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PRM 09/03/2019 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION Fridley Municipal Center 7071 University Ave Ne, Fridley MN 55432 MINUTES September 3, 2019 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Heintzcalled theParks and Recreation Commissionmeeting to order at 7:01p.m. Members present: Pete Borman, Ryan Gerhard, EB Graham, Shanna Larson, and Dave Kondrick Others Present: Jeff Jensen, Operations Manager for Streets, Parks and Facilities and Deborah Dahl, Director of Community Services and Employee Resources APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Chair Heintz called for a motion to adopt the agenda for the Sept. 3, 2019 meeting agenda. Ms. Graham made the MOTIONto adopt the agenda, SECONDEDby Mr. Kondrick. MOTION PASSED unanimously. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Chair Heintz called for a motion to adopt the minutes from the Aug. 5, 2019 Parks and Recreation Meeting. Mr. Kondrick made the MOTION to approve the minutes as submitted; Ms. Larson SECONDED the motion. MOTION PASSED unanimously. NEW BUSINESS/ACTION ITEMS: a.Parks Master Plan Update Ms. Dahl introduced Gretchen Nicholls from LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) who conducted the public engagement workshops as a part of the parks master planning process. Their organization was asked to assist the City of Fridley with other projects (e.g. Columbia Ice Arena, Gateway East (Ciello Apartments), and Hi-ways 65 and 47 corridors). They have worked with cities to help create conversations and establish priorities to create a roadmap for planning. Ms. Nicolls complimented the city, saying that the Fridley residents were amazing throughout the process and she was grateful for how this community embraces engagement. She explained how the process and information was used throughout the meetings to support the community’s discussion, including bringing in a panel of experts in to assist in the discussions. J:\\Recreation\\Rec\\P&RCOMM\\Packet Oct 2019\\Sept. 3.2019.docx 1 She stated the workshops were heldover fourevenings, starting with gathering the input and what residents value and what was important to them. Participants then looked at maps and performed interactive exercises to express ideas. The third evening a panel of experts was brought in to talk about their experiences and advice, ending up in the final meeting to help summarize all of the information and ideas of the process. Ms. Nicholls talked about the social pinpoint on-line tool that was used to get additional feedback with more than 400 respondents sharing their ideas. In s ummarizing the workshops, Ms. Nicholls said that there were four key areas: 1) People were passionate about the parks and trails, saying they were surprised at how many parks the city has and they wanted more signage and wayfinding and accessing information; 2) Participants wanted updated amenities or lists of things available and where the potential opportunities were to explore recreation; 3) The participants wanted a wide range of experiences/diverse experiences, saying nature was a core value. 4) The participants wanted to build on shared experiences – making spaces available for people to gather and spend time together. M s. Nicholls covered some examples of specific action steps summarized the report. Ms. Nicholls concluded her statements by saying “It was wonderful that there weren’t any big problems or that people were upset or angry about anything.” She complimented the City by saying she thought that the City should be proud, that you are on the right track but there are ways to strengthen and improve. Mr. Heintz commented about the third meeting and the discussion he observed about Community Park surrounded addingsoccer fields or provide a multi-use area to keep pace with current needs. Ms. Nicholls confirmed that there is a sense of a need to add more soccer fields. Mr. Kondrick suggested more needs to be done to make sure people are aware of the parks and what is available and the opportunities in Fridley. Mr. Borman agreed and said that social media makes it easier but it would be good to find partners to assist the City (for example paddle board rental companies, etc.). Mr. Heintz suggested having an app. Mr. Borman said that the City may not be able to make that investment and having partners who do this may help.Ms. Nicholls agreed, saying that relying on players whohave that experience and who know how to run those businesses give you an upper hand on how to run a successful model. M s. Larson gave an example like using a company like Midwest Mountaineering to partner set up a class and use their system to promote or advertise a class but they get a portion of the proceeds. Ms. Dahl mentioned that staff will be working on some studies on what kinds of operations are out there and look at comparisons (kayak rentals, splash pads, community gardens, etc.). 2 Mr. Kondrick suggested partnering with Anoka County, particularly with the river. Mr. Jensen said that he agreed more advertising should be done and that we are onthe right track to figure out what people want and then create an opportunity to promote and advertise. Ms. Dahl said that theCity has hired additional staff in IT and marketing people who know social media to assist with improving promotion, including rolling out a new website to be launched this Thursday. In addition, staff is working on new processes with GIS to develop to use together to make it easier to find things. interactive mapping tools and technologies Ms. Nicholls said that it has been thirty years since the City’s conducted major parks improvement, and there are some new things (social media and technologies) as well as older or traditional activities that can be reimagined such as sunset yoga. Mr. Kondrick suggested reaching out to corporations and businesses to help with advertising the parks.Ms. Larson said that she would liketo seeways to partner with restaurants as well, staurants to partner with for free advertising. there re Mr. Borman liked the conceptual designs of Community Park (located on pg. 63 of the summary report). Mr. Jensen said the designs he came up with were based on ideas expressed from the meetings. Mr. Kondrick asked Mr. Jensen how kids get more information on how to get involved, such as in soccer. Mr. Heintz suggested we re-engage groups and to help assist groups advertise. Mr. Kondrick emphasized the City needs to do more to promote the parks and what is happening in the city. Ms. Larson said that we need to know who is using the parks and that she felt the parks need more shade at the playgrounds, places to sit, restroom facilities. Ms. Nicholls finalized her presentation confirming the themes and encouraged the City continue to engage with the neighborhoods, identify priorities, and develop park-specific action plans and work with the community and private partners to get their thoughts and ideas. Ms. Nicholls stressed that moreinput is needed from allwho areusing the parks. Ms. Dahl said that staff engaged with 50-100 kids and asked themwhat they would like tosee state data about where the trends are heading. She in their parks, including the national and said the Moore Lake study from 2015-2016 was another study that provided consistency in some of the same themes. She stated that as we begin the specific plans, staff and our community engagement specialist will be going out to the neighborhoods, block captains, community organizations, businesses and users to get their reactions and feedback as well. In addition, the park maintenance team have provided information about what they observe, how they think the parks are being used and what may be useful. 3 Mr. Heintz asked if the social pin point tool can be used and put up signs in the parks to get people to give us feedback.Ms. Dahl said that staff will likely use it again. Mr. Borman asked if there will be another reportbeyond this report and Ms. Dahl said a formal report will be published by staff with the public workshop content and feedback. Ms. Nicholls complimented the group to say they are on the right path and they understand their parks and this is the discussion that was hoped to be generated. She also said that the City Council should be commended for their participation and dedication as well. Ms. Larson complimented Ms. Nicholls for her efforts and said “you do really great work.” Mr. Kondrick and Mr. Borman also complimented and thanks Ms. Nicholls. Ms. Dahl said that Ms. Nicholls will be making a similar presentation to the City Council as soon as it can be scheduled. M s. Larson made a MOTION to accept the Finding Your Fun In Fridley Corridor Development Initiative Summary Report and Final Recommendations from LISC. Ms. Graham SECONDED the report. MOTION PASSED unanimously. Mr. Kondrick expressed concerns that Council will want to know how to fund the plans for the parks. Mr. Borman said that it would good to talk to other cities on how to fund parks improvements. M s. Larson asked if there has been some serious consideration in the number of parks (38) and suggested sellingsome orpossibly turning some into more natural or green spaces and use that money to pay for or maintain other parks. She said that we have to look at our parks and try to operate within the black, just like household money management, and that while it may be unpopular, it may need to be looked at in order to afford the other projects. S everal members continued to discuss this topic. Mr. Kondrick said some residents buy their home is close to the park is for the property value. Mr. Borman confirmed several people at the public workshop he was at also mentioned perhaps there are too many parks. M s. Larson asked if certain parks could be sold. Ms. Dahl said some parks have been dedicated and can’t be sold, but that the uses can be modified its use to be more nature-based play or less costly to maintain. She said as a part of this process, staff will be looking at options and buildthe general maintenance budget and then a longer range plan for future projects. Mr. Jensen said that staff will work to establish balance with the park maintenance budget and resident’s/user’s needs and interests. Ms. Larson commented that it is not easy to get on the website and find out what is available about the parks. Ms. Dahl said that staff is working on upgrading the website to provide 4 information and urged members that if they have any concerns, they can send her a comment or residentscan report a concern or put comments on the websiteand it gets reported directly to staff. Additional tools and interactive systems are being researched and will continue to improve the promotion of the parks. b.Staff Reports M s. Dahl referred members to the packet for staff highlights to review on their own. M s. Dahl reviewed the recent issue that came up with the youth soccer association and explained the concerns and challenges that staff faced. She apologized on behalf of the department and was committed to resolving any concerns going forward, stating that Jeff Jensen and his team resolved the issue immediately and there is now a better understanding of what was needed.Staff will be meeting with the youth soccer association and the Fridley school system to get additional information and determine needs going forward. Mr. Heintz asked about how soccer fields are utilized (not pick-up games) and if there is a way to require permitting for fields or is there a way to enforce permits with organized groups. Ms. Dahl said staff will be looking into the fees and field utilization. Mr. Jensen stated that it would be better to create spaces for multi-use fields, such as for soccerand LaCrosse, that would be limited for leagues and teams. Parks like Commons could then be used for general purposes, families and picnics and won’t compete with athletics. Mr. Jensen advised that in building athletic fields, more than land needs to be considered, saying they require parking, restrooms, lighting, etc. and that staff will looking at all options. Mr. Heintz said he felt that people are taking advantage of our parks who are organized or semi-organized and are not residents of the City of Fridley and should pay for them, particularly if there is some damage. Ms. Dahl said that staff will work toward some ideas. M s. Dahl reminded the commission about the Timberwolves event on 9/15 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at Madsen Park and encouraged people to go on to the City’s website to register. Ms. Dahl said that there will also be a new resident welcome mixer to offer a mini-open house for new residents on 10/12/2019 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Civic Campus to learn about the city and connect with staff about how to use city services, community organizations, etc. New residents were identified and invited through addresses in the water billing system. c.O ther Business N o other business was considered. 5 ADJOURNMENT: Ms. Graham made the MOTION to adjournthe meeting at 8:52 p.m., SECONDEDby Ms. Larson. MOTION PASSED unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Dahl, Director Community Services and Employee Resources 6