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PRM 05/05/2014 CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING – MAY 5, 2014 CALL TO ORDER: Vice-Chairperson Heintz called the May 5, 2014 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Greg Ackerman, Mike Heintz, and Dave Kondrick Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation Mike Maher, Springbrook Nature Center Director Malcolm Mitchell, Chairman of the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation APPROVAL OF APRIL 7, 2014 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Ackerman, to approve the minutes of the April 7, 2014 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR MAY 5, 2014 MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Mr. Kondrick, to approve the agenda for the May 5, 2014 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-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 program’s in the past month. Mr. Kirk stated that the Springbrook Nature Center staff worked with the Hayes and Stevenson Elementary kindergarten students on the Environmental Education units this past month. They engaged in fun activities like testing maple syrup, playing sound Bingo, touching different textures like tree bark and animal skins. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Senior Tax Assistance program helped 585 people with their taxes this season. This compares to 518 people in 2013 and 452 in 2012. Dan Gourde was the manager of the tax assistance program and did a great job. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 5, 2014 Page 2 Mr. Kirk stated that the weather in April was not very good and caused the postponement of a number of outdoor activities. The Adult Softball program was scheduled to start last week and all nights were cancelled due to the heavy rain and wet fields. The league did get started for the season yesterday. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Minnesota Senate came out with their bonding bill today and the Springbrook Nature Center is in the bill for $5 million. The Senate and the House of Representatives must each pass their respective bills, and then reconcile any differences. Hopefully we will be in the final bill that gets sent to Governor Dayton for approval. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Kirk stated that Mr. 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 busy preparing all the equipment for summer projects and maintenance. They have been working on getting the parks and facilities ready for the programs and general community use. c.Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Maher stated that as part of our $190,000 Legacy Grant, Minnesota Native Landscapes completed removal of buckthorn from 70 acres of the park. They will return to apply a herbicide to kill remaining roots. A second phase of the project will include some prairie burns, which will take place this spring and next fall. th Mr. Maher further stated that the Spring Fling event was held on April 12. Despite a rainy morning, we had over 850 participants and the feedback was very positive. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Election of Officers Mr. Kirk stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission annually elects a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. The Chairperson presides over the meetings of the Parks and Recreation Commission and is a member of the City’s Planning Commission. The Vice-Chairperson acts as Chairperson, if the Chairperson is not able to attend the meeting. Mr. Kirk stated that he has talked with Mr. Solberg and he would be willing to continue as Chairperson if the Commission members wanted him to do so. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Ackerman, to elect Tim Solberg as Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Mr. Kondrick to elect Mike Heintz as Vice- Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 5, 2014 Page 3 b. Fall Athletic League Fees Mr. Kirk stated that he is bringing the staff recommended fees for the Fall adult athletic program to the Parks and Recreation Commission this evening. Staff is recommending the same fee as in 2013, as we are trying to bring our participation numbers back up after the renovation of the Community Park ball fields. Mr. Kirk stated the recommended fee for the Men’s Fall softball league is $375 per team for the season and the recommended fee for the 4-Person football league is $70 per team for the season. MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Mr. Kondrick to approve the staff recommended fees for the fall athletic leagues of $375 per team for the fall softball program and $70 per team for the 4-Person football program. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. c. Springbrook Nature Center Exhibit Design Mr. Kirk stated that the City has selected Split Rock Studios of St. Paul, MN as the consultant to work with us developing the exhibit master plan for the Springbrook Nature Center SPRING project. There have been several meetings with the consultant to determine the goals and possible themes for the new exhibits. Last week, Split Rock studios representatives presented the first schematic design to the exhibit committee members. He asked Nature Center Director Mike Maher and Springbrook Nature Center Foundation Chairperson Malcolm Mitchell to provide an overview of this schematic design to the Parks and Recreation Commission this evening. Mr. Maher stated that what Split Rock Studios has presented to us is Schematic Design 1. It is essentially their first presentation of what the exhibits for the SPRING project might look like and accomplish. We have about two weeks to gather input and then get our comments back to the consultants so they can make changes to the plan. After that, they will be getting back to us with Schematic Design 2. That should be more of the finished product. Mr. Maher stated that the main theme is that Springbrook is a place of great diversity, that we have a significant amount of varied plant and animal life. What they came up with was kind of a metaphor using a kaleidoscope, which shows that you can take this diversity and look at it from several perspectives. Another part of this is that nature is always changing and the kaleidoscope approach brings that out as well. Mr. Maher stated that as far as using the exhibits as an educational tool, there were a couple of educational theories that Split Rock Studios pointed to. One is constuctivist learning, which is starting with something familiar and then building upon that learning. This will assume that what the average visitor will know and then use that knowledge base to build additional connections. Mr. Maher stated that the next educational theory is free choice learning, which is based on the fact that visitors don’t come to the nature center and start at point A, then go to point B, then to point C and so on. People should be able to go through these exhibits in any order. They could walk in a start at any point and move in any direction. Each component of the exhibits should be able to stand on its own and be an educational tool. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 5, 2014 Page 4 Mr. Maher stated that the overall theme of the exhibits is that Springbrook Nature Center is a sanctuary for a variety of wildlife and habitats. Like a Kaleidoscope, dynamic elements of this natural community connect, blend, and change over time. Mr. Maher further stated that the three sub-themes of the exhibits are as follows: (1) Nature at Springbrook is complex, diverse, and compact (2) Nature at Springbrook is impacted by natural events and human activity (3) Nature at Springbrook requires a responsible management of resources and a respect for the environment Mr. Maher stated that the outcome expected by having these exhibits, or what we hope people take away from their visit to the exhibits, is that visitors will feel more comfortable and capable exploring the outdoors; that visitors will be excited to dive deeper into topics that spark curiosity and wonder about nature; that visitors will establish emotional connections to nature that enhance their quality of life; and that visitors will be inspired to protect and preserve natural communities. Mr. Maher continued by saying that we have some overall goals of the new exhibit concept which should answer the question “what do we hope to accomplish by creating new interpretive exhibits at the nature center?”. The overall goals are to establish connections between the exhibits and nature; to send visitors outside and bring them inside from the trails; to promote the nature center’s core values and philosophy of sustainability and renewal; to provide educational tools and skill sets that enhance health and wellness in a natural setting; to provide a natural amenity for recreation for the citizens of Fridley; and to become a destination for local residents, workers and visitors to the north metro area. He thought that Split Rock Studios did a really good job of incorporating what the design committee talked about and wanted to accomplish through the nature center exhibits. The next step for Split Rock Studios was to translate the themes and goals into actual interesting, dynamic and engaging exhibits for the nature center. They came up with four areas of exhibits, areas A, B, C, and D. Mr. Maher stated that area A is the welcome or entrance area for the interpretive building. It features an entrance area sculpture, floor mosaic and some introductory or informative panels. When a person comes from the parking lot to the building, this area is what engages them and orients them to the facilities. The entrance to the building would include a large, three dimensional sculpture that would create a wetland look type of environment. It is intended to blur the lines between the interior and the exterior. They continued with bringing the outside, river-looking pathway into the building as a mosaic floor design. The introductory panels would have information, maps, and serve as a lead-in to the exhibit area. Mr. Mitchell stated that it is important to understand at this point that the ideas presented are just concepts and not intended to convey a final design on the exhibits. It is providing us with some thoughts on what could be a possibility for the various spaces in the interpretive building. Mr. Maher further stated that area B is focused on the theme that nature is diverse. Split Rock Studios is proposing here that some habitat and animals of Springbrook be showcased. This could include a number of the taxidermy exhibits currently on display in the center. This area could also include a terrarium featuring a number of the live animals for display. Some other concepts for this area could include a tree exhibit, an interactive snake display, a soil cube learning area, a wildlife log, and the existing bird kiosk. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 5, 2014 Page 5 Mr. Maher stated that area C is an emphasis on nature is changing. They have proposed something called New Balance that shows how events like a tornado or flood can alter nature and the balance of resources and species in an ecosystem. They also proposed some swirl graphics that could educate on water flow, seasons, invasive species and transformation of the nature center itself. Mr. Maher stated that area D is focused on letting visitors know that nature is somewhat in their hands and that good stewardship and sustainability of the lands is important. They looked at creating an exhibit of green corridors to emphasize the importance of natural spaces in our urban areas. They also suggested the use of Solartubes as a feature of the exhibits to provide energy efficient lighting of the exhibit spaces. The consultants proposed a natural kaleidoscope to provide some interactive play and exploration of natural objects such as acorns, leaves, and feathers found at the nature center. Mr. Heintz stated that in the exhibit of green corridors, he would like to see a display of the City of Fridley parks and how the City has gone to great lengths to see that the residents have lots of green space and parks to recreate in. All areas of the City have green spaces relatively close by. Mr. Kondrick asked if the consultants had given any idea of the costs of exhibits they are proposing for the project. He further stated that one of the secrets of a Department store’s success is that they have to change their stores and advertising around to stay current. Are we planning on being able to change out exhibits in the future to keep things fresh? Mr. Maher stated that the consultants were aware of a budget number when planning for the exhibit concept design. We had identified $324,000 for exhibits in the SPRING project budget that was submitted to the State of Minnesota. They were asked to create a concept plan that could be accomplished with that budget number. Mr. Mitchell stated that the idea of changing exhibits on a regular basis is something that the exhibit committee has discussed and is aware of. There has been discussion about changing exhibits based on the seasons and even having a space available for traveling exhibits at the interpretive building. Mr. Ackerman stated that the exhibit concept design work by Split Rock Studios is pretty impressive. He wanted to know what the next step was. Mr. Maher stated that we have about two weeks to gather feedback on the concept design and get that information back to Split Rock Studios. It is expected that they will make changes, additions, and deletions based on this feedback. They will then get back to us with a second, revised document for us to review. After that review, we should be getting the final product in terms of the exhibit concept design for Springbrook. Mr. Kondrick stated that after reviewing this concept design presented tonight, it sure seems to him that Split Rock Studios has a pretty firm grip on what we are trying to accomplish at Springbrook and what the nature center has to offer. They also appear to have a good understanding of the park’s limitation, such as acknowledging it is not 5,000 acres in size. He is pleased with their work. Mr. Heintz stated that the consultants really took the time to listen to us and make sure they understood what we wanted to accomplish. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - May 5, 2014 Page 6 Mr. Ackerman asked if we had looked into other exhibit projects that were completed by Split Rock Studios. Mr. Mitchell stated that we are aware of the work they have done locally, as well as nationally. They are a very well-known and respected business. Mr. Kirk thanked the Parks and Recreation Commission members for reviewing the exhibit concept plan and providing input. If Commission members have further comments after tonight’s meeting, he encouraged them to give him a call. We will be getting back to Split Rock Studios with our comments within the next couple of weeks. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Ackerman to adjourn the meeting at 8:28 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, VICE-CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MAY 5, 2014 MEETING ADJOURNED.