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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRNR Commission - 11/03/2025AGENDA PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2025 7:00 p.m. Eden Prairie City Center, Heritage Rooms 8080 Mitchell Road PRNR COMMISSION MEMBERS: Patrice Erickson, Chair; Pedro Curry, Vice Chair; Cecilia Cervantes, Duane Hookom, Jennifer Meyer, Kirk Spresser, Shanti Shah, Sana Elassar, Lisa Nichols, Giridhar Kuppili PRNR STUDENT REPRES.: Jack Dennison, Seth Gilligan, Simone Kauna, Allison Schuessler, Daniel Siegert, Everett Gilligan, Ani Dirks, Rose Wicks, Affan Syed, Gwendolyn Glasrud, Ella Brazil CITY STAFF: Amy Markle, Parks & Recreation Director Jana Graczyk, Recreation Services Manager Matt Bourne, Parks & Natural Resources Manager Gamiel Hall, Community Center Manager RECORDING SECRETARY: Sarah Resemius I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA II. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES – October 6, 2025 III. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION IV. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION V. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION VI. NEW BUSINESS VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. REPORTS OF COMMISSION & STAFF A. Parks and Recreation Director 1. 2026 Commission Topics B. Recreation Services Manager 1. C. Community Center Manager 1. D. Parks and Natural Resources Manager 1. Historical Properties E. Parks & Recreation Experiences Share your experiences of past events, park/building visits, news articles, etc. IX. NEXT MEETING PRNR: December 1, Community Theater- Eden Prairie Players and Community Band Heritage Rooms at City Center X. ADJOURNMENT PRNR Commission Purpose Statement PRNR COMMISSION PURPOSE STATEMENT Act in an advisory capacity to the City on matters of leisure services, recreation programming, and development and use of parks and recreation facilities supported by the general public. • Enlist the support of organizations and individuals in providing City parks and recreation facilities and activities. • Provide input to staff in the promotion of awareness and use of recreation facilities and activities by community organizations and individuals. • Provide input to staff on park plans including the site development and facility modifications and/or improvement program. • Provide input to staff on park and recreation facility use. • Provide input to staff on leisure programs and activities. • Provide input to staff to ensure the inventory, preservation, and management of natural resources. UNAPPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2025 7:00 p.m. Eden Prairie City Center, Heritage Rooms 8080 Mitchell Road PRNR COMMISSION MEMBERS: Patrice Erickson, Chair; Pedro Curry, Vice Chair; Cecilia Cervantes, Duane Hookom, Jennifer Meyer, Kirk Spresser, Shanti Shah, Sana Elassar, Lisa Nichols, Giridhar Kuppili PRNR STUDENT REPRES.: Jack Dennison, Seth Gilligan, Simone Kauna, Allison Schuessler, Daniel Siegert, Everett Gilligan, Ani Dirks, Rose Wicks, Affan Syed, Gwendolyn Glasrud, Ella Brazil CITY STAFF: Amy Markle, Parks & Recreation Director Jana Graczyk, Recreation Services Manager Matt Bourne, Parks & Natural Resources Manager Gamiel Hall, Community Center Manager Tessa Syverson, Recreation Supervisor RECORDING SECRETARY: Sarah Resemius Vice Chair Curry called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. Commissioner Spresser and Chair Patrice Erickson were absent. Student Representatives Schuessler, Dirks, and Brazil were absent. I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Commission moved to approve the agenda with no amendments. Motion carried 8-0. II. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES – September 8, 2025 Motion: Commission moved to approve September 8, 2025 minutes. Motion carried 8-0. III. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION There had been one City Council meeting since the last PRNR Commission meeting on September 8, 2025. Director Markle shared that the following was discussed at the September 16, 2025 City Council meeting. The Birch Island woods restoration project was approved. The contract for Hennepin Town Road Trail restoration was approved. The Homeward Hills Park playground project was approved for the site renovation; equipment will hopefully be approved at the next Council meeting. An addition to the Staring Lake Amphitheater was approved. This will be adjacent to the structure and give performers and personnel a place to change and cool down. A contract for new fitness equipment at the Eden Prairie Community Center was approved. The Lions Club will present their generous donation of $44,000 at the next Council meeting. This money will be split into $30,000 over the next three years to help with turf conversion to native areas. The other $14,000 will go to two new AED SaveStations that will be implemented at Riley Lake Park and Staring Lake Park. Commission asked what exactly will happen at Birch Island Woods; is this spraying or trees taken down? Markle replied that it is primarily buckthorn removal, then our team will replant with non-invasive species. Commission then inquired what will happen to the old fitness equipment. Markle stated that typically it gets relocated to a different facility or sold, but is unsure what the plan is for this equipment as of now. Lastly, a commission member asked if our AED SaveStations will be integrated into apps that share the location of AEDs near you. Markle started off by sharing the recent story of a young man needing the AED located at Miller and the importance of this safety feature being in our parks. She is unsure about getting our SaveStations in the app, but would follow up with the Fire department since they would be in charge of making that decision. IV. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION Matt Bourne shared that a plot of land off Valley View Road and I-494 has sparked interest in Planning Commission. Part of this land is going to turn into a hotel/restaurant combination, but Bourne was saying the City hopes to purchase the rest of this undeveloped land and turn it into a conservation area. This area would be approximately 26 acres and would be situated next to school district meeting. Bourne mentioned this would allow the school to incorporate this dedicated nature space into their education. A student representative shared their experience going to school at Eden Lake, which has a similar outdoor area nearby, and how he enjoyed the outdoor education opportunities that were in partnership with the City. A Commission member asked how the school would utilize this area. Bourne responded that they are unsure as of now, they have to secure the land first before starting that conversation. This will go to Council in the second meeting of October. V. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION N/A VI. NEW BUSINESS N/A VII. OLD BUSINESS N/A VIII. REPORTS OF COMMISSION & STAFF A. City Manager/Parks and Recreation Director 1. Change commissioner requirements to include service • Commission again discussed the suggestion that each Commissioner must attend or volunteer at two PRNR events or volunteer programs each year. It is currently a requirement of Student Representatives on the PRNR Commission that they must attend or volunteer at two such events or programs each year. The goal is to gain more feedback and participation from the PRNRC to better understand what is needed in for community events and programs. A Commissioner raised concern whether this would deter future applicants, but the Commission agreed as long as this is well advertised it should not be an issue. Markle stated that there will not be consequences for not meeting the requirement, but it will be shared with City Council upon Commission Member reviews. Commissioners agreed that Parks and Rec staff should keep the Commission informed of upcoming opportunities, as well as a survey to fill out afterwards to share their experience. Markle agreed that the City can set up a system to help the process and also provide nametags for Commission Members to assist with their representation at these events. Commissioners agreed that their quota must be met within the calendar year, while Student Representatives will have to complete their two events within the school year. Student Representatives agreed that it could be beneficial for students and Commission Members to go together to events, which can be discussed prior to the event date. Lastly, a Commission Member inquired if they should expand by attending similar events in nearby cities. Markle stated this could be beneficial, but not required as of now. This can be discussed in later meetings if the Commission would like. Motion: Commissioners are required to attend or volunteer at least two Park and Rec events or volunteer programs each year starting in May of 2026, whereas the calendar year begins each May. Current and renewing Commissioners are given a choice to opt-in or out. Motion seconded and carried 8-0. B. Recreation Services Manager 1. Outdoor Skating Rinks • Director Markle introduced Youth Sports Supervisor, Tessa Syverson. Syverson gave a presentation on the overview and current state of the City’s outdoor skating rinks, which she is in charge of during the winter season. She has worked for the City for four years. o Eden Prairie has nine outdoor rink locations. These are spread-out through the city, which allows residents to find a rink close to home. Seven of the locations are considered “neighborhood rinks”, which each have one hockey rink (with boards and goals) and one leisure rink. o Syverson highlighted the other two locations, Staring Lake Park and Round Lake park, as our unique locations that have the most visitors. Staring contains an oval skate loop and a 700-foot sledding hill. It also offers free rentals for ice skates, sledding tubes and sleds, and cross-country skis for the nearby track. Round Lake has two hockey rinks and one leisure rink, along with a new warming house area. o Rink locations and info are available on our website at edenprairie.org/skatingrinks. There are lights at the hockey rinks that the attendants can turn on. o Syverson typically hires 45-50 rink attendants for the season. The season is weather dependent, but typically runs from mid-December to March. The budget for each season is around $35,000, but the actual cost can vary on both weather and staffing. The 2024 budget ended up being $11,000. o Park Maintenance is responsible for flooding the rinks and their upkeep. The initial flooding can take a few weeks, and the upkeep is determined by the weather and usage of the rink. o Syverson then got into events hosted at the rinks, which include Pop-up events, themed skating events, and the largest event – Winter Blast (held at Staring Lake). Most events consist of skating, art projects in the warming house, some type of music, and potentially a vendor or two for food or activities. Winter Blast also includes other Park and Rec departments, along with more vendors; this year it had a mobile sauna, which was a big hit. Pop-up and smaller events are intended to only host more local residents so that the attendance is around 150. Syverson tries to partner with local schools to get the word out and maybe include the school as a vendor when possible. Winter Blast is directed for the entire Eden Prairie community and typically sees around 800-1000 people in attendance, which makes it the largest winter event the city hosts. All events are free for residents to attend. o Syverson talked about the effort to make skating accessible to the community by offering free skate rentals at certain locations, along with tools to help beginners learn how to skate. o The City has a partnership with the Eden Prairie Hockey Association. They schedule outdoor practices at Round Lake, Nesbitt, and Crestwood park through Syverson. All ages in the association participate in these practices. o Broomball open play and leagues used to be offered, but have been discontinued recently due to a decline in participation the past few years. o Private rentals are allowed before or after public hours at $35/hour. This is not very frequent due to no rentals being allowed during open public hours. o In the off-season the rinks turn into off-leash dog parks. The East hockey rink at Round Lake is converted into a bike park. In addition, three outdoor badminton courts were added in-between the two hockey rinks at Round Lake this summer for open play. o Warm weather has proved a challenge for ice rinks the past few years. Syverson shared some stats during her tenure as Supervisor. Rink attendants take attendance every 30 minutes. Staring Lake, Round Lake, and Homeward Hills are typically the busiest rinks each year.  2024/2025. Rinks were open 48 days. Attendance was around 9,485.  2023/2024. Rinks were open 11 days. Attendance was around 2,000.  2022/2023. Rinks were open 59 days. Attendance was around 26,000.  2021/2022. Rinks were open 56 days. Attendance was around 18,640. • Syverson then opened the floor for questions and comments. Commission members were impressed with the offerings and attested to the quality of the events. There was some concern about climate change and how it could affect our rinks and seasons going forward. Markle stated that this is something that will be looked at over the next few years, but they would prefer more data. o Commission asked what outdoor trends are you seeing in other cities that Eden Prairie can implement? In particular, mobile saunas and a polar plunge area. Syverson and Graczyk replied that they are currently looking into securing a contract with a mobile sauna vendor for Staring Lake. Details like size of the sauna and cost for use is still to be determined, but the City would do a shared revenue with the vendor. Polar plunge is not likely as the city does not have a great spot to host that. o A Commissioner asked what the costs are for running an event. Syverson replied that typically it’s just staffing and minor supplies, which helps keep costs low. o Commissioner Hookom inquired how attendance was taken. Syverson replied that each location has a staff binder. Within that binder is a QR code that takes you directly to a Google Spreadsheet for each rink’s attendance. Every 30 minutes the staff takes a head count and uploads the information. o A Student Representative, who has also been a rink attendant for the city, asked if we can advertise the skate rental opportunity a little better? Syverson acknowledged that advertising could be better at each location and will look at making some adjustments. o A few Commissioners inquired if there are other opportunities for both out of season use, and in-season programs that may not be weather dependent. Syverson is open to ideas for winter programming that does not require weather for skating or sledding. This could be particularly beneficial if we experience an unusually warm winter. As for out of season, Markle and Bourne both chimed in, saying the city could look at other uses, such as cricket. o A Commissioner asked if there are any adaptive winter equipment. Syverson said they currently do not have anything, but this is something our department could look at submitting a grant for in the future. o Lastly, a Commissioner asked if we have AEDs at each location, and if our outdoor one is weatherproof. Syverson replied that both Staring and Round have them located inside the warming houses while Miller has the new outdoor one nearby. The other locations do not have AEDs. Markle commented that the outdoor one is weatherproof, but that it’s always encouraged to call 911 first. • Vice Chair Curry thanked Supervisor Syverson for their presentation. C. Community Center Manager 1. Recreation App Presentation and Discussion • Markle gave a quick debrief on where the team is currently at with this app, along with who is involved with this project. She made sure to include form Recreation Manager, Lori Brink, who started this project prior to her retirement. Markle then handed it off to Community Center Manager, Gamiel Hall, who is part of the team working on the app. o Hall gave a quick recap of why the app was created. This is essentially another avenue for residents and program participants to access information you would otherwise have to visit our website for. Hall said that the team had just finished their first round of beta testing, which was just internal staff. The second round has been giving access to trusted non-staff members. These are former employees, frequent participants in programs, and advisory council members, among others. Hall offered Commissioners and Student Representatives to partake in the second round of beta testing and where to submit their feedback. o Hall then did a visual walkthrough of the app through his phone for the Commissioners and Student Representatives to see. He emphasized how user-friendly the functions are, along with some of the main benefits of the app. These benefits include an easy registration process for programs, access to a bar code to scan into the Community Center if you are a member, how to access your WebTrac account, and other Parks and Rec general information. o Hall and Markle shared that they hope to present a final version of the app to Council in November and to make it available for residents shortly after in app stores. o Hall then opened the floor for comments and questions. o A Commissioner asked how they intend to roll this product out and ensure that they are hitting the proper demographics. Hall mentioned that they are working with our Communications department on a rollout plan, but they encourage any ideas or input from the Commission. o A Commissioner inquired about demographics that would have trouble using a traditional app, such as the visually impaired. Hall said they do not currently have a plan for that specific instance, but they could work on making the app user- friendly to all. Markle chimed in that this app will be continually updated as needed for the public. o Commission then asked if we are adding extra support or IT to help manage this product. Hall stated that most of the backend updates will be done by our own staff who will be receiving training. The goal is to not rely heavily on one person or vendor to keep the app running. • Vice Chair Curry thanked Hall for his presentation. Commission members expressed their excitement for what this could do for the community. D. Parks and Natural Resources Manager 1. None E. Parks & Recreation Experiences Share your experiences of past events, park/building visits, news articles, etc. • A Commissioner gave a shoutout to the Friends of Eden Prairie and their work on buckthorn removal in the city. She stated her time volunteering was a great experience. • Commissioners and Student Representatives that volunteered for the City-Wide Open House expressed their satisfaction with the event, and how this would be a great opportunity for future Commission members to get involved. IX. NEXT MEETING PRNR: November 3, Historical Properties, Heritage Rooms at City Center. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Commission moved to adjourn at 8:57 PM. Motion carried 8-0.