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Parks and Recreation - 03/04/2024APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2024 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER – Heritage Rooms 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Patrice Erickson, Chair; Tom Poul, Vice Chair; Sarat Atluru, Deepa Bhujle, Cecilia Cervantes, Pedro Curry, Duane Hookom, Annie Klodd, Shanti Shah, Ashley Young STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Vaikunth Ananthanarayanan, Jasmine Berry, Jessica Fang, Rohil Garg, Andrew Ginder, Jake Heimkes, Sydney Ishaug, Siona Kaura, Aiden Rice, Sophia Strehl CITY STAFF: Amy Markle, Parks and Recreation Director Lori Brink, Recreation Manager Matt Bourne, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Valerie Verley, Community Center Manager Tessa Syverson, Recreation Supervisor - Youth Sports and Community Programming RECORDING SECRETARY: Jodie Fenske Chair Erickson called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Commission Members Atluru, Bhujle, Cervantes, Hookom, and Young were absent. Vice Chair Poul and Commission Member Shah arrived late. Student Representatives Ananthanarayanan, Berry, Garg, Ishaug, Kaura, Rice, and Strehl were absent. Eden Prairie residents Greg Olson and Jim Millin were present as observers. I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Commission Member Curry moved, seconded by Commission Member Klodd, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 5-0. II. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES Since only two Commission members were present at this time, the decision was made to delay the Motion to approve the February 5, 2024 PRNR Commission minutes until next month. III. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION Parks and Recreation Director Markle reported on actions recently taken by the City Council. PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES March 4, 2024 Page 2 A. ARBOR DAY PROCLAMATION The Mayor has proclaimed April 27, 2024, as Arbor Day in the City of Eden Prairie. Eden Prairie has been recognized as a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation and desires to continue its tree stewardship and tree planting practices. Eden Prairie first celebrated Arbor Day in 1982. B. ATHLETIC COURT RENOVATION AT MILLER PARK Council authorized a first Amendment to the Standard Agreement for Professional Services with ISG, Inc. for the design phase services for the Miller Park Outdoor Court Complex. The project will replace the existing tennis and basketball courts with an outdoor court complex that will provide residents with a facility for lit tennis, pickleball, and basketball courts, along with adjacent seating areas. C. TREE TRUST CONTRACT FOR ARBOR DAY TREE SALE Council approved a Contract for Goods and Services with Tree Trust for facilitating the annual Arbor Day Tree Sale. The City has been using Tree Trust to facilitate its annual Arbor Day Tree Sale for the last four years. Each year, Tree Trust has been able to coordinate the purchase and sale of trees for this extremely popular event to Eden Prairie residents. The event has been so popular, staff are now proposing to increase the number of trees available for purchase from two hundred to four hundred trees. Residents will be provided options made up of mostly native climate-ready trees with a few options of ornamental/cultivar and fruit trees. The goal is to provide residents with a diversity of species to aid in creating a more disease-resistant urban forest. D. PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT CONTRACT Council approved a Standard Agreement for Contract Services with PlayPower LT Farmington, Inc. for purchase and installation of playground equipment at High Trail Estates Park. Staff and the PRNR Commission agreed that their proposal presented the highest play value. Using feedback from the Commission and Park staff, a change was made to the original proposal to remove two spinners and replace those with an independent play structure providing a quiet space for children to rest. Funding for the play equipment replacement work will come from the Capital Improvement Program. Play equipment is on a replacement schedule based on our annual safety audits. Equipment is identified as needing replacement based on its age and safety audit point priority ranking. Play equipment has a normal life expectancy of fifteen years and the existing equipment is twenty years old at High Trail Estates Park, outliving its normal expectancy. PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES March 4, 2024 Page 3 E. MOSS SITE 2024 WOOD GRINDING CONTRACT Council authorized entering into an Agreement for Contracted Services with Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s (SMSC) Organics Recycling Facility (ORF) for grinding and removing woody debris from the Moss Yard and Wood Waste Site in 2024. The woody debris is primarily from diseased tree removals within the City, including residential and City tree work. SMSC had graciously been providing tub griding and removal of woody debris at no cost to the City for close to ten years. When approached by SMSC about requiring charging for services, City Staff requested bids. Of the two bids received, SMSC’s bid was the lower cost to the City. IV. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION V. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, AND COMMUNICATION VI. NEW BUSINESS VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND STAFF A. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER 1. Outdoor Skating Rinks Overview. Tessa Syverson, Recreation Supervisor – Youth Sports and Community Programming, provided an overview of the City’s outdoor skating rinks and Staring Lake Park sledding hill. The City has nine outdoor rinks located at Prairie View, Round Lake, Edenvale, Forest Hills, Miller, Crestwood, Staring Lake, Homeward Hills, and Nesbitt Preserve Parks. A website link was provided (https://www.edenprairie.org/amenities/skating-rinks) which also includes a link to the cross country ski trail map at Staring Lake Park. The website is constantly updated for weather conditions and closures in line with the City’s cold weather policy. Hours, location addresses, and telephone numbers (if available within the warming house) are posted on the website. Winter equipment is available for free checkout, including ice skates, cross country skis, tubes, and kicksleds. A photo or student identification card, or a set of car keys, is required for the free equipment rental. Syverson stated Staring Lake Park has the City’s busiest outdoor rink, which is an oval leisure skating rink. Round Lake Park has two hockey rinks and one pleasure rink (no sticks or pucks allowed) and is home to the newly renovated Park building. PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES March 4, 2024 Page 4 The neighborhood parks (Crestwood, Edenvale, Forest Hills, Homeward Hills, Miller Park, Nesbitt and Prairie View) typically have one pleasure rink, one hockey rink, restrooms, a drinking fountain, and bench seating. Staffing for the rinks involves hiring 45 to 50 seasonal rink attendants to work typically from December through March. Parks staff manages flooding and maintenance of the rinks and grooming of the sledding hill. In 2022-23, over twenty-five thousand users took advantage of the rinks. Staring Lake Park had the most users at over sixteen thousand. Due to warm weather and lack of snow, 2024 was the shortest season as rinks were only open January 16th through the 27th. Round Lake rinks were the most used in 2023-24, likely because the Staring Lake sledding hill never opened this season. Off-season use of the outdoor rinks includes a bike obstacle course and dog parks. Additional uses and trends are being considered, including badminton. The City has partnerships with the Eden Prairie Hockey Association (EPHA) and Eden Prairie High School (EPHS). Outdoor practices are scheduled with EPHA at Round Lake, Nesbitt, and Crestwood Parks from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays during the season. Winter Blast, the City’s annual winter event, was rescheduled this year from January to February due to warm weather and lack of snow. The warm weather edition hosted in February was attended by a few hundred people. The Winter Blast event is typically held at Staring Lake Park and attended by over a thousand people. Other activities taking place at the outdoor rinks include traveling skate rental, open broomball, and pop-up activities. With the assistance of grant funds, free traveling skate rental is offered at rotating rinks throughout the winter. Open broomball is offered on Thursdays at Miller Park. Pop-up events including free skate rental, art activities, and music are offered at Prairie View and Nesbitt Parks. Markle stated Parks and Recreation directors in the metro are having similar conversations around what next year may look like if the warm weather and lack of snow trend continues. Brink stated she encourages users to check the website for current conditions and hours for open skating. B. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER C. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES March 4, 2024 Page 5 1. Diseased Tree Update. Parks and Natural Resources Manager Bourne provided the group with an update on forestry and shade tree pest control in the City. He provided background information on Eden Prairie having been a Tree City USA participant since 1982. The program was started by the Arbor Day Foundation in 1976 and measures a community’s forestry management efforts using four standards: maintaining a tree board or department, having a tree care ordinance, managing a forestry program with an annual budget of at least two dollars per capita, and observing/proclaiming an Arbor Day annually. The City has also been recognized with the Sterling City Award for growth obtained over ten years. Bourne stated Eden Prairie is one of only four cities in Minnesota earning this recognition. One of the requirements of being a Tree City USA is to have a tree care ordinance. Through City Code Section 9.70, Eden Prairie currently tries to control Dutch Elm Disease (DED), Oak Wilt, and Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The City has forestry staff, forestry interns, and AmeriCorps and Forest Corps members perform surveys on private and public land looking mainly for these three diseases. Bourne displayed trends of Oak Wild and Dutch Elm Disease within the City. There are large pockets of Oak Wilt in the northcentral part of Eden Prairie (near Forest Hills Elementary School) and within Staring Lake Park primarily near the disc golf area. Quite a few trees have been removed, including infested trees and trees that neighbor the infested trees since Oak Wilt can spread through the root system. The increase in the number of infected trees in 2023 is possibly drought related. Dutch Elm Disease peaked in Minnesota in the 1980s but has since died down, leaving few Elm trees that have survived. Erickson inquired if the uptick in Oak Wilt surprised staff. Bourne responded it did and pockets appear to show up every few years. There are other oak diseases with similar symptoms. Staff obtains samples and sends them to the University of Minnesota for testing. The majority come back positive for Oak Wilt. Staff has been preventatively treating for Oak Wilt for the past three years to slow the spread of the disease. Bourne stated the EAB Management Plan includes chemical treatment to preserve trees, removal of some infected ash trees, tree planting to offset the ash removals, and public outreach and education. He displayed a chart illustrating treatments for Emerald Ash Borer from 2017 through 2023 on public and private land. The private numbers only include treatments through the City’s partnership with Rainbow Tree Service. As part of their bid with the City to treat infected trees on public land, Rainbow offers a competitive rate to residents to treat trees on their private property. Rainbow has more treatment programs of this nature than any other company in Minnesota and Eden Prairie PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES March 4, 2024 Page 6 continues to typically treat more trees than any other city collaborating with Rainbow. Postcards goes out annually Citywide to inform residents of the discount available. City staff works with Eden Prairie Schools’ maintenance staff to educate them and work together on treatment of ash trees on their properties. The City has recently launched the Green Ribbon program which provides an educational opportunity with residents. The goal is to inform residents that they have a good quality ash tree that will either need to be treated or planned for removal. AmeriCorps members are spearheading this pilot program. They are sectioning the City to cover areas of the highest concern this year and then moving to other areas in the coming years. This year the focus is on the northwest quadrant of the City. Bourne explained the City’s goal is to plant 1.5 trees for each infested tree removed in maintained areas of parks and in the right of way on City-owned property. A graph was displayed showing the number of plantings per year to offset the ash removals. In order to encourage replanting on private property, the annual tree sale has been held for the last few years in partnership with the Tree Trust. Between one hundred and two hundred trees have been sold each year since 2020 at a discounted rate. In 2024, four hundred trees will be sold. Consideration is being given to hosting a fall tree sale as well. A variety of tree species are sold which are not commonly planted in Eden Prairie. The City’s tree replacement fund is subsidized by developers paying a certain amount per inch of trees removed if they cannot meet the tree replacement requirement on their project site. EAB management grants are used as additional funding sources. Forestry Corps and Green Corps members survey diseased trees. The City has received the Hennepin County Healthy Tree Canopy grant every year since 2019 for around $40,000. These grants were used for tree planting, contracting removal of ash trees, and needed equipment. The DNR’s Protect Community Forests grant in the amount of almost $117,000 in 2022 was used for EAB treatments, tree planting, and ash removals. The DNR’s Shade Tree Program grants of almost $170,000 in 2021 and 2023 assisted with ash removals and tree planting. D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR E. PARKS AND RECREATION EXPERIENCES Staff and Commission members shared recent experiences with City parks and recreation programs, past events, park/building visits, news articles, etc. Chair Erickson noticed the Community Center was shown a few times in a recent episode featuring Sammy Walker on the Becoming Wild television series. PARKS, RECREATION, AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES March 4, 2024 Page 7 Brink mentioned the Youth Open House at the Art Center was held on Saturday, March 2 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. About three hundred people enjoyed the free event that featured projects and demonstrations, as well as upcoming classes and programs. The Open House is strategically timed right before Summer registration begins on Wednesday, March 6. Bourne invited the group to attend or participate in the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics being held at Riley Lake Park on Saturday morning, March 9. IX. NEXT MEETING The next PRNR Commission meeting will be held on Monday, April 1, at 7:00 p.m., at the Art Center. Staff will present and request Commission feedback on expectations and proposed guidelines to be posted at all pickleball courts throughout the City. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Vice Chair Poul moved, seconded by Commission Member Klodd, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Erickson adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m.