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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 04/06/2009 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,APRIL 6, 2009 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Geri Napuck, Chair; Jeffrey Gerst, Vice-Chair; Commissioners Tom Bierman, Hutch Coburn, Lee Elliott-S toering and Derek Gunderson COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Joan Oko STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Andrew Baker and Michael Powell COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT: Jay Lotthammer, Parks and Recreation Director Laurie Obiazor, Recreation Services Manager Stu Fox, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Wendy Sevenich, Community Center Manager Nicole Weedman, Recreation Coordinator Mike Barone, Assistant to the City Manager RECORDING SECRETARY: Carol Pelzel I. ROLL CALLANTRODUCTIONS The meeting was called to order by Chair Napuck at 7:05 p.m. Napuck introduced and welcomed new Commissioners Coburn and Gunderson. Both Coburn and Gunderson presented a brief background and overview of their interests and their reason for joining the Commission. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Napuck asked that staff provide the Commission with information on the recent Budget Advisory Commission recommendation to close the Senior Center. Lotthammer indicated that this item would be added under VIII. New Business, Item B. Motion: Gerst moved, seconded by Elliot-Stoering, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion carried, 6-0. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 2 III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —MARCH 2, 2009 Motion: Elliott-Stoering moved, Gerst seconded, to approve the March 2, 2009 Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission meeting minutes as presented. The motion carried, 4-0-2 with Coburn and Gunderson abstaining because of absence from that meeting. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION—MARCH 3 AND MARCH 17, 2009 A. Miller Park Donation Lotthammer reported that the City Council accepted a donation from the Tom and Kathy Miller Foundation in the amount of$8,000 to assist with funding for future development of the Miller Park Barrier Free Play Area. He explained that Mike Garvin has headed up the efforts to build the barrier free park and has presented to the City a total of$210,000 in donations. B. Commission Size Lotthammer explained that most Commissions range in size from five to seven members. The City Council did approve the second reading of an Ordinance amending the City Code relating to the Parks Commission membership. This Ordinance would adjust the Parks Commission membership to a range of seven to nine members instead of a set number of nine only. As of right now, they will have a Commission consisting of seven members due to the fact there were no other individuals interested in being appointed to the Commission. In the future they could have a Commission of nine members if there is an interest in doing so. C. Community Center Catering Fee Lotthammer said they did discuss the catering fee at the last meeting. He stated that they proposed charging a catering fee to non-previously approved caterers providing catering services at the Community Center. The City Council did approve the Commission's recommendation for a fee of$75 to the Community Center for groups of 30 to 50 people and $150 for groups of 50 to 100 people. Lotthammer said staff feels this recognizes the time, effort and expense to have outside caterers at the Community Center. D. Park Hours Ordinance Lotthammer reported that the park hours ordinance recommended by the Commission to the City Council was approved for the first reading. The Ordinance amendment would allow Miller Park and Round Lake Park to remain open until 10:30 p.m. between the dates of April 1 and October 31. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 3 V. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION—MARCH 10 AND MARCH 24, 2009 Fox reported that there were no items considered by the Planning Commission that affected parks at their March 10 and March 24 meeting. VI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION A. Quality of Life Survey Results Mike Barone, Assistant to the City Manager, presented the results of the recent Quality of Life Survey and explained that Decision Resources Ltd., a full service market and research firm, conducted this survey the first three weeks of December. He further explained that their goals were to evaluate City programs and services; find out the general perception of what is going on in the City; investigate some issues; and, to look at the demographics to see how the City is changing. There were 144 questions and the average time spent with each resident was 28 minutes. Barone indicated that a similar survey had been conducted in 2006. It was determined that the median home value was $403,000 and the median adult age was 49 with the average residency being 14 years. He stated what the residents liked most about the City was the schools, shopping,parks and recreation and the friendly people. The thing they liked least was taxes. Twenty-nine percent indicated that there is nothing they don't like about the City. Barone said with regard to awareness and participation, it was suggested that City events be promoted and marketed at other City events. Also, the value of City services was favorable. Parks and Recreation rated high in the question if they could increase the budget by one percent, which area would they prioritize. Parks and Recreation came in third at 17 percent. Forty-three percent rated recreation services as excellent and 47 percent rated it as good. Barone said this was a positive survey for the community. In response to a question from Elliott-Stoering regarding open space, Lotthammer explained that the survey indicates that the City is doing the right amount open space. People do not feel that the City is not doing enough or not taking the property when it is available but they also feel that the City is not doing too much. The survey was interpreted that most people think the current balance is good and the activity of looking to garner more is about right. Bierman asked how this data is used or can be used. Barone responded that the data is used to make decisions on how they should move forward. In 2006 one of the questions had to do with plowing of sidewalks and trails. As a result of that survey, the policy for snowplowing was changed. Bierman said the survey results are very impressive and is something that certain business operators may want to use such as real estate agents. Bierman hoped staff would think of other ways to utilize this information in the community. Elliot-Stoering said it appears that the comments are more favorable now than they were in 2006 given today's economic environment. Barone pointed out that one of the common themes from the 2006 survey and the 2008 survey is the discussion about sensible PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 4 economics and the demand for high quality services. Lotthammer explained that Eden Prairie is a fiscally green leader on the fiscal conservative side but very pro towards open space,parks and recreation and the environment. This survey was conducted just as the economic downturn was occurring and before many budget cutbacks for this past year were implemented. He said it will be interesting to see the results of the survey when it is done in two years when additional service reductions may be instituted. Elliott-Stoering asked if there is a permanent theme from year to year to keep the questions consistent for an accurate comparison and she asked if there is any flexibility in adding questions. Barone responded that approximately 80 to 85 percent of the questions are core with 20 percent being new questions. It is not a survey that has been constructed to probe typically into one specific area but is an overall quality of life style survey. Lotthammer said he has added the survey to the Commission's work plan for sometime in 2010. The Commission will have the opportunity to provide input into the survey at that time. Elliot- Stoering said that would be a good opportunity for the Commission to look at what is happening in the City and if there is something pressing that could be added. B. Eden Prairie Promise Barone presented a PowerPoint presentation of the current items used to measure the Eden Prairie Promise. He explained that over the last several years, City leaders have dedicated extensive time reflecting how the City can best fulfill its mission. Their work resulted in the Eden Prairie Promise. Barone further explained that the Eden Prairie Promise is meant to be used for strategic planning to promote thought and action in decision making. They are trying to shift the focus away from activities and move more toward performance and results. This also defines how City employees can work together to fulfill Eden Prairie's expectations and produce the best results possible for the community. He indicated that the reason for changing their focus is to improve their skills of performance. Staff hopes to find some community measures they can track on an annual basis to determine how the City is performing. They plan to track things that the City has an impact on. Coburn asked if this is a new undertaking. Barone responded that they have been working on this for about one or two years but has been done on more of a Department level. They are now proposing that it be more of a coordinated City effort. Lotthammer explained that these are measures that have been pulled up at the City level. As they were preparing for the Budget Advisory Commission presentation they were surprised by the number of measures they have internally department wide. These measures give staff indicators and assist them in making decisions. Barone said they did not want this to become a bureaucracy but rather to use the information to report to various agencies to show progress. Barone said he plans to update this information with 2008 data and place it on the City's website by the second quarter. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 5 C. Outdoor Skating Rinks Update Lotthammer explained that Nicole Weedman, Recreation Coordinator, will be making a PowerPoint presentation to the Commission this evening on outdoor rink activity for the past season. This information helps staff to set up their agenda and hours for the following year. Registrations are not taken for this program so it is difficult to determine the usage. They do a count of participants to make sure they are getting good use of the facilities. Lotthammer stated that in the past budget cycle the Department was required to find $75,000 in savings or increase in revenues. One of the areas they looked at was outdoor skating rinks. Over a long period of time, it does not seem like the rinks have been getting the same use as they were ten or 15 years ago. They do not see a consistent decline but did modify the hours last year and are proposing to make other adjustments from what they have learned this past year. Weedman presented an overview of the outdoor ice rinks and sledding hill at Starring Lake. She explained that the City has nine outdoor skating facilities and the three rinks they discontinued do not have warming houses. Weedman said staff works closely with the Park Maintenance staff to make the rinks and sledding hill operational. She explained that Round Lake Park and the Starring Lake sledding hill are the heaviest used locations. Weedman reviewed the number of participants for the 2008/2009 season explaining that there were a total of 15,413 participants. They closed the rinks on President's Day to keep costs down. The Nesbitt location has the least participants because it is not as heavily populated as other areas. With regard to the operating budget, Weedman explained that wages were lower than previous years because the hours were cut back. Rental revenue was about the same as the previous year. She reviewed the hiring process for the rink attendants. Weedman reported that the Eden Prairie Hockey Association does utilize the hockey facilities with about 35 to 40 teams. Two facilities are always left open for public use. Ice time is free of charge during normal hours and rent is paid after 8 p.m. The basic user fee is $20 per hour. She reviewed the warming house rentals indicating that Homeward Hills is utilized the most. Weedman said for next year they are proposing to have all locations open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Weekend hours will be from noon to 5 p.m. except for Round Lake and Starring Lake which will be open from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturdays. Elliott-Stoering asked what the cost savings was on closing the three neighborhood rinks. Lotthammer said those facilities did not have warming houses so there was no staff attached to those three smaller rinks. He indicated that it is difficult to determine the cost savings because they did not lay off staff. They did save in energy and water costs because they did not have to maintain these rinks. There was also an overall savings to the City because it allowed staff to work on other projects. Lotthammer pointed out that staff did not receive one call about the closing of those rinks. He also stated that this was a good year weather wise for getting and keeping the rinks open. Lotthammer explained that in establishing the hours of the rinks they take a regional approach. They do not keep every rink open until 8 p.m. Lotthammer said that extending hours at Round Lake and Starring Lake is a small attempt to recognize that in order to extend the hours on Saturday night this is a way to do that without having to incur greater costs by spreading it throughout the PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 6 community. Napuck said it makes sense to extend the hours at the locations that have the most usage. Motion: Gerst moved, Bierman seconded, to approve the proposed hour changes for skating rinks for the 2009/2010 season as recommended by staff. The motion carried, 6-0. VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. Recycling Update Lotthammer explained that in the past they have not had a proactive recycling approach at City parks. They are proposing on a trial basis to look at providing recycling containers at major parks, especially those with concession stands. He said staff has heard a lot of reasons why this won't work but feels it is important to try even if it isn't perfect. Seasonal employees will empty the containers and will sort through the recycling material and bring it to the City's central recycling dumpster. Lotthammer said there will be a trial period and staff is in the process of purchasing containers. They will report back to the Commission at the end of the summer season. Elliott-S toering suggested that staff speak to the Athletic Associations informing them that they are intending to start a recycling program and ask the coaches to bring it to the attention of the participants at their first team meeting. Lotthammer said that was a good idea and they would also ask that it be brought up at the Sports Facilities Commission meeting. B. Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) Recommendation rmardins! Senior Center Lotthammer explained that the BAC has recommended to the City Council that the City Senior Center be closed. He further explained that about a year ago the same Commission recommended that the City Council study whether the Senior Center should remain open and that some activities be moved to the Community Center. At that time, the City Council decided not to do a study. Lotthammer stated that at last month's BAC meeting several recommendations were made to the City Council and one was to close the Senior Center in 2009. The person making the recommendation has done some cost analysis and suggests that they can alleviate the cost of operating the Senior Center and sell the land and building for potential development. This redevelopment would raise money from the sale and will continue to have money coming in through taxes. This person also recommended that they look at using the Community Center to accommodate what has been at the Senior Center. Lotthammer explained that the City Council has not yet met to consider these recommendations. However, if the Council does decide to study this recommendation, this Commission should be involved with that. This item is scheduled for the April 21 City Council meeting. Staff plans to meet with the Senior Council to get their input and thoughts prior to that Council meeting. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 7 Elliott-S toering said that when this recommendation was made last year, the first she heard of it was when it was in the newspaper. She said to hear it from staff is a much better way to be made aware of the recommendation. Elliott-Stoering said it is important that the seniors also be made aware of this and be allowed to provide input and not to hear about it through the newspaper. Lotthammer said staff at the Senior Center is aware of the recommendation and an editorial was in the newspaper that talked about the recommendation. People do know what is being recommended and have been asking how they can provide input. Staff is making them aware of the process. Lotthammer explained that it would be difficult to add programs to the Community Center. That facility is extremely busy and any open time they would like to use for revenue producing activities. If the City Council wishes to study this recommendation, it will come back before this Commission. Motion: Napuck moved, Elliott-Stoering seconded, that the Parks Commission expresses to the City Council that they desire to participate in the City Council's evaluation of the BAC's recommendation to close the Senior Center. Bierman said the Commission's goal is to be a part of the evaluation of what the future of the Senior Center is going to be. Bierman offered a friendly amendment to the motion stating that the Parks Commission requests to participate with the City Council in their evaluation of the BAC recommendation to close the Senior Citizen Center. Napuck and Elliott-S toering accepted the friendly amendment to the motion. Vote was called on the amended motion to request to participate with the City Council in their evaluation of the BAC recommendation to close the Senior Citizen Center with all members present voting aye. The motion carried, 6-0. IX. REPORTS OF STAFF A. Recreation Services Manager 1. Spring/Summer Registration Obiazor reported that their first day for spring/summer registrations was March 17 and the total registrations for 2009 raised $90,000 in revenues for the programs compared to $62,000 in 2008. In 2007 they had 700 participants with $36,000 in revenues. The 2009 registrations do include some Community Center and Art Center registrations. She reviewed the four methods used for registering and said they encouraged on-line registration. Their goal was to process 50 percent of the registrations through e-connect and they have exceeded that benchmark. They had a total of 1,669 registrations on the first day. Obiazor pointed out that Appendix B of the Department's Annual Report shows the revenue and expenses for the various programs and Appendix D of that report presents the program participation. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 8 2. Art Center Update Obiazor presented an overview of the Art Center updates that have been done to the building to bring it up to code for public use. The grand opening is scheduled for May 26 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Obiazor reviewed the fundraising efforts for the Art Center reporting that a$3,200 donation was received from the Eden Prairie Lioness with an additional $1,800 to be donated in January, 2010. The Lions Club pledged to donate a slab roller to the pottery studio and a jewelry kiln. Grants were submitted to MRPF for community arts events and to the Eden Prairie Foundation for a large fused glass kiln. Obiazor stated that they have developed an Art Center membership program and their goal is to have a membership of 100 resulting in membership revenue of$3,000. They are almost half way to their goal and plan on opening the doors of the Art Center this week. Obiazor extended an invitation to the Commission members to tour the new Art Center facility. FYI: Animal Open House—April 11 FYI: Friends of Eden Prairie Art Center Event—April 16, 2009 FYI: Poetry Night—April 20 B. Community Center Manager FYI: Ice Show —April 24-26 Sevenich reported that there will be an ice show at the Community Center on April 24-26. This gives them another opportunity to showcase the Community Center and expect 3,000 people to frequent the facility that weekend. FYI: Live Well, Lunch Well—May 15 Sevenich explained that staff is working on childhood obesity and the Live Well, Lunch Well programs are addressing healthy kids and healthy families. C. Parks and Natural Resources Manager 1. Play Structure Recommendations for Birch Island Park Fox explained that on March 24 staff met with the Birch Island Park neighborhood to review seven proposals. Based on their evaluation, staff is recommending awarding the contract to Clearwater Recreation. He indicated that Birch Island Park is one of the oldest parks in the park system and one of the last parks to receive new playground equipment. The budget for the improvements was $50,000. Bierman said he thinks it is great that they establish a pool of money for these improvements and that they take input from the residents and base their recommendation on that input. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 9 MOTION: Bierman moved, seconded by Gerst, to recommend the City Council award the contract for playground equipment at Birch Island Park to Clearwater Recreation LLC in the amount of$50,000 based upon the maximum amount fixed bids received and residential input. The motion carried, 6-0. 2. Proposed Trail Projects Fox explained that this is an information item only. He stated that last fall staff reported that they had hired a company to do an evaluation of the trails and sidewalks throughout the City. This resulted in the development of a condition class for trails and sidewalks. This information will be utilized to best use the funds that have been set aside for those projects. Staff has developed a sheet showing a broad scope of projects that will be done this summer and that information was included in the Commission's agenda material. Fox reported that they will be doing about eight miles of work on trails and sidewalks with approximately six and a quarter acres of parking lots being worked on. Monies used for these projects are from a number of sources including the Street and Public Works and Street Maintenance budgets as well as some funding from Capital Funds. They do have an estimated cost for each project and as they move forward they will keep the Commission informed as to the actual cost. 3. Round Lake Tennis Courts Fox reported that the tennis courts at Round Lake need to be totally rebuilt. Their estimate to rebuild the eight tennis courts was $500,000 based on previous years' information. Based on the bids received, the low bid was $274,556. Fox indicated that this is a 50150 cost-share project with the School District based on joint use of the tennis courts. The School District has agreed to this and has set aside money to pay the City up to $250,000 of the original estimate. Napuck asked if the City has used the low bidder, Northwest Asphalt,before. Fox responded that they have and they have had no problems with working with them. They have previously used all of the contractors that bid on this project. Coburn asked if staff had any thoughts on why the spread of bids was so large. Fox answered that the biggest discrepancy was on demolition cost which was probably because it is based on what equipment they have in-house. It also depends on how much work the contractor has in the summer. In today's market, there is not a lot of work out there. In response to a question from Coburn, Fox explained that they cannot separate demolition and construction, they have to bid it as a total package. MOTION: Motion was made by Elliott-Stoering, seconded by Gerst, to recommend the City Council award the contract for reconstruction of the Round Lake Park tennis court complex to Northwest Asphalt, Inc., in the amount of$274,556.05 in which the City and School District will share the costs on a 50150 basis as per the Joint Use Agreement with the School District. The motion carried, 6-0. D. Parks and Recreation Director PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 10 1. 2009 Parks and Recreation Work Plan Lotthammer reported that the Parks and Recreation Work Plan is included in the Commission's agenda material. This Plan is developed on an annual basis and fits in well with the Eden Prairie Promise. This document is a concerted effort and is shared with all of the Parks and Recreation staff and is incorporated in their evaluation of work. He explained that they meet on a bi-annual basis with other Department Heads to give them a status update as to the Department's accomplishments and then they meet again with them at the end of the year. The document is a nice tool to communicate with Department Staff and Department Heads so that everyone is working in the same direction. 2. 2009 Parks and Recreation Annual Report Lotthammer presented the Department's Annual Report which is a collaboration of his entire staff. He thanked Brenda Uting for the work she did in gathering the information and in the design and layout of the document. Lotthammer indicated that this report will be given to the City Council, to various Commissions including this Commission and the Arts and Culture Commission as well as to staff. They also mail the report to people who have made a significant impact in assisting with programs. He thanked the Commission for the work they have done in the Department's accomplishments. Napuck said the Department does a great job and it is nice to have a document like this to document what has been done so others can see it as well. 3. Appointment to City/School—Facilities Committee (1) Lotthammer explained that the City/School Facility Use Advisory Committee is made up of both City and School District representatives. The Committee's objective is to maximize the use of both the City and School facilities and the sharing of those facilities. They are looking for a representative of this Commission to serve on the Committee. They will be meeting on Wednesday and Napuck will attend that meeting. The Committee meets twice a year. 4. Appointments to Sports Facility Committee (3) Lotthammer reported that the Sports Facility Committee normally has three representatives of the Parks Commission on the Committee. The Committee is made up of representatives of the community youth athletic associations. This group works together to resolve issues that may come up between the various associations. Napuck indicated that she would be willing to continue to serve on the City/School Facilities Committee since she has previously served on the Sports Facility Committee. Bierman said he has also served on the Sports Facility Commission and he would be willing to serve as a backup on that Committee. Gunderson said he would be happy to serve on the Sports Facility Commission. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION April 6, 2009 Page 11 Motion: Motion was made by Gerst, seconded by Coburn, to appoint Gunderson to the Sports Facility Committee. The motion carried, 6-0. Motion: Motion was made by Elliott-Stoering, seconded by Gerst, to table the remaining appointments to the Sports Facility Committee to the May 4 meeting. The motion carried, 6-0. 5. 2009 Commission Work Plan Lotthammer briefly reviewed the Commission's work plan and asked that the Commission provide him with any additions they would like to see made to the plan. X. NEXT MEETING Elliott-Stoering asked that they consider meeting at the Art Center for their September meeting. Lotthammer said he would check into that. The next regular meeting of the Commission is scheduled for Monday, May 4, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at the Outdoor Center. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Motion was made by Gerst, seconded by Bierman, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 6-0 and the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.