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PRM 02/03/2014 CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING – FEBRUARY 3, 2014 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Solberg called the February 3, 2014 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Tim Solberg, Mike Heintz, Greg Ackerman, Michele Barrett Others Present: Jack Kirk, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Maher, Director of Springbrook Nature Center APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 2, 2013 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Mr. Ackerman to approve the minutes of the December 2, 2013 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR FEBRUARY 3, 2014 MOTION by Ms. Barrett, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to approve the agenda for the February 3, 2014 meeting as submitted by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that the Program Update includes information on programs and activities during the past month. The ZONE continues to draw good numbers of middle school students after school and on weekends. On one Friday in January, there were 85 kids participating after school and 45 kids in the evening. There were a number of field trips that the department sponsored for the elementary age students over the winter break, including trips for snow tubing, a trampoline park, a water park, skating and bowling. Mr. Kirk stated that the Senior Program had a Legal Wise seminar on Long Term Care and Medical Assistance, as well as a Defensive Driving Course in January. Connie also started a new quilting program that had 37 women participate. Mr. Kirk stated that the adult sports leagues have been going well, but we have had to contend with several game postponements due to cold weather or school facilities being closed due to weather. The boot hockey and broomball leagues should end around the latter part of February. The basketball and volleyball leagues will continue into March. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – February 3, 2014 Page 2 b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Kirk stated that the meeting packet included a report from Operations Manager for Streets and Parks Jeff Jensen about activity of the Park Maintenance division during the past month. The Parks Division has had a very busy winter trying to stay ahead of the weather. c. Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Maher stated that he has been working with the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation to get proposals from Exhibit Design companies. We believe that the exhibits will be an important part of the SPRING project additions at the nature center and will help guide some of the other planning for the new building. Proposals have gone out and we expect to make a recommendation to the City Council in the next few weeks on selecting a firm to design the exhibits. Mr. Maher also stated that he has been working closely with Mr. Kirk and members of the Foundation to solicit proposals for the design of Phase 1 of the SPRING project, which will include the pavilion, celebration plaza and berm area completion. We expect to review the proposals and make a recommendation on the design firm in the next couple of weeks as well. Mr. Maher stated that staff is very busy right now with the school programs, including the environmental education curriculum with the Fridley School District. Mr. Maher stated that the nature center has started a new program this winter, called the “Discovery Dinners”. The concept is having a light-hearted, educational, entertaining program and pairing that with a casual, catered meal. We had the first of this series in January and had the Minnesota Raptor Center as the entertainment and there were 45 people in attendance. The next program is scheduled for Saturday, nd February 22 and will include a portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt and his involvement in the conservation movement. d. Legacy Grant Project at Springbrook Nature Center Mr. Maher stated that everyone was aware that the City had received a rather large grant from the Lessard-Sams Heritage Fund to use for restoration of different habitats at Springbrook. Crews have been working at the nature center for the past month and it is expected they will be working about another month removing invasive buckthorn plants. They will be back in the spring to do some follow-up work. Mr. Maher stated that the initial grant award was for $190,000 and he just received word from our granting partner Great River Greening that they had approximately $20,000 left from another project that has been closed out, and they have been able to apply these funds to our project. Mr. Maher further stated that the most visible part of this project is the removal of invasive buckthorn from about 70 acres of the nature. The buckthorn has created an understory in the nature center that is so dense, so thick that you can’t walk through it. The buckthorn chokes out other plants and essentially creates a monoculture in the understory. Native trees and plants are just not able to grow. Removal of the buckthorn is the biggest part of the project. There will also be some prairie burns and some restoration work to the oak savannahs as part of the project. Mr. Ackerman asked if removing the buckthorn will keep it from becoming a problem in the future. Mr. Maher stated that it will require on-going maintenance in perpetuity in order to keep the spread of buckthorn in check. Our goal in the project is to knock as much of it out as possible and bring it to a manageable level. We will need to do some on-going maintenance with our own local resources on a yearly basis. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – February 3, 2014 Page 3 e. Weir Improvement Project at Springbrook Nature Center Mr. Maher stated that a project that just got underway this past month at Springbrook Nature Center involves replacing the three water control structures or Weirs that control the flow of water through the park. The original weirs were made of metal, have rusted out and have exceeded their useful life. The new weirs being installed are a vinyl product, should be rustproof and should last a lot longer. Mr. Maher showed the commission members some pictures of the work being done and the new weirs being installed. Mr. Maher stated that the benefits of this project will be to provide extensive wetland habitat at the nature center, provide habitat for a number of waterfowl and also for aquatic life. It will also be great to be able to control the water level when maintenance or restoration projects require that. The project is moving along, although they have had to halt operations on several days due to the extremely cold conditions. In the extremely cold temperatures, the vinyl material got brittle and was difficult to work with. f. WinterFest th Mr. Kirk stated that the annual WinterFest was held on January 26 at Commons Park and the Fridley Community Center. We had approximately 500 people participate this, which was down a little from our record attendance in 2012. The event is geared for families and there were horse drawn hayrides, dog sled rid photos, skating, a medallion hunt, carnival games and a kid’s dance with a DJ. The Fridley Lions Club and the Fridley American Legion gave us some nice donations to help us pay for the activities offered at this special event. We received lots of very positive comments from the many Fridley families who attended this event. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Youth Baseball Tournament Requests – Fridley Baseball Association Mr. Kirk stated that Fridley Baseball Association has requested the use of the Little League Fields and several Commons Park fields for three youth baseball tournaments this summer. The Fridley Youth Baseball has been running tournaments each year and they do a very good job. The three tournament requests are as follows: 1.May 31 and June 1 Request to use Little League fields 1, 2, 3, 4 for a Little League Majors 12 and under house league tournament 2.June 7 and 8 Request to use Little League fields 1, 2, 3, 4 for a Little League Minors 10 and under house league tournament 3.August 1, 2 and 3 Request to use Little League fields 1, 2, 3, 4 and Commons Park fields 2 and 3 for a Little League 10 and Rec state tournament Mr. Kirk stated that staff would recommend approval of all requests with the normal fees associated for a local non-profit group use of the facility be applied. The facility fee would be $75 per field for each tournament. Fridley Youth Baseball would also be responsible for any additional costs incurred by the City of Fridley related to the tournaments such as portable toilet rentals or dumpster rentals. MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to approve the Fridley Baseball Association Request to use the Little League fields and Commons Park fields for these three tournaments with the fees and related costs as outlined by Mr. Kirk. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – February 3, 2014 Page 2 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Showmobile Rental Request – City of Spring Lake Park Mr. Kirk stated that the City of Spring Lake Park has requested use of the City’s showmobile for their City celebration on Sunday, June 8, 2014. They have used our showmobile many times in the past without problems. Staff would recommend approval of this request at the normal rental rate of $800 per day, plus transportation and set-up costs. MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Ms. Barrett to approve the Showmobile Rental Request by the City of Spring Lake Park for Sunday, June 8, 2014 with the fees recommended by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 3. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Ms. Barrett, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to adjourn the February 3, 2014 meeting at 8:02 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE FEBRUARY 3, 2014 MEETING ADJOURNED.