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PR 05/05/2008 - 29887CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — MAY 5, 2008 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the May 5, 2008 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present Others Present Dave Kondrick, Michele Barrett, Mike Heintz, Marcy Sibell and Tim Solberg Jack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation APPROVAL OF APRIL 7, 2008 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the minutes of the April 7, 2008 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR MAY 5, 2008 MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to approve the agenda for the May 5, 2008 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 Parks and Recreation Department was included in the agenda packet for review by the Commission members. This is a summary of some of the activities that have been held during the last month. The spring activities are underway and the registration for summer activities has started. Mr. Kirk stated that the adult softball leagues started last Monday with a very cold evening. The temperature at game time was only 39 degrees. The weather has not been real good this spring, but the activities are still taking place. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Senior Program had their Spring Dinner Theater in conjunction with the Fridley High School drama department. Connie works with the high school food services for the meal, followed by the play in the auditorium. She had 84 seniors participate. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq - Mav 5, 2008 Paqe 2 Mr. Kirk stated that the Springbrook Nature Center staff continues to work with the school students on the environmental education curriculum. The third graders from Hayes and Stevenson Elementary schools recently made a field trip visit to Springbrook as part of their program. Mr. Kirk further stated that a new program that staff was involved in this year is written up on the second page of the program update. It was the Global Youth Service Day on Saturday, April 26t". It is an event that highlights the contributions that young people make to their communities throughout the year. Our local event had two purposes. First was to recognize the local youth groups that serve this community and second was to bring some groups together to be involved in some service projects. There were just over thirty people that participated in this event. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Kirk stated that Mr. Lindquist could not be at this evening's meeting due to the death of his father last week. He has provided a written report of park maintenance activity for the past month. Mr. Kondrick stated that he has been visiting some of our parks and is impressed with how nice they look this early in the year. Mr. Lindquist and his staff do a very good job and make our park system look very good. Mr. Kirk stated there are a lot of athletic fields being scheduled for games and practices in the spring of the year and the park maintenance workers have done a great job getting them ready for the action. c. Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Kirk stated that an eagle scout has taken on a project to get the scouts to clear brush along the east side of the main trail through the nature center. North Hennepin Tech students have started doing some work to restore the oak savannah just southeast of the nature center building. Also, Center Point Energy is clearing brush on the western boundary of the park in preparation for installing the new natural gas pipeline. Mr. Kirk further stated that the interpretive center building is now open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. through the spring and summer months. d. Fridley `49er Days Schedule Mr. Kirk stated that the annual city celebration, "Fridley `49er Days", is scheduled for June 12- 15 this year. He has included a copy of the schedule of events so the Commission members know about the many activities being planned as part of this year's celebration. e. June Tour and Picnic Mr. Kirk stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission generally have a park tour just prior to the June Commission meeting. If the members would like to do that again this year, he would suggest that the tour leave Commons Park at 6:00 p.m. and return to Commons for a picnic and meeting at 7:00 p.m. The Commission members were in agreement for a tour and meeting at Commons Park on June 2, 2008. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq - Mav 5, 2008 Paqe 3 f. 2008 Council/Commission Survey Results Mr. Kirk stated the City Manager's office has just completed the results of the recently conducted Council/Commission Survey. He would like to thank all of the Parks and Recreation Commission members for their participation and prompt return of the surveys. There were some interesting responses and the information should be of help for future planning. Mr. Kondrick stated that he had talked recently with the City Manager, Dr. Burns, about the survey and the valuable information and worthwhile feedback that it provides the City. You can see that not everyone agrees on all of the items. It does identify some key issues and gets people thinking about possible approaches to resolving the issues. The recap that Dr. Burns provides on the survey is very interesting. Mr. Kirk stated that the City Council would like to meet with the Parks and Recreation Commission on May 19t" at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the results of the survey. He hoped that Commission members would be able to attend that meeting. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Showmobile Request — City of Hopkins Mr. Kirk stated that the City has received a showmobile rental request from the City of Hopkins for July 18 and 19, 2008. Staff would recommend approval of this request at the regular rental and transportation rates. Mr. Solberg stated that the City should review the transportation costs that we charge for moving the showmobile, especially in light of the increased gasoline costs. MOTION by Ms. Barrett, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the Showmobile rental request by the City of Hopkins for July 18 and 19 at the regular rental and transportation rates. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED b. Tennis Courts at Craig Park Mr. Kirk stated that the City completed a study of tennis and basketball courts back in 2004 and determined that some adjustments to the number of courts was in order. The high cost of replacing the aging courts, the high cost of on-going maintenance and the fact that fewer people were using the tennis courts led to a recommendation of reducing the number of tennis courts by nine courts over time. If followed, the recommendations resulting from the tennis and basketball court study could potentially save the City over $250,000 in a ten year period of time. Mr. Kirk further stated that while there was a recommendation to reduce the number of tennis courts, the City would still retain 15 courts and the public school system would still have 13 courts available for public use. There would be courts available throughout the City, with a higher concentration of courts in the very center of the City at Commons Park and the Fridley Middle School and High School campuses. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq - Mav 5, 2008 Paqe 4 Mr. Kirk further stated that two of the courts identified to be removed were at Craig Park, located in the northwest portion of the City. The soils at the park were not favorable to maintaining a hard surface court area and the current courts are now in very poor condition. Before staff moves ahead on the removal of these courts, is this still the direction that the Parks and Recreation Commission would suggest moving in? If so, would the Commission want City staff to send a letter to the neighborhood explaining the removal of the courts? Ms. Sibell asked if we would consider putting in a half-court basketball court in the park. Mr. Kirk stated that there already is a basketball court at the park and that would remain. Mr. Kondrick stated that he is in favor of telling the neighborhood about the removal of the courts and then proceeding to take them out. It would be very expensive to correct the soil and provide a good tennis playing court at that park. Over the last several years, he has not seen a lot of tennis playing at that park. Mr. Kirk stated that an open play area would go in where the tennis courts currently are. It would be a turf area where people could play touch football, soccer, Frisbee or other active sport games. The Commission agreed that a letter should go out to the neighborhood and would still recommend removal of the courts. c. Innsbruck Park Trail Mr. Kirk stated that all of the necessary permits have been sent to the State of Minnesota DNR regarding the grant to improve the Innsbruck Nature Park trails. He anticipates getting formal approval of the grant in the next couple of weeks. This grant will allow us to construct some trails that will accommodate biking and hiking. The really big improvement should be that the trails will be sustainable over time and we plan to get maintenance help from the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists organization (MORC). Mr. Kirk further stated that the City has had some contact with neighbors in the area who have asked whether there will be any type of ineeting to explain what is going to be done at the park. He would suggest that the neighborhood be invited to a future, possibly the next, Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to hear what is planned for the trails in the park. It would be to provide them information. The Commission members agreed that the Innsbruck trail should be on a future agenda and the immediate neighborhood of Innsbruck Park invited to the meeting to get information on the project. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Heintz to adjourn the meeting at 8:08 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MAY 8, 2008 MEETING ADJOURNED.