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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 02/03/2025APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2025 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER 14800 Pioneer Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Patrice Erickson, Chair; Deepa Bhujle, Cecilia Cervantes, Pedro Curry, Duane Hookom, Annie Klodd, Jennifer Meyer, 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 David Teigland, City Clerk Valerie Verley, Community Center Manager Andrea Kalligher, Recreation Supervisor of Community Center Operations RECORDING SECRETARY: Julie Krull Chair Erickson called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Commission Members Bhujle, Cervantes, Klodd, Spresser and Shah were absent. There was not a quorum of Commission Members. Student Representatives Koenig, Petrin, and Mehta were absent. David Teigland, City Clerk was in attendance as was the new recording secretary, Sarah Resemius. Teigland introduced her to the Commission and Parks and Recreation Director Markle welcomed her. The Commission also introduced themselves to Ms. Resemius. I.APPROVAL OF AGENDA There were no additions to the agenda and it could not be approved because there was not a quorum. II.APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES The January 2025 minutes could not be approved because there was not a quorum. III.REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION Parks and Recreation Director Markle stated there were two meetings with the City Council in the month of January. The first meeting was on January 7th where Chair Erickson gave two presentations to the City Council. The first presentation was an updateon what the PRNR Commission had been doing and all of its accomplishments for the pastyear and the second presentation was addressing the Athletic Policy. The City Council PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 3, 2025 Page 2 requested the Commission come back to the next meeting with more information on the Athletic Policy. Karli Wittner was also designated as the City’s Meat Inspector. The second City Council meeting was on January 21st and there were three items that were addressed. The first was a contract for Homeward Hills Playground design work for $136,000. The second item addressed was the annual lease agreement with Metropolitan Airport Commission for the community gardens by the airport. The City leases a little over three acres for $1093. The third topic discussed was the new Athletic Policy which will be discussed later in the meeting. IV. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION V. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, AND COMMUNICATION VI. NEW BUSINESS VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER B. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER 1. Community Center Marketing and Youth Services Val Verley, Community Center Manager, introduced Andrea Kalligher, Recreation Supervisor of Community Center and said she will address the Commission on Youth Services and Marketing as it pertains to the Community Center. Kalligher commented she is a resident of Eden Prairie and started working at the Community Center on June 19, 1998 and has been working full time for past 15 years. She addressed Youth Programs first and started with the Play Care facility. This is a drop off child care area that is open 7 days a week, every morning until noon. It opens at 8 am on Saturday and 9 am the rest of the week. It opens back up at 4:30-7:30 Monday – Thursday. Kari Mitchell is the Youth Services Coordinator, supervising 25 part-time staff. Last year there were 6,000 visitors to the Play Care. During the summer there are themed weeks to add variety to the Play Care. January, February and April are the busiest months with September being the slowest month as the kids transition to school. The next service the Community Center offers are birthday parties. There are three types of parties offered; skate, swimming and play structure. Kalligher said the open skate parties are offered from March through October. The PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 3, 2025 Page 3 charge for the skate party is $184 + tax for 15 kids. There is also the opportunity to rent the whole sheet of ice if an individual would like to do that at an additional charge above the $184 fee. The pool parties are private and are offered on Saturdays from 4-6pm with a total cost of $300 + tax. In 2024 there were 56 parties total; 11 skate, 30 swim and 15 play structure. Kalligher addressed the marketing aspect of the Community Center. For the promotional side of marketing, she works directly with the Communication Department to produce templates and brand kits. She displayed some items that were created by Canva Teams; these included flyers, Fall into Fitness notifications and special schedules. Kalligher also pointed out they use Peach Jar which is an electronic school flyer; they target 5 Eden Prairie schools plus Spanish Immersion. Program registration is another side of marketing. Historically they produced a large program guide that was mailed out to residents. This has since changed to an on-line booklet for registration. They also do social media posts, post cards and mass emails. This information is also available at edenprairie.org/recreation. Kalligher stated another aspect of her position is member communication. This communication is done through such avenues as a monthly newsletter that is sent out the first part of the month detailing what is going on through-out the month at the Community Center. Other notifications of communication are emails and texts detailing schedule changes, reminders of fitness classes, construction concerns, etc. For January, 2025 there were 20,459 emails in the database with 9,000 of those opening emails every month, and 993 text subscribers with a 40 percent open rate. Kalligher pointed out member communication can also be done through the Community Center outside signage. The items posted are through City partnerships such as Toys for Tots. Promotion is a large part of the Community Center but Kalligher pointed out that retention is also just as important. Some items they have for promotion are the Spring into Summer Fitness program which was just started this year. It ran through April to August and was a very successful program that connected members to the Community Center. This program offered such member appreciation perks as free coffee Friday, free group nutrition classes, women’s weight room time, pop-up parking lot classes, popcorn Friday, and member appreciation swim offered one hour before open swim; these are just some of the examples offered. The Community Center also offers Fall into Fitness. This is typically done in October but this past year was done in November since it was so close to the Spring into Sumer Fitness program it was decided to spread it out a bit. Historically this program offers a zero-dollar enrollment fee for everyone but this year the program was changed up a bit. This year the zero-dollar PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 3, 2025 Page 4 enrollment fee was just offered for new members only and a $10 discount for previous members wanting to join again. This past year there were 73 new members. The annual retention program that is offered is 12 Days of Fitness. Kalligher explained that patrons that come 12 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are given a t-shirt and then can be registered for a drawing for a personal training session or stretch session. Kalligher said lastly the Community Center relies heavily on the social media applications such as Instagram and Facebook. For example, for the Fall into Fitness program $125 was spent for promotion and was seen 22,210 times with 73 new memberships coming out of it. Some of the previous top posts on Facebook are, The Best Make-up Party, PeopleFest, Harvest to Halloween and Movies in the Park. Council Member Meyer commented she was a member during the Spring into Summer Fitness program and said she thought it was very successful and asked if it will be offered again. Kalligher responded the plan is to offer it again but some aspects of the program may change. Chair Erickson commented she thinks November is a great time for the membership drive as in October it is still nice out and people may not be interested then. She also said the birthday parties offered are a great aspect that the Community Center offers and feels they are very cost effective. Council Member Meyer asked if the 56 parties were the number for last year. Kalligher said that was correct and commented they can only offer the swim parties at a rate of 3 to 4 a month. Director Markle shared they had a birthday party this past Saturday and said it was well organized and was a very positive experience. C. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. Athletics Policy Project Update. Director Markle updated the Commission on the Athletics Policy. She said it was presented to the City Council in January and they have approved to go with Option B. This option will charge a $10 fee per athlete annually. The fees will not start until 2026. All partners in the registration process have been notified so they are aware of this policy. She pointed out there may be bumps in the road but they will work towards making this policy successful. PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 3, 2025 Page 5 Markle also said Arbor Day was brought up at the City Council meeting and they said last year was very successful and to continue the good work in the future as they will be doubling the trees that were purchased. She also commented they are monitoring playground use as was previously discussed. They are considering a canopy for the Starring Lake amphitheater and lighting for the rentals in the evening. E. PARKS AND RECREATION EXPERIENCES Chair Erickson asked Commission Member Hookom for his thoughts on the City Council meeting. Hookom said he thought the Commission did an excellent job on their presentation to the City Council. Hookom also commented there was a resident who backed up to Riley Creek and was interested in the bike corridor going through that area. Hookom said he talked to the resident after the meeting and said this was one of the priorities that have been discussed as a Commission. Hookom also commented he attended the Winter Blast and said the activities were highly attended even though there was not a sledding hill. He also pointed out to the Commission there was a new group that started this week on Facebook called Bike Eden Prairie. There are currently 28 members. It is a group of cyclists advocating for safe cycling for transportation and recreation. They have some concerns over the 2014 bike plan and the lack of on-street bike lanes. Hookem expects this group will want more updates on this issue. Director Markel said Three Rivers is pulling together a group of all of the west metro cities with its Park & Recreation Directors, Communications Department and law enforcement to have a meeting in March to discuss the safety of on-street bike lanes. IX. NEXT MEETING The next PRNR Commission meeting will be held on Monday, March 3, at 7:00 p.m. in the Heritage Rooms. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Commissioner Hookom moved, seconded by Commissioner Meyer, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Chair Erickson adjourned the meeting at 7:57 p.m.