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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity and School Facility Use Advisory Committee - 12/10/2014 MEETING NOTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WED., DECEMBER 10, 2014 7:00 PM, EDEN PRAIRIE HIGH SCHOOL Room 232 17185 Valley View Road COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Ranee Jacobus, Vice Chair; School Board Hutch Coburn, Parks and Recreation Commission Sherry Butcher-Wickstrom, City Council Sharon Peterson, Community Ed Advisory Council Lisa Lieberman, EPHS Booster Club STAFF: Mike Grant, High School Activities Director Ricardo Jones, High School Activities Coordinator Shawn Hoffman-Bram, Director of Community Education Cheryl Bridge, Facilities Coordinator Jay Lotthammer, Parks and Recreation Director Lori Brink, Recreation Manager Wendy Sevenich, Community Center Manager Valerie Verley, Recreation Supervisor Heidi Wojahn, Recorder L CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Lotthammer called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Committee Members Coburn, Butcher-Wickstrom, and Lieberman were absent. Grant was also absent. Lotthammer announced Verley is on maternity leave. Introductions took place. Lotthammer circulated the contact list for corrections. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA No quorum. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES No quorum. IV. ITEMS OF BUSINESS A. FUTURE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP Jacobus said a different school board member will likely be appointed at the next annual meeting to serve on CSFAC. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES December 10, 2014 Page 2 B. REFERENDUM UPDATE - Jacobus Jacobus announced the school board is pleased to have had the community's support in passing the referendum in the November election. Hoffman-Bram reported the superintendent and some cabinet members have been meeting with various groups to discuss the impact on departments, programs, and schools. Jones said the coaches are happy as they don't have to worry about programs being cut. C. COMMUNITY CENTER AQUATIC UPGRADES UPDATE —Lotthammer Lotthammer and Sevenich distributed handouts on the new aquatic center facility and the 2015 Community Center rental fees and charges. Lotthammer pointed out images of the design and construction in progress. Groundbreaking took place early this past summer and the roof is now on. Two competitive pools, a 300-seat bleacher area, a dryland training area, locker rooms, a meeting room, and some additions to the upper core to expand fitness at the community center are included in Phase 1 which is expected to be completed in June. The old pool will then be taken down and a leisure pool will be built in its place with a scheduled December 2016 opening. Bad soils encountered early on in the process were remedied and there have been some minor construction roadblocks along the way, but contractor changes are being monitored carefully and the project is within budget. The expansive wall behind the bleachers is a designated spot to implement public art. Lotthammer showed some of the designs received to date for the 12 by 92- foot space. The Foxjets swim club has pledged $500,000 towards the pool project and as part of their fundraising efforts, stamped handmade tiles are available for purchase which will be placed in a mosaic in the entrance hallway. A contract is already in place with a tile company. Corporate sponsorships are being sought for naming rights for the pools, slide, and meeting rooms. Sevenich said new pool charges will become effective when the two 8-lane pools open in June. The zero-depth entry fees will begin in 2016. Meet fees are still being discussed. The new dryland training space within the pool area will be available for rentals either separately or along with the use of the lanes. Athletic groups currently using the group fitness studios will be able to use this space which is helpful since space is at a premium. Grants are being pursued for the dryland training space in the ice arena; assessed fees reflect use of the space as is. Oak Point Pool Fees are also included in the handout. Lotthammer said from a city/school partnership perspective, it has been extremely helpful to have input from the diving and swimming coaches. Eden Prairie has not been able to host meets for some time. This will be a good venue for the school, and there is already demand from outside groups. The regional events held here will be a level down from those at the University of Minnesota. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES December 10, 2014 Page 3 Sevenich reported on changes in aquatics staffing. Oak Point pool will continue to be used for practices and lessons. There are ongoing conversations about pool usage in the early morning hours. Peterson inquired about adequacy of parking at the community center. Lotthammer said membership is expected to increase because of the pool. A couple dozen stalls have already been added and others are temporarily occupied with construction equipment. Other cost-effective strategies being considered include asking staff to park further out or at Round Lake and an additional shuttle service component during peak times. Jacobus asked how many spots are leased to high school students. She would like to see the City and schools work together on a solution to increase parking capacity at the community center if need be. Sevenich said 144 spots are leased at high school rates after the lottery. Lotthammer noted school hours are not the problem times. Sevenich said communication is good between the two entities. She is not aware of any challenges in that regard. D. FIELD UPDATES/SUMMER 2014 USAGE —Lotthammer 1. Miller Field Construction Due to heavy rains last spring, the Soccer Club backed off on usage for their multi-weekend tournament by doing some rescheduling and using turf fields so as not to impact the fields. Expansion at Flying Cloud allowed for the first fall season of lacrosse. The dedicated field time has helped the program tremendously. The soils at Miller fields 9-11 are not conducive to draining. Soccer field 9 was taken out this year and graded down a couple of feet. Better underdrainage and soils were put in, and the grass will be left to grow next year with play permitted in 2016. The same two-year rotation will be done with field 10 beginning in 2016 and field 11 in 2017. 2. Miracle Field Update The small field furthest east at Flying Cloud will become the Miracle Field. The City will be put it out for bid and start on the project as soon as possible in the spring to get it to a playable condition. Some of the extras may have to come later depending on the status of the funds. Fundraising is in good shape so far. Inscribed bricks can be purchased for paving the patio area, and there have been some significant contributions from corporate sponsors. Jacobus said the tax-deductible donations are processed through the Community Foundation. E. HENNEPIN YOUTH SPORTS GRANT UDPATE -Lotthammer Verley has been guiding the community athletic associations through the grant process. There have been many successes so far, and the intention is to continue CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES December 10, 2014 Page 4 to submit applications twice a year for the next 17 years. This year the City received a smaller grant for archery equipment which the district may be using. Results of another grant should be known next week. The plan is to reduce an Olympic-sized rink to allow for an ice and hockey-appropriate dryland training component and a warm-up area. Equipment grants have also been submitted for Fast-pitch and the Soccer Club. Equipment grants are smaller grants up to $10,000. Facilities grants are larger and require matching funds. The City is helping True Friends submit a grant for adaptive outside play equipment for Camp Eden Wood. The estimate for Round Lake came back higher than expected so things are a little bit in flux. The plan is to take out four softball fields which will allow for three larger adult softball fields and parking expansion. The project could begin as early as spring. Discussion ensued about plans to accommodate the cross-country metro invite in September. Brink said the field rental cost will not change for next year. Council did, however, approve some staffing changes affecting youth association tournaments. The City will now determine staffing needs based on demand or volume. This could include minimal costs for field maintenance, additional indoor bathroom cleanings, or staff for customer service or to direct parking. Lotthammer says he does not expect this will affect school events other than when the region does something for softball. F. MAYOR'S HEALTH AND WELLNESS COMMITTEE —Lotthammer This committee meets monthly and was formed to examine what health and wellness means at a community level. It is made up of district and city staff, citizens, elected officials, health and wellness experts, and nutritionists. It has led to newspaper and city newsletter articles about good strategies for rushed mealtimes, a Blue Zones presentation, and a healthy food truck to have available at events in the parks. Sponsorships from local food suppliers are helping to fund the truck. Committee members are working on determining their focus for this year and, with the help of health care companies, are researching available funds to help create and implement other programs. G. FEE CHANGES AND UPDATES 1. EPCC Pool and Oak Point Pool — Sevenich This item was discussed out of order under Item IV.C. Community Center Aquatic Upgrades Update. 2. Field Charges —Brink This item was discussed out of order under Item IV.E. Hennepin Youth Sports Grant Update. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES December 10, 2014 Page 5 3. Community Education Facility Rates —Bridge Classroom rates are increasing for the first time in ten years or more. The building supervisor charge is going up $1 per hour. Jacobus said she was bringing up, at the request of the Eden Prairie Historical Society (EPHS), the historic gym located in the administrative building. EPHS contributed money some time ago to redo the gym floor. They would like to know if there is a plan to utilize that space for more than just preschool gym classes or activities; they would like to see it get more community use so they have an opportunity to appreciate it. Bridge said adult gym classes are held there almost daily. It is not conveniently located for the preschool, and parking is problematic. The bleachers do not offer the best sightlines for the stage, but it is a beautiful space. Discussion ensued about access and different configurations for risers and seating. Hoffman-Bram suggested retrofitting it somehow or adding a ramp. H. CITY SOFTWARE UPDATE — SevenichBrink Sevenich said the City is upgrading its software and this is the first week of building the backbone of it. It will be web-based and remote-accessible. Jacobus asked if the formal connectivity and upgrade for Wi-Fi within the City and schools was done. Lotthammer said most of it was cabling. The Outdoor Center, the Art Center, and a couple of the city-owned liquor stores now have a consistent, constant connection and good speed. Brink said it will offer a user- friendly, at-a-glance view for searching pool and ice availability. I. OTHER None V. NEXT MEETING A. MEETING DATE The next CSFAC meeting will be Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 7 p.m. B. DISCUSSION ITEMS To be determined. VI. OTHER None. VIL ADJOURNMENT Lotthammer adjourned the meeting at 7:54 p.m.