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PR 11/02/2009 - 29901CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — NOVEMBER 2, 2009 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Sibell called the November 2, 2009 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present Others Present Marcy Sibell, Mike Heintz, Dave Kondrick, and Tim Solberg Jack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation Dave Lindquist, Parks Supervisor APPROVAL OF October 5, 2009 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the minutes of the October 5, 2009 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR NOVEMBER 2, 2009 MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to approve the agenda for the November 2, 2009 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that the program Update is provided in the agenda packet to inform the commission members about department activities over the past month. The first page of the Update lists a number of programs that our senior center and Springbrook Nature Center had during the past month and the back page shows many of the youth programs operated by the Recreation Division. When the students are out of school for the teacher's convention, we have some trips and activities available. Those are listed in the Update. Mr. Kirk further stated that about a week ago they co-sponsored a special event with the Fridley School District called Lights on After School. It is actually an event that is celebrated on a national scope, but our local activity drew over 100 children. The event promotes and celebrates the opportunities that are available to children during the after school hours. The event was actually celebrated at both Stevenson and Hayes Elementary schools. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 2, 2009 Paqe 2 Mr. Kirk stated that, in general, the fall activities for the Department have gone very well. Some of the participation numbers are a little lower this year. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lindquist stated that this may have been the strangest October he has seen, but the Parks Division has been busy none the less. They have been busy mowing the park areas in between the rain events. They also had many repairs that they took care of during the month at many of the park facilities. Mr. Lindquist further stated that his workers have now completed winterizing the water fountains and all of the irrigation systems throughout the city. They have also nearly completed the painting of the park identification signs. There are also a number of other projects they have been working on that are in the written report submitted with the agenda packet. c. Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Kirk stated that on October 12t", there was a dedication ceremony for the Lawraine K. Beery Solstice Meditation Garden at the Nature Center. He thanked Commission Chairperson Sibell for saying a few words during the program. He also thanked Commission member Kondrick for attending the event. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Pumpkin Night in the Park was successful once again this year. There were 2832 in attendance, with over 175 volunteers working the event. This was the 30t" year that the nature center has held the Halloween event. Mr. Kirk stated that a review committee has been established to evaluate the RFP's for the SPRING project architectural services. There were eight submittals and the four finalists will be interviewed tomorrow afternoon. The recommended firm will be presented to the City Council for confirmation in the next couple of weeks. d. Proposed Charter Amendment — Special Election Mr. Kirk stated that he placed this on the agenda for information purposes. There will be a special election on December 8, 2009 to determine whether the City Charter is changed to allow for special elections on revenue issues. He has included an article on this topic that was written by City Manager Bill Burns. It explains the issue very thoroughly. He encouraged the Commission members to ask any questions they have about this issue and then to participate in the election process in December. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Picnic Shelter Rental Fees Mr. Kirk stated that he is recommending an increase in the picnic shelter rental fees and a raise in the deposit required of all shelter renters. The Parks and Recreation Department currently rents activity buildings at Commons and Flanery Parks, as well as open air picnic shelters at Moore Lake and Springbrook Nature Center. The fees have not been raised for three years and there has been a lot of use of these shelters. With the increased use is the need for more services from our parks maintenance staff in terms of clean up and trash removal. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 2, 2009 Paqe 3 Mr. Kirk further stated that he is recommending the open air shelter fee for Fridley residents be increased from $30 for the day to $33 and the recommended fee for non-residents be increased from $55 to $60. He would recommend the deposit be increased from $25 to $30. He is recommending that the Fridley resident rental fee for the activity buildings be increased from $50 per day to $55 and the non-resident rental fee from $80 to $88. He would recommend the deposit be increased from $100 to $150. His recommendation would also include changing the deposit from a Damage and Conduct deposit to a Damage, Conduct and Clean Up deposit. There have been a couple of renters that have left the facilities in poor condition after a rental and the maintenance employees spent a lot of extra time cleaning up the mess. Mr. Heintz asked if we had considered a higher rental fee on the weekends or peak times for rentals and a lower fee to encourage more rentals during the weekdays. Mr. Kirk stated that we currently do not have many requests for rentals during the week, but his idea could certainly be looked at. Mr. Kondrick asked if there would be any market for the rental of our activity buildings in the winter months. Would any community groups take advantage of the opportunity to meet or have a winter outing in the park? Are there grills available that groups could have a winter cook out at the park? Mr. Kirk stated that there are picnic grills adjacent to the activity buildings and they are available for use. Typically, the requests to use the shelters stop at this time of year and doesn't resume until late April or early May. Promoting the use of the buildings on a year round basis is something that can be looked at as well. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to approve the staff recommended rental fees for picnic shelters and activity buildings. Open air shelters would rent for $33 per day for residents and $60 per day for non-residents. Activity buildings would rent for $55 for residents and $88 for non-residents. The damage, conduct and clean up deposit would be $30 for the open air shelters and $150 for the activity building. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED b. Garden Plot Fees Mr. Kirk stated that staff is recommending an increase in the rental fee for the community gardens program. Our last price adjustment was in 2003. We have been renting all of our 46 garden plots the last several years and this year we turned away 12 requests because the gardens were full. We have been offering the garden plot program for the past 23 years. Mr. Kirk further stated that the City has made some improvements over time to the garden area and even small improvements have costs associated with them. We have added more water sources for gardeners, built composting bins, provided a picnic table and several benches at the site, and we rent a portable restroom for the gardeners. Our maintenance staff tills the garden area at the beginning of the gardening season. Mr. Kirk stated that the recommended increases are fairly small, so it really shouldn't keep any of the gardeners from coming back. We are recommending raising the senior citizen rate by $2 to $22 for the season. We recommend increasing the rate for Fridley residents by $3 to $28 for the season and the non-resident rate up $5 to $45 for the season. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 2, 2009 Paqe 4 MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the staff recommended fees for the garden plot program. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED c. Showmobile Rental Fees Mr. Kirk stated that staff is recommending an increase in the showmobile rental fee from $700 per day to $800 per day. The rental fee has not been changed since 2001, at which time it was raised to its current level from $600 per day. He further stated that he would recommend the required damage deposit for the showmobile be raised to $800 as well. The deposit is returned to the renter if the unit is not damaged in any way. The lessee also must agree to pay for any damages in excess of the damage deposit. Mr. Kirk further stated that there are not many showmobiles available for rent in the metro area and ours was rented for 10 different dates this past year. Mr. Heintz asked what the renters will get for the additional dollars they are paying. Mr. Kirk stated that we have to make repairs and improvements on the showmobile from time to time. This past year we had to completely rebuild and replace one of the entrance doors. The entire flooring system had to be replaced just a couple of years ago. The costs of the repairs continue to go up some, so he would like to see the rental fee increased. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the staff recommended rental fees for the Showmobile. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED Mr. Kirk state that it may be interesting for the Commission members to know that we purchased the Showmobile back in 1989 for a total cost of $54,279, including the extra staging and a sound system. The total amount of rental revenues we have received by renting the Showmobile from 1989 to the present is $65,850. We have had a lot of use of the unit for our own events and activities and brought in a significant amount of revenue from rentals to other communities. d. Creekridge Park Skating Rink Mr. Kirk stated that several weeks ago he received an e-mail from a resident who lives near Creekridge Park. She said that she has witnessed very little activity on the Creekridge skating rink the past two years and thought the City should discontinue that rink and use city resources elsewhere. He has included a copy of her e-mail and his response e-mail with the agenda packet. Mr. Kirk further stated that he responded to her that the City tries to provide skating opportunities somewhat geographically spaced out in our community. We try to determine use of the unsupervised rinks based on the reports from the parks maintenance workers who are out in the park system. Mr. Kirk further told her that the Parks and Recreation Commission had established the locations for this coming year, but that he would bring her concern to them at the next meeting. He also stated that the City would take a closer look at actual use of rinks this winter. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 2, 2009 Paqe 5 Mr. Lindquist stated that some people do not like the lights from the rinks and the tennis courts on in the evening hours near their house. The lights also serve the purpose of lighting other facilities in the park and help with security issues. His employees have told him that Creekridge had as much use as most of our other general rinks. Ms. Sibell stated that she thought Mr. Kirk sent a very nice response to this lady and she would support everything he stated to her. We do need to monitor use of our facilities to help with future decisions. Mr. Kondrick stated that he agreed the response from Mr. Kirk was a good one. He suggested that, next year, we may want to consider sending out a letter to the neighborhood asking about their interest in keeping a skating rink. The Commission agreed that the rink should remain at Creekridge Park this year and they would like to have the use monitored this season. e. Tennis Court Lights Mr. Kirk stated that in a recent conversation with Mayor Lund, the Mayor told him of a phone call from a resident asking why the tennis court lights were on when it is raining out or when no one was using the courts. The caller told him that with the city's financial situation, he would suggest that the lights be turned off when not in use to save energy. Mr. Kirk stated that he told Mayor Lund the lights are on timers and it would be expensive to change out the mechanisms to ones that have motion detectors or ones that could be turned on and off by the tennis players. He further told him that it could be expensive to have staff go around and turn off the lights on inclement weather days. He stated that given the costs to change out the mechanisms, he would not recommend a change at this time. Mr. Kirk further stated that with the financial problems of the City, maybe some locations should not have the tennis and basketball court lights turned on. If the City did not make the lights available at some locations next year, he would recommend that we would continue to provide lights at locations where there are multiple courts such as the Commons Park, Fridley Middle School and Moore Lake Park. These locations are somewhat centrally located in our community as well, so they would still be convenient for people wanting to use the facilities in the evening hours. Mr. Heintz asked if there was a way to incorporate a weather sensor into the lighting system to shut them off in case of rain. He knows this is being done with some irrigation systems. Mr. Lindquist stated that sensors do work with some irrigation systems. Another option would be to have computerized controls, so the light system could be shut off from a single computer. Mr. Heintz asked what time our lighting comes on. Is it 7:00 or 8:00 for example? Mr. Kirk stated that the time the lights come on varies from the early spring, to mid-summer, to early fall, to late fall. It depends on when the sun is setting. The maintenance workers adjust the timers throughout the seasons. Mr. Kirk stated that the City has received some complaints about the lights being on too early or too late. They do try to make the adjustments on a regular basis throughout the summer, but they do not adjust the timers on a daily or weekly basis. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 2, 2009 Paqe 6 Mr. Lindquist stated that some tennis players want the lights on earlier so there is good transition time when it starts to get dark out. Mr. Kirk stated that if money is available in the future, it may be best to get the lights on a computerized system. They could be adjusted more regularly and turned off in case of inclement weather. Mr. Lindquist stated that they did a study of ball field lights one time because the football lights were left on all night. When you look at the cost per kilowatt hour, it was not real expensive. Ms. Sibell asked if the energy companies have any grants or assistance available to help change out a lighting system such as hours. Mr. Kirk stated that is something that should be explored. Mr. Kirk stated that turning off lights at some of the parks may be something that the Commission may want to re-visit next year during discussion about the City budget concerns. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to adjourn the November 2, 2009 meeting at 8:27 p. m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE NOVEMBER 2, 2009 MEETING ADJOURNED.