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PRM 01/06/2020 PARKSANDRECREATIONCOMMISSION FridleyMunicipalCenter 7071UniversityAveNE,FridleyMN55432 MINUTES WğƓǒğƩǤЏͲЋЉЋЉ 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Heintz called the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. and asked those in the meeting to introduce themselves. Members present: Dave Kondrick, Shanna Larson, Mike Heintz, Ryan Gerhard, and Pete Borman Members absent: EB Graham Others Present: Alyssa Kruzel (Community Engagement Specialist), Rachel Workin (Environmental Planner), Mike Maher (Springbrook Nature Center Director), and Deborah Dahl (Director of Community Services and Employee Resources) 2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Chairperson Heintz called for a motion to adopt the agenda for the January 6, 2020 meeting agenda. Mr. Kondrick made the MOTION to adopt the agenda, SECONDED by Ms. Larson. The MOTION PASSED unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Chairperson Heintz called for a motion to adopt the minutes from the November 4, 2019 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting. Ms. Larson made the MOTION to approve the minutes as submitted. Mr. Kondrick SECONDED the MOTION. The MOTION PASSED unanimously. Note: There was no meeting in December 2019. 4. NEW BUSINESS/ACTION ITEMS: a. Active Transport Plan and Report (Rachel Workin) Rachel Workin gave her report on the Active Transportation Plan Second Addition. Plan document attached to meeting packet. Ms. Larson made a MOTION to support the transportation plan to be forwarded onto the Planning Commission. Mr. Borman seconded the MOTION. The MOTION PASSED unanimously. b. Community Engagement Update (Alyssa Kruzel) Alyssa Kruzel introduced herself and gave the Commission some of her background. C:\\Users\\CollinsR\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\INetCache\\Content.Outlook\\AUKBH9WH\\Jan.6.2020.MINUTES.docx1 Ms. Kruzel delivered a power point presentation about the demographics of Fridley, information about the Community Engagement and Outreach efforts she has been working on, including what outreach and engagement in a community looks like and how the City is committed to doing outreach and engagement. Ms. Kruzel also gave a demonstration about the new GIS interactive park map available on the . She provided some additional facts about the census and why the census is important, specifically to Minnesota, and how people will be counted. c. 2020 Meeting Schedule Ms. Dahl presented the 2020 Meeting Schedule for the Parks Commission. With no modifications or objections, Mr. Kondrick made a MOTION to approve the 2020 schedule, Ms. Larson seconded the MOTION. The MOTION PASSED unanimously. d.Joint Meeting with EQEC Ms. Dahl asked the Commission if they would like to host another joint meeting with EQEC as they did in 2019 and at the same time conduct a tour, recommending it be put on the schedule June 1, 2020. The group agreed but no formal motion was made. e. Housekeeping Item: Commissioners were provided the 2020 Commission Member List and Staff Roster and were asked to verify their information. f. Meeting Minutes Changes Ms. Dahl informed the commission that a new recording secretary will be attending the meetings to take formal minutes of the commission meetings and mentioned the format of the meeting minutes will likely be changing to be in a summarized format versus detailed. The Commission had no objections. g. Sports Association Survey Ms. Dahl informed the commission that a Sports Association Survey will be sent out to all the Fridley sports association group leaders to share contact information and to ask what their needs are from the City (such as more storage needed, more fields, promotion support, etc.). She will report back once the information is collected. C:\\Users\\CollinsR\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\INetCache\\Content.Outlook\\AUKBH9WH\\Jan.6.2020.MINUTES.docx 2 5.STAFF REPORTS a. Mr. Maher gave an update in the Springbrook Nature Center Pavilion. He reported the furnace, drywall ceiling, and most of the electrical is done. He stated there is still a little plumbing left to do and the floor is still being finished. He said he was pleased with how things are moving along very nicely. Mr. Maher provided a fundraising update, stating the Lions have given another contribution of $25,000 for a total of $50,000. He said there was a donation from the BNSF railroad for $10,000 and that the project is going well, thanks to everyone that has pitched in and helped out. In total, $300,000 has been raised through grants and in-kind contributions. He mentioned there will be a spring ribbon cutting for the pavilion on May th 28 (tentative date). Mr. Maher said that his staff is still talking about how to utilize the Pavilion and they are still in the beginning stages and will be revisited through the year. The Springbrook Nature Center staff are excited to host Winterfest this year. This new location creates some nice opportunities to make some changes to the event as well as keeping some of the favorite traditional events. Parking for volunteers and staff will be across the street. Winterfest is 1/18/2020 from noon to 3 p.m. at Springbrook Nature Center. at the Springbrook Nature Center. Mr. Maher explained the policy and the reasoning behind it. One question was raised whether there is possibility that there could be a specific day just for allowing dogs on a leash at the Nature Center. Mr. Maher said that they can continue to look at the idea but the preference would be to not allow it since it would cause confusion and could compromise the efforts to maintain the grounds and facility. No formal recommendations were made. Mr. Maher mentioned the street closure during Pumpkin Night was a good idea this year and while there was still some question about future permits and the costs associated with closing the street, the benefits of the street closure for that event were advantageous. b. Parks Master Plan Update: Ms. Dahl reported that a local design firm, HKGI was contracted to do some design concept work and estimates on the Parks Master Plan. The firm had assisted with the Moore Lake and other projects within the City. While there is still a lot of work to be done, the hope is to have a report with preliminary design and ideas back to the commission by the next meeting. C:\\Users\\CollinsR\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\INetCache\\Content.Outlook\\AUKBH9WH\\Jan.6.2020.MINUTES.docx 3 Staff is pulling together an inventory of all the parks, all the amenities, and the maintenance plan for a 10-year period and that will be included in that report. c. General Recreation Ms. Dahl reported that the March/April Recreation Brochure will be a larger brochure and will be a little bit earlier than the previous year. It will include the upcoming Recreation programs, some summer program information as well as programming information for the SNC summer camps and activities. The plan is to start promoting those events and prepare for staffing quickly. Ms. Dahl gave a year end enrollment recap of some of the Recreation and Springbrook Nature Center programs. Ms. Dahl provided a document with the stats for these programs, reservations of shelters, fields, and Civic Campus rooms, Springbrook Nature Center events, special recreation events, and community events. This last year, Springbrook has continued to expand their partnerships with the schools in the Spring Lake Park, Columbia Heights areas and homeschooling families to increase their programming and offerings. In addition, the Springbrook Nature Center received several donations and grants for the Pavilion, programming, evasive species control, supplies and materials. The Recreation department has been ramping up efforts to sell Fridley with the re- branding of the city, a bigger social media presence, electronic mailings, and pairing with Twin Cities Gateway for softball tournaments for 49er days. She also noted that staff was working on the Adopt-a Park program, which will also be launched this year. d. Staffing Update Ms. Dahl gave an update the recreation staff, noting that the full-time Recreation Coordinator started today and her name is Jen Graham. She said that she will have her attend the next meeting to meet the Commission. In addition, she mentioned that interns will be staying on through the end of the year to assist with programs. The recreation department is now fully staffed and can assist the council achieve their vision and goals of ly to the Recreation Department Ms. Dahl said as discussed in the last meeting, staff are working on a number of studies and researching how Fridley compares to other cities and will be soon looking at fees and programs. She noted there will be more strategic planning efforts to come for the parks system, the recreation programs in general and community engagement. The studies will help staff understand who our clients are, where the needs are and understanding the business side of recreation and the nature center. C:\\Users\\CollinsR\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\INetCache\\Content.Outlook\\AUKBH9WH\\Jan.6.2020.MINUTES.docx 4 Ms. Dahl said staff are working with the finance department who will help us a better job of projecting numbers out for the future so we can help some of the facilities like the Nature Center build a maintenance plan and longer-term revenue stream. In addition, they will be looking at ways to include programs for the Civic Campus location. Reviewing legal agreements with the county and the other large contracts such as with the school system are also a priority. She said that staff will continue to get better at operations, and registrations and promoting. Ms. Dahl said that in addition to their regular duties, the Recreation and Nature Center staff does a lot to support the many city-wide activities and even within the city through employee events, like the employee breakfast, Annual Business meeting, and golf outing. They serve on the Employee Relations Committee, which helps build a happy workplace and keeps things upbeat. Ms. Dahl said that 2019 was a great year and thanked the Commission for their support, involvement and leadership towards the Recreation Division and Springbrook. 6. Other Business No other business was considered. ADJOURNMENT: Ms. Larson made the MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m., SECONDED by Mr. Kondrick. The MOTION PASSED unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Dahl, Director Community Services and Employee Resources C:\\Users\\CollinsR\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\INetCache\\Content.Outlook\\AUKBH9WH\\Jan.6.2020.MINUTES.docx 5