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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 10/07/2024UNAPPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2024 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER 8080 Mitchell Road, Heritage Rooms COMMISSION MEMBERS: Patrice Erickson, Chair; Tom Poul, Vice Chair; Deepa Bhujle, Cecilia Cervantes, Pedro Curry, Duane Hookom, Annie Klodd, Jennifer Meyer, Shanti Shah, Kirk Spresser PRNR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Noelle Fitzgerald, Sophia Hoffelt, Tavin Koenig, Arya Mehta, Haricharan Neelamegam, Jack Petrin, Tessa Plourde, Richa Raja CITY STAFF: Amy Markle, Parks and Recreation Director Lori Brink, Recreation Manager Matt Bourne, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Valerie Verley, Community Center Manager RECORDING SECRETARY: Lori Brink Chair Erickson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Commission member Poul was absent. Student Representatives Noelle Fitzgerald and Tessa Plourde were absent. Community Center Manager Valerie Verley was absent. I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Commission member Hookem moved, seconded by Commission Member Cervantes, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 9-0. II. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES Amendment: Commission Member Meyer noted that under the section on Bike Parks, the reference to QBP (Quality Bike Parks) should read QBP (Quality Bike Products). Amendment: Commission Member Erickson noted that under the section Athletics Project Update, the reference to the planning meeting with organizational partners should read September 19 instead of September 18. Motion: Commission Member Cervantes moved, seconded by Commission Member Curry, to approve the minutes as amended. Motion carried 9-0. III. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION Parks and Recreation Director Markle reported on recent actions recently taken by the PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES September 9, 2024 Page 2 City Council. A. QUARTERLY DONATIONS Quarterly donations were accepted, including a significant donation to the Art Center in the amount of $10,000 to be used for program expansion through equipment and supply upgrades. . B. CONSENT ITEMS Contract amendments were approved for extensions of existing sidewalk projects. C. COUNCIL WORKSHOP At the City Council work session on October 1, Markle presented on athletic trends in both youth and adult sports participation and the use of Eden Prairie’s outdoor facilities by local groups. She then briefed them on the stakeholder engagement project currently underway and the intent to bring forth a new Athletics Facility Use Policy by the December Council meeting. IV. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION V. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, AND COMMUNICATION VI. NEW BUSINESS A. PURPOSE STATMENT Director Markle shared a proposed addition to the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Purpose Statement: “Provide input to staff on natural resource management.” Commission Member Erickson noted that the current purpose statement lacks anything specific about natural resource management but that it is a big piece of what the commission does. Members were in general agreement, with some expressing that a statement like this helps to bring balance between Recreation and Natural Resources. Commission Member Spresser suggested more specificity about what that statement means. After some discussion about adding the words “and preservation”, it was decided that staff would create options with more specificity for the next meeting for approval. Commission Member Curry requested that proposed changes get sent ahead of time with the agenda. VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES September 9, 2024 Page 3 A. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER B. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER C. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER 1. PARKS PROJECTS UPDATE Matt Bourne reported that the Riley court project is complete and ready for play and reminded members that the project involved changing 2 tennis courts into 4 permanent pickleball courts and 1 tennis court. These are the city’s first lit pickleball courts. Miller courts are underway, with work on lights beginning soon. Depending on weather the courts will be surfaced and ready for play by end of month. It is possible they may need to do some temporary striping to allow for play this fall and then come back in the spring for the final surface finishes. A mill and overlay project in the Purgatory Creek Parking Lot will begin this week, which will close down the parking lot during construction. The neighboring Flagship Business Center is allowing parking in their lot during construction. Dell Road and Duck Lake Trails have been milled and paving will begin this week or next. There was a bid opening for Richard T. Anderson Conservation Area erosion project, which is anticipated to start this fall and continue through the winter. During this project much of the park will be closed down during construction for safety reasons. Bids were favorable and will go to City Council for approval on October 15. The next phase of the project will be the trail from the lower parking lot to the upper parking lot, currently scheduled for next year. The erosion mitigation project will continue into the following year. Commission Member Spresser shared positive community feedback about the Riley Lake pickleball courts. He also passed along concern about settling at the Staring Lake courts. Bourne shared that he is aware of this and intends to go back and redo the surfacing in 2026, which is typical with new courts. When asked if he had received any feedback yet about the courts at Riley Lake, Bourne said that he had not yet heard any community feedback. He stated that the City announced the opening via social media. Commission Member Hookom inquired whether Parks and Recreation has their own Facebook or social media accounts. Bourne confirmed that we do not, but that we use other channels including email and the Next Door app. PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES September 9, 2024 Page 4 D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. Regional Bike Trail Presentation: Three Rivers Park District Director Markle introduced two representatives from Three Rivers Park District, Regional Trail Manager Danny McCullough and Park District Commission Chairperson John Gibbs. McCullough shared a presentation on the regional trail system, including current trails/connections and plans for the future. The system has 200 miles of trails constructed and another 93 miles in the planning stages. The service area includes Hennepin County plus small parts of Carver and Scott counties. He stated that every five years Three Rivers does a study of park and trail user data. The most recent study showed 5.8 million visits per year, with 44% of that usage related to trails. He shared that while most of the trail use is recreational, they estimate that 25% is for transportation reasons. Biking accounts for 57% of trail use, with walking and running seeing a recent resurgence. McCullough then outlined the upcoming project in Eden Prairie, the Bryant Lake Regional Trail that will connect the Minnetonka Regional Trail to Bryant Lake. This $5.5 million project will be designed during 2025-2026, with construction scheduled for 2027-2028. He shared that the use of electric bikes has become more popular on the trails and he doesn’t anticipate this growth to slow. They have posted new signs to educate users and communicate safety message to ensure e-bike users are not conflicting with pedestrians. More signage will be added in the future. Commission Member Hookom asked about directional, arrow-type wayfinding signs. McCullough stated that arrow signs, hung at eye level, will be coming next summer in some locations with wayfinding to trail connections. These signs, he said, typically do not have distance/miles on them due to the many entry points and connections people use. Hookom suggested using Strava heat maps to identify intersections that are heavily used as a way to prioritize sign locations. Commission Member Klodd asked what communication strategies Three Rivers uses on their trails to educate about passing etiquette. McCullough responded that both the eye-level safety signs along with spring social media and newsletter reminders are the primary way they address this. Student Representative Petrin inquired whether the overall increase in trail usage can be attributed to the use of e-bikes. McCullough stated that the 25% increase they’ve seen over the last 10 years is likely all modes of use. There was discussion about where bikes should most safely ride, given that members have experienced bikes on sidewalks as well as roads and trails. PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES September 9, 2024 Page 5 McCullough stated that bikes should be riding in a bike lane, shoulder or on a trail. Sidewalk biking is typically for children under 12 in most cities. Bourne added that most of our streets have a sidewalk on one side and a multi-use trail on the other side. There was further discussion on e-bikes and other electric modes like scooters and electric motorcycles. McCullough stated that they use Minnesota State Statute classifications of motors and speed. In general, anywhere a bike can go, a classified e-bike can go. McCullough then shared the specifics of the Bryant Lake Regional Trail project, noting that it will now connect Maple Grove to Eden Prairie. He noted that, due to railroad patterns, they have many more east-west corridors and not as many north-south. This project will add to the north-south corridor options. Student Representative Raja asked about the term “search corridor” on the map that was shared. Both McCullough and John Gibbs shared that these denote areas where there is a desire for a trail in the future. There is no plan in place yet, but these areas have been identified through public outreach and input. Gibbs noted that several of these search corridors are in Eden Prairie, and invited commission members to provide thoughts and input. Their planning process always include public input and direct work with cities before seeking approval of a plan. Commission Member Meyer inquired about what ideas or input Three Rivers might be looking for. Gibbs stated that local residents and users of trails know by experience what areas should be prioritized when looking at how or where to route trails. They are open to all input. For example, beyond Bryant Lake, where could the trail go next? There was discussion about the relative safety of the railroad intersection on the River Bluffs trail where users have to zig-zag. McCullough stated that this will be addressed but it is in a longer-range plan. 2. Athletics Project Update As a part of the process of developing a new Athletics Facility Use Policy, Markle provided an update on the engagement process with the stakeholders that use city fields. All users were invited to participate in facilitated discussions either virtually or in person, or to engage through an online survey. The virtual session was held on September 7 with 10 participants; the in-person session was September 19 with 14 participants and 12 participants filled out the online survey. The types of partners we work with include long-standing nonprofit clubs and associations, our school district partners and some newer for-profit sports organizations/teams. Examples or for-profit groups include Mission Fastpitch (softball) or Minnesota Select (soccer). PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES September 9, 2024 Page 6 HueLife Consulting is the third-party convener of these sessions and has assembled the data and themes. Markle presented the questions that were asked in the survey, and general themes as determined by HueLife. Questions included: What is working well? What is frustrating? What are some Challenging circumstances? What new ideas are emerging for you? What would be ideal? Other areas of feedback included: What are the emerging trends in your sport? What level of maintenance does your organization currently do? What financial support, if any, would your organization be willing to contribute? Markle shared that we are in the middle of the process and starting to analyze the data and themes. She presented at a recent work session with the City Council about overall trends in sports and how the landscape of youth sports is changing in Eden Prairie and beyond. One of the discussion points with City Council was the concept of charging a fee for access to fields. Eden Prairie currently does not charge, but nearly all neighboring and peer cities do. Council members expressed a desire to provide access in the most affordable and equitable way, and to keep access free for nonprofits if possible. While the new policy and procedures are yet to be written, most cities use a tiered approach where City/School District programs are scheduled first, followed by nonprofit groups and then any for-profit groups. Draft policy language will be sent to Commission members in November and a final draft to City Council in December. Student Representative Koenig asked whether lesser used baseball fields could be used for cricket, since there are not enough cricket fields. Staff responded yes, with Bourne describing that while Eden Prairie is fully developed with not a lot of open land available for field development, some strategies could include upgrading practice fields with irrigation to become game fields. Markle also described making a soccer field multi-use by bringing in a portable cricket pitch one day of the week. Commission Member Spresser cautioned that when facilities become too multi-use they sometimes don’t meet anyone’s needs well. Commission Member Meyer asked about the City Council’s desire to stand alone among peer cities and not charge for fields. She inquired where the money will come from for technology and staffing if there are no charges to the users. Markle answered that these costs would come out of the Parks and Recreation budget. She explained that the general feeling among Council members was the desire to remove any barriers, especially for families. Commissioners discussed possible options including charging based on the percentage of Eden Prairie residents on the team or organization’s roster. Commission Member Erickson shared her thoughts on the in-person stakeholder engagement meeting. She found that the groups were very appreciative of Sonja Roby (Athletics Supervisor) while acknowledging that having extra support would help. She felt that many in attendance saw the issues from new perspectives. Some were surprised to see the growth of cricket, for example, when they learned that Eden Prairie has over 20 teams. Markle stated that while some long-standing organizations may have been nervous going into this process and worried about fields PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES September 9, 2024 Page 7 being taken away from them, she assured them that in large part not much would change for them expect hopefully improvements in service and communication. She reiterated the primary goals: efficient field use, improve service levels, expand access. She stated that we are a healthier community when people are active and recognized the need to balance the field use with the need for quality (not have scheduled overuse). Referring to the conversation on e-bikes, Commission Member Hookom inquired about the city’s plan for trail repair and improvement. Bourne responded that the City uses a trail condition index study that informs a 3-year plan for trail maintenance and improvements. He also shared information about additional bike racks and the city’s expectation with new businesses and apartment buildings to ensure bike racks are added. When asked about curb cuts for bike safety, Bourne stated that Parks and Public Works combine efforts to improve ADA access on all road and trail projects. Markle added that while the specific topic of e-bikes was originally on tonight’s plan for discussion, the City Council is working on a larger discussion on e-bikes over the winter, so this commission will take up the conversation alongside that. The City will work to establish City ordinance and education strategies for the public. E. PARKS AND RECREATION EXPERIENCES Commission Member Erickson shared that she attended the in-person engagement session with the athletic groups and though it was well-done and that people where very engaged. Commission Member Hookom commented on the condition of the bike trails and expressed appreciation for being able to safely bike from park to park. He also shared that the Citywide Open House was great and was well-attended, especially the number of children. Recreation Manager Lori Brink reminded everyone that Harvest to Halloween is coming up on Saturday, October 12, from 1-5 p.m. at Riley Lake Park, with parking/shuttles at Grace Church this year. IX. NEXT MEETING The next PRNR Commission meeting will be held on Monday, November 4, at 7:00 p.m. at City Center. X. ADJOURNMENT PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES September 9, 2024 Page 8 Motion: Commission Member Hookom moved, seconded by Commission Member Meyer, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 9-0. Chair Erickson adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m.