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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.10.19 Parks and Rec MinutesFarmington Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes from the July 10, 2019 Regular Meeting Members Present: David McMillen, Brian Tennant, Ashley Crabtree and Elizabeth Koss Members Absent: Laurie Suchanek Other’s Present: Jennifer Lothert, Recreation Supervisor Ryan Hayes and Parks and Recreation Director Randy Distad I. Call Meeting To Order Vice-Chair McMillen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Quorum was present. II. Approval of July 10, 2019 Meeting Agenda Moved by Tennant and seconded by Koss to approve the meeting agenda as written. All persons in favor (APIF). Motion carried. III. Meeting Minutes Approval A. Approval of Minutes from the May 8, 2019 Special Meeting With Rambling River Center Advisory Board The meeting minutes were approved with no revisions identified. B. Approval of May 8 , 2019 Regular Meeting Minutes The meeting minutes were approved with no revisions identified. IV. Presentations A. Schmitz-Maki Arena Winter Ice Season and Spring Turf Season Report Director Distad presented a report that outlined the ice rentals, programs and events that occurred at the arena this past winter season. A report was also provided about the rental of the turn that occurred during the spring including two dry floor events. B. Summer Activities Passport Program Recreation Supervisor Hayes presented an update on the program. It was shared that only two people registered for the program. Hayes said that while the registration numbers were disappointing, he is planning on offering it again i n 2020 but would be looking to make some changes to the program to see if it would help receive more interest and registrations for the program. V. Business Items A. Approve Community Garden Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Director Distad reviewed the history of creating a community garden. Jennifer Lothert who approached the Commission about a community garden was also in attendance at the meeting. She shared some ideas about how it would be run including:  Technically there is not currently a committee as it is only Lothert who is taking the initiative to do this but felt if it was successful a committee could be put in place  People can come and go either to pick weeds, help maintain the garden or pick fruits and vegetables from the garden  There will be no fee charged to pick fruits and vegetables  May also have a stand that would be self-serve with fruits and vegetables already pre-picked by the committee Tennant asked about how the garden and park would be maintained and Director Distad shared the garden would be maintained by the committee and the park would be maintained by the city. This is how we handle park maintenance in other parks Vice-Chair McMillen thought it was a good idea to try a community garden and see how it goes. Moved by Koss and seconded by Tennant to approve the MOU with the community garden committee and recommend to the City Council that it also approve the MOU. APIF. Motion carried. Lothert asked when the MOU would go before the City Council for approval. Director Distad said he will be asking the City Council to approve the MOU at its August 5, 2019 meeting. B. Recommend 2020 Park and Recreation Department Fees Director Distad shared information about the 2020 Rambling River Center fees that were approved by the Rambling River Center Advisory Board. These included increasing the damage deposit from $150.00 to $300.00, increasing the Banquet Room rental rate from $330.00 to $350.00 for a five hour rental, which includes set up and tear down time and increasing the per additional hour of rental beyond the five hour rental from $85.00 an hour to $90.00 an hour. He also reviewed the remaining 2020 Park and Recreation Department fees that staff is recommending to be approved. He highlighted the following fee increases being proposed in 2020 by staff: Schmitz-Maki Arena  Prime time ice rental increased from $225.00 an hour to $230.00 an hour on July 1, 2020  Non-prime time ice rental increased from $165.00 an hour to $170.00 an hour on July 1, 2020  Combine the separate fees for June and July and August ice rental and create a new category of summer ice rental fee for the period between June and August and increase this fee from $165.00 an hour to $170.00 an hour  Increase the skate rental fee from $3.00 a pair to $4.00 a pair Park Development Fee Increase the park development fee from $23,045.00 to $23,736.00, because the Construction Cost Index annual increase is projected to be 3%. Tennant asked how the Arena ice rental fees compared to other communities. Distad shared that Farmington’s fees are around the median of what other communities are charging. Moved by Crabtree and seconded by Koss to recommend approval to the City Council the 2020 Park and Recreation Department fees that are being recommended by staff and the Rambling River Center Advisory Board. APIF. Motion carried. C. Agenda Items for Joint Meeting with Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission Director Distad shared the meeting will be held on Monday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. at the Empire Town Hall. By consensus, Commission members identified the following items to place on a draft meeting agenda that will be shared with the Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission:  provide park improvement project updates  provide trail project updates  provide new development updates containing parks and trails  rec program and event updates  music/entertainment in parks information sharing  partnership/collaboration opportunities  bike pedestrian plan Director Distad shared he will create a draft agenda and then send it to Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission chair, so it can be shared with other members of their commission. D. Approve Park and Facilities Tour Schedule with the City Council Commission members reviewed the draft tour schedule that was created at the May 8, 2019 meeting. There was some concern with not having enough time to visit all of the parks on the schedule and still have time to do the ribbon cutting. The tour schedule was amended to remove touring Farmington Preserve Park and if needed due to time constraints remove touring Flagstaff Meadow Park. Tennant moved and Crabtree seconded the amended park and facilities tour schedule to remove Farmington Preserve Park and Flagstaff Meadow Park if there was a time constraint during the tour. APIF. Motion carried. Director Distad shared he would provide the final parks and facilities tour schedule with the City Council, so they would be aware of what sites will be visited during the tour. E. Approve Park Improvement Fund’s 2030 Financial Plan Director Distad reviewed the revised financial plan with Commission members. He shared the financial plan aligns with the 5 year Capital Improvement Plan the Commission approved at the May 8, 2019 meeting. Vice-Chair McMillen asked if the financial plan had some flexibility with the parks and projects that occur in each year. Director Distad stated it doe s have flexibility should issues surface earlier in parks than when it is identified for new improvements to occur. Moved by Koss and seconded by Tennant to approve the 2030 Park Improvement Fund Financial Plan. APIF. Motion carried. VI. Discussion Items A. Review 2019 Work Plan Vice-Chair McMillen reviewed the work plan and the following updates were identified for the work plan since the last Commission meeting:  Goal #5 Objective #3 was partially completed  Goal #8 Objective #3 has been completed Director Distad informed Commission members the work plan will be updated prior to the next meeting identified which items on the work plan have been completed. B. Bike Pedestrian Plan Adoption Director Distad shared the plan was adopted by the City Council at its June 17 meeting. He shared the plan identifies possibly creating a bike and pedestrian committee to oversee implementation and ongoing monitoring of the plan. He asked if Commission members were comfortable with taking on this responsibility versus creating a separate committee to be responsible for the bike and pedestrian plan. Tennant share that he thought it made sense for the Commission to take on this role. He felt that if it becomes too onerous for the Commission to be responsible for the plan, then a recommendation could be made by the Commission to the City Council to create a Bike and Pedestrian Committee. This approach seemed to be acceptable to Commission members. VII. Commission Roundtable Tennant: Asked if the trails will be cracksealed this year. Director Distad responded the trails primarily along Dakota County roads will be cracksealed this summer. He shared the fog sealing of trails has been completed. Crabtree: Shared the trail in the Prairie Waterway in East Farmington was being pushed up by tree roots. She said she would get specific locations and share them with Director Distad. Vice-Chair McMillen: Asked when the Rambling River Center garage sale was going to be held. Director Distad shared it would be occurring on September 12 and 13. He made everyone aware that the world’s largest locomotive would be coming through Farmington this summer. Koss: Didn’t have anything to share. VIII. Staff Report A report was given by Director Distad on the following items:  Dew Days Kiss the Pig and Bike Auction events netted the Rambling River Center just under $3,500.00, which was a record amount  Prairie Pines and Marigold Park sites both have the playground equipment installed and the shelter contractor will be starting construction in Prairie Pines Park in the next week  Showed the park and trail locations that were approved in the Fairhill Estate at North Creek development final plat, which aligns with the recommendation the Commission made. IX. September 11, 2019 Meeting Agenda Items The following items were identified by Commission members for its next meeting agenda: 1. Review 2019 work plan 2. Finalize agenda for meeting with Empire Township’s Park and Recreation Commission 3. Review park and facilities tour with the City Council 4. Prairie Pines and Marigold Park development update 5. Rambling River Center 6 month report 6. Second report of the Summer Activities Passport Program 7. Presentation on summer recreation programs 8. 2020 budget update X. Adjournment Moved by Crabtree and seconded by Koss to adjourn the meeting. APIF. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Randy Distad Parks and Recreation Director and Recording Secretary