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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity and School Facility Use Advisory Committee - 10/04/2006 UNAPPROVED MINUTES CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMISSION THURSDAY, October 4, 2006 7:00 P.M. Staring Lake Outdoor Center 13765 Staring Lake Pkwy COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Phil Rose, Chair; Kathy Bykowski and Steve Mosow (arrived at 7:40 p.m.) COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Ian Mackay, Gary Stevens and Phil Young COMMITTEE STAFF PRESENT: Jeanne Zetah, Director of Community Education Services; Lyndell Frey, Recreation Coordinator; Cheryl Bridge, Facilities Coordinator; Jill Johnson, High School Activities Coordinator; Mike Grant, High School Activities Director; and Carol Pelzel, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Due to the lack of a quorum at the beginning of the meeting, the meeting was not officially called to order until 7:40 p.m. and items requiring official action were discussed at that time. IV. ITEMS OF BUSINESS A. REVIEW FIELD USAGE OVER SUMMER MONTHS Frey reported that they are planning to close Miller Park Fields 12 and 13 this spring for reconstruction. These fields are side by side and the plan is to light them. After those two fields are redone, they will be working on Fields 9, 10 and 11. Their intention is to reconstruct all five fields at Miller Park and to start work this spring. They hope to have them in operation the following year in time for the Prairie Cup, which is typically the second week of July. The use on these fields may be limited for a short time. Rose questioned how these renovations would affect some of the organizations using them. Frey responded that the School will have access to full size fields at Franlo Park. Johnson reported that field usage for the High School has been similar to the past years and use has been limited. The limited use was a concern but it has gone very well. B. UPDATE ON PARKS REFERENDUM AND TIMELINE FOR PROJECTS Frey reviewed with the Committee the status of the various projects approved under the City's recent park referendum. He explained that as part of the referendum, $1.4 million was set aside for the Flying Cloud fields. The plan for Flying Cloud was developed four years ago but they have had to wait for approval from the FAA and Metropolitan Airports CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE October 4, 2006 Page 2 Commission. Once approval has been received, they will move forward with the work on the Flying Cloud fields. Frey further explained that the ball fields at Forest Hills Park will be changed. A new park building will be constructed including indoor restrooms and running water. This building will be used as a picnic rental shelter and will also be used as a playground site in the summer and as a warming house in the winter. Frey reviewed with the Committee the various changes being made to this Park. The main issue will be allowing sufficient time for the turf to develop which will require no use during the school year. This project is proposed to start in the spring of 2007 with completion occurring in the fall of 2007. Frey reported that Prairie View Park will pretty much remain as is. A rental trailer at this park was being used for park programs but was burned down by an arsonist. Their plan is to replace the trailer with a new park building. Frey explained that the ice rink will be moved at Edenvale Park. There will be a softball/soccer multi-purpose field and a basketball court and park shelter added. Work at this park will begin in the spring of 2007 with completion anticipated in the fall of 2007. Frey stated that the referendum also included five small park projects with three of those projects completed including playgrounds and tennis courts. A purchase agreement has been submitted for Birch Island Woods and both parties have agreed to that agreement. They are waiting for signatures. Frey reviewed with the Committee the various improvements being made to the Eden Prairie Community Center. He explained that the baseball field will be moved to the east and will be placed where Softball Field#5 is located. The current parking lot will also be removed and a new parking lot containing 273 spaces will be added for a net gain of 100 parking spaces for the Community Center. There will be a stepped parking lot; tiered access will be off of Eagle Way. Staff is also recommending that the baseball field#6 be lit. Field#5 will be removed this spring. The Community Center field will remain until the High School season is over with construction beginning in the spring. They hope to have the baseball field completed in the spring of 2008 and available for play with lights. The removal of the field will result in losing about 30 teams but with the lighted field they will gain about 16 of those back. Frey explained that the Hockey Association is in the process of raising funds for a third hockey rink. If the Hockey Association raises $1 million the City will issue revenue bonds for an additional $1 million and would fund an additional $1.2 million for this project. The Hockey Association has until mid February of 2007 to raise their funds. The City's goal is to have one of the two sheets of ice remain open during the entire construction period with the swimming pool also remaining open. Their first priority will be to accommodate the school's athletic program. The Community Center additions total approximately $8 million and this amount does not include the third sheet of ice. Frey reviewed with the Committee the various new amenities that would be added to the Community Center. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE October 4, 2006 Page 3 Rose asked if the tennis courts had been removed from Carmel Park. Frey responded that the tennis courts were replaced with a different type of surface. It is a slower surface but is maintenance free and is great for beginners and a neighborhood park. A new playground was also added at this park. C. SYNTHETIC FIELDS UPDATE Grant explained that the athletic groups in the City have struggled with having enough fields for practice and play. In June they discussed looking into synthetic fields. An intern was hired to research the use of these fields and to conduct a feasibility study. This information was presented to a committee for their review. Grant said that without synthetic fields, usage would have to be limited to one or two groups but if synthetic fields were used, group usage would increase a great deal. A report had been presented to the School Board regarding the use of synthetic fields with a recommendation to look into a lease levy type of situation to fund these fields. The proposal is for three fields at the High School. It was suggested that the School District build the fields and possibly charge for their use. The School Board approved the first reading of the lease levy with a final decision to be made in December. Grant further explained that School staff is talking to various groups about the use of these fields to see if they are interested. It is projected that the fields will cost$2.5 million and they are looking at opening all three fields in the fall. There will be fencing around two of them. The annual maintenance cost for a grass field is between $30,000 and $40,000. The annual maintenance cost for a synthetic field would be approximately $5,000. Bridge pointed out that between what the City is doing and what the School anticipates doing, it will affect what is available for users. Grant responded that if they know what is being constructed, they will more than likely open up other fields for rental. Johnson stated that the main group affected will be marching band but changes can be made to accommodate them. Frey said the City's needs and the School District's needs are so different. The use of City fields is heaviest during the months of June, July and August. Grant said the synthetic fields would benefit the City in that it will take the burden of lacrosse off of City facilities. D. UPDATE ON SPORTS FACILITY COMMITTEE Frey reported that the next meeting of the Sports Facility Committee is scheduled for October. They met in April and since that time there have been no big issues to deal with. In October they will be talking about an organization wanting to host a tournament in early May. That organization is not a regular user of the City's facility and the question is whether or not they should be allowed to hold this tournament. This Committee has been a huge asset to the City. The Committee represents all of the associations in the City that utilize outdoor facilities and the Community Center. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE October 4, 2006 Page 4 E. UPDATE ON ARTS ACTIVITIES IN THE COMMUNITY Mosow reported that the Arts and Culture Commission is currently looking at a full range of activities that fall under their domain. They have been capturing data on attendance, revenue and expenses and are going through an evaluation process to determine which activities are self-sufficient and best attended. They need to determine which projects should be continued and which should be discontinued. They will also look at the demand and possibly go into some alternate programming. Mosow said they will be looking at the old and new in light of the changing nature of the community and they will also be focusing on the City's budget to support or subsidize their programs. Zetah suggested that they look at places where there is some duplication. There were summer drama programs for youth already offered by the City and Community Ed when the Eden Prairie Players added more youth drama offerings. Mosow said that is a good point and that is something he will bring up at their next meeting. He will suggest that they look at redundancy and whether or not they meet different markets or if it should be a joint venture. Johnson reported that the old auditorium at the High School is being revamped and hopefully the new curtain will be in place by January 1. Fund raising has taken place for lighting in the auditorium and the next project will be for new seating. Mosow said he understands there has been some discussion about the City taking over Cedar Hills Golf Course club house. He suggested that this might be a good location for a freestanding art center. F. POLICY/RATE CHANGES FOR CITY AND DISTRICT Johnson reported that the School's rates will remain the same as last year for 2006/07. They do anticipate increasing auditorium rates with the upgrades. An update will be provided to the Committee in the spring. Frey explained that the City is looking at minor increases in their fees. There are no major changes to the School's fees. They did change their policy on rental of City facilities. That policy was distributed to the Committee. There was a big increase for use of parks for runs and events. This change was approved by the Parks Commission and the City Council. The intent of the policy change is to restrict the use of parks to large organized groups so that users who rent the facilities will be able to use them. This change will not affect the School's charges. Bridge said she does not have any rental charge increases. They did increase staffing charges by 50 cents to be consistent. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE October 4, 2006 Page 5 G. SCHOOL BOARD UPDATE ON SWITCH TO POLICY GOVERNANCE Rose explained that the School Board has been discussing for some time a way for the Board to do their job. A worst scenario would be a Board that micro-manages and passes policies for everything. This is something the Board wants to stay away from. The Board wants to be proactive and is adopting a model for policy governance. There will be a training session with a consulting group to look at all of the District's policies. The intent is to draft policies that are clear and readable. They will not be developing policies for things that are procedures. Rose stated that their primary function is to hire good administration to accomplish the Board's goals and to set up procedures that make sense. There has not been a policy review cycle for some time and all of the policies have stayed stagnant. Rose indicated by this time next year they should have all of the policies updated. H. LIGHTS AT ROUND LAKE PARK Rose explained that he asked that this item be added to the agenda. He has some concerns with the lack of lighting at Round Lake. He had been at an event at the High School and had to cross Valley View to get to Round Lake where his car was parked. Rose said he was surprised at how dark it was in the parking lot. Kids go to school early in the morning or stay later when it is darker during the winter months. He feels that there is a safety concern with the lack of lighting in the parking lot. Frey said he would check into this. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Bykowski moved, seconded by Mosow, to approve the agenda. The motion carried, 3-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —March 23, 2006 Due to the lack of a quorum as to the members that attended the March 23 meeting, the approval of minutes was continued to the next meeting. V. DISCUSSION OF ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING A. NEXT MEETING DATE The next meeting will be held on March 14 at the High School. Items to be included on that agenda are: • Revisit fees • Field update, including turf fields • Referendum update • Possible lights at Round Lake Park • Arts • Previous year charges CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE October 4, 2006 Page 6 • Election of officers and discussion of membership VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Mosow moved, Bykowski seconded, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 3-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.