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PRM 04/07/2014 CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING – APRIL 7, 2014 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Solberg called the April 7, 2014 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Tim Solberg, Greg Ackerman, Mike Heintz, Dave Kondrick Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation APPROVAL OF March 3, 2014 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to approve the minutes of the March 3, 2014 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR APRIL 7, 2014 MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to approve the agenda for the April 7, 2014 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that this Program Update was a report of the activities of the Parks and Recreation Department in the past month. He did want to call attention to a new event that happened at our Senior Program. Connie put together a program called Honor Our Vets. It st was held on Friday, March 21 and 85 veterans attended. The program addressed a variety of little known benefits for veterans and their spouses. The program was co-sponsored by the Fridley Senior Program, Catholic Elder Care, and Mary T Home and Health Care. Mr. Kirk further stated that the winter athletic leagues and programs have now ended and the spring activities are starting. The Department recently mailed out a combined Spring/Summer activities brochure to promote the parks and recreation opportunities available in the upcoming months. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – April 7, 2014 Page 2 b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Kirk stated that a park maintenance report from Operations Manager Jeff Jensen has been included in the agenda packet. Staff has been working on repairing and maintaining all the winter gear and storing the rink maintenance equipment until next year. They have been organizing the storage areas and getting the summer equipment ready for use. They will continue to have crews ready to help with snowplowing duties until May. c. Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Kirk stated that Great River Greening completed removal of buckthorn from 70 acres of the park as part of the $190,000 Legacy Grant that we received. A second part of the grant will include some controlled burns of the prairies and oak savanna. Those should take place this spring and fall. Mr. Kirk further stated that the City has started work with Split Rock Studios to create an exhibit master plan for the nature center interpretive building. Eight hours of meetings were held over two days in late March to discuss goals of the exhibits and explore possible themes. Mr. Kirk stated that the Springbrook Nature Center SPRING project is in the current version of the Minnesota House of Representatives bonding bill for $5.5 million. The Senate has not presented their version of the bill as of yet. Mr. Kirk stated that the work is now complete on the installation of the three water control weirs at the nature center. The weirs are an important control structure to help us maintain proper water levels in the nature center ponds. Mr. Kirk stated that the USDA Wildlife Services conducted a deer reduction program at the nature center in the past couple of weeks. Twenty deer were removed as part of this action. d. Commission Member Reappointment – Michele Barrett Mr. Kirk stated that the Fridley City Council has reappointed Commission member Michele Barrett to a new three year term beginning immediately and running through April of 2017. He wanted to congratulate Ms. Barrett and thank her for her willingness to serve the community. e. Spring Fling Mr. Kirk stated that the annual nature center Spring Fling will be held this next Saturday, April th 12. There will be a variety of activities for the family and Commission members are invited to attend. 2. NEW BUSINESS a.Parks 5 – Year Capital Improvement Program Mr. Kirk stated that at the last Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in March, he handed out the current Parks 5-Year Capital Improvement Program to get members thinking about the planning process. He has provided a staff recommended plan for members to consider as we look at the future needs of our park system in Fridley. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – April 7, 2014 Page 3 Mr. Kirk stated that the projects currently scheduled for 2015 include court surfacing and overlays at $30,000, park furnishings at $10,000, Springbrook boardwalk and bridge repair at $25,000, and playground equipment replacement at $30,000. Mr. Kondrick stated he was glad to see money in the plan for playground equipment repair as he knows this is going to take a lot of dollars over the years to replace the play equipment in our many parks. Mr. Kirk stated that the Parks Fund balance at the beginning of 2014 is about $1.7 million. The funding sources for this year include $100,000 from the Local Government Aid that the City receives from the State of Minnesota, park dedication fees for this year estimated at $10,000, and interest from the parks fund balance amounting to an estimated $20,000. The future funding sources look good for the Parks Capital Improvement program with the Local Government Aid amount of $100,000 being allocated to the fund each year through 2017 and then the LGA amount increase to $150,000 for 2018 and 2019. Mr. Kondrick stated that we have $30,000 budgeted for court surfacing and overlays in 2015. Have we decided which courts we will be working on? Mr. Kirk stated that he works closely with the Parks Operations Manager Jeff Jensen to determine the condition of the courts in the spring of the year. Based on the condition and the amount of use the courts get, they prioritize which courts should be improved for that year. Mr. Heintz asked what are we going to do with Craig Park, which was in very poor condition several years ago and was targeted for removal because of the poor soil conditions at the park? He recalls that the neighborhood residents submitted a petition to leave the court “as is” and they would continue to use it. Mr. Kirk stated that the court surface is still in very poor condition. It is likely our worst looking court surface in the park system right now. At some point, we should decide whether to take the courts out or to try some improvements. Because of the poor soil and low lying park area, it was previously determined that unless soil correction took place, it would be throwing away good money to just re-surface the tennis courts. Mr. Heintz stated that he would suggest that we look at using plastic wood or composite wood material for the boardwalk replacements at Springbrook Nature Center. It is material that would last longer and likely require less on-going maintenance. Mr. Kirk stated that is a good idea and staff would look into it. There is a section of the trail where the wooden boardwalk is right on the ground. The composite material may work very well in that situation. Mr. Kondrick stated that the five year plan looks good and the additional dollars for replacement of equipment is really a big help for us to take of the park needs. MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Mr. Ackerman, to approve the staff recommended Parks 5-Year Capital Improvement Program. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Softball Tournament Rental Request – Fridley Lions Club Mr. Kirk stated that the Fridley Lions Club is requesting use of the Fridley Community Park for a weekend softball tournament during 49er Days on June 27 – 29, 2014. The Lions Club has run many tournaments in past years and has always done a good job. Staff would recommend Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – April 7, 2014 Page 4 approval of the request for the tournament rental fee of $1,000, plus any other incidental expenses occurred by the City related to this tournament. Other fees could include the cost of portable toilet facilities or a garbage dumpster, or even additional supplies beyond what is normally provided for a softball event. Mr. Ackerman stated that in past years, the Fridley Lions Club has made some type of donation of equipment or park improvements in lieu of paying the rental fee for the softball tournament and asked if the Commission would be open to a similar arrangement this year? The Commission members were in agreement that a donation in lieu of the rental fee would be acceptable and should be worked out with Mr. Kirk and the Lions Club. MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Mr. Kondrick to approve the softball tournament request from the Fridley Lions Club for a softball tournament at Fridley Community Park on June 27 - 29, 2014, with the normal fees and charges to apply or an option of a donation made to the City of Fridley Parks and Recreation Department in lieu of the facility rental fee. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. c. Softball Tournament Rental Request – Fridley Covenant Church Mr. Kirk stated that the Fridley Covenant Church is requesting use of the Fridley Community Park for a one-day softball tournament on July 19, 2014. Fridley Covenant Church has run tournaments in past years and they have done a good job. Staff would recommend approval of the request for the one-day non-profit rental fee of $500, plus any other incidental expenses occurred by the City related to this tournament. Other fees could include the cost of portable toilet facilities or a garbage dumpster, or even additional supplies beyond what is normally provided for a softball event. MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Mr. Kondrick to approve the softball tournament request from the Fridley Covenant Church for a one-day softball tournament at Fridley Community Park on July 19, 2014, with the normal fees and charges to apply. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. d. Softball Tournament Rental Request – Fridley High School Mr. Kirk stated that Fridley School is requesting use of the Fridley Community Park for a one- day girls high school softball tournament on May 3, 2014. The High School has run several tournaments in recent years and has done a good job. The City staff would work closely with Fridley High School Athletic Director Dan Roff on the details associated with this softball tournament. Staff would recommend approval of the request for the one-day tournament rental fee of $500, plus any other incidental expenses occurred by the City related to this tournament. Other fees could include the cost of portable toilet facilities or a garbage dumpster, or even additional supplies beyond what is normally provided for a softball event. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Heintz to approve the softball tournament request from the Fridley High School for a one-day high school girls softball tournament at Fridley Community Park on May 3, 2014, with the normal fees and charges to apply. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – April 7, 2014 Page 5 ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to adjourn the April 7, 2014 meeting at 7:55 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE APRIL 7, 2014 MEETING ADJOURNED.