Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity and School Facility Use Advisory Committee - 12/09/2015 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 7:00 P.M., EDEN PRAIRIE COMMUNITY CENTER Aquatics Room 110, 16700 Valley View Road COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Larry Link, Chair- Parks and Recreation Commission Elaine Larabee, Vice Chair - School Board 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 Valerie Verley, Community Center Operations Kori Shingles, Recreation Supervisor Heidi Wojahn, Recorder I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Larry Link called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. following introductions. Grant, Hoffman-Bram, and Committee member Butcher-Wickstrom were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda passed via informal consent. III. MINUTES There were no changes to the meeting notes of April 29, 2015. IV. ITEMS OF BUSINESS A. HENNEPIN YOUTH SPORTS GRANT UPDATE —Jay and Kori Shingles reported the City submitted three grant applications for the fall funding cycle. Equipment for the Fast Pitch Association and new nets for the Soccer Association were both approved and fully funded. Lotthammer said the Community Center was partially funded for log-rolling and other equipment but he did not have the exact amount yet. Camp Edenwood, a respite center for parents with kids with a range of disabilities, was in need of a new playground and a facility grant was received earlier to help with funding. Hennepin County CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES December 9, 2015 Page 2 provided $40,000 and C.H. Robinson donated another$40,000 to fulfill the matching grant. The playground has been installed and is ready for use. Link asked about log rolling. Verley said log rolling can be brought in as a special event or programming, but it is also considered a sport. Peterson asked if someone was on board to teach it. Verley said it would likely have to be contracted out. Larabee inquired if the extra lighting at the high school football field went through. Jones confirmed it had. B. EDEN PRAIRIE COMMUNITY CENTER AQUATIC UPDATE—Valerie The grand opening for Phase One took place last summer and was well-attended. There are two pools: a Team Fox Jets pool and a Sydney Galleger dedicated pool for which there was a recent dedication event. There have been several other events since the opening including Swimjitsu and an indoor triathlon. Phase One included a fitness floor expansion and studio, the two pools, a dryland training area, the lobby, bathrooms, and wet locker rooms. The facilities are getting a lot of use and City staff has received positive feedback. Phase Two consists of the addition of a third body of water with a play feature area, zero-depth entry, a water slide and a swimming lessons area as well as a hot tub and an office for aquatics supervisors. Containing the warmest water of the three pools, it will be conducive for seniors and youth. An early March opening is expected. Peterson noted water aerobics is growing substantially. Verley stated there has been a significant increase in new memberships, as well. C. 2015 SPRING/SUMMER FIELD USAGE UPDATE — Kori and Ricardo Shingles reported the City hosted 17 youth association tournaments this summer. Adult softball leagues play at Round Lake and Riley. The fields at Riley have helped ease congestion at Round Lake. City fields in general are well-maintained by Parks staff and generate compliments from users about the field conditions. There were about 90 teams using the fields this past summer and 60 in the fall. Jones said the high school turf continues to get a lot of use. It has been utilized for many athletic camps including new camps. They are starting to use the grass fields more now due to the high number of requests. Turf B, which gets the most use, is starting to wear down. Users will gradually be shifted to Turf A, which was recently lit, so work can be done on Turf B next year. High school teams use the grass fields and they are not open for reservations. Lieberman commented there is a goose problem at Eden Lake. Link asked about the process for requesting fields for camps. Lotthammer said users can go to either the City or the high school but they need to be an Eden Prairie-based non-profit in order to use City facilities. Jones said the school accepts for-profit requests at a higher rate. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES December 9, 2015 Page 3 Lieberman inquired about rugby. Jones said field use was originally sought by a vocal outside group. It has changed to a more-organized student group now and things have quieted down. D. CITY FIELD CONSTRUCTION UPDATES —Jay 1. Miller The Ice Castle is returning this year in January. Continuation will be on a year-by-year basis. Miller Field 9 is currently down for regrading and re-engineering of the soil, reseeding, and better drainage. It will be left to grow for one season before being re-opened. Once it is ready, field 10 will be taken out of play on a similar two-year cycle, followed by field 11. Once all three are completed, the other fields at Miller Park will be allowed to rest. Field 8 contains a lot of blacktop and doesn't drain well. City staff worked with the baseball association and came up with a list of needs including more storage and shade structures over the seating area. It was bid out,but the figures came back too high so the bids were rejected. Reconfiguring the package and sending it out for bids earlier in the year before the construction season ramps up will be helpful. 2. Round Lake Four of the Round Lake softball fields are aging and short. They will be demolished and redone as three standard-length fields with additional parking. There will then be four full-sized, adult-league softball fields at Round Lake. Peterson inquired about the timing of the project. Lotthammer said work will begin after July 4, and the fields will be down for a full season. They will be reshaped and regraded to allow for better drainage. Lighting will be improved as well. 3. Miracle Field Work on Miracle Field, the field closest to Flying Cloud Airport, is 85 percent complete. Rubberized surfacing is scheduled to be done next spring when temperatures are above 50 degrees and upon completion of fundraising efforts. Approximately $50,000 of the $97,000 cost for this process still needs to be raised. E. 2014 CITY/SCHOOL FEES AND CHARGES - All 1. EPCC Pool and Oak Point—Valerie Fees and charges have increased as part of the new budget approved by Council. The Community Center pool will see a three-percent increase for 2016-17. Oak Point will be raised slightly more, its first increase since 2013. Part of the increase can be attributed to minimum wage increases for lifeguards. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES December 9, 2015 Page 4 Link asked for clarification on the ownership and management of Oak Point Pool. Bridge explained when Oak Point was a 5th/6th grade school, it was used for curriculum. Now it sits empty during the day due to lack of parking and programming, and it is not cost-effective to bus school kids back and forth to use it. The City uses it evenings and weekends. Lotthammer said the Foxjets and high school teams use 16 lanes at the Community Center and six lanes at Oak Point from 3-6 p.m. after school. In the evenings, Oak Point is used for Foxjets and lessons. Open swim and lessons are held on the weekends. From a logistics standpoint, it made sense to keep it all under one management source so the aquatics supervisor at the Community Center handles scheduling for both pools. The existing water slide has lost its appeal,but the pool serves a good purpose geographically for residents on the east side of the City. Lieberman said Oak Point usage would increase if there was more seating. The intimate setting is nice for beginner swim meets,but the seating is insufficient. Lotthammer said there has been talk at the legislative level of requiring introduction of kids to swimming. Immigrants who come here from an area without clean water or access to bodies of water aren't prepared for swimming in Minnesota's many lakes and this results in drownings. 2. Field Charges—Kori and Ricardo Shingles said no fee changes are expected for usage of City fields. Rates increased in 2015. Jones said no fee changes are in place for school fields either. 3. Community Education Facility Rates—Cheryl No fee changes are expected. Staff rates were upped to $17/hour for 2015-16. A possible increase for fall is under consideration. Link inquired about the purpose for the increases. Lotthammer explained incremental increases have been implemented for the pools to meet market rates. They were charging $7/hour per lane vs. the going market rate of $11/hour. For fields, rates are somewhat market driven. There is a charge for on-site staff on an hourly basis as well as a set-up prep charge, but users are not charged for costs related to running the fields. Link asked if this service was provided to the community so there is access to affordable recreation. Brink said there is only a financial impact to associations if they are hosting a tournament or clinic which brings in revenue. They are not otherwise charged for practices and in-house games. Lotthammer said mostly it is youth using the fields free of charge. F. FUTURE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP - All Lotthammer solicited feedback on the value of CSFAC meetings noting good attendance was a challenge and oftentimes meeting dates are shifted as a result. Generally discussion centers on fees and usage. Link said as someone who is involved in Parks and Rec, it is interesting to hear the school side of things. CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES December 9, 2015 Page 5 Larabee said she likes to collect information for future use and she finds it beneficial to have different aspects of the community represented. The information is valuable. Brink said it helps with transparency so everyone knows one entity is not subsidizing the other. The information is made public in an understandable manner. Lieberman agreed it is good to have the information out in the open so people don't make assumptions. Bridge talked about meeting attendance and its effect on the committee's ability to make decisions. Lotthammer said the group really doesn't find itself in a situation where it needs to vote or take action. Brink said everyone shares the goal of maximizing access to community-owned facilities and how best to accomplish that. G. OTHER None V. NEXT MEETING A. MEETING DATE The next CSFAC meeting will be Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 7 p.m. Bridge proposed meeting at the Education Center. B. DISCUSSION ITEMS No items were brought forth at this time. VI. OTHER None. VII. ADJOURNMENT Link adjourned the meeting at 8:01 p.m.