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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity and School Facility Use Advisory Committee - 03/28/2018 UNAPPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY AND SCHOOL FACILITY USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WED., MARCH 28, 2018 7:00 P.M., Eden Prairie High School—PAC Lobby 17185 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55346 COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Deb McBride, Chair- Parks and Recreation Commission Elaine Larabee, Vice Chair - School Board Sherry Butcher-Wickstrom - City Council Open - Community Ed Advisory Council Cathy Ivey - EPHS Booster Club STAFF: Mike Grant, High School Activities Director Andrew Rothschafer, 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 Manager Open - Recreation Supervisor Kristin Harley, Recorder I. ROLL CALL & INTRODUCTIONS McBride called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Absent was staff Hoffman-Bram. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Larabee moved, seconded by Butcher-Wickstrom to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED by consensus. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Review and approve December 13, 2017 Minutes. Lotthammer, Grant, and Larabee briefly explained the scope of the committee and the voting process. Larabee moved, seconded by Ivey to approve the minutes. MOTION CARRIED by consensus. IV. ITEMS OF BUSINESS A. STAFFING UPDATE—LOTTHAMMER EDEN PRAIRIE CITY AND SCHOOL USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 28, 2018 Page 2 Lotthammer announced staff Shingles is moving to a position with St. Louis Park and her former position is now open. Interviews will be held Monday and Tuesday, followed by a second round of interviews. The goal was to have a new staff member in place in three to four weeks. Grant announced Monica Connect will start with scheduling in the High School Activities department, replacing Nancy Schmidt who has retired. B. CITY FIELD CONSTRUCTION UPDATE—LOTTHAMMER Lotthammer announced his office had been taking out fields nine, ten, and eleven for improvements at Miller Park, and was now on eleven. Ten would become available for use this year and eleven would be taken down for soil and drainage improvements, and then would sit for a year for the turf to grow in before being reopened. Similar improvements would then occur at Flying Cloud fields as part of the capital improvement plan through 2020. Ivey asked how often the fields had to be redone. Lotthammer replied these fields had been in place 20-plus years since the last improvement. Lotthammer added a cricket pitch was being put in place of a soccer field at Nesbitt Preserve. Grant asked how hard cricket is on the fields. Lotthammer replied the teams in most cases bring their own roll of turf and the location of batting will be adjusted. Players are not at the level where they will need a huge field. Lotthammer announced the City Council approved eight pickleball courts at Staring Lake Park along with tennis and basketball courts starting this spring, and could see players by August. Grant asked if pickleball was more popular than tennis. Lotthammer replied it depended on who one asks; pickleball players like to congregate. McBride added the Southwest Pickleball Association is trying to raise $47,000 for the project. C. 2017 SPRING/SUMMER FIELD USAGE UPDATE—ROTHSCHAFER/ VERLEY Rothschafer stated the Dome turf field was redone last year; this year all turf fields are booked. The Soccer League now has three or four teams coming to use the grass fields at night. Heavy use was projected for summer. The Special Olympics received grants and final approval to host track and field, swimming, and weight lifting events in Eden Prairie in the summer of 2019 featuring the top athletes in the country. Verley stated last spring and summer some fields were not completed, and staff was "making it work" with locations and some teams were displaced. There were EDEN PRAIRIE CITY AND SCHOOL USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 28, 2018 Page 3 not as many teams that accepted this year,but with Round Lake fields' reopening many teams came back. Softball is declining across the nation of adults, so staff sees a decline in registration. The West Metro Senior Softball Association is using the Round Lake fields. D. UPDATE ON OAK POINT POOL—LOTTHAMMER Lotthammer stated he, Verley, and Hoffman-Brown met to talk about the amending or removing the Joint Powers Agreement which covers Oak Point Pool. The Agreement gave city-school uses priority (the City used school facilities second, and the school used City facilities second,holding each other harmless) and then residents could use the facilities. There was a specific Joint Powers Agreement for Oak Point pool which stated when school was not in session, the City would schedule groups for usage. The school does not have much for curriculum in the pool at present, which raised the question of the possible advantages of having the district take over scheduling of the pool. This will go before the City Council in April. There is a Notice of Termination requiring 12 months,but that is for a takeover whereas this is a mutual agreement. Larabee asked for and received confirmation the students and residents would still be able to use the pool. Ivey asked if the Foxjets would make up some of the revenue for this. Verley replied staff pulled some of their weeknight programs for lessons, and the Foxjets filled those spots; it was not a loss of use,just a different group's usage. There were no gaps in usage. Lotthammer noted the Foxjets would like more time from the Parks and Recreation Department as well. Discussion followed on demand for facility rentals. E. CMS GYM RENOVATION TIMELINE-VERLEY Verley asked Bridge if the CMS gym was being renovated. Bridge and Larabee explained the floor was being redone as part of standard maintenance. F. 2017 CITY/SCHOOL FEES AND CHARGES-ALL Verley distributed two cost comparisons, City facilities used by the school district, and school facilities used by the City. Girls' and boys' practice and games for hockey were up due in part to the increase in fees, but girls' hockey seemed to have edged out the boys'. Gate receipts were down slightly. Staffing transitions in part caused the Community Center pool to show a total of$0.00. The Community Center usage by school district went from $800.00 to $1400.00 this year. School facilities used by the City showed fairly consistent numbers. Oak Point School open swim numbers went down. Bridge noted the increases and decreases depended on when events are held, conferences, etc. Basketball at CMS is lower EDEN PRAIRIE CITY AND SCHOOL USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 28, 2018 Page 4 due to skip days and cancelations, and she expected to try something new this year. Drops can depend on a fluke of the calendar and also an increase in community theater. Lotthammer asked Verley to explain the new point of sale system. Verley explained the possibility of funds transfer. Bridge replied Shingles used credit cards. Verley noted using a credit card was "clean" but incurred a three percent charge. Bridge replied the City did not allow the school districts to ACH. Discussion followed on services provided that were not charged. V. NEXT MEETING The next meeting was proposed for December 12, 2018 at a school facility,possibly the high school or the School Board meeting room. VI. OTHER Grant asked if a pedestrian bridge that will go behind the railroad tracks would involve the removal of ten to twelve 30-foot pine trees to make way for the sidewalk. Discussion followed on the shade and noise buffer benefits of these trees. Lotthammer replied that he would look at the plan and/or contact the relevant staff. Butcher-Wickstrom replied Eden Prairie was vigilant in protecting such resources, and assured Grant she would look into it. VII. ADJOURNMENT McBride adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m.