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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 08/04/2014 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,AUGUST 4, 2014 7:00 P.M.— CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 8080 Mitchell Road PRNR COMMISSIONMEMBERS PRESENT: Hutch Coburn, Chair; Larry Link, Vice Chair, Michael Belean, Donald Jacobson, Debra McBride, Leonard Pesheck, Tim Rawerts, Kirk Spresser and Deborah Tenner PRNR COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Hutch Coburn, Chair. CITY STAFF PRESENT: Jay Lotthammer, Parks & Recreation Director; Stu Fox, Parks and Natural Resources Manager; Wendy Sevenich, Community Center Manager; Lori Brink, Recreation Manager; Valerie Verley, Adult Athletics Recreation Supervisor; Amy Hulet, Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL AND INTRODUCTIONS Vice-Chair Link called the meeting to order. Roll Call was taken as noted. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Rawerts moved, seconded by Pesheck, to approve the agenda as presented. III. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES OF JUNE 2, 2014 AND JULY 7, 2014 NOTES Motion: McBride moved, seconded by Rawerts, to approve the June 2, 2014 meeting minutes as presented. Motion: Jacobson moved, seconded by Spresser, to approve the July 7, 2014 meeting notes as presented. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION A. JULY 4TH DONATIONS B. OTHER DONATIONS Lotthammer noted the City Council recognized all in-kind donations. C. BRAUN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR AQUATICS EXPANSION Lotthammer reported Braun would provide third-party testing regarding the aquatics expansion. PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES August 4, 2014 Page 2 D. RJM FOR AQUATICS EXPANSION Lotthammer noted RJM would be awarding the bid for the steel install in the aquatics expansion. The original bids were rejected during the first round and the specifications were redone in order to accept new bids. E. FRANLO PARK TENNISBASKETBALL/PICKLEBALL COURTS Lotthammer reported the bids for the Franlo courts were rejected, as they came in $100,000 over estimate. Staff is waiting until later this fall or early winter, when the bids are not so competitive. F. LEASE WITH MAC FOR GARDEN USE Lotthammer reported this would be the last year of the lease with MAC for the Community Gardens. Staff has reviewed alternate locations and has not given up on finding an area for the gardens. Spresser inquired about Lake Riley for the Community Gardens. McBride suggested several open lots by Shetland Road, which are also owned by MAC. Both Fox and Lotthammer noted it was difficult to find a space that was centrally located and had adequate space for parking/traffic. A church in the northern part of the City has offered some of its extra space. G. MILLER FIELD#9 - HTPO Lotthammer noted construction on the field was wrapping up and would soon be inspected. V. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION Fox noted there were no park project items to report. He is currently working on park variances. VI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION VII. OLD BUSINESS A. CAMP EDEN WOOD/TRUE FRIENDS Lotthammer addressed the Commission and reported on the Camp Eden Wood and True Friends. He noted the lease would be reviewed in September. They are currently in negotiations with True Friends, which have included the length of the lease (30 years versus 20 years) and prior issues with stewards of the property by not applying heritage requirements in previous renovations. Lotthammer reported this group has entirely new staff and ultimately serves a great mission to their clients. The City feels a 20-year lease would be sufficient. The lease would be reviewed on an annual basis. PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES August 4, 2014 Page 3 The Commission discussed their tour of the facility and inquired about any remodeling or construction at the facility. Lotthammer stated any modifications to a historic building or site would go before the HPC and receive a Certificate of Appropriateness. He noted the True Friends organization operates on shoestring budget and the City would like to see the current buildings addressed prior to constructing new ones. Modifications to the site would be based on the premise the changes could be removed and restored to its original state. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. BUDGET UPDATE Lotthammer reported to the Commission the City is in the second year of a two-year budget cycle. The City Council reviewed the 2014-2015 Budget in 2013. The Council will meet in September to approve the levy and in December to approve a budget that fits the levy. Lotthammer noted the City Council would review changes to the Fee Resolution for the Parks Department in December. This department is the only department which markets its services. He would provide the Commission with feedback from the City Council workshop in September. B. ONE ACT PLAYS UPDATE Lotthammer provided the Commission with a brief overview of incident with the EP Players. The EP Players is organization run by volunteers and have generally showed several one-act plays for the community. One of the plays suggested by the group contained profanity and the City made the decision to stop the play based on inappropriateness. Some of the volunteers felt the City was censoring their art. Discussions regarding censorship versus appropriateness were evoked and some email exchanges got a little heated. The issue has since been discussed and resolved, however the City has continued its discussion on how to handle similar situations in the future. Good discussions have resulted and was determined the plays would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Rawerts noted he is a member of the EP Players and wanted to extend his apologies to the City and staff for the behaviors of a few former members. He stated that staff did a wonderful job to resolve the issue promptly and professionally. C. FEE RESOLUTION Fox, Sevenich and Brink addressed the Commission and provided members with changes made to the 2015 Fee Schedule. Fox noted increases to the cost of cemetery plots at Pleasant Hill Cemetery. The increases correlate to the increase in plots at Eden Prairie Cemetery. Sevenich noted a standard 3% increase in fees across the board for pool and room rental fees. The Ice Arena fees were aligned with surrounding ice rinks. Brink noted a rate increase for per day rental for tournaments. She also reported rental of the Senior Center has become more popular and have exceeded rentals from 2013 in August. PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES August 4, 2014 Page 4 The Commission discussed how difficult it was for staff to strike a balance in providing a quality service while still being fair and equitable. They expressed their gratitude to staff for their hard work. Motion: McBride moved, seconded by Tenner, to recommend to City Council to approve the 2015 Fee Resolution for the Parks and Recreation Department as presented. Vote: Motion was carried 8-0. IX. REPORTS OF STAFF A. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER 1. Adult Athletics Update Lotthammer introduced Valerie Verley, the Recreation Supervisor for Adult Athletics, as well as youth athletic associations. Verley provided information and statistics regarding the fall, winter, spring/summer Adult Leagues (officiated and recreational) as well as Adult Programs. She provided the Commission with planned improvements to the softball fields and projected number of fields for each year through 2018. She discussed current trends, i.e. pickleball, in addition to future trends involving the increasing baby boomer population. Staff has increased the use of technology to create more efficiency in registering, reporting and managing staff for programs. Spresser inquired about kickball, soccer and volleyball. Verley responded staff is working with Minnetonka to provide kickball, but in order to be a recognized sport there needs to be six teams. FYI: Movies in the Park Brink provided the Commission with a flyer advertising three Friday nights with movies in the park at Staring Lake Amphitheatre. The event would feature music and a movie. B. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER FYI: Fall Brochure and Registration Sevenich provided the Commission with a copy of the cover for the Fall Brochure. Registration opens on August 12th. She noted the department will roll out the new registration software next year at this time. C. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER 1. Miracle League Field Update Fox reported the groundbreaking event for the Miracle Field is scheduled for August 16th and includes a whiffleball tournament and fundraising event. The project is moving PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES August 4, 2014 Page 5 forward step by step, as each contribution stage is met. The project must be fully funded prior to completion. Meetings have been held in order to pursue additional contributions and the group has met with architects in order to finalize specifications for the field. The plans for this project could be found at EPMiracle.com. D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. 2014 PRNR Work Plan Lotthammer reported the ground breaking ceremony for the Aquatic Center Expansion was scheduled for June 9, 2014 at 6:30 p.m.just outside the Community Center. In addition, the First Serve at Riley Lake had been rescheduled to the same night. The event was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., with Pickle ball starting at 8:00 and the Mayor's First Serve to start at 9:00 p.m. X. NEXT MEETING Next PRNR Meeting—Monday, September 8, 2014—7:00 p.m., Homeward Hills Park Barn. XI. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Rawerts moved, seconded by Pesheck, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:40 p.m.