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PRM 04/02/2012 CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING – APRIL 2, 2012 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Solberg called the April 2, 2012 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Tim Solberg, Mike Heintz, Michele Barrett Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation APPROVAL OF MARCH 5, 2012 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to approve the minutes of the March 5, 2012 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR APRIL 2, 2012 MOTION by Ms. Barrett, seconded by Mr. Heintz, to approve the agenda for the April 2, 2012 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 wanted to call attention to a few items in the Update. The Senior Center has a Tax Assistance program for seniors that is provided by volunteers from AARP. It has been extremely popular this year with lines forming early to get this service. Mr. Kirk stated that the ZONE continues to average about 25 kids each day after school and up to 75 kids on Friday afternoons. The other school programs aren’t running on Fridays, so the teens head over to the ZONE. Mr. Kirk further stated that all of the community garden plots are now rented for this year and we are referring people to Unity hospital. Unity started a community garden program last year. Mr. Kirk stated that the summer activities brochure is complete and will be on-line in the next th few days. Registration for the summer activities is set to begin on April 13. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – April 2, 2012 Page 2 b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Kirk stated that he has a report from the Parks Supervisor regarding maintenance in the past month. With the unseasonably warm weather, they have been busy getting the parks ready for use. Mr. Lindquist estimates that they are about a month ahead of schedule with the outside work in the parks due to the weather. c. Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Kirk stated that the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation annual SPREE fundraiser was th held on March 24 at Murzyn Hall in Columbia Heights and was very successful. There were approximately 140 people in attendance. The total profits from the event have not been calculated as of yet. Mr. Kirk further stated that Mr. St. Clair has been busy planning for the new berm landscaping at the nature center and he has been involved in the plant selection for the new water gardens at the West Moore Lake Dunes. d. Council – Commission Survey Mr. Kirk reminded the Commission members that the annual Council–Commission survey is due in. He thanked the Commission members for their help with completing this valuable planning document. 2. NEW BUSINESS a.Election of Officers Mr. Kirk stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission elect a Chairperson and Vice- Chairperson at the April meeting each year. The Chairperson presides over all Commission meetings and serves on the City’s Planning Commission. The Vice-Chairperson serves as Chairperson when the Chairperson is absent. Mr. Heintz stated that he would like to nominate Mr. Solberg for Chairperson and Ms. Sibell for Vice-Chairperson. MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to elect Tim Solberg as Chairperson and Marcy Sibell as Vice-Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission for the next year. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Kirk thanked Mr. Solberg for being willing to serve as Chairperson once again. b. Parks 5-Year Capital Improvement Program Mr. Kirk stated that the Parks and Recreation recommends a 5-Year Parks Capital Improvement Program each year. The staff recommended plan has been modified a little since last year, but still reflects an approach of continuing to take care of existing equipment and facilities as a first priority. Mr. Kirk further stated that he would like to review each year of the staff recommended plan with the Commission. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – April 2, 2012 Page 3 Mr. Kirk stated that for next year (2013), the staff recommended plan would include some tennis and basketball court surfacing and repair, as well as replacing some of the park furnishings such as picnic tables, benches, lighting and water fountains. It will also include the first phase of replacing the outdated irrigation system for Commons Park. The plan also includes the first phases of repairing the Springbrook Nature Center boardwalk and placing security cameras in the parks to prevent vandalism and theft. Mr. Kirk stated that the staff recommended plan for each of the years of the CIP is as follows: 2013  Court surfacing and overlays 30,000  Park Furnishings 10,000  Commons Park Irrigation system – phase 1 80,000  SNC Boardwalk repair 25,000  Security Cameras in the Parks 25,000 170,000 2014  Court surfacing and overlays 30,000  Park Furnishings 10,000  Commons Park Irrigation system – phase 2 80,000  SNC Boardwalk repair 25,000  Security Cameras in the Parks 25,000 120,000 2015  Court surfacing and overlays 30,000  Park Furnishings 10,000  Playground Equipment Replacements 30,000  SNC Boardwalk Repair 25,000 95,000 2016  Court surfacing and overlays 30,000  Park Furnishings 10,000  Playground Equipment Replacements 30,000  SNC Boardwalk Repair 25,000 95,000 2017  Court surfacing and overlays 30,000  Park Furnishings 10,000  Playground Equipment Replacements 30,000  SNC Boardwalk Repair 25,000 95,000 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – April 2, 2012 Page 4 Mr. Kirk stated that this is not a very aggressive plan, but it will take care of our immediate needs to keep our parks in relatively good condition. There are many potential park improvements listed as other projects that will likely never happen unless we somehow would be fortunate enough to have some unexpected financial resources available to us. Those other projects would be great for improving our park system, but are not included in any of the five years due to financial limitations of the park fund. Mr. Solberg stated that he trusts the prioritization of projects by the City staff and feels they have presented a good plan for consideration. He doesn’t personally see anything in the plan that he would want to change. Mr. Heintz asked what the City is planning to do with the properties we own just north of Moore Lake Park. Are we planning on selling them or are we planning to develop them down the road? Mr. Kirk stated that at this point there has been no decision made to sell the properties and development would likely not happen until all the properties were owned by the City. This would be a good topic to discuss at a future meeting. MOTION by Ms. Barrett, seconded by Mr. Heintz to approve the Parks 5-Year Capital Improvement Program as recommended by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. c. 2012 Adult Fall Athletic League Fees Mr. Kirk stated that he is presenting the recommended fees for the fall athletic leagues. This would include men’s softball, co-rec softball and the 4 person football leagues. The fee would include an increase of $10 per team in each of the softball leagues and a $5 per team increase in the football league. MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Ms. Barrett to approve the staff recommended fall athletic league fees with $375 per team for the Men’s Softball, $390 per team for the Co-Rec Softball and $70 per team for the 4 person football leagues. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. d. Changes to Summer Program Format Mr. Kirk stated that staff brought a recommended summer program format to the Commission in January and after preparing details on the program have some changes and additions to suggest. Staff would like to propose a new program addition called the Leaders in Training program for students completing grades six and seven. The participants in the program will learn first aid, problem solving skills, leadership skills, child care and teamwork skills. This program will lead to us having a junior leader program with our summer activities next year. Mr. Kirk further stated that this would be a morning program 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on Monday, th Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for five weeks. The program would start on June 18 and end thndth on July 27. The program would not meet the week of July 2 through 6. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – April 2, 2012 Page 5 Mr. Kirk stated that the cost of the program would be $175. A second option with this program would be for the participants to stay after the Leaders in Training program and participate in the afternoon Chill program. Cost for the combined programs would be $240. Mr. Kirk stated that staff is also recommending a change to the proposed summer Playground program. We recently found out the schedule for the school district’s summer school program and would like the playground program to coincide with the same program dates. The new format would have just one location, at Hayes Elementary School. We would use our passenger van to pick up participants at four other locations and bring them to Hayes. The new program format would be as follows:  Monday through Thursday from 12:00 noon to 3:30 p.m.  Session 1 would be for 5 weeks June 11 – July 19 (no activity July 2 – 5)  Session 1 fee would be $75 and the extended hours of 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. each day would cost an additional $45  Session 2 would be for 3 weeks from July 23 – August 9  Session 2 fee would be $45 and the extended hours of 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. each day would cost and additional $27. Mr. Kirk further stated that moving the starting time to 12 noon allows the participants to be included in the school district’s free summer lunch program during session one. We hope the changes will encourage participants in the summer school program to stay on and be part of the Playground program. Mr. Kirk stated that the last change being recommended is for the pre-school playground program. We are recommending that instead of having two separate pre-school groups that we combine them into one group for 3 – 5 year olds. The program would be Monday through Thursday mornings from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. There would be two, four week, sessions and activity will be held at Commons Park. Cost of the program would be $55 per child per session. MOTION by Ms. Barrett, seconded by Mr. Heintz to approve the staff recommended changes to the summer program format. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Heintz, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to adjourn the April 2, 2012 meeting at 8:02 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SOLBERG DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE APRIL 2, 2012 MEETING ADJOURNED.