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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.09.15 Parks and Rec MinutesFarmington Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes from the September 9, 2015 Regular Meeting Members Present: Mike Haley, David McMillen, and Rob Carpentier Members Absent: Chad Elliott and Gene Spars Other’s Present: Parks and Recreation Director Randy Distad I. Call Meeting To Order Chair McMillen called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Quorum was present. II. Approval of September 9, 2015 Meeting Agenda Moved by Carpentier and seconded by Haley to approve the meeting agenda. All persons in favor (APIF). Motion carried. III. Approval of July 29, 2015 Regular Meeting Minutes Moved by Carpentier and seconded by McMillen to approve the July 29, 2015 regular meeting minutes. Voting in favor: Carpentier and McMillen. Voting against: none. Abstaining from the vote: Haley. Motion carried. IV. Presentations None V. Business Items A. Representation on Downtown Redevelopment Plan Committee Director Distad shared there has been a position identified for one Commission members on the Downtown Redevelopment Plan Committee (Committee). The Committee will consist of about a total of 10 community and staff members. He was informed the Committee will meet for approximately 4-6 months consisting of one evening a month to develop the plan. The Committee will be assessing the current condition of the downtown area and then will be formulating a vision for the future of the downtown area. As part of this plan, parks and open space and the Rambling River Center will be addressed in the plan. He shared the Recreation Supervisor Nicole Gorman will be representing the Parks and Recreation Department on the Committee since the Rambling River Center has a presence in the downtown. By consensus it was decided that Chair McMillen will represent the Commission on the Committee. B. Approve Recommendation to the City Council the 2016 Parks and Recreation Department Fees and Charges Director Distad presented the staff and Rambling River Center Advisory Board (RRCAB) recommended 2016 fees and charges for the Parks and Recreation Department. He shared the RRCAB recommended to keep all Rambling River Center fees and charges the same. He shared that staff recommended a few revisions to the 2016 fees and charges including the following: • Increasing on July 1, 2016 the prime time ice rental fee from $210.00/hr. to $220.00/hr. • Increasing on July 1, 2016 the non-prime time ice rental fee from $155.00/hr. to $160.00/hr. • Increasing on July 1, 2016 the summer ice rental fee from $155.00/hr. to $160.00/hr. • Creating on July 1, 2016 a new August ice rental fee of $145.00/hr. to provide an incentive for groups to rent ice in August to cover the cost of leaving the ice in during the month of August instead of taking it out at the end of July and then putting it back in during the early part of September • Increasing the park development fee based on the current Construction Cost Index amount of 2.1% Chair McMillen asked if the RRCAB had considered raising any fees. Director Distad shared that the RRCAB did not because they had raised the rental fees last year. Moved by Carpentier and seconded by Haley to recommend approval to the City Council the 2016 fees and charges that were recommended by staff and the RRCAB. APIF. Motion carried. C. December Council, Board and Commission Reception Commission members discussed the reception and by consensus agreed to the following: • First choice for a date will be Wednesday, December 9th • Second choice for a date will be Wednesday, December 2nd • The reception would be held in the City Hall Council Chambers or in the lobby area • A social hour would occur from 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. • The program would occur from 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers and would consist of each group providing a brief report of what was worked on and accomplished in 2015 and what items are under consideration to be accomplished in 2016 • Gave direction to Director Distad to research if the city would be able to provide beverages, snacks and/or hors d’oeuvres during the reception VI. Discussion Items A. 2015 Work Plan Review Chair McMillen reviewed the work plan and identified a few items that were completed on the work plan from the previous months review. He noted that a couple of the goals will not be completed this year and the Commission should decide when putting together its 2016 work plan if any of these uncompleted goals should be carried over into the 2016 work plan. B. Draft Agenda Empire Township Park and Recreation Commission Joint Meeting A review was completed of a draft agenda for the meeting. Chair McMillen suggested adding a discussion on both communities music in the park program to see how they compare. The Commission would like to have Director Distad share the draft agenda with the Empire Township Park and Recreation Commission to have them review and add other items if they so desired. C. Farmington School District User Fees and Facility Usage Policy Revision Director Distad shared the following about the Farmington School District looking to revise its use fees and facility usage policy: • Several meetings were held with user groups to discuss proposed changes to fees and facility usage that Park and Recreation Department staff attended • Interested in changing the rental fee structure to include more amenities with the rental fee • Interested in changing the focus on more of the rental revenue coming from user groups especially for-profit organizations who are outside the school district boundaries • The Athletics/Activities Department will be responsible for renting school facilities rather than the Community Education Department He shared the School Board was going to discuss at its last meeting was pulled before the meeting and will be brought back to a future meeting for discussion. He will continue to follow this as it will slightly impact the Parks and Recreation Department based on a few school facilities that are used for city recreation programs. D. Future City Council Work Session The Commission discussed if there was benefit to meet with the City Council to further discuss the development of new recreational facilities including a new aquatic facility and athletic complex and decided it would be better to wait until 2016 to try and schedule a work session with the City Council on this topic. VII. Commission Roundtable Carpentier: Did not have anything to share. Haley: Did not have anything to share. McMillen: Reminded Commission members about the September 19th Movie in the Park event that is being held in Rambling River Park. He asked if there was going to be free popcorn during the upcoming Movie in the Park . Distad stated that he would share the request with staff, but couldn’t make any promises that there would be free popcorn available. VIII. Staff Report A. Fair Hills Park Update Shared that footings for the shelter have been poured. Picnic tables, grills and waste containers are being ordered for the shelter. B. Meadowview Park Boardwalk Shared photos of the boardwalk that was recently constructed in the park. He informed Commission members that a Dakota County Sentence to Service crew and city staff completed the boardwalk in less than a week. C. New Park Signs and Landscape Curbing Shared that new park signs were received for Prairie Pines Park and Marigold Park. He stated these new park signs will be installed in the spring 2016. He shared that new kwik kerb landscape curbing has started to be installed around park signs and that staff had placed fabric and mulch in the containers that have been installed. He shared a few photos of the curbing and wood mulch that has been installed. He made Commission members aware that in the spring of 2016, plants and shrubs would be planted inside the curbing. D. Arena Exterior Painting Made Commission members aware that city facility maintenance staff have painted the exterior of the Arena and doors and trim are yet to be painted in a different color. Staff had solicited a quote for contracting this work out and it was estimated it would have cost about $25,000.00 to do so. Because staff provided the labor the cost was reduced to about $7,500.00 E. Park Benches Informed Commission members that several new benches were purchased and donated including two benches for the Veteran’s Memorial in Rambling River Park, two benches to be installed by the Oak Street entrance to the Rambling River Center, one bench to be installed along a public trail located adjacent to the Trinity Terrace Retirement Center and one bench to be installed in the Prairie Waterway on a scenic point by one of the ponds. IX. October 14, 2015 Meeting Agenda Items The following items were identified by Commission members for its October 14, 2015 meeting agenda: 1. Arena summer ice summary report 2. Outdoor Pool summary report 3. Summer recreation program summary report 4. Final review of agenda items for the meeting with Empire Townships Park and Recreation Commission 5. December Council, Board and Commission reception 6. Farmington School District Fees and Facility Usage Policy revision update X. Adjournment Moved by Commissioner Haley and seconded by Commissioner Carpentier to adjourn the meeting. APIF. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Randy Distad Parks and Recreation Director and Recording Secretary