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PRM 10/02/2000 CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING –OCTOBER 2, 2000 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the October 2, 2000 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick, Susan Price, Tim Solberg, Dick Young Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Paul Lawrence, Superintendent of Public Works Dave Lindquist, Parks Supervisor APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2000 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to approve the minutes of the September 11, 2000 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR OCTOBER 2, 2000 Mr. Kondrick stated that he had been contacted by Shirley Arbour about the City creating a small th neighborhood park on the St. Paul Waterworks site, located off of Alden Way and 76 Avenue. He suggested that Ms. Arbour attend the October Commission meeting to present this item for discussion. He would suggest this item be added as item “f” under new business. MOTION by Ms. Price, seconded by Mr. Young, to approve the agenda for the October 2, 2000 f meeting with the addition of item under new business, Park Facilities at the St. Paul Waterworks site. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that he had received a call last week from Debbie Kidder regarding the problems at Creekview Park. Ms. Kidder was at the September Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to let the Commission members know of some children causing problems at the park. Mr. Kirk further stated the Ms. Kidder said there has been a 50% improvement in the situation. There are still some problems, but things are looking better. th Mr. Kirk also stated that the 4-person Football League began play on September 10 with 24 teams participating. This is the largest league we have had in this football program. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – October 2, 2000 Page 2 Mr. Kirk reported that the Zone Underground, the after school activity for Middle School students had several large attendance days last week. On Wednesday, there were 62 participants, on Thursday, there were 52 and at a special dance/party on Friday, there were 217 in attendance. Finally, Mr. Kirk wanted to call attention to the number of picnic shelter rentals that were processed this past year. The Commission will be discussing fees at a later time in the agenda. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lindquist stated that the Park Maintenance Division has been very busy and has gotten a lot more done than the items listed in his written report. A project that they are working on is improving the trail at Meadowlands Park. The path had become overgrown with vegetation and needed to be widened in many areas. They have removed the vegetation and will be adding the crushed limestone walking surface. Mr. Lindquist said that they are now shutting down the irrigation systems in the parks. They try not to get too late in the season before blowing out the lines. Mr. Kondrick stated that he thought the parks throughout the City have looked just great this year. He wanted Mr. Lindquist to know that the work of the Park Division is being noticed. Mr. Lindquist said that he would pass this compliment on to his staff. Mr. Solberg stated that the tennis court at Briardale Park looks good now that it has been resurfaced and that it is getting a lot of use. c. William Nee Memorial Dedication Mr. Kirk stated the William Nee Memorial Dedication program was held on Sunday, th September 24 at Springbrook Nature Center. There were 60 people in attendance and Commission Chairperson Dave Kondrick served as Master of Ceremonies for the event. The Nee family presented a check to the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation in the amount of $5000 to be used in the development of the entrance area of the park. The City is looking at creating a memorial plaza at Springbrook to recognize citizens of our community for outstanding service to the city. d. Fridley Women of Today – Adopt-A-Park Mr. Kirk stated that the Fridley Women of Today have “adopted” Commons Park and will regularly provide a clean up day to help keep the area looking good. The first of these clean nd up days was held on Friday, September 22. The members of the group picked up litter throughout the park, cleaned play equipment and swept the park walkways. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – October 2, 2000 Page 3 e. Springbrook Halloween Program Mr. Kirk stated he wanted to inform the Commission members of this upcoming event and invite them to participate. The Pumpkin Night in the Park will be held on Saturday, October 28 with continuous activities from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. The staff is currently recruiting volunteers to help with this event, so if the Commission members know of someone willing to help, please send them our way. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Winter Athletic Fees Mr. Kirk presented a staff recommended fee schedule for the winter adult athletic fees. Fridley Recreation would like to remain comparable in fees to some of the surrounding communities and these fees will allow us to do just that. The proposed team fees are as follows: Co-Rec Volleyball ...................................... $95 Basketball (Mens D) ................................. $365 Basketball (Fun League) ........................... $350 Boot Hockey .............................................. $200 Broomball .................................................. $180 The Co-Rec volleyball league does not use officials, while the other leagues listed have referees or officials. MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Mr. Young, to approve the winter athletic league fees as recommended by staff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DELARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Park Facilities Rental Application and Fees Mr. Kirk stated that the number of park shelter rentals continues to grow each year, especially at Commons Park and Moore Lake Park. The Parks and Recreation Commission adjusted the rental fees at the September 1999 meeting. With the increase in rentals, there have been increasing costs for maintenance with additional garbage removal, litter pickup and cleaning of the sites. Did the Commission want to raise the fees for rentals of park facilities to help offset some of the additional costs? Mr. Kondrick stated that he thought the fees at Moore Lake could be adjusted upward because of all of the amenities offered at the park. It is a very nice picnic area and gets a tremendous amount of use in the summer months. If we are experiencing increased costs, we should consider raising the rental fees. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – October 2, 2000 Page 4 Mr. Young said that with the increased costs for garbage removal, maybe the City should consider ways to reducing the amount of garbage left at the picnic sites. The State Parks require campers and other users to take out what they bring in. Mr. Lindquist stated that the park dumpsters throughout the city are full each week of the summer because of the volume of garbage being left in the parks. The high level of use at Moore Lake generates lots of garbage and extra trash pickups by the maintenance workers. Mr. Lawrence stated that the Parks division is incurring overtime costs to cover workers that are needed to do the additional trash pickups. It is difficult finding the workers to cover the extra shifts required. Mr. Kondrick proposed a rental fee increase for the picnic shelters at Moore Lake from $15 for residents and $25 for non-residents to $30 and $35 respectively. Ms. Price stated that she thought there should be a larger difference between the resident and non-resident rental fee. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Price, to charge a rental fee of $25 for Fridley residents and $40 for non-residents for the picnic shelters at Moore Lake Park starting in 2001. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. c. Showmobile Rental Fees Mr. Kirk stated that the City purchased the Showmobile in 1989 and established a fee for the stage to be rented to neighboring governmental units. The fee remains the same today at $600 per day, plus overtime costs for city employees to transport and set it up. This past year, the Showmobile was rented for 7 performance dates with rental fees of $4200. Since we started renting the Showmobile in 1989, it has generated $24,350 in rental fees. The Showmobile was purchased in 1989 for $54,279. Mr. Kirk further stated that the primary user of the portable stage has been our own City programs, as we use the Showmobile for our entertainment in the parks, Fridley 49er Days, and special events such as the Safety Camp and Penny Carnival. It has been a good product for us and is still in very good condition, but at some point, we will likely need to talk about replacing an aging unit. The fees generated over the years have been larger than anticipated and have essentially helped us offset some of our dollars used to purchase the Showmobile. Staff is recommending a rental fee increase for the Showmobile to $700 per day starting in 2001. There are not a lot of communities that rent a unit like ours, so the increase will likely not have much impact on the number of rental requests we receive. The other costs for moving and setting up the stage will be additional charges to the renter. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – October 2, 2000 Page 5 MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg to approve the staff recommended rental fee of $700 per day for the use of the Showmobile. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. d. Council/Commission Survey Questions Mr. Kirk stated that as part of the City’s planning process each year, a multi-question survey is given to the City Council and citizen advisory commissions to gain input on issues and projects facing the city. The responses to these questions help city staff to formulate the goals and objectives for the departments. This item was placed on the agenda to see if the Parks and Recreation Commission had any suggestions for questions to be included in the survey. Mr. Young stated that several of the questions from the last survey could be included again because they address some unresolved issues. He further stated that the issue of removing tennis courts and providing more centralized, but better facilities would be a question he would like to see included. The cost of regularly resurfacing the courts is a very expensive budget item in the Parks CIP. Mr. Solberg stated that the centralizing of skating rinks would be another topic. This would result in closing of several or many of the small neighborhood park rinks. It would be helpful to know if this concept has support. Mr. Kirk stated that the Commission members should let him know if they come up with other questions they would like to see included in the survey. Staff will be working on the survey questions during the month of October. The survey is usually conducted in January or February. e. Gateway East Tree Removal Mr. Kirk stated that he had received the memorandum on the removal of trees at the Gateway East site from the staff of the Community Development Department. Chapter 510 of the city code requires that the Parks and Recreation Commission approve the removal of trees on public property. The trees recommended for removal need to be taken out prior to the start of the redevelopment project. Mr. Kondrick stated that he trusts City staff on this and will go along with their recommendation. He is confident that the landscape plan included with the project will have the area looking very good when completed. thth Mr. Young suggested the City look at also removing some shrubs at the corner of 57 and 4 street to improve visibility at the intersection. He believes the current overgrowth is a safety concern. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Price, to approve the staff recommended plan for removal of trees at the Gateway East site. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – October 2, 2000 Page 6 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. f. Park Facilities at the St. Paul Waterworks site …. Shirley Arbour th Ms. Shirley Arbour (125 76 Way NE) stated that she had approached the Commission at a meeting several years ago to discuss the lack of playground opportunities in her neighborhood. She represents an area that has at least 21 children and grandchildren under the age of 15. There are also several day cares in the couple of blocks near her home. She would like to see the City create a park facility on the St. Paul Waterworks property that sits vacant in their neighborhood. She would like to see at least a sand box and a picnic table. She further stated that when this was looked at in the past, there were concerns about who would have to take care of the property. She said that someone regularly takes care of the property now. She has contacted the City of St. Paul and the person she talked to said they would be willing to give the property to the City of Fridley. She did not have the person’s name with her. Mr. Young asked if the property was fenced off from the river. Ms. Arbour stated that it. Mr. Young stated that he thought from the past discussions of this property that the St. Paul Waterworks did not want any equipment over the top of the buried water pipes. They were concerned that this would be a problem if work needed to be done on the pipes. Mr. Kondrick stated that he was concerned with this property being so close to the road. His concern was for the safety of the children who would use this area. Health concerns with providing an open sandbox is also an issue, with animals getting into to area. Mr. Kirk stated that based on the Park Service area study that was completed a couple of years ago, the City was not looking at expanding the system to include more very small park areas. These areas are a maintenance concern because of limited maintenance staff and costs. Mr. Kondrick stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission may have some interest if the St. Paul Waterworks wanted to give the property to the City of Fridley. If there was a cost to purchase the land, he thought that it would be unlikely to happen. Mr. Kirk asked if people were allowed to use the open land now. Ms. Arbour said that people do use the land. Some kids have been there hitting golf balls, others have played some baseball and some people walk their dogs on the site. Mr. Kondrick asked staff to look into this and report back to the Commission at a later date. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Ms. Price, seconded by Mr. Young, to adjourn the October 2, 2000 meeting at 8:44 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE OCTOBER 2, 2000 MEETING ADJOURNED. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – October 2, 2000 Page 7