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PRM 05/02/2016 CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING – MAY 2, 2016 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Heintz called the May 2, 2016 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Greg Ackerman, Michele Barrett, Mike Heintz, Dave Kondrick, Shanna Larson Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation APPROVAL OF APRIL 4, 2016 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Ms. Larson, seconded by Mr. Ackerman, to approve the minutes of the April 4, 2016 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR MAY 2, 2016 MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to approve the agenda for the May 2, 2016 meeting as submitted by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that the Program Update was included in the agenda packet to provide information on the Parks and Recreation Department programs in the past month. The publicity on the summer programs has been mailed out in the seasonal activities brochure. That will include information on summer playgrounds and the ROCKS program. Mr. Kirk stated that staff has completed interviews for the summer job opportunities and have offered jobs to the top candidates. Staff was pleased to have a number of key returning staff to lead this summer’s activities. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Springbrook Nature Center staff has been doing a good job of running programs at the schools. Staff just completed a unit with Fridley Middle School students on solar energy. Mr. Kirk stated that Twin Cities Gateway has designated $10,000 for marketing and promotion of the new Springbrook Nature Center facilities. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 2, 2016 Page 2 Mr. Kirk stated that the Senior program has a property tax refund assistance program that helped 45 seniors get their property tax refund forms completed during the month of April. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Kirk stated that Jeff Jensen has provided a written report of Park Maintenance activities over the past month. During the month of April, the Parks Division has been in the process of preparing all the parks and athletic fields for the summer season. Leagues are now starting, so the workers are prepping the softball, baseball and soccer fields for game play. They have started mowing in some of the parks and should be on the full mowing schedule soon. The workers helped a volunteer group that put in 10 trees and 135 plants at the Community Park. They also provided assistance at an Arbor Day event at Commons Park where volunteers planted 11 new trees. c.Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Kirk stated that Mike Maher provided a written report for the Commission that is in the agenda packet. The spring school programming is going well with programs in the Fridley schools and Adams Elementary. Several of the school classes will be making field trips to Springbrook this month. Summer camp planning is underway and three naturalists have been hired as camp staff. Registration is going well with about 70% of last year’s numbers reached already. Additional nature center information is in the written report. Mr. Kirk stated that the new Springbrook Nature Center building project is progressing nicely and should be completed on time. A grand opening celebration is being planned for Saturday th July 30 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. d. Commission Member Re-Appointments Mr. Kirk stated that on March 23, 2016, the Fridley City Council re-appointed Mike Heintz and Shanna Larson to new 3-year terms as members of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Mr. Kirk thanked both of them for their willingness to serve our community. e. University of MN Urban Forestry Class Presentation Mr. Kirk stated that University of Minnesota students have been working on an urban tree and greenspace plan for the City of Fridley and will be making a presentation in the City Council th chambers on Wednesday, May 4 at 2:00pm. The students are part of the Urban Forestry classes at the University. The Parks and Recreation Commission members are invited to attend the presentation. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. 5-Year Parks Capital Improvement Program Mr. Kirk stated that he is bringing the staff recommended Parks 5-Year Capital Improvement Program to the Parks and Recreation Commission for their consideration and input. He would like to go through the projects that are scheduled for 2017 to make sure the Commission is in agreement with the planned projects. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 2, 2016 Page 3 Mr. Kirk further stated that the 2017 plan calls for court surfacing and overlays at an amount of $32,000. This part of the plan is to resurface and color-coat a number of our tennis and basketball courts in the park system. A review of the courts is done in the spring of the year and the courts in most need are then attended to. As a general rule, courts need to be recoated every three to four years in order to retain a good playing surface. Court surfacing is included each year in the CIP to keep our facilities in good condition. Mr. Kirk stated that there is $80,000 recommended for play equipment replacements. Many of the park play equipment structures in our city are getting to be 20 or more years old and are showing their age. This replacement program will likely take many years to get to all the parks, but we need to get started making these improvements. Mr. Kirk further stated that the 2017 plan allows for $12,000 in park furnishings. This would be replacement benches, picnic tables, picnic grills and fencing in the parks. We try to include funding for replacing park furnishings in each year of the CIP plan. Mr. Kirk stated that the parking lots at Moore Lake are in need of replacement and the larger lot near the swimming beach is being scheduled for next year. The amount in the 2017 plan for this Moore Lake parking lot is $90,000. Mr. Kirk stated that there is $5,000 for boardwalk/bridge replacement at Springbrook Nature Center in the plan. Most of the boardwalk systems have been replaced at this point, but we have kept a small amount in for the next couple of years to do some improvements as needed to the trails and bridges. Mr. Kirk stated that another item listed in the 2017 CIP is security cameras in the parks. The cameras are installed to serve as a deterrent to vandalism and graffiti, as well as to capture images that may help in prosecuting the offenders. There is $30,000 in the plan for cameras in 2017. Mr. Kondrick stated that he would like to see signs in the parks alerting people to the fact that cameras are being used. The signs would be another tool to help in the battle against the vandalism and graffiti. Mr. Kirk stated that there is a table in the packet that shows the projects listed for 2017 through 2021. The Commission members will see that many of the same project categories appear in each year of the plan. Staff believes that this plan will help us keep our park facilities in good condition for future years. Mr. Kirk stated that the Parks CIP has several funding sources. Funds will come from Local Government Aid monies, Park Dedication Fees, interest on investment of park reserve funds and some liquor store proceeds transferred to the parks fund. A breakdown of these costs is listed in the table of Parks Capital Improvement Program projections. Ms. Larson asked if this would be a good time to talk about the possibility of building a new park in an area that is not currently served by a park. She has been contacted by people living in an area without a park nearby and they would like to have a park to use. What would be the financial outlay to build a new park? Mr. Kirk stated that the costs for a new park can vary greatly depending on the size of the park, costs for land purchase and amenities that would be included in the park. Mr. Kirk stated that he thought the appropriate time to discuss park needs is when the Parks and Recreation Commission is doing the park service area study. The study looks at how well neighborhoods are served by park facilities. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 2, 2016 Page 4 Mr. Kirk stated that going forward, the biggest expenditures for the Parks CIP will be in the playground equipment and the court surfacing categories. Ms. Larson asked if the City is looking at taking out some of the court facilities in the future. Mr. Kirk stated the he would doubt that more courts would be taken out, as the City is trying to provide opportunities throughout the community. The Parks and Recreation had recommended some past reductions in tennis court areas that has already been implemented. Mr. Kondrick stated that this Commission has to be constantly aware of the wants and desires of the residents of our community relative to the park and recreation amenities for the park system. Skating rinks and tennis courts have been good examples. As the community interests change, it is important to recommend spending the improvements money wisely on facilities and amenities that are going to be used. Interests change and trends change. Fortunately we have a good staff that will advise the Commission on appropriate direction for the park improvements. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Ackerman to approve the staff recommended Parks 5-Year Capital Improvement Program plan as presented to the Commission. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Springbrook Nature Center Naming Rights Mr. Kirk stated that there is an approved naming and recognition policy for the SPRING project that was reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission and has been approved by the Fridley City Council. There have been some very large donations made to the project that should be formally recognized. The template for an agreement is before the Commission this evening for a recommendation. Mr. Kirk stated that each large donation to the project that was connected to naming a room or amenity at the Springbrook Nature Center would have an agreement such as this one. The agreement will specify what the donor would like to have recognition for. Mr. Kirk further stated that this covers a number of important areas such as how the donation is to be used, how the donor is recognized, publicity related to the donation, changes that could occur, and even situations that could result in a termination of the agreement. Each of the agreements would ultimately go to the Fridley City Council for approval. Mr. Kondrick stated that he has reviewed the document several times and it looks very good. He would be supportive of this template to use for the Springbrook Naming and Recognition agreements. Mr. Heintz stated that from the beginning of the project he was supportive of the naming rights, because it is a great way to bring in some sizeable donations. He has reviewed the document and does not have any concerns with it. MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Ms. Larson to approve the staff recommended Springbrook Nature Center Naming Rights Agreement document format to be used with donors to the SPRING project. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 2, 2016 Page 5 c. Goose Management Plan Mr. Kirk stated that the City of Fridley has using a goose management program since 1990. We have hired a company to remove a number of geese from Moore Lake Park and beach for the heavy use summer season. Mr. Kirk stated that Moore Lake Park is one of the most heavily used parks in our community during the summer months. High concentrations of Canadian Geese can create problems for the park users participating in the activities of swimming, picnicking, enjoying the beach, playing on ballfields and on sand volleyball courts. The goose droppings on the trails, grass areas, beach, and sand are a health and safety concern. The goose removal program we have used over the years has kept the bird numbers at a reasonable level at the park. Mr. Kirk stated that he has been notified recently that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has implemented some changes in providing a permit to remove geese in the metro area. The DNR is requiring that local units of government (such as cities) to have a DNR approved Canada Goose Management plan in place before the geese can be trapped and removed. Mr. Kirk further stated that staff has put together a proposed plan for dealing with Canada Geese in Fridley. In particular, the plan addresses removal of the geese from Moore Lake Park and the beach area. The plan is not real elaborate, but it does address the problems that we face with too many geese in Fridley. Mr. Kirk stated the plan addresses monitoring of large goose population areas in our community. We have an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of waterfowl in our city parks and that is indicated in the plan. We have education material available at the Parks and Recreation office to assist residents with handling goose concerns. The plan also identifies two websites that have very good information on how to deal with Canada Goose issues. The plan addresses how the City will handle goose problems in City parks and on public property, as well as what private property owners can do. Mr. Kondrick asked what the removal program costs the City each year. Mr. Kirk stated that is costs about $1,500. Ms. Larson asked where they take the birds. Mr. Kirk stated the birds used to be relocated to other areas of the country or the state. No one wants the birds anymore, so they are processed for the food shelf or used for animal feed. MOTION by Ms. Larson, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to approve the staff recommended Goose Management Plan for the City of Fridley. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Ms. Larson, seconded by Ms. Barrett to adjourn the meeting at 8:07 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MAY 2, 2016 MEETING ADJOURNED.