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PRA 06/03/2019 City of Fridley Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting JOINT MEETING WITH EQEC June 3, 2019 – 6:00 p.m. AGENDA DATE: June 3, 2019 – 6:00 p.m. NOTE: TIME CHANGE LOCATION: Fridley Civic Campus – 7071 University Ave NE, Fridley, MN 55432 – (upper level next to Council Chambers). 1. CALL TO ORDER – Parks and Recreation Commission 2. CALL TO ORDER – EQEC Commission 3. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS 4. APPROVE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF: May 1, 2019 5. APPROVE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION & EQEC JOINT AGENDA: June 3, 2019 6. APPROVE EQEC COMMISSION MAY MINUTES 7. NEW BUSINESS/ACTION ITEMS a. Welcome and background of Parks Master Planning Initiative b. Commissions exit to load bus and take parks tour (Moore Lake, Madsen, Riverview) – 6:30 c. Return to City Hall (approx. 8:00 p.m.) – Box Lunch Dinner Served d. Parks Master Plan Process and timeline e. Role of Commission members f. Demonstration of Social Pinpoint g. Other 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: a. None 6. ADJOURNMENT Next Meeting: August 5, 2019 at the Fridley Civic Campus – 7 p.m. CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING – MAY 6, 2019 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Heintz called the Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Pete Borman, Ryan Gerhard, EB Graham, Mike Heintz, Dave Kondrick, and Shanna Larson Others Present: Councilmember At Large – Bob Barnette, Jeff Jensen, City of Fridley Public Works Operations Manager, and Deborah Dahl, Director of Community Services and Employee Resources 1. APPROVAL OF APRIL 1, 2019 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION made by Ms. Larson to approve the March 4, 2019 meeting minutes of the Park and Recreation Commission, seconded by Ms. Graham. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 2. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR MAY 6, 2019. Chairperson Heintz called for a motion to adopt the agenda for May 6, 2019. Ms. Larson made a MOTIONED to approve the agenda and Mr. Kondrick SECONDED the MOTION. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 3. STAFF REPORT a. Program Highlights Ms. Dahl summarized a few of the highlights from the packet, stating that the City was selected as one of three Twin City finalists for the Timberwolves Court competition, which will involve the basketball court at Madsen Park. She mentioned that voting will be opened with only two and one-half weeks to get the community to vote on-line. The other two cities are Richfield and a neighborhood in St. Paul. A small kick-off event has been planned with more information to follow. Staff is in the process of hiring for summer seasonal positions in Recreation programs as well as for the public works maintenance crews. The City is looking to hire up to 10-15 more positions yet this year along with 5-6 in maintenance. Ms. Dahl asked members to spread the word for those who may want to work or serve as volunteers. Ms. Dahl said the new registration software is going very well with nearly 2,000 profiles set up since January. The data base will be used to help promote classes and events. She reported the City Newsletter is out in the mailboxes for residents with an expanded edition of the Park and Recreation brochure for summer activities. Mr. Kondrick complimented staff and said it was a good one and easy to understand. 1 Meeting Minutes – Fridley Park and Recreation Commission (May 6, 2019) Ms. Dahl mentioned staff are doing some strategic planning to line up goals and objectives with City Council’s vision and directives and will be reporting on those items at a future meeting. Staff members Alyssa Kruzel and Luke Cardona will be putting a formal public engagement plan together for the Parks Master Plan community meetings. Ms. Dahl shared the 49ers Day event flyer which is coming up and in the final steps of planning. Ms. Dahl said that she is getting feedback from people that the pre-parade event seems like a great addition to the event as well as the car show. She thanked member Gerhard for his participation in organizing the classic car show. Springbrook Report Ms. Dahl reported that the current picnic shelter is now down and staff are still working through details for the new pavilion and activity center, stating that the Mayor has been very successful in soliciting donations. Mr. Borman asked if plans are available. Mr. Jensen stated that additional contractors are needed and final stamped plans are still in production and will be available soon. Mr. Kondrick asked when construction will begin and Mr. Jensen said it takes approximately eight weeks for construction but due to in-kind donations are still being arranged, a final schedule has not yet been determined but hoping later this summer. Mr. Kondrick asked if the geothermal idea was viable and Mr. Jensen said no due to the utilities and cost. Mr. Jensen explained some of the plans for construction said we are very close and very happy with the process. Ms. Dahl said that Mr. Jensen will be serving as the Construction Manager for the site and will oversee the project. Ms. Dahl reported that the Environmental Fun Fair was on Saturday and assumed the turnout was well-attended since the weather was very nice. Summer camps enrollments are going well, which appear to be on track for another good year. 4. NEW BUSINESS/ACTION ITEMS: a. Parks Master Plan – Ms. Dahl presented a summary of the process of the Parks Master Plan and background. She explained the next steps and timeline of the plan and final report. The name of the campaign will be “Finding Your Fun in Fridley!” She emphasized that the objective is to find what people want in their parks and trails system. Ms. Dahl passed out drafts of the postcard and information to be promoted. She asked the members to assist staff in providing information to public as well as in identifying key groups who we want to have at the meetings and get those people/names to Alyssa. Members suggested the invitation should include schools, youth groups, businesses around the parks system. Mr. Heintz suggested having postcards or take-away cards in the parks so people can refer to and provide input. The dates for the meetings will be on June 27, July 11, July 25 and Aug. 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. and will be held at the Civic Campus. Mr. Kondrick asked if there are any big watershed district projects coming up and Mr. Jensen said he has some and will report on that with the Moore Lake discussion. 2 Meeting Minutes – Fridley Park and Recreation Commission (May 6, 2019) b. Moore Lake Update -- Ms. Dahl passed out two maps from the 2016/2017 Moore Lake Master Plan to provide members as a reminder of what was decided so far. Councilmember At-Large member Bob Barnette provided the Commission some history and background on the initial construction of Fridley parks in 1957, including the development of Moore Lake Beach. Mr. Barnette read an e-mail from a resident, Jessica Norgard he had received with concerns over the park. Mr. Heintz reported he had seen another complaint about the park on Nextdoor.com and that Moore Lake is the only park he gets complaints about. Mr. Barnette said the park used to popular and he would love to see the Commission consider revitalizing and reopening the swimming beach. Ms. Larson shared that the designs were completed in 2016 and the water issues had come up, which changed the commission’s perspective. Mr. Heintz stated that there were very few swimmable days and there were concerns over the water quality. Mr. Heintz said he would like to revitalize the park and let the DNR deal with the water quality and would like to see the beach stay closed and use the park in other ways. Mr. Barnette stated he felt that parks in Fridley are very good. Ms. Dahl wanted to caution the commission to be clear about what was meant by water quality. She presented some history of the Master Plan that was developed in 2016 and provided the Commission with the current status of the plan. Mr. Kondrick provided some perspective of the history and said the water quality has been a problem for years. Ms. Dahl showed pictures of the current beachfront, tennis court, basketball court, etc. and shared what staff is recommending for improvements for this summer. Mr. Jensen said he is equally concerned about the condition of the park but is excited about the potential for the park. He stated there are limitations with the watershed districts and have a formal plan to qualify for future funding if any hard surfaces are amended/removed. In the meantime, staff will be taking steps to make improvements, which will include cleaning up the beach, removing the fencing from the beach, basketball court and tennis courts, which was in line with the approved plan from 2016. He said the public input from the Parks Master Plan will help identify priorities. Signage will be improved and still indicate swimming beach is closed with no lifeguard on duty. The public will not be ticketed if they choose to swim. Mr. Kondrick asked about the entrances going into the lake and filtering, he asked if we could get reassurances from the DNR to improve the water quality. Mr. Jensen said it is not likely. He explained the water quality history and e-coli testing. He also explained that the research from the DNR showed that the water is a natural pond with a man-made liner at the bottom of the lake and no inflow into the lake, which will not likely improve the water quality. Ms. Dahl said that the County is making improvements to the road at Gardena and Old Central, which is expensive, will affect the parking lot, and needs to be considered along with the parks redevelopment. Mr. Jensen summarized the plans for the summer will be to take down the fences, the backboard, and make the park look nicer. One playground was removed and there is still one that is functional. The garbage service will be staffed and collected over the weekends going forward, but typically isn’t started until Memorial weekend. 3 Meeting Minutes – Fridley Park and Recreation Commission (May 6, 2019) Mr. Heintz offered to respond to the resident. Ms. Dahl said she would e-mail out the talking points. Mr. Jensen encouraged commission members to urge people to attend the public meetings. Ms. Dahl said the next steps will be: 1) Further research, 2) Hire consultants to begin plans and designs, 3) Consult with the DNR and watershed groups; 4) Obtain public input; 5) Better signage, and 6) Capital Improvement Budget identified. Mr. Heintz said he believes Moore Lake needs to be one of the higher priorities with the Master Plan. Mr. Borman asked what is the City’s liability related to canoe rentals. Ms. Dahl said that staff can do further research. c. Park Tour – Ms. Dahl asked if the commission wanted to do a park tour and it was recommended to be done in June and members agreed. Ms. Dahl said she would make the arrangements. d. Other – Mr. Barnette asked what the use is for hockey rinks. Mr. Jensen said the use is down but commented that if a better building is located close to the rink that had more amenities (gardens, playgrounds, etc.), it may build use. Ms. Dahl showed some of the concepts they had seen in Roseville on the internet and were popular to use as an event space, a warming house, with restrooms, kitchen spaces, internet, camera security, etc. An office was also included that could be monitored or staffed as needed. The commission members liked the examples shown. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Larson made a MOTION to ADJOURN THE MEETING ON MAY 6, 2019 AT 8:30 P.M., SECONDED by Ms. Graham. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED - MEETING ADJOURNED. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Dahl, Director Community Services and Employee Resources 4 Meeting Minutes – Fridley Park and Recreation Commission (May 6, 2019) Springbrook Nature Center Monthy Report June 2019 The Pavilion Activity Center project is moving forward with MN DNR Outdoor Recreation Grant Program funding in the amount of $150,000. A required match from existing park CIP and Springbrook Nature Center Foundation funds. o A staff committee has sought input and finalized the design and materials. Stamped engineered drawings have been ordered along with the materials on an 8-10 week lead time. o The Springbrook Foundation Development Committee continues to meet to discuss fundraising and opportunities to secure in-kind donations for the project, expected to begin spring 2019. McGough Construction and the Fridley Lions have both made a $25,000 financial contributions Vision Woodworking, Park Construction and Parsons Electric have made verbal commitments to contribute in-kind services. th o Demolition of the old picnic pavilion was completed the week of March 25. th The Environmental Fun Fair was held on Saturday, May 4. The event was a partnership with the City of Fridley and Anoka County 4-H. The event featured many exhibitors, presenters and hands-on activities. An estimated 250-300 visitors enjoyed the event. The Nature Centers bird banding program continues to grow in popularity. Two bird banding events were held in May to study the spring migration. One event was featured as part of the Urban Birding Festival of the Twin Cities. Bird banding is free and open to the public. Springbrook is actively pursuing new environmental education partnerships and is in discussion with North Park Elementary, Fridley Public School Primary Years Program, and Park Terrace Elementary to explore partnership possibilities. May was an extremely busy times for school programming with daily field trip and school outreach programming happening with Fridley Public Schools, Adams Elementary and other partner schools. We led programming for about 110 school classrooms during May. Thanks to a grant from the Coon Creek Watershed District, Springbrook is hosting an interactive digital exhibit on the Mississippi River developed by Hamline University. The exhibit will be on site for the month of May. Summer camp registrations are going well with over $66,000 in revenue from enrollments. Ten scholarships have been awarded to date. Summer camp staff training is underway and we are excited for another fun summer of connecting kids to the outdoors. We have been awarded several grants for habitat improvements at Springbrook Nature Center, with some work to be completed at Moore Lake Sand Dunes Natural Area. One grant from the Minnesota DNR is in the amount of $37,000 and the other state grant administered by Great River Greening is in the amount of $51,450 with an $8,000 City match payable over 3 years. Combined, the work will remove invasive buckthorn from large areas of the parks as well as including prescribed burns to encourage the healthy growth of native species. A request for proposals was sent out a proposal is being finalized with Landbridge Ecological (formerly Wetland Habitat Restoration) who did the plantings and maintenance of the interpretive center landscaping. 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