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08/02/2004 - 00028721CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — AUGUST 2, 2004 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the August 2, 2004 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present Others Present Dave Kondrick, Ed McDonald, Dolores Varichak Jack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Dave Lindquist, Park Maintenance Supervisor APPROVAL OF JUNE 7, 2004 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Ms. Varichak, seconded by Mr. McDonald, to approve the minutes of the June 7, 2004 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR AUGUST 4, 2003 MOTION by Mr. McDonald, seconded by Ms. Varichak, to approve the agenda for the August 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 the summer programs have been very successful and many of the activities are now complete. The playground program does have three weeks left, but the summer adult softball program is over this week and the fall softball begins next week. Mr. Kirk listed a number of activities that have taken place during the past couple of months. There have been day nature camps for many different age groups at Springbrook Nature Center, the ROCKS program has been operating everyday at the Fridley Community Center, the Seniors have stayed active this summer with a variety of activities and trips and several special events have been held, such as the annual water carnival and kids parade. The Safety Camp, sponsored by the Recreation, Police and Fire Departments was held in late June and was another huge success. Mr. Kirk stated that he wanted to recognize Mr. Lindquist and the entire Park Maintenance staff for the excellent job they have done preparing and maintaining the facilities to support the programs. Their work is extremely important when providing quality programs. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 2, 2004 Paqe 2 Mr. Kirk further stated that all of the Recreation and Natural Resource Department staff members appreciate the park maintenance support. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lindquist stated that the Park Maintenance workers have been busy taking care of the park system and providing support for the recreation programs. They have been mowing the grass, cleaning buildings and picnic shelters, preparing ballfields and servicing Moore Lake swimming beach. Mr. Lindquist further stated that he wanted the Commissioners to know that they have been building small landscape areas around the park signs. They have recently completed work on the signs at Moore Lake, Locke, Madsen and Craig Park. Ms. Varichak stated that as a FYSA softball director, she would like to comment on how nice the fields have looked all summer. The maintenance of the fields has been very good. c. Springbrook Nature Center Status Mr. Kirk stated that at the July 12t" City Council meeting, the Council unanimously decided to place a question on the November ballot regarding the future funding of Springbrook Nature Center. The amount of the levy for funding Springbrook in 2005 would be $275,000. This amount would result in a tax increase of $26 per year for the average ($200,000 value) home in Fridley. The $275,000 amount, along with approximately $58,000 in revenue expected from the various programs, would provide for an operating budget similar to the budget level in 2003. It would also allow the City to set aside about $30,000 per year to make necessary improvements to the Interpretive Building at the park. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Tennis/ Basketball Courts Study Mr. Kondrick stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission had asked Mr. Kirk and City staff to look at the hard surface courts in our park system. A study could include how much usage these courts were getting, what condition they were in and what might be a long-range plan for improving and maintaining these courts. It is the intention of the Commission to be cost effective in the City's approach to providing these court areas. We want facilities for people in this community to use, but we may need to consider where we can cut back, where we need to add, and where we need to repair or replace courts. Mr. Kirk stated that the tennis and basketball court study being presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission this evening contains a lot of information on all of the court areas in our community. It is a study that was completed with the assistance of Dave Lindquist, Park Supervisor. Mr. Kirk further stated that we know that the upkeep and maintenance of these court areas is costing the City a considerable amount of money each year. We also know that people in this area are not playing tennis as much as they used to. Basketball is a different story, as these facilities seem to be getting a little more use than in the past. Mr. Kirk stated that he would present the information from the study at this point and give the Commission a staff recommendation for some future direction with the hard surface courts. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 2, 2004 Paqe 3 Mr. Kondrick stated that there appears to be a lot of information in this study that will be presented this evening and many neighborhoods that will be affected by the decisions on these court areas. A lot of money could be saved or spent depending on the decisions associated with these court areas. Mr. Kondrick stated that he would like to hear the report of the study tonight and then take some time to review and think about the information before making a recommendation from the Commission. In his opinion, it would be better to wait at least a month before forwarding a recommendation on the tennis and basketball courts. Mr. Kondrick also pointed out that there were two Commission members not in attendance at tonight's meeting and he would like to get their viewpoints before making a final decision. Mr. Kirk stated that it is a challenge in our Minnesota climate to maintain the hard surface courts in good playable condition. With the freezing and thawing experienced in the winter months and the heat of the summer conditions, it takes its toll on the courts after several years. The soil conditions in some of our parks also make it difficult to maintain the courts in good playing condition. The color-coating treatment needs to be redone on the courts about every three years in order to keep it in good shape. The courts that have cracks in the surface need to be attended to on a regular basis or they can deteriorate quickly. With the budget situation facing the City the past couple of years, we have not done any work on the court areas. We are really way behind in the upkeep of these court surfaces. Mr. Kirk further stated that back in 1997, the Parks and Recreation Commission completed a park service area study of entire park system. One of the aspects of this study was a look at how well the residents of each park area are served with play equipment and athletic facilities. That study concluded that the City of Fridley park system is well supplied with tennis and basketball court facilities. The National Recreation and Park Association standard for providing tennis courts is at least one court per 20,000 residents and a court within a'/ mile service radius. There are currently 21 tennis courts in our City of Fridley park system and another 16 on public school property. There are plenty of tennis courts available and most residents are within one-half mile of a court. The national standard for basketball courts is one court per 5000 residents and a court within a 1 mile service radius. Once again, the City is in good shape as far as providing basketball courts. We have 20 basketball courts in our park system and another 5 courts on public school property. Although many of the basketball courts are of the half court variety, they are in relatively close proximity to most residents in our community. Mr. Kirk stated that the City has been aware of the high cost of maintaining the court areas and has made some reductions in the number and size of courts over the past five years. A basketball court at Plaza Park was replaced with a smaller half-court, one basket playing area. A small court at Springbrook Park was completely removed. The two tennis courts at Logan Park were removed and replaced with a single court and small half-court basketball area. The same thing happened at Terrace Park, two courts reduced to one with a small basketball area. These changes were the start to an approach that will help reduce our long- term upkeep costs for the hard surface court areas. Mr. Kirk further stated that after studying the tennis court locations, conditions, expected costs and future needs for the Fridley Park system, staff is making the following recommendations regarding the tennis courts. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 2, 2004 Paqe 4 • Remove the two north courts at Commons Park and replace them with sand volleyball courts. • Remove the two courts at Craig Park and replace them with a grass open play area (the low lying area of this park makes it very difficult to provide a good court surface and maintain the asphalt base). • Remove the two tennis courts at Briardale Park and replace with one new tennis court (the location of the court in the park may need to change with some work improving the base soil conditions). • Remove the two tennis courts at North Park Elementary School (or explore option of turning over all maintenance and upkeep to the School District). • Remove the tennis court at Woodcrest Elementary School (or explore the option of turning over all maintenance and upkeep to the School District). • Remove the tennis court at Springbrook Park and replace with a grass open play area. • Remove the existing courts and replace with new courts at Edgewater Gardens, Madsen, and Sylvan Hills Parks. • Keep the existing courts at the other park locations and provide on-going color-coating and maintenance to retain good playable surfaces. Mr. Kirk also stated that staff is making the following recommendations regarding the basketball courts. • Remove the basketball court at Oak Hill Park and replace with a grass area and picnic tables • Remove the old court surfaces and replace with a half-court asphalt basketball playing area at Edgewater Gardens, Glencoe, Jay, Summit Square and Sylvan Hills Parks. • Remove and replace the basketball courts at Briardale, Madsen and Plymouth Square Parks. • Keep the existing courts at the other park locations and provide on-going asphalt sealing and/ or color-coating to retain good playable court surfaces • Consider adding a full-size basketball court to the Fridley Community Center outdoor play area. Mr. Kirk stated that if these recommendations were to be implemented, it would result in a reduction of nine more tennis courts from the current level. Even with the recommended reduction, there would be 28 tennis courts (15 lighted courts) available in our community. The recommendation for the basketball courts would not result in total number reduction if the new court were installed at the Fridley Community Center. The smaller playing surfaces and a scale back of the color-coating of basketball courts would save some dollars in our parks improvement budget. Staff has looked at a projection of costs over the next ten years with our court areas. With the recommendations being made and the previous reductions made in the court areas this could save the City in excess of $267,000 over that ten year period. This amount is in today's dollars and includes total replacement of many of the courts that would be needed. Some of the fencing on the courts also needs replacing and that is figured into this amount as well. There will still be some significant dollars needed to provide for the court surfaces and the City would still be well served with these athletic facilities. Mr. Kondrick stated that the Commission needs to tailor our thinking to the budgetary situation, the numbers of people that are using these facilities and where these facilities are located. We really need to know how many courts we need. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 2, 2004 Paqe 5 Mr. Kirk stated that some of the other information being provided to the Commission members in this study includes a listing of all the basketball and tennis courts, the size of the court area, the year constructed and what condition the playing surface is currently in. Hopefully the information in this court study will assist in making a recommendation for future work on the court areas. Mr. Kondrick stated that we want to provide facilities for the people in our community and try to save some money at the same time. He stated that he thinks we can be cost effective and still provide a valuable service to the tennis and basketball playing residents of our community. MOTION by Ms. Varichak, seconded by Mr. McDonald to receive the tennis and basketball court study presented by staff and to put this on the September agenda for the Commission to act on. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Tennis Court Rental Request Mr. Kirk stated that staff has received a request from Medtronic to use the two Commons Park tennis courts for lessons and league play for six weeks. They would use the courts two nights per week for approximately four to five hours per night. They have suggested a payment of $10 per night for the two courts. The City has not rented tennis courts in the past, but we have rented out athletic fields such as softball and baseball fields. Mr. Kirk further stated that staff would like to work with Medtronic and accommodate their request for use of the tennis courts at a rate of $10 per night. We would provide them with a permit to use the courts and at the end of the six weeks, we would review the arrangement and come back to the Commission with a recommendation for future court rentals. MOTION by Mr. McDonald, seconded by Ms. Varichak to rent the two Commons Park tennis courts to Medtronic for $10 per night for the six weeks. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. c. Showmobile Rental Policy Mr. Kondrick stated that the next item on the agenda was the Showmobile Rental Policy. We currently rent the showmobile to other municipalities or governmental units only. We may have occasions to rent the unit to other organizations or businesses in neighboring communities. Should we look at changing the rental policy to allow for more rentals? Mr. Kirk stated the reason for the restriction to other neighboring municipalities was part of the policy was a concern over what would happen if the showmobile were damaged in some way during the time it was rented. There was a certain comfort level that if something happened to the showmobile when another city was using it, they would be good for taking care of the repairs. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 2, 2004 Paqe 6 Mr. Kirk further stated that the City of Fridley does get several requests each year for use of the showmobile by non-governmental organizations. Some churches, businesses and small independent festivals have made requests to use the showmobile. We deny these requests, unless they can get their city government to make the application for use. Mr. Kondrick stated that by changing the policy, there may be an opportunity to bring in some additional revenue by renting the showmobile to these other groups. Mr. Kirk stated that the current rental rate for the showmobile is $700 per day, plus the costs for our Public Works Maintenance employee to move and set up the unit on overtime hours. Mr. Kirk asked that if the policy were changed to allow others to rent the showmobile, should the City require a certificate of insurance to make sure the showmobile was covered against any damage. Mr. Kondrick stated that he would suggest that we get the City Attorney involved to provide us with the proper wording for the rental policy that says to potential renters, you need to fulfill these requirements in order to use the showmobile. If some legal, binding instrument were in place to protect our interest in the showmobile, then we could look at changing the policy. We need to know that if something happens to the showmobile, it will be repaired or replaced. Ms. Varichak asked if the showmobile has ever come back from a rental with any damage. Mr. Lindquist stated that we have had some minor issues, but nothing significant. Mr. Kondrick stated that he would like to see staff work with legal issues and bring this back to the Commission with a recommendation at a future meeting. Mr. Kirk agreed to work on this and bring it back. 3. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. McDonald, seconded by Ms. Varichak, to adjourn the August 2, 2004 meeting at 8:38 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE AUGUST 2, 2004 MEETING ADJOURNED.