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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.10.20 Parks and Rec MinutesFarmington Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes from the June 10, 2020 Regular Meeting Members Present: David McMillen, Elizabeth Koss, Ashley Crabtree and Brian Tennant Members Absent: Laurie Suchanek Other’s Present: Communication Specialist Lauren Siebenaler and 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 June 10, 2020 Meeting Agenda Moved by Crabtree and seconded by Koss to approve the meeting agenda. All persons in favor (APIF). Motion carried. III. Approval of May13, 2020 Regular Meeting Minutes The meeting minutes were approved with no revisions. IV. Presentations A. Public Comments There were no public comments provided at the meeting. B. City Communication Process and Tools Communication Specialist Lauren Siebenaler reviewed the tools she uses to communicate with the public. The tools included: city website, print publications and social media. Tennant asked how many years has the city had a communication specialist. Communication Specialist Siebenaler said about 12 years. Chair McMillen asked if we provide press releases to the Dakota County Tribune newspaper. He also asked how does the city reach people who aren’t tech savvy. Communication Specialist Siebenaler shared that she does send press releases to this newspaper. She also shared that depending on the newspaper’s space limitations the press releases may or may not be included in the newspaper. She also informed Commission members that the Farmington Currents, which is a printed newsletter is sent out and covers the entire Farmington School District boundary. She said this is the main way the city can reach people who are not tach savvy. V. Business Items A. Volunteerism in Parks and Recreation Commission discussed with Communication Specialist Siebenaler and Director Distad about their desire to publicize the volunteer opportunities that exist within the department. As a result of the discussion it was identified to have the following three-pronged approach to promoting volunteerism in the department: 1. Provide an article in the fall Farmington Currents newsletter about the opportunities that exist in the department and information for the contact person for each of the volunteer positions. 2. Create posters/flyers that can be hung in the large informational boards at city parks 3. Create a video about the volunteer opportunities and also have some testimonials from current volunteers to help increase the number of volunteers in the department Director Distad shared he would work with Communication Specialist Siebenaler and other department staff to implement this three-pronged approach to promote volunteer opportunities in the department. B. Parks and Facilities Tour with Rambling River Center Advisory Board Director Distad shared because of the COVID-19 pandemic the Rambling River Center Advisory Board voted to cancel the July 8 parks and facilities tour and reschedule it in 2021. They voted to cancel based on the difficulty with being properly socially distanced on the bus and if a bus could be used, then they didn’t feel the alternate of having everyone drive separately to each park would be very beneficial. The felt that having everyone on the bus created a good exchange of ideas and information. The Commission briefly discussed this and felt it was important to have the tour, but not in July this year. Moved by Tennant and seconded by Crabtree to cancel the parks and facilities tour with the Rambling River Center Advisory Board and reschedule it in 2021. APIF. Motion carried. VI. Discussion Items A. COVID -19 Update Director Distad informed Commission members that the pandemic has had a big impact on parks and recreation facilities not being open and programs and events being held. Staff has been busy creating preparedness plans for facilities and programs. He informed everyone that the most recent governor’s order allows ice arenas to open. He shared Schmitz-Maki will open on June 15, but there will be controls in place such as limiting the number of participants on the ice, limiting the spaces that can be used inside the building, not allowing parents and spectators to be present when kids are skating and staff will be cleaning and disinfecting between user groups. These are all requirements of the governor’s order that have to be put in place before ice arenas can be opened up to the public to use. B. Inclusive Playground Information Koss informed Commission members that she was finally able to talk with the group from Apple Valley who has proposed to fundraise and build an inclusive playground. This project was put on hold because of the City of Apple Valley parks and recreation director passing away and due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They currently have not been able to determine a location and no fundraising has been started yet. Commission members discussed and continued to be supportive of constructing an inclusive playground in Jim Bell Park and Preserve. There was some discussion about if the city should provide some funds to build it with the remaining cost of the playground to be paid through a community fundraising effort. C. 2020 Work Plan Review Chair McMillen reviewed the work plan and identified items that were completed since the last work plan review at the May 13, 2020 virtual meeting. Director Distad shared he would update the work plan based on the objectives that were identified as being completed. He stated he would provide an updated work plan in the July 8, 2020 meeting packet for Commission members to review in order to continue to identify progress being made. VII. Commission Roundtable Koss: Didn’t have anything to share. Crabtree: Didn’t have anything to share Tennant: Didn’t have anything to share. McMillen: Asked when the Rambling River Center building might be reopened. He was informed that at the earliest it may open sometime in July depending on the governor’s order and the Minnesota Department of Health guidelines. VIII. Staff Report Director Distad provided information on the following topics: A. Commission Bylaws Made Commission members aware their bylaws were approved by the City Council at its June 1 meeting. He said there were copies in the back of the room and each Commission member could grab one on their way out of the meeting. B. Rambling River Park Tennis Courts Provided information about the possibility of converting the tennis courts to pickle ball courts in 2021 because the city does not currently have any courts dedicated to pickle ball. He said it is important to have a diverse park system and since there are tennis courts on school district properties, there may be an opportunity to convert the tennis courts if the park improvement fund budget is approved that funds the resurfacing work on the current tennis courts at Rambling River Park. Commission members seemed to generally agree with this concept. It was further shared that there would likely need to be a public input process followed about converting the courts and the Commission would then make a recommendation to the City Council and ultimately the City Council would make a final decision. He said this was just an idea that is being floated to the Commission and if the Commission has interest in doing this, then it could be a 2021 work plan goal. C. Park Projects and Maintenance Shared photos of the projects completed including the finish grading and seeding of Marigold Park and the new basketball court painted at Farmington Preserve Park and replacement of the restroom doors at the park building in Evergreen Knoll Park. D. Building Improvement Projects Shared photos of the Fire Station #1 overhead door project and various improvements that were completed at Schmitz Maki Arena this spring. E. Community Garden Shared photos of the community garden that was tilled, planted and had a fence installed around it by volunteers. F. 2021/2022 Budget Update Shared that staff submitted a requested 2021 budget that included funding for a community survey. However due to the expected budget difficulties due to the pandemic, staff moved it to the 2022 requested budget instead. IX. July 8, 2020 Meeting Agenda Items The following items were identified by Commission members for its July 8, 2020 meeting agenda: 1. 2020 work plan review 2. 2021 park and recreation fees recommendation 3. 2021/2022 budget update X. Adjournment Moved by Crabtree and seconded by Koss to adjourn the meeting. APIF. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:11 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Randy Distad Parks and Recreation Director and Recording Secretary