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PR 11/01/2010 - 29912CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — NOVEMBER 1, 2010 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Sibell called the November 1, 2010 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Marcy Sibell, Tim Solberg, Michele Barrett, and Dave Kondrick Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation Dave Lindquist, Parks Supervisor John VonDeLinde, Anoka County Parks and Recreation Director Karen Blaska, Anoka County Park Planner APPROVAL OF October 4, 2010 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the minutes of the October 4, 2010 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 1, 2010 Mr. Kirk suggested a couple of additional items for tonight's agenda. Chairperson Sibell called this afternoon and would like to see a recent letter to the editor in the Fridley Focus added to the agenda. He would also like to see an additional item that he would call tobacco free youth recreation. Ms. Sibell suggested that we add "Letter to the Editor" as item 2c and "Tobacco Free Youth Recreation" as item 2d. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Kondrick, to approve the amended agenda for the November 1, 2010 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 included in the agenda packet to give Commission members a report on what has happened recently with the programs in the Parks and Recreation Department. He wanted to call attention to the Senior Chores and More Rake-a- thon program and the 63 yards that are being raked over a three week period. This is really a Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 1, 2010 Paqe 2 nice service for seniors in our community who live in their own home but are unable to complete this fall cleanup of their yard. We have a number of community groups that have volunteered to help with this project. Mr. Kirk further stated that the former Chores and More Coordinator, Terri Brooke, passed away last month. She was a very nice person, did a great job for us and will be missed by her co-workers. Mr. Kirk stated that the ZONE after school teen center program has been drawing some pretty good attendance this fall. We are averaging 25 to 30 teens after school on Monday through Thursdays and even larger numbers on Friday. The changing of the admission fee from $2 per day to $1 per day appears to have helped the attendance numbers. There was a special Halloween Party at the ZONE this past Friday night and we had nearly 200 middle school aged students participate. Mr. Kirk stated that an Eagle Scout worked with 30 plus volunteers this past weekend to help improve the trails at the Innsbruck Nature Center. They hauled and spread wood chips over a new section of trail in the park and also performed some other need trail work. They did a very nice job and really helped make that park look better. If possible, we will have some pictures available at our next meeting. Mr. Kirk also stated that the Cyclocross bicycle race that the Fridley School District physical education department staff was coordinating was held yesterday at Commons Park. They had a very nice turn out with around 175 participants. This was an increase in participation over the first event last year. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lindquist stated that during the month of October they were pretty busy mowing the parks. They are now in the leaf cleanup mode and are about one fifth of the way through the parks. They have also been making some repairs to the park buildings and the hockey rink boards. Mr. Lindquist further stated that they set the floats out on Moore Lake to identify the area for the aerator. The parks staff also helped out with the set up and take down of the Pumpkin Night event at Springbrook Nature Center. They have also blown out all of the irrigation systems in the parks. Mr. Solberg asked if we had any trees down with the very strong wind storm of last week. Mr. Lindquist stated we had some branches down in the parks and there were some trees down over the trails at Springbrook that they needed to remove. c. Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Kirk stated that on October 6t", the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation hosted an event at the Interpretive Building to thank people who have supported the nature center and the SPRING project. It was a nice event and gave the Foundation an opportunity to once again promote the major entrance area project. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 1, 2010 Paqe 3 Mr. Kirk further stated that the annual Pumpkin Night in the Park was a big success with 3,381 people attending — the second most ever. There were 562 total volunteers that contributed over 1,700 combined hours of work to make this event happen. Mr. Solberg asked if the City had ever thought of creating another seasonal event such as this to bring in some additional revenue. He thought there may be another opportunity out there that could benefit the City and the Parks and Recreation Department. Mr. Kirk stated that we do have the Winterfest event in January and the Spring Fling at Springbrook in the spring of the year. Those events are currently not on the same level as the Pumpkin night as far as attendance. d. Fridley 49er Days Mr. Kirk stated that he placed this on the agenda for information purposes. The Fridley 49er Days event is in need of leadership, as the President for the past six years has resigned. It looks like the Fridley Lions Club is going to provide some leadership to the 49er Days, much like the Columbia Heights Lions run the Heights Jamboree celebration each year. They are willing to try this for a one year period and they will still be working with other community organizations to make this event happen. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Locke Park Redevelopment Concept — Anoka County Parks Mr. Kirk stated that Locke Park is actually a City of Fridley park that has been operated and maintained by Anoka County for the past 30 years under a joint powers agreement. Locke Park has always had a regional draw and the large picnic shelter at the park would bring in groups from all over the county. The regional draw and the regional trail that runs through the park made Anoka County Parks a better fit to be scheduling and operating this facility. Mr. Kirk further stated that the long term agreement with Anoka County has worked out very well. They have taken good care of the park and made some excellent improvements to the facilities. Mr. Kirk stated that the County is looking at making some additional improvements to the park next year and, as per the agreement, they are bringing these proposed improvements to the City for comments and approval. Mr. VonDeLinde stated the County has enjoyed their relationship with the City of Fridley for Locke Park. It has been an important component of the park system, with the joint powers agreement dating back to the late 1970's. The agreement basically says that the County will build, maintain and operate the park. The City will provide the land and will provide period review of plans, along with input on how the park is governed. Whenever the County makes changes or improvements to the park, they are to come to the City for review of the plans. The City Council would have the opportunity to approve any changes before they take place. So they are here tonight to show and explain the improvements that they are proposing for Locke Park. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 1, 2010 Paqe 4 Mr. VonDeLinde stated the last time they made improvements at the park was about ten years ago when they replaced the picnic shelter building, added some new play equipment, put in some new trail access in the park and added another small picnic shelter. Mr. VonDeLinde further stated that a tidbit of information that the Commission may find interesting is that that Regional trail is one of the most heavily used in the metro area. If you add up the use on the section of trail from the Mississippi River, through Locke Park, all the way into Ramsey County at Long Lake Regional Park, there are about 550,000 uses of the trail each year. That is more visitors than the County sees in a year at Coon Rapids Dam Park and is almost as many visits as Bunker Hills Park each year. Mr. VonDeLinde stated that about five years ago, in response to requests from residents in Fridley and elsewhere in the County, they added a dog park on the east side of Locke Park. It was the County's first dog park and it has operated quite successfully. It gets a lot of use. Mr. VonDeLinde stated the roads and the parking lots in Locke Park have been there for many years. They may be the original roads and parking lots and they are in need of replacement. The Anoka County staff went to the Metropolitan Council to request funds to have improvements at Locke Park placed on the regional system capital improvements schedule. In the 2009 legislative session, the legislature did approve $850,000 for improvements in Locke Park. The County has hired Pioneer Engineering to do the planning for these improvements and they would like to have the work started next spring, with substantial completion of the project by next June. Mr. VonDeLinde stated the reconstruction of the roads and parking lots would be a major component of the project, but it has been expanded to include potential moving of the dog park and relocation of the smaller picnic shelter. Ms. Blaska stated that the existing road way in the park is two separated lanes that are sixteen to eighteen feet wide. There have been some drainage issues with the roadway surface and the parking is very heavily weighted to the east end of the park. This project would re-do these impervious surfaces, reconfigure the parking lots, and actually bring the two lanes of traffic together into a single twenty four foot wide two-way traffic flow. Ms. Blaska stated the existing roadway in the park is basically a drag strip, as it is a long and straight strip of asphalt. They would like to meander the road in the park to make it a more pleasant drive in the park. The existing smaller picnic shelter that is on the western end of the park does not get much use, likely because it is further away from the restroom facility. They would like to move it to the east end of the park. Ms. Blaska also stated that the parking lot adjacent to the community gardens would be reconstructed for about twenty five parking spaces, which is down just slightly from the thirty spaces it has today. They would shift the dog park to the center part of the park from the far east end and add a parking area adjacent to it. The long linear parking lot on the east end of the park would be reconfigured as well. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 1, 2010 Paqe 5 Mr. VonDeLinde stated that the east parking lot would also be moved about 300 feet to the west, which means they would use less bituminous in the construction project and save on long term maintenance. It would also reduce the amount of impervious runoff. Ms. Sibell asked if there would be any changes to the regional trail system that runs through the park. Ms. Blaska stated that the relocation of the dog park would require some trail modifications in the area, but they had adequate space to accommodate the dog park and the trail. Mr. VonDeLinde stated that one of the objectives in the proposed relocation of the dog park is to provide a larger dog park area. Since they have opened the current dog park and have seen the large number of users, they believe the park needs more space and more capacity. One way to accommodate that would be to move it to the center portion of the park. Mr. Kondrick stated that he liked the proposed ideas for improvements to Locke Park being made by Anoka County. The dog park gets a lot of use and could be a larger facility. It makes sense to move the smaller picnic shelter closer to the restrooms and play equipment. He also was glad to hear about the parking lot and road improvements. Ms. Kondrick asked if there would be ample benches along the trail system for people to stop and rest. Ms. Blaska stated that they currently have benches along the trail and will look at the need to adding a few more. Mr. VonDeLinde asked if the City has any future plans to expand the community garden plot area or other improvements that may impact the need for parking on the west end of the park. Mr. Kirk stated that he did not believe there were many options to expand the garden area. The City does have a small archery area just south of the garden area, but that does not require much parking. Mr. VonDeLinde stated that the County would give the City advance notice of the work to be completed, so the City could notify the community garden participants of the project. Mr. Solberg asked if the funding for the project was in place or if the potential existed for it to be taken away. Mr. VonDeLinde stated it was approved and they have already started spending it with the hiring of Pioneer Engineering to do the plans and specifications. They already have grant agreements approved and signed with the State of Minnesota. Mr. VonDeLinde stated that he also wanted to let the Commission know that in about two or three years, they are expecting some funding to be allocated for improvements to Riverfront Park on the Mississippi River. It would be a similar project in Riverfront Park where they would go in and replace roads and parking lots and upgrade restroom facilities and picnic shelters. In addition, they would like to install a twelve-hole disc golf course on the southern end of the park. Mr. VonDeLinde stated that Manomin County Park, which is also located in Fridley just off Rice Creek and the Mississippi River, had some improvements made to the Banfill Tavern building a couple of months ago. Down the road they would like to make some additional Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 1, 2010 Paqe 6 improvements to that park as well, possibly adding another picnic shelter and a ceramics studio. Mr. Kondrick stated he is in favor of what he has heard tonight and recently drove over to Locke Park to look at the area. He believes this will be a nice improvement and this is a good opportunity for our community. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to support the changes and improvements to Locke Park being proposed by Anoka County Parks. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED Mr. Solberg asked if the City would ever consider having the same type of relationship with Anoka County on Springbrook Nature Center that we do with the County for Locke Park and the Islands of Peace. That relationship may open up a whole lot more funding opportunities for the nature center through the metro regional park system. Mr. Kondrick stated that if that type of arrangement were in place, it may be possible to get some of the work on the SPRING project accomplished with Metropolitan Council funding. Ms. Sibell asked if the joint powers agreement on Locke Park was the only agreement we had or if there were others related to our park system. Mr. Kirk stated that we also have an agreement with Anoka County on the operation and maintenance of the Islands of Peace Park. b. Glencoe Park Skating Rink Request Mr. Kirk stated that the City has received a letter from a twelve year old boy named Clayton Miller that lives near Glencoe Park. He is asking if it is possible for the City to provide a general skating area at Glencoe Park this winter. Mr. Kirk further stated that at the meeting in October, the Commission set the rink locations for this winter and actually suggested removing the one at Creekridge Park. If one were added to Glencoe Park, it would not mean an increase in work load for the maintenance crew since it would just be replacing the Creekridge one. Mr. Lindquist stated that he has had a request from some neighbors of Springbrook Park to provide a skating rink. Glencoe and Springbrook Parks are only a couple of blocks away from each other and he would rather put in a general rink at Springbrook. The City used to maintain a rink at Glencoe in the past and it was difficult to get the rink established. He believes there is an old house foundation in the ground there and the water drains down into a hole. It takes a long time to get the base ice surface built up. It would be easier to establish and maintain a rink at Springbrook and the parks are really very close to each other. Mr. Kondrick asked if access to either of the parks was a concern. Mr. Lindquist stated that is not a problem. They could get the equipment in there. Ms. Sibell asked what the budget impact would be for adding another general rink. Mr. Lindquist stated that it would not have a budget impact since there was one rink that has been eliminated since last year. We have a rink to maintain at Ruth Circle Park across East River Road, so they would be in the vicinity anyway. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 1, 2010 Paqe 7 Mr. Lindquist stated that a general rink is easier to maintain for the winter than a hockey rink with boards, so this is something they could do. Mr. Kondrick stated that the young man that wrote the letter seems to think that the people in the area would use a rink. He was in favor of trying it for this year with a rink at Springbrook Park. If the usage is there, it could be continued. If it does not get used, then we would not have a rink there next year. Mr. Solberg asked if benches would be provided near a general rink. Mr. Lindquist stated that we have portable benches that could be provided. Mr. Solberg stated that we may want to send a letter to the area explaining some of the considerations for putting a rink at Springbrook Park instead of Glencoe Park. We should also let the neighborhood know that we monitor the use of all rinks to help us determine future locations of skating facilities. MOTION by Ms. Barrett, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to recommended adding a general skating rink at Springbrook Park (8155 Broad Avenue) to accommodate the request for a rink in the area. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED c. Letter to the Editor in Fridley FOCUS Ms. Sibell stated that she had called Mr. Kirk and asked that this item be added to the agenda. There was a recent letter to the editor in the Fridley FOCUS that commented about our Springbrook Nature Center and Parks in general budget. She thought it would be good for the Commission to talk about that and have some discussion related to it. She did not know if a response was appropriate or whether the Commission should invite the writer to a meeting to have some discussion on the topic. Ms. Kondrick stated that he saw this letter as well and has a hard time with her comments as well. Ms. Sibell asked if the Commission and staff should consider trying to educate people on the value of the parks and the programs offered in our community. We are proud of our parks and we are proud of what we are doing. How do we best let people know about this? Mr. Kirk stated that he was not sure what numbers the letter writer was using to come with the percentage of the budget for Parks and Recreation. While it is true that there is a portion of the City's general fund budget that supports the park system and recreation programs, he does not see it as a large percentage. The citizens of Fridley have benefited from a very nice park system and some excellent program opportunities for many years. The writer states that, including Springbrook Nature Center, the City park budget is over 15% of the City's proposed budget for 2011. The Springbrook budget is not part of the general fund and is in a special revenue fund supported by program revenue from fees and a tax levy that was voted on by Fridley residents several years ago. The parks maintenance amounts to about 6.3% of the general fund budget and the Recreation Division amounts to about 5.4%. Together they are at 11.7%. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 1, 2010 Paqe 8 Mr. Kirk further stated that it is also important to note that the Recreation programs generate about $220,000 to $260,000 in revenue each year to support the budget. Mr. Lindquist stated that it should be noted that although we have a budgeted amount listed for park maintenance, his budget generally comes in at a lower figure of actual expenditures for the year. Even though we are getting close to the end of the year, some of his budget accounts are only at 45% spent. Last year we had a large amount of proposed budget that was not spent and that will likely happen again this year. Just because something is budgeted at a certain amount does not mean that is what is spent each year. Mr. Kondrick stated that he doesn't really feel the letter deserves a response in the paper. This is the time of year people are saying many things just to get their candidate elected to office. Ms. Sibell stated that she is just concerned about educating the public about the facilities and services that we have available. She said that to be honest, she feels that by not having the Recreation activities brochure being mailed out to all of our community we have lost a lot of visibility on the many good things that we have going on through our Parks and Recreation Department. By not having this brochure come out in the community, it is pretty easy to stand back and say that there is nothing going on. Mr. Kondrick stated that if the Commission took it upon itself to respond to this letter in the FOCUS, he wasn't sure it would have much impact since the election would be over. The intent of this letter was to influence voters to vote for a certain candidate. He was not happy when he read the letter, it bothered him, but he was not sure if sending a letter back would do any good. d. Tobacco Free Youth Recreation Mr. Kirk stated that he had a visit last spring from a young man named Derek Larsen, who works with an organization called Tobacco Free Youth Recreation. Mr. Larsen was interested in talking about policies related to a prevention of tobacco use in parks. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Fridley Parks and Recreation Commission actually discussed tobacco free areas in our parks a number of years ago, but there was not an agreement among Commission members to recommend any policy adjustments to prohibit tobacco use at that time. Many communities in the state of Minnesota and a large number of suburban communities have some type of policy that limits tobacco use in the parks, particularly around youth oriented facilities and programs. Those policies range from a complete ban of tobacco use on park grounds to a ban of tobacco use at youth activities and around youth play areas. Mr. Kirk stated that it is his understanding that there are 115 communities or agencies in Minnesota that have tobacco free park policies or ordinances in place — 38 of those are in the Metropolitan area. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Tobacco Free Youth Recreation organization tries to get local youth groups to take on this issue and promote policy change within the City park system. Mr. Larsen told him that they work with groups like the school student councils, National Honor Society or Key Club to take a stand on the issue and promote the effort. He stated that he has contacted groups at Fridley High School, but has not gotten a group to move forward with this. Mr. Kirk stated that Mr. Larsen asked in a recent e-mail if the City would like to talk about this further with his organization. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — November 1, 2010 Paqe 9 Mr. Kondrick stated that this topic is something he would like to hear more about and have further discussion on at a future meeting. He asked how many communities in Anoka County have policies or ordinances limiting or prohibiting tobacco use in parks. Mr. Kirk stated that he believes that most of the communities around us have policies to this effect. He also believes that the Anoka County Park system have some limits on tobacco use in youth recreation areas. He would be happy to get this information for another meeting. Ms. Sibell asked if there are benefits that those communities are seeing as a result of the policies being in force. Mr. Kirk stated that is something he could ask of the area directors. Mr. Kondrick stated that in addition to the problem of adults smoking around the children, you have the cigarette butts that get thrown on the ground in the parks and around the trails. It is an ugly problem. Ms. Barrett stated that the smoking litter around some of the play equipment areas, ball fields and picnic areas is a problem in some of the parks she has visited. Mr. Kondrick stated that the Commission may want to look seriously at this so we can say that we are considering a smoking ban in some youth recreation areas to keep us in the mainstream of this kind of philosophy or school of thought. We want the youth to be able to recreate in a smoke free environment. It may be something we want to be part of. Mr. Solberg stated that now that the state has enacted to smoke free environments in restaurants and the schools have smoke free campuses, people are more accustomed to this approach. Many businesses are going this route as well, so it is something we should be looking at. The Commission members agreed that staff should get more information on this topic and bring it back to a future Commission meeting for discussion. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Kondrick, to adjourn the November 1, 2010 meeting at 8:55 p. m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SIBELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE NOVEMBER 1, 2010 MEETING ADJOURNED.