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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 02/06/2017 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2017 7:00 P.M. HERITAGE ROOMS 8080 Mitchell Road, Lower Level City Center PRNR COMMISSION MEMBERS: Larry Link, Chair; Debra McBride, Vice Chair; Donald Jacobson, Matt Pellowski, Leonard Pesheck, Kirk Spresser STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: William Hemler, Kirsten Johnson, Phillip Kuhn, Conner Reding, Stefan Wenc, James Yoo CITY STAFF: Jay Lotthammer, Parks & Recreation Director Matt Bourne, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Lori Brink, Recreation Manager Valerie Verley, Community Center Manager Stacy Chouinard, Community Center Operations RECORDING SECRETARY: Jodie Fenske I. ROLL CALLANTRODUCTIONS Link called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Roll call was taken. Commission Members Jacobson and Termer were absent. Student Representatives Reding, Wenc and Yoo were absent. Lotthammer announced the resignation of Commission member Deborah Termer due to increased family commitments. McBride acknowledged Termer as a great contributor and very knowledgeable about ecosystems and pollinators. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Termer moved, seconded by Johnson, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES Motion: Termer moved, seconded by Johnson, to approve the December 5, 2016 minutes as presented. Motion carried 5-0. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION Lotthammer reported approval was received on three donations recently accepted by the City Council. Lion's Tap donated $1,000 to be distributed over several events. For the second year in a row, Eden Prairie Smiles donated $5,000 toward the 4th of July Hometown Celebration. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 6, 2017 Page 2 The Miracle League made a second donation, bringing them within $30,000 from full funding. The group continues to look for funding from business sponsors. Spresser inquired about the City providing a plaque to donors to display in their businesses for customers to see. Lotthammer noted these donations come through the City's sponsorship program which offers recognition. Brink added the City currently recognizes sponsors at the events. McBride suggested perhaps an icon could be provided for sponsors to place on their website. Lotthammer stated he will provide sponsorship promotional information at the next meeting. He noted,by State law, all donations need to be acknowledged by the City Council via a resolution. Sponsors are invited to attend and address the Council at the meeting during which their donation is adopted as a resolution. V. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION VI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION A. HANDOUTS OF UPCOMING EVENTS Link commented on the quality of flyers and brochures put out by the Department. Brink commended the City's Communications Department. Lotthammer acknowledged the recent work the PRNR Department, particularly Brink, has done in preparing the spring- summer recreation brochure. Brink presented copies of flyers for several upcoming events. 1. Valentine's Breakfast The annual social event will be held at the Senior Center on Wednesday, February 15 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The cost is $9 per participant and a portion of the event is sponsored by the Colony of Eden Prairie. 2. Eden Prairie Players "Plaza Suite" The comedy will be performed at the Eden Prairie High School auditorium on February 17, 18, 24, and 25 at 7:30 p.m. and on February 19 and 26 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 but the February 19 performance is "pay what you can." 3. Indoor Triathlon The event will be held on Sunday, March 5, at the Community Center for a cost of$20 for members and $25 for non-members. 4. Destination Summer Camps The brochure is a preview of summer camp offerings to allow families to PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 6, 2017 Page 3 plan their schedules earlier than ever before. Actual registration begins March 15. 5. Camp Preview Day Summer Camps Preview Day will be held on Monday, February 20, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Since it is a no-school day, attendees will be able to meet camp instructors, learn more about camp programs, and try a sport or activity. Concessions, entertainment, and free popcorn will be available. Limited early-bird registration will be available during the event. 6. President's Day The free educational event will be held at the Senior Center on Thursday, February 16 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Event will bring veterans from Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization and Eden Prairie Girl Scouts together for a presentation on the history and meaning of the official U.S. flag folding ceremony. Eden Prairie Police reserve officers will demonstrate flag raising, lowering, and folding. Guest speaker will be Eden Prairie City Council Member Ron Case. 7. Flick and Float The movie and swim night at the Community Center continues with shows from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on January 27, February 24 and March 31. Community members are free and there is a small fee for non-members. 8. 100-Mile Swim Challense As an opportunity to motivate members, the challenge is ongoing through December 31, 2017. Mileage tracking is updated weekly and posted in the Aquatics Center. Any participant achieving the goal receives a free swim towel. Verley stated there are 45 participants signed up already. Spresser commented this may be an opportunity to offer a challenge to other cities. B. PARKS AND RECREATION EXPERIENCES Pesheck inquired and Bourne responded about ice and snow removal responsibilities that fall on the City versus responsibility of residents. Pellowski visited the Aquatics Center with several children recently and was impressed by the facility and staff. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. 2017-2018 WORK PLANS Lotthammer informed the Commission each year the Division, the Department and individual employees develop work plans which are shared throughout the PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 6, 2017 Page 4 City. City Directors meet quarterly to discuss goals and objectives requiring partnerships with other departments. The information is ultimately shared in a large group setting so all City employees are invited to hear the information. The Parks and Recreation Department oversees the Outdoor Center, Community Center, Art Center, Senior Center, City Center and Maintenance Facility with 35 full-time employees, seven lead staff, 315 part-time employees and 250 seasonal employees. The Department consists of three divisions: Parks and Natural Resources, Recreation Services and the Community Center. Lotthammer's presentation included photos of employees and some of their job duties. Lotthammer described the 2017 work plan which includes several initiatives: • Improve financial procedures at the Community Center, including current procedures, workflow, and collection process • Expand upon safety and emergency planning, primarily at the Community Center, by enhancing staff trainings, implementing fire and tornado drills, and developing building signage and maps • Audit and refine fitness program offerings by evaluating current offerings and identifying programs that could be changed or reduced • Expand Aquatics program by exploring additional program offerings to reach new population and enhance the experience for current users • Develop the dryland training facility behind Rink 2 to accommodate more youth athletes and increase fitness programming • Increase participation in programs and events by examining new and innovative marketing avenues to increase participation throughout the Community Center events and programs • Increase health and wellness initiatives by expanding healthy food offerings utilizing the mobile cafe throughout the 2017 summer season and refining wellness offerings at the Community Center through strategic programming, marketing and partnerships with various community organizations to include Parkinson's-friendly fitness programs, wellness fairs and seminars • Assess mowed areas and determine which turf areas and areas of little use can be converted to native plants and pollinator-friendly plants • Create a Master Plan for redevelopment of Riley Lake Park beach and boat launch areas by redesigning boat launch entry and parking, creating new pull-off area for cleaning and inspecting boats, and redesigning beach and picnic areas • Conduct Cedar Hills Park grand opening • Continue new trail construction by filling in missing links in trail and sidewalk system as identified in the City's Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan • Add public art and placemaking by developing and implementing creative placemaking projects to create a more visually pleasing and humane environment PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 6, 2017 Page 5 • Finalize Outdoor Center site improvement plan to include trail expansion and educational nodes, new signage and entry-way, play structure, and improvements to programming and storage spaces • Expand senior population programming and marketing by reaching younger seniors and active adults and updating furnishings and technology at the Senior Center • Audit and refine adult athletics program offerings by researching new sport offerings, exploring daytime leagues for older adults, partnering with neighboring communities to offer regional leagues, and providing additional staff training • Enhance inclusion services by further educating staff on inclusion services and training all full-time and part-time/seasonal staff on managing and working with individuals with special needs • Design new youth program to address community needs and priorities by conducting a needs assessment survey for the Therapeutic and Youth Recreation areas and then addressing identified gaps in programming and responding to community needs • Enhance Leaders in Training (LIT) program by incorporating more community-based opportunities such as job shadowing, community speakers and service learning projects and researching ways to carry the program through the school year in collaboration with Eden Prairie schools • Collaborate across program areas to improve services and address barriers by expanding the grant-funded Aftercare Art Program to three summer camp locations, marketing the program starting in January, and creating art lesson kits to be used to sustain the program beyond the grant years • Enhance major community events, which is particularly important to the City Council, by increasing the size/scope of Arts in the Park, redesigning the 4h of July Hometown Celebration to fit the new Round Lake Park layout, and adding new elements to appeal to a broader segment of the community Link commended Lotthammer and the Department on the impressive list of initiatives. VIII. OLD BUSINESS A. PICKLEBALL UPDATE Lotthammer stated he provided the pickleball update, including the Commission's recommendation, to the City Council as it was previously presented to the PRNR Commission. The Council agreed to allow Southwest Metro Pickleball Club (SWMPC) to proceed with its fundraising effort. Council agreed the location at Staring Lake Park, as presented, was acceptable. Staff will meet with SWMPC this week to discuss potential methods for fundraising. Successful methods by other groups will be shared. Grant and foundation opportunities will also be discussed. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 6, 2017 Page 6 Spresser inquired about a percentage of fundraising needed. Lotthammer responded the City Manager inquired of individual Council members regarding the amount. It was agreed SWMPC would need to provide a majority of the funds, estimated at 75 percent or more, to be able to present to Council and possibly move forward with the project. IX. REPORTS OF STAFF A. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER 1. Fitness & Operations Chouinard provided a presentation of the operations and fitness components at the Community Center. The operations overview covered customer service tasks, front desk interactions, and staff hiring and training. In addition to one customer service lead, there are currently 22 part-time customer service staff members. Some of the customer service duties include membership sales and questions,program registration,phone calls,point of sale transactions, play care check-in, group fitness class card management, ice locker key and equipment loan management, lost and found, and member relations. The 2016 monthly sum of visits ranged from approximately 21,000 in July to upwards of 29,000 in December. Training of new customer service staff includes a minimum of 12 shifts of shadowing experienced staff. Ongoing training for all customer service staff is held every other month. The fitness overview covered information about group fitness classes, 2016 programs, personal training, fitness floor, and special populations. In addition to one fitness lead, there are currently 62 part-time group fitness instructors and 11 part-time personal trainers. In 2016, sixty-nine different classes were offered throughout the year. Fitness staff meets monthly to discuss class attendance to determine if classes need to be scaled back or added. The Group Ex Pro application is used to create the group fitness schedule and fitness staff scheduling and substitutions. Patrons can track classes and instructors by downloading the app. The most attended class is BodyPump with 13,387 attendees in 2016. Over 200 members were given orientations on the Fit Floor equipment. Fitness classes for special populations include Delay the Disease (Parkinson's or other debilitating diseases), TREC (Training and Recovery Exercise Program for Cancer Survivors), and MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Aquatics, which has been offered at the Community Center for over fifteen years. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 6, 2017 Page 7 2. North Memorial Partnership Verley reported North Memorial Hospital approached the City a year ago about a possible partnership as part of their wellness and community outreach initiative. They are currently partnering with the Senior Center providing quarterly educational sessions. North Memorial has also approached the Community Center about a possible one-day wellness fair by bringing businesses and vendors into one area to educate attendees on total wellness including financial, physical, mental, and emotional wellness. Health screenings and physicals could also be offered to Senior Center and Community Center members. McBride advised against offering physicals since many people who don't have primary care physicians could mistakenly consider it their annual physical. B. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER 1. Events Update Brink provided a brief update of events that took place since the last Commission meeting. Rock on Ice was held at Staring Lake on Friday, January 27, and involved skating, sledding, a disc jockey, snow painting, snowshoeing, s'mores and hot cocoa around a campfire, a bird feeder craft, and a visit by the Outdoor Center's new owl. Possibilities for 2018 include continuing with the event at Staring Lake (which had previously been held at Miller Park), bringing in the mobile cafe, incorporating a nature walk to the Outdoor Center for additional activities, and adding decorative lighting to trees on the island of the skating rink and potentially to the hill. The annual Father-Daughter Sweetheart Dance was held on Saturday, February 4, at the Garden Room at City Center. The 130 registered participants included 69 daughters and 61 fathers, grandfathers and guardians. Activities included dinner, dancing, professional photos of each couple,party favors, and crafts. C. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER 1. Construction Update Bourne stated each year City staff plan park construction and renovation projects based on the age, condition, and needed preventive maintenance of the existing park system infrastructure, as well as construction of new park facilities. Funding for these projects comes from the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) which represents the planning, forecasting, and budgeting of projects throughout the City for the next 10 years. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES February 6, 2017 Page 8 He presented an informational memo dated February 6, 2017 which outlined the following projects: complete park construction at Cedar Hills Park, full-access entry road at Purgatory Creek Park, boat launch and parking lot renovation at Riley Lake Park, irrigation system addition at ballfield at Hidden Ponds Park, tennis court improvements at Holasek Hill Park, parking lot lights replacement at Riley Barn, hockey rink replacement at Miller Park, multiple projects as part of Master Plan at the Outdoor Center, parking lot repairs at Rice Marsh Lake and Smetana Lake Parks, ballfield fencing replacement at Riley Lake and Hidden Ponds Parks, and several trail maintenance projects throughout the City. Spresser inquired and Bourne indicated he will provide an update on the first phase of the Riley Lake Park renovation project within the next two months. D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. 2017 Meeting Dates Lotthammer presented an updated 2017 meeting date schedule. He noted the April 3, 2017 meeting will most likely not include the Conservation Commission and therefore not be held at the water plant. The joint meeting will take place at another date to be determined. 2. 2017 PRNR Work Plan Lotthammer presented the 2017 work plan and mentioned topics tend to fill in quickly throughout the year. Chair Link invited Commission members to add ideas at any time by contacting him or Lotthammer. X. NEXT MEETING Next PRNR Meeting—Monday, March 6 at 7 p.m., Heritage Rooms XI. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Johnson moved, seconded by Spresser, to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 p.m. Motion carried 5-0.