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01/09/2006 - 00028817CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — JANUARY 9, 2006 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the January 9, 2006 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick Marcy Sibell Tim Solberg Others Present: 7ack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation Dave Lindquist, Parks Supervisor Mike Heintz, 5704 Jefferson Street NE APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 7, 2005 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Solberg to approve the minutes of the November 7, 2005 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR JANUARY 9, 2006 MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to approve the agenda for the January 9, 2006 meeting as submitted by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that there has been several special events for the senior citizens since out last Commission meeting. On November l lt'`, over 200 people participated in a Veteran's Day celebration at the Senior Center. On November 17t'`, 235 seniors participated in the Fridley High School Dinner Theater and saw the play "Fiddler on the Roof'. The Holiday Lights tour and the annual Holiday Lunch sponsored by the Lions Club were also popular events that took place in December. The lights tour had 180 seniors participate and the Holiday lunch served 350 seniors. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Program Update written report is included in the agenda packet for each Commission meeting to give everyone an overview of the programs being provided at the schools, parks, Springbrook Nature Center and the Fridley Community Center. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Januarv 9, 2006 Pa�e 2 b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lindquist stated that they had some ideal ice making weather early in December and were able to get the hockey and skating rinks ready by the week before Christmas. The weather has since warmed up and we have had to close the rinks on several occasions due to poor ice. Mr. Lindquist further stated that the Park Maintenance workers have been plowing snow for the street department after the several snow events we have had. After street plowing, they have then cleared the snow from the skating rinks. He stated that the normal daily routine this time of year consists of sweeping, shoveling and flooding the rinks; picking up litter from the rink/park sites; and taking care of the trash. During the warmer days when ice maintenance is not possible, the crew trimmed trees and made repairs to light fi�tures. c. Tree Planting in the Park System Mr. Kirk stated that they have been discussing the need for planting trees in the park system ever since the September 21gt storm. We are looking at trying to have some community involvement in tree planting on or around Arbor Day, which is Friday, April 28t'`. We would like to provide opportunities for individuals or groups to pay the cost of purchasing a tree and/or be involved in the actual planting of some trees in the parks. Mr. Kondrick asked if there were some ways we could advertise these opportunities to the community. Mr. Kirk stated that information will be available in an upcoming City newsletter, on our local cable channel, in the seasonal activities brochure and in the local newspaper. Mr. Heintz stated that he manages the American Legion baseball team and they look for a community project to be involved in. He likes to have his players give back to the community through some volunteer work Assisting with the tree planting in the parks might be a good project for them. Mr. Kirk stated that he will keep the Commission informed on this project. d. Update on Springbrook Nature Center SPRING Project Mr. Kirk stated that the SPRING project continues to move along and the Minnesota State Senate Capital Investment Committee will be at the Nature Center for a site visit tomorrow, Tuesday, January 10, 2006. The Committee will be at Springbrook to learn more about the nature center and the expansion plans included in the SPRING project. An application has been submitted to the state for a grant that would provide $2.5 million of State money in a match for $2.5 million raised locally. Mr. Kondrick stated that he thought that would be great for our community if we could get State funding for this exciting project. The project would allow for an increased amount of programming at the nature center and would allow more people to enjoy the facility. Mr. Kirk stated that he expects to have some Commission discussion at the February meeting about the fundraising campaign and the possibility of naming facilities or rooms after significant contributors. This is the same type of approach that was used with the Fridley Community Center project and we were able to generate some sizeable donations for that project. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� — Januarv 9, 2006 Pa�e 3 e. New Commission Member — Mike Heintz Mr. Kirk stated that at tonight's City Council meeting, the Fridley City Council will be appointing a new member to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Mike Heintz will become a member of this Commission starting at the February 6th meeting. Mr. Kondrick welcomed Mr. Heintz to tonight's meeting and stated he looked forward to working with him on the Parks and Recreation Commisison. Mr. Heintz stated that he is kind of following in his Dad's footsteps, as his father was a Park Board member for the City of Columbia Heights. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Application Form and Fees for Baseball Tournaments Mr. Kirk stated that staff has developed a new application form to be used by groups and organizations wishing to run baseball tournaments on fields in the City of Fridley park system. This new form outlines what will be provided by the City for each field and what the expectations are of the group using the facility. Staff is recommending an increase in the fee to use a field for a weekend tournament from the current rate of $60 per field to $75 per field. The fees were last raised back in the year 2000 from $50 to $60. Mr. Kirk further stated that the $75 per field rate would be for local non-profit groups. Other local groups renting the field would be expected to pay a higher rate of $100 per field for the weekend. The additional cost for using lights on the field would be $20. Mr. Kirk further stated that staff would also recommend a$250 clean-up deposit before the group conducts the tournament. The deposit would be refunded completely if the facility were cleaned up properly. Mr. Kondrick asked if there were situations where the tournament sponsor would want to run games past 10:00 p.m. Mr. Kirk stated that yes, there could be times when weather has been a factor or the games have run a little longer than usual that groups may want to go beyond 10:00 p.m. It has been past policy that the lights would go off at 10:00 p.m., so as not to be an inconvenience to people who live near the ballfields. Mr. Heintz asked for clarification that the fee was for each field for the entire weekend. Mr. Kirk stated that yes, that was a per field fee. Fields can be rented on an hourly basis, but the weekend amount is more advantageous for most groups. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to approve the application form for the baseball tournaments and all of the staff recommended fees for a weekend tournament. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetin� - Januarv 9, 2006 Pa�e 4 b. Application Form and Fees for Soccer Tournaments Mr. Kirk stated that staff has also developed a new application form to be used by groups or organizations applying to run soccer tournaments in our parks. Staff is recommending an increase in the cost to rent a field from $60 to $75. If the City is asked to lay out a new field for the tournament, the recommended cost would be $250. Mr. Kirk further stated that an additional cost for using lights would apply and it would be $20 on top of the normal fee. There would also be a clean-up deposit of $250 for soccer tournaments. MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the new soccer tournament application and all of the new fees 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 January 9, 2006 meeting at 8:18 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE JAN UARY 9, 2006 MEETING ADJOURNED.