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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity and School Facility Use Advisory Committee - 11/13/2013 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WED., NOVEMBER 13, 2013 7:00 PM, EDEN PRAIRIE COMMUNITY CENTER, CAMBRIA ROOM, 16700 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Derek Gunderson (Chair), Parks & Recreation Commission Suzanne Kutina (Vice Chair), School Board Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, City Council Patrice Erickson, Community Ed Advisory Council Lisa Lieberman, HS Booster Club STAFF: Mike Grant, High School Activities Director Ricardo Jones, High School Activities Coordinator Terri Johnson, Director of Community Education Cheryl Bridge, Facilities Coordinator Jay Lotthammer, Director of Parks and Recreation Laurie Obiazor, Manager of Recreation Services Wendy Sevenich, Community Center Manager Valerie Verley, Recreation Supervisor RECORDING SECRETARY: Jan Curielli I. ROLL CALL & INTRODUCTIONS Chair Gunderson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Committee Member Butcher Wickstrom was absent. Grant, Johnson and Obiazor were absent. A. INTRODUCTIONS & UPDATED CONTACT LIST Gunderson said this will be his last meeting as he will be moving to Victoria soon. Kutina said this will be her last meeting. A new School Board member will take over the position in January. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Kutina moved, seconded by Lieberman, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 4-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Erickson moved, seconded by Kutina, to approve the March 27, 2013 minutes as published. Motion carried 4-0. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES November 13, 2013 Page 2 V. ITEMS OF BUSINESS A. Membership & Roles —All Lotthammer said it was announced last week at the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting that Mr. Gunderson will be leaving. There will be a new representative appointed to this Commission in April when new members are added to the Parks & Recreation Commission. Kutina said the School Board Chair will assign someone to this Commission. Bridge commented that usually newly-assigned people don't step into the Chair position so we may want to wait until March to know who the new members will be. B. Referendum Update—Kutina Kutina said the technology levy passed,but the operations levy did not. She noted she was frustrated and surprised because there had been a number of assumptions made as a result of the Decisions Resource survey that showed there was a good chance for both to pass. She said they have not yet had a debriefing session with the Superintendent to analyze the data. She asked for feedback from the Commission members. Some of the points made as feedback were: • many empty-nesters voted for the technology levy but not the operating levy; • voters were unsure for what purpose the money from the operating levy would be used; • voters saw that property taxes would go up if the operating levy passed; • opportunities to hear about the referendum were optional and it would be better to talk to a "captive" audience; • school parents new to the district didn't understand what was being voted on; • low turnout of voters,possibly due to it being only a school district election; • the polls were extremely busy around 5:00 p.m. for voters who came to vote after work; • misunderstanding about the money being used for the scoreboard; • misunderstanding that funds from the technology levy cannot be transferred for other uses; • confusion over polling places; • too few polling places; • new ballot counting machines may have slowed the process; • try to have teachers more involved in efforts to get out the vote. Kutina said the schools will need to cut$4,000,000 out of the programs next year and another$13,000,000 if a referendum doesn't pass next year. At that point it will not be just a matter of"right-sizing." CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES November 13, 2013 Page 3 C. Review of Summer 2013 Field Usage -- Verley &Jones Verley said this was the first full season of usage of the new Flying Cloud turf fields. Those fields were used for lacrosse in the spring and summer season. There was a good partnership between lacrosse and the soccer club. Those who used the fields were very conscious of the new fields and the fields held up very well. Verley said at the end of July the adult softball and Eden Prairie baseball moved off the Riley Lake fields so we could begin renovation of those fields. The field at Riley Lake will be used primarily for adult softball. Jones said they had a typical summer. The Prairie Cup was held in July and a lacrosse tournament was held in August. The Kyle Rudolph football camp at the high school stadium was new this year. He said the fields are holding up really well. D. Miller Park Soccer Field Use—Jones Jones distributed copies of a Memorandum of Understanding between the School District and the City regarding shared facilities. He said Mr. Grant would like the Commission to review the document and discuss it at the March meeting. He said they shifted from the Flying Cloud fields to Miller Park fields for practices and games which caused some confusion and difficulties. He asked if it would be possible to practice and play games at Flying Cloud. Lotthammer said there is some confusion with documents that have been updated over time, and we have been talking about organizing all of the facility use agreements. He said we need to update the understandings and get everybody on the same page. Regarding the Miller Park fields, he said Miller Park fields 12 and 13 were converted to a sand base several years ago. They are incredible fields until they are overused. The understanding is that they are used for games only, and that it might be good to get that in writing. He was not sure the Miller Park fields will ever be able to handle more than the games, whereas Flying Cloud fields can now have both practice and games. E. Eden Prairie Community Center Aquatic Upgrades Update—Lotthammer Lotthammer said after the City Council looked at the feasibility study for the aquatic upgrades and gave direction to move forward with the architectural design in order to get an accurate cost estimate. He said Phase 1 of the upgrade is the competitive and lap swim phase. The architectural drawings and design and the cost estimates for Phase 1 will be shown to the City Council on November 19. There will be a forecast for operating revenue and expenses as well as information about how we could pay for it. If the Council thinks we are on the right track with the design and gives approval, we would be in a position to start construction in the spring. Lotthammer said Phase 1 will be built on the opposite end of the building from Ice Rink#3. It will have a dry land training area and an office area in addition to the pool area. They did some expansion to the plans that doubled the amount of bleacher CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES November 13, 2013 Page 4 seating and ended up with two eight-lane pools. One of the pools would be the coldest pool and would be 7'6" at one end and 3'6" at the other. The second pool would be eight lanes and could be used for practice. It would be 12' deep at one end and 3'6" at the other end. It would have two diving boards and a climbing wall. This pool could also be used for lap swimming and older kids' lessons. There would also be wet locker rooms that the Foxjets could use. The fitness area could then be expanded out over the roof of the pool. That would be fairly inexpensive construction if it were to be completed at that point. The current pool would continue to function as it is now during Phase 1. Lotthammer said after Phase 1 is complete, we would remodel the old pool to be a zero depth pool with play features. It would still be usable for some lap swimming and would be perfect for younger kids lessons. After receiving requests from a group of several older men, we programmed in a separate hot tub. There is the potential for a water slide and we would now have the facility to handle those with mobility challenges. Lotthammer said the update deals with many of the deficiencies we have observed with the current pool. We would have some redundancies in the pools and would have multiple water temperatures. He said the Council will be asked to authorize moving forward with more design and construction documents that would allow us to accept bids in March. The Parks & Recreation Commission voted to recommend moving forward with the design of Phase 1 and Phase 2 in order to realize a savings of$395,000 by doing both phases at the same time. There was a feeling that the market is heating up, the construction of the new Vikings Stadium may cause labor shortages, and interest rates are low. Gunderson said the aquatics upgrade has a lot of support on the Parks Commission and on the City Council. He said the upgrade will improve the pool and will draw people from around the region so it is a very important project. Lieberman said we also need to consider the revenue that we lose whenever we have to go down to the University of Minnesota to use their facility. Lotthammer said the Foxjets have said they would undertake fund raising and naming rights to pledge about$500,000. We asked for a$325,000 Hennepin Youth Sports grant and will find out about that on December 17. F. Hennepin Youth Sports Grant Update—Verley Verley said two more associations applied and received grants. The Fast Pitch Association received $4000 for fencing at Miller Park which helped with hosting the nationals this spring. They were able to have seven games going at one time. The Soccer Association applied and received $1000 for soccer nets at Flying Cloud. The grants can be used for equipment that is not used by the players. The Lacrosse Association also received $1600 for nets at Flying Cloud fields. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES November 13, 2013 Page 5 Lotthammer noted Ms Verley really works to get the grant applications in and to get the money back for the City. Verley said it has been a good partnership with the associations. Lieberman asked if the Foxjets could participate. Lotthammer said they probably could because Hennepin Youth Sports seems to be getting less traditional and they try to reach sports other than soccer and baseball. Kituna noted they have to do the paperwork right or none of it works out. Lotthammer said Ms Verley has become an expert at that. The volunteer athletic associations always have turnover, and their efforts are probably best put into coaching. If the City can help them with some things, there are great efficiencies in that. G. Arts and Theater Update—Lotthammer Lotthammer said the community theater is looking for a home. They checked out the area in City Hall that is being vacated by C.H. Robinson,but there didn't seem to be space there that would work for them. They are still thinking about that and are also looking at the Heritage Rooms in City Hall. They need a place where they could build sets and store equipment. H. Edible Garden Update -- Lotthammer Lotthammer said the second edible garden was started this year at the Outdoor Center at Staring Lake. This was the third year for the garden at Prairie View Elementary. There are a few teachers there that have been starting plants in the classrooms. There is great curriculum available through the national program for edible gardens. He said kids in the summer playground program tend the garden during the summer and use some of the produce for snacks. Both gardens received funds donated by an anonymous donor, and some local farmers donated plants. I. Mayor's Health & Wellness Committee -- Lotthammer Lotthammer said Mayor Tyra-Lukens is someone who cares deeply about health and wellness. She heard a talk at the National League of Cities about the impact cities can have on their population. She formed a committee on health and wellness in partnership with the School District. The committee is focusing on nutrition and healthy eating. A representative of Blue Zones has called us about working with them. Kutina asked about Blue Zones. Lotthammer said a local entrepreneur, Dan Buettner, does world expeditions to study why some cultures have more healthy cultures. He researched why some areas have populations with long lives, and he called those areas Blue Zones. There is a pilot program in Albert Lea where they are trying such things as a walking school bus and working with restaurants about healthy menu items. Because of their efforts they have reduced health care costs by millions in the CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES November 13, 2013 Page 6 community. There would be a cost to participate in the program,but health care companies might help fund it. Erickson said healthy school snacks would be a good idea, and she would be willing to pay for healthy alternatives. Lotthammer said a local farmer has talked about wanting to get his products into more local spots. It would help people understand what it means to eat more local products. Erickson asked if the Committee reports to the City Council. Lotthammer said the Mayor attends all the meetings, and there will probably be a Council workshop on this subject in 2014. J. EPHS Video Board Update -- Lieberman Jones said the board is up and running. Lieberman noted it was funded by the Boosters and not the School District. Kutina noted maintaining the old board would have been very expensive. Jones said they don't make the lights for it any more. Kutina asked if the section of the board for sponsors has been filled. Jones said all of the slots are pretty much taken. Lieberman said that was a big part of being able to fund it. K. Other None. VI. DISCUSSION OF ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING A. NEXT MEETING DATE -- Proposed Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 Lotthammer asked how this interacts with the school's spring break. Bridge said the break is the first week of April. B. DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Lotthammer said there will be updates of some of the things we discussed tonight. Gunderson asked members to email any updates for the meeting. He noted we will have to elect a Chair at the next meeting, and that individual will probably be a School Board member. VII. OTHER VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Erickson moved, seconded by Lieberman, to adjourn. Motion carried 4-0. Chair Gunderson adjourned the meeting at 8:25 pm.