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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 09/19/2023 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Sara Aschenbeck Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30 p.m.) I. RACE EQUITY INITIATIVE IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE (5:30 – 6:10 p.m.) Klima stated the Race Equity Initiative Implementation was previously discussed in September 2022 when the Race Equity Action Team (REAT) was formed. Megan Yerks, Community Services Coordinator, explained REAT is made up of 20 staff members from the six City departments. REAT is dedicated to facilitating progress and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the City and the greater community through accountability, collaboration, and engagement. Yerks explained REAT meets monthly to track metrics of success for implementation goals, report progress on goals to stakeholders, and provide opportunities for professional development. REAT developed a Race Equity Initiative Implementation progress dashboard, which provides centralized information on race equity efforts to the public. Klima added the dashboard summarizes the Race Equity Initiative and allows users to access specific efforts for the six areas of inquiry: community experience, connection to community, developing future leaders, emergency response, facilities and programs, and recruiting, hiring, and retention. Klima noted the Equity and Inclusion survey was conducted during summer 2023. Survey questions were similar to the 2020 Equity and Inclusion survey to measure progress. 565 participants completed the survey and racial demographics of respondents mirror community demographics. REAT examines both summary and disaggregated data. When asked to rate the Eden Prairie community on making all residents feel welcome 81 percent responded good or excellent, a six percent increase from the 2020 survey. When asked to rate the Eden Prairie community on valuing residents from diverse backgrounds 74 percent responded good or excellent, a nine percent increase from the 2020 survey. When asked to rate the Eden Prairie community on demonstrating respect for residents of different cultures and belief systems 77 percent responded good or excellent, a seven percent increase from the 2020 survey. Staff continue to review survey results as they have recently City Council Workshop Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 2 become available. REAT will explore the survey results in depth at a future meeting and consider the feedback and implication of their work. Klima explained Black, Asian, and White participants answered all questions more favorably than the 2020 survey, while Hispanic/Latino participants remained static or decreased in favorability. Case asked what percentage of survey participants are Hispanic. Klima responded four percent. Case noted he was interested to learn why Hispanic/Latino participants decreased in favorability, while all other demographics increased. Klima noted REAT would learn more as it continues to explore survey results in depth. Case asked if the percentage of survey responses by demographic matches the distribution of community demographics. Klima responded they do. Narayanan noted the City would have a difficult time achieving a 90 percent good or excellent survey result due to human nature, so percentage of improvement between surveys is a more valuable metric. Klima responded the City will continue to build on this survey and implement feedback into REAT workplans. Toomey inquired if survey participants have space to leave open ended comments. Klima responded yes. Narayanan inquired how the survey was distributed to participants. Getschow stated the survey was administered online by Polco and advertised on social media platforms. It is possible the respondents of the 2023 survey were completely different than the respondents in 2020. Yerks added the survey was promoted at PeopleFest and pop-up splash pad events. Case asked if survey participants are anonymous, and if participants could respond more than once. Yerks stated respondents are anonymous. Lorenz added survey responses are tracked by IP address, each IP address can respond once. Yerks showcased another tool REAT is developing, an internal GIS Census Data Dashboard. This tool is an interactive dashboard for Staff to explore demographic data throughout the City. It provides block level data about residents and households to inform staff about areas of diversity and other characteristics within the community. This tool will help Staff design community-based programming. The demographic groups are limited to those defined by the United States Census. Yerks explained REAT is focusing on professional development opportunities for Staff. Human resources presented a DEI training focused on vocabulary and foundational knowledge. Information on demographic and cultural communities within the City has been distributed to Staff. Guest presenters have shared information about their specific cultural communities including Mohamed Duale, Housing and Community Services Technician, and members of the Asian Indian community. Narayanan asked if public facing Staff receive professional development opportunities. Yerks confirmed both public and non-public facing Staff receive professional development opportunities. Yerks noted the City has a Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Policy, which seeks to reduce barriers to City programs and services for people who have a limited English proficiency. Some examples include Police’s current use of translation app Propio One, the communication team’s efforts to offer the Equity and Inclusion survey in Spanish and Somali, and Public Works translating vital documents and training Staff on interpretation services available. Narayanan asked if surrounding City Council Workshop Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 3 schools offer classes in English proficiency. Yerks responded schools such as Metro South offer adult based education for new English speakers. Yerks detailed REAT’s community engagement efforts including Coffee with a Cop, PeopleFest, Fire department visits to community locations, career fairs, the Prairie Bluff Seed Harvest, Human Rights Awards, and Community Cricket Night. Case thanked Yerks and REAT for their work in advancing DEI within the community. Narayanan noted the City should track demographics of Staff as it is important for Staff demographics to include diverse voices and reflect the community. II. PICKLEBALL UPDATE (6:10 – 6:30 p.m.) Lotthammer summarized the history of pickleball courts in the City beginning with two courts installed at Pioneer Park in 2009, through the present day’s 22 courts. There are four hardcourts in the City dually used for pickleball and tennis, which are not preferred as players have come to expect dedicated courts. The eight pickleball courts installed at Staring Lake Park in 2018 have become one of the best known pickleball facilities in the region and attract out of state players. Courts at Pioneer Park are currently undergoing a full reconstruction. A top layer was recently installed to combat settling and cracking, resulting in mixed reactions from high level players who stated the layer was detrimental to bounce height. Narayanan inquired how the City’s pickleball amenities compare to neighboring cities. Lotthammer confirmed the City is the leader in number of courts. Pickleball culture includes large groups visiting the courts together and rotating in different players. Courts are most busy in the morning and evening. The Staring Lake Park pickleball courts can accommodate 32 players at once, in the busiest hours as many as 60 players rotate in. These courts have a paddle saddle, which players insert their pickleball paddle into as a placeholder reserving their spot in line. Narayanan asked if the City tracks how many players are from Eden Prairie versus surrounding communities. Lotthammer noted the City does not specifically ask, but estimated 70 percent of players live in the City. Lotthammer stated it is common for players to arrive alone knowing they’ll get rotated into a group of four. One half of the Staring Lake Park courts are reserved for high level players, and the second half are for beginner or immediate players. The Staring Lake Park courts attract many highly ranked players, who are looking to play with those of similar rank. Pickleball culture also includes an unfortunate level of bullying, intimidation, and high ranked players not wanting to play with lower ranked players. Some players avoid the Staring Lake Park courts due to its perceived culture and will seek out other courts within the City. Lotthammer detailed the specifics of Miller Park current conditions and planning efforts. Miller Park currently has two tennis courts and one basketball court. There is a good footprint and ample parking. It is an ideal location for additional pickleball courts while maintaining its tennis court presence. The City has considered both outdoor and indoor facilities. An outdoor facility may not be ideal as its peak season would be summer when Miller Park is the busiest, and pickleball courts City Council Workshop Minutes September 19, 2023 Page 4 attract many players who rotate into the limited number of courts. A concept plan for an indoor facility at Miller Park includes six pickleball and two tennis courts. An indoor facility would be ideal for winter use. Toomey inquired if pickleball may decrease in popularity after a few years. Lotthammer responded he believes pickleball is here to stay. Getschow added the number of pickleball courts in the region are slowly catching up with demand as more cities install courts. Lotthammer noted an outdoor court at Miller Park would cost an estimated $2 million and would closely resemble the Staring Lake Park facilities with fewer pickleball courts. Case inquired if the Miller Park design could include more pickleball courts in lieu of including two tennis courts. Lotthammer noted he would be cautious in removing tennis courts as the City has more tennis players than pickleball players. Lotthammer stated an indoor court has piqued the interest of the pickleball community. Though it is a higher upfront cost in the form of issuing bonds, it is less expensive in the long run as the City could charge admission fees. Case asked if cash park fees would cover the annual bond payment. Lotthammer responded cash park fees would likely cover the annual bond payment of $580 thousand. Minnetonka has an indoor four court tennis facility, which generates $700 thousand of cash park fees annually. Toomey inquired if any surrounding communities have indoor pickleball courts. Lotthammer noted most indoor pickleball courts are privately owned. Lifetime is expecting to install 700 indoor pickleball facilities nationwide in the next year. Case asked what private companies are charging for court time. Lotthammer responded private companies usually charge $40 per hour for a pickleball court and slightly less per tennis court. This would generally be higher than what a municipality would charge. Narayanan asked if local businesses could purchase naming rights to an indoor pickleball facility. Lotthammer noted naming rights could be a part of an indoor facility. Case stated he initially favored an outdoor facility before learning an indoor facility could pay for itself. The council asked Lotthammer to return later as more information was needed to decide on an indoor or outdoor facility. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30 p.m.) III. OPEN PODIUM a. JOHN MALLO, SENIOR CENTER BUS SAFETY John Mallo, 14000 Forest Hill Road, stated he has concerns about Senior Center bus drivers consuming alcohol during lunch and then returning to the Senior Center to operate a bus. The City policy states employees are prohibited from using alcohol while operating a City vehicle. Mallo questioned if employees are aware of the City policy prohibiting the use of alcohol while operating a City vehicle. Case thanked Mallo for his time. IV. ADJOURNMENT