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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.10.14 Parks and Rec MinutesFarmington Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes from the December 10, 2014 Regular Meeting Members Present: Mike Haley, David McMillen, and Gene Spars Members Absent: Chad Elliott Other’s Present: Parks and Recreation Director Randy Distad I. Call Meeting To Order Chair McMillen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Quorum was present. II. Approval of December 10, Meeting Agenda Moved by Haley and seconded by Spars to approve the meeting agenda. All persons in favor (APIF). Motion carried. III. Approval of October 22, 2014 Regular Meeting Minutes and November 12, 2014 Joint Meeting with Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes Moved by Haley and seconded by Spars to approve the October 22, 2014 regular meeting minutes. APIF. Motion carried. Moved by Spars and seconded by Haley to approve the November 12, 2014 joint meeting with Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission meeting minutes. APIF. Motion carried. IV. Presentations A. Minnesota Recreation and Park Association (MRPA) Did You Know Program (the Program) Distad provided the following summary about the Program: • Staff attended a MRPA workshop in Owatonna, Minnesota in early December about the Program • Was created by the Missouri Park and Recreation Association and MRPA is bringing the Program to Minnesota for Parks and Recreation Department’s to use • The Program focuses on providing facts to the public about benefits that derive from participating in different areas of Parks and Recreation such as health, wellness, social, mental and community • The benefit is to get people to understand and appreciate the value that parks and recreation brings to a community Distad stated another aspect of the Program is creating a “Friends” group that can become an advocacy group for parks and recreation. He shared that this is a Program that staff is looking to implement in upcoming publications from the Department and wanted to make the Commission aware of it. Distad also shared that this is a Program that was used successfully as part of campaigns for parks and recreation referendums. Commission members by consensus felt this could become a valuable tool for the Department and supported staff on moving forward with the implementation of the Program. V. Business Items A. Review Meeting with Empire Township’s Parks and Recreation Commission (ETPRC) McMillen asked for feedback from Commission members about the meeting with ETPRC this past November. The following thoughts were shared: • Haley stated he felt having the meeting in Farmington at City Hall makes it hard on members of the ETPRC and that there didn’t seem to be as much discussion during the meeting as when the meeting occurs in Empire Township. He thought all future meetings should be held in Empire Township. • McMillen thought it was a good meeting and there were some good items discussed. He also agreed with Haley’s comments about Commission members from Empire Township being quiet and not sharing much information. • Spars said he agreed with McMillen and Haley and that it appeared to him that Empire did not seem very comfortable at the meeting sharing information. He asked Distad if he received any feedback from Empire Township. Distad informed Commission members that he did not receive any feedback from Empire Township, but felt that because Commission members agreed to keep meeting on an annual basis, he felt having an annual meeting was beneficial. B. 2014 Meeting Attendance Report Distad reviewed the meeting attendance report and asked if there were any revisions to be made. McMillen asked if the Commission has reviewed the attendance report in the past. Distad stated that this is the first year that he has brought this to the Commission, so the Commission could review it and then formally approve it. He stated it was brought to the Commission for two reasons. The first reason was to allow the entire Commission to see what the attendance has been by Commission members. The second was to have the Commission review and confirm the report is accurate or make revisions if it is not accurate. The third reason was so the Commission could formally approve the attendance report so that it could be submitted to the City Council for approval and therefore Commission members could get paid for the meetings they attend at $10.00 per meeting. Spars stated a revision should be made to the attendance report. He said he was at the June 30th City Council Work Session and not Elliott. Haley stated that he appreciated seeing the report. Distad asked if the Commission would like to see a minimum number of meetings attended and if the minimum attendance standard was not met, the chair could send a letter to the Commission member with low attendance expressing the Commission’s attendance concern. Commission members by consensus agreed that this would be handled on a case by case basis and could be discussed if it happens in the future. He also shared that only the City Council can remove people from City boards and commissions. Moved by Haley and seconded by Spars to approve the Commission’s 2014 meeting attendance report. APIF. Motion carried. C. Review 2014 Annual Work Plan Accomplishments Chair McMillen reviewed each of the work plan items and noted which goals in the work plan were accomplished and the goals not accomplished. By consensus Commission members felt it was a good year with almost all of the 2014 annual work plan goals and objectives being fully accomplished. Moved by Spars to accept the results of the 2014 annual work plan and seconded by Haley. APIF. Motion carried. D. Prepare Draft 2015 Annual Work Plan Distad shared the ideas for the draft 2015 work plan items that were either carried over from goals in the 2014 work plan, came from City Council direction, or were submitted by Parks and Recreation Department staff. The following items were preliminarily identified to be included in the draft 2015 annual work plan: • Arena financial planning including development of agreement forms for rental groups • Park and Recreation Strategic Plan • Community survey involvement • Involvement on the Recreational Facilities Task Force • Fair Hills Park shelter design, construction specifications and selection process • Hillview Park trail alignment and construction specifications • Meadowview Park boardwalk alignment, design and construction specifications • Explore possible collaboration with the Farmington Business Association during Downtown Dazzle Day event • Explore winter event partnership with Dakota County at Whitetails Woods Regional Park • Have at least one meeting or a parks and facilities tour with the City Council • Continue to have Parks and Recreation Department staff make timely presentations about programs, parks, facilities, trails and events • Continue to meet with the Empire Township’s Parks and Recreation Commission • Explore possible alternative lighting methods in City parks Distad shared he would prepare a draft 2015 annual work plan for Commission members and they can review the draft document, make any revision they prefer and then approve the document. VI. Discussion Items A. Commission Member Recognition Distad shared that currently there isn’t any criteria that identifies how and when recognition is given to a Commission member who resigns. In the past he has purchased and provided a plaque to members who have served more than a couple of years, but there was no formal criteria used to determine this. He is asking the Commission to discuss and then provide some direction to him on what basic criteria should be met before a Commission member is recognized when they resign. McMillen shared that he thought there should a thank you letter from the Mayor recognizing the Commission member for years of service and there should also be a plaque presented. Haley thought Commission members should be recognized only if they have completed one full three year term on the Commission. Commission members by consensus agreed that this should be the minimum criteria. Distad shared that he would like to recognize outgoing Commission member Adam Lares at either the January or February meeting because he has met the criteria. By consensus Commission members agreed with Distad. VII. Commission Roundtable Spars: Asked who trims the boulevard trees and Distad responded that Municipal Service staff trims boulevard trees and Park Maintenance staff trims park trees. Shared that he had a neighbor complain to him about how badly the boulevard trees were trimmed and that City staff had trimmed one of the neighbor’s trees that was not in the boulevard. Distad shared that he would make Municipal Services staff aware of this complaint. Haley: Did not have anything to share. McMillen: Shared that he would be reapplying for another term on the Commission, since his term expired this year. He also shared that Robert Vogel whose services are contracted by the City for Heritage Preservation is planning on presenting a work shop about heritage preservation to City boards and commissions possibly early in 2015. He stated that he would keep Commission members aware in case they are interested in attending the workshop. VIII. Staff Report A. City Meeting and Holiday Calendar Distad reviewed the City meeting and holiday calendar that was included in the packet. He thought it was good for the Commission to see this document and to be able to reference it during 2015. B. 2015 Budget Review Shared the budget was approved and reviewed the projects in Parks and Recreation that were funded in 2015. C. Hillview Park Sledding Hill Commission members were made aware that work was completed on the sledding hill including benches being installed on top of the hill. He made Commission members aware that despite the limited snow we have received so far, there have been people using the sledding hill. D. Paperless Meetings Informed Commission members about the new software that is being used to create meeting packets and made Commission members aware that beginning with the January 2015 meeting, meeting packets would no longer be mailed to Commission members. Instead they were directed to go to the City’s website to read the meeting packet information. He shared that during the meeting, staff would use the projector to call up the meeting agenda and meeting supporting documents, so Commission members could see the items that were being discussed and wouldn’t have to print off meeting packet information. IX. January 14, 2015 Meeting Agenda Items The following items were identified by Commission members for its December 10, 2014 meeting agenda: 1. Approve 2015 Annual Work Plan 2. Discuss 2015 meeting dates with City Council 3. Fair Hills Park shelter design 4. Trail alignment in Hillview Park 5. Boardwalk construction in Meadowview Park X. Adjournment Moved by Haley and seconded by Spars to adjourn the meeting. APIF. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Randy Distad Parks and Recreation Director and Recording Secretary