County Parks has asked for a letter of support from this Commission to include with the trail grant application. Mr. Kondrick stated that he is supportive of this, but he did have one question. Might there be some criteria that the County would have for the trail system that might not be the same as our City trail requirements? Mr. Kirk stated that he believes all the specifications and criteria for the trail improvements would be the same for the City or the County trails. Mr. Kirk further stated that he could ask the County Parks Department to provide additional information to the Commission at a future meeting. This would give the Commission more details on the improvements being implemented. MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Ms. Varichak, to approve the letter of support for the Anoka County Parks Department —Rice Creek West Regional Trail grant application. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Summer Playground Format and Fees Mr. Kirk stated that staff has provided a recommendation for the 2004 Summer Playground Program and Fees. There are some slight adjustments from the 2003 program and those are as follows: 1. The pre-school program format would remain the same, but the fee for 3-4 year olds would increase $5 ($20 to $25) for the four-week session. The fee for the 4-5 year old program would increase $3 ($34 to $37) for the four-week session. 2. The Playground format and locations would remain the same with a$3 increase for each four-week session. The total registration fee for the Playground program would now be $40. The family maximum fee for a four-week session would be $80. 3. The Teen Program would combine two programs into one. We previously had a two-hour program at Commons Park, followed by a two-hour drop-in program at the ZONE. We would combine them into one program housed at the Community Center. The program would run from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the same hours as the Playground program. The fee would be $10 per week and the program would run for nine weeks. 4. The Summer ROCKS program changed from a four day per week registration to a five day per week registration. We will still have special events or field trips on Wednesdays, but the new fee will include this event/trip, instead of being a separate fee. The fee would increase from $82 per week to $110 per week, due to the additional day. The program will run for nine weeks. Participants would be allowed to register per week for this program. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Februarv 2, 2004 Pa�e 4 Mr. Solberg stated that the fees for these programs appear to be very reasonable for the people in this community. MOTION by Ms. Varichak, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the summer playground format and fees as recommended by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell to adjourn the February 2, 2004 meeting at 8:14 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE FEBRUARY 2, 2004 MEETING ADJOURNED.