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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.23.23 Parks and Rec Joint Meeting with Empire MinutesCity of Farmington and City of Empire Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes from the October 23, 2023 Joint Meeting Farmington Members Present: Katharine Caron, Megan Merricks, Cody Fishman, and David McMillen Farmington Members Absent: Katie Putt Empire Members Present: Kacie Fahey, Mike Carey, Tanya Borchardt, Nicole Bower, and Mark Page Empire Members Absent: Josh Lindgren Other’s Present: Empire Deputy Clerk Dawn McCracken and Farmington Parks and Recreation Director Kellee Omlid Vice-chair McMillen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Quorum was present. Introductions: Commission members and staff introduced themselves. Agenda items discussed included: 1. Recent Park and Trail Projects • Empire received a DNR Outdoor Recreation Grant, so completed improvements at Town Hall Park including new playground equipment and native gardens. • Empire grounded tree roots on trails and then seal coated the trails. • Empire purchased 50 trees at the Dakota County tree sale and planted them near the disc golf course. • The construction of Flagstaff Meadows Park in Farmington is nearly completed with the playground and shade structure installed and the trail now goes from the park to Farmington High School. • Farmington completed a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) rating of all trail pavements within the city. This data will be incorporated into financial planning, maintenance programming, and the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for Trail Improvements. 2. Future Park and Trail Projects • Empire Park Preserve will be the next park scheduled for improvements in the next two-three years. • There is a new development, Deer Meadows, proposed in Empire at 197th Street and Biscayne Avenue that would include a new park. • The next new park in Farmington will likely be in Vermillion Commons, which is located south of Fire Station 1 and on the west side of Denmark Avenue. • Depot Way Arts Park is on the commission’s radar for potential improvements with the addition of the new apartments (The Emery) on Hwy. 50 and Third Street. 3. Rambling River Park • The master plan for Rambling River Park was updated over the last several months. • Identified improvements to the park include an all-inclusive playground, new picnic shelter near the Veteran’s Memorial, new bathrooms, skatepark, splash pad, bandshell, and trail improvements. 4. Current Program Partnerships/Collaborations • Information was shared about parks and recreation programs offered in Empire including Friends and Fun Time (FFT), Puppet Wagon, and Pickleball Lessons. The Friends and Fun Time didn’t get enough registration to be held in Empire or Farmington. 5. Recreation Programs and Events Information • Empire holds Sunday night entertainment at Town Hall Park in the summer. • This year Empire had Barnyard Buddies Petting Zoo, RAD Zoo, Curtis Magic, Baron of Bubbles, balloon artist, and the Farmington High School (FHS) Marching Band. • Attendance averaged 80-100 people other than for the FHS Marching Band, which was over 500 people. 6. Review Food Truck Events and Discuss 2024 Event(s) • Attendance for the fall food truck event was down. There was a home football game that night and they also had food trucks. • Discussion regarding moving the fall event to a Sunday in coordination with Empire’s entertainment. Potentially have a band. How do we pay for the band? Suggested to ask Farmington Area Enhancement Group for funding for band. Perhaps a subcommittee to discuss and determine fall event details. • Empire isn’t interested in charging the food trucks. • The spring food truck event will be held Friday, May 17 from 5 to 8 p.m. in Empire at Stelzel Ballfields 7. Music/Entertainment in Parks • Farmington has Music in the Park May – August on the last Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Rambling River Park. Attendance was approximately 612 people this year. • Farmington shows two movies in the park. One on a Friday night in July and the second on a Saturday night in September. Attendance was approximately 528 people this year. 8. New Residential/Commercial Developments • A new development, Deer Creek, which is planned near 197th St. W. and Biscayne Ave. in Empire is likely to happen. • Kwik Trip is planning to break ground in the spring on the land they own in Empire, which is east of Hwy. 3 and north of Stelzel Ballfields. Discussion is still taking place regarding where the entrance / exit will be. • Nitti Sanitation, 160th St. and Clayton Ave. in Empire, opened. • Farmington has several new housing developments happening including The Emery (apartments), Vermillion Commons, Vita Attiva, Sapphire Lake, and Whispering Fields. • Hiwatha Broadband Communications (HBC) is building a fiber network throughout Empire and Farmington. They are going to have a store front in the former Zen Nails building. 9. Update on Empire Incorporating and Transitioning into a City • Empire is Minnesota’s newest city and incorporated on February 28, 2023. • The Town Board dissolved and now Empire has a mayor and city council members. • An additional member was added to both the parks and recreation and planning commissions. • They are working through some ordinances that needed to be updated as they become a city. 10. Empire Celebration • The Empire Celebration is held on the first Thursday in August. • In addition to grilling hotdogs, they added hamburgers this year. • The planning commission and Hope Church helped the parks and recreation commission on the day of the celebration with grilling and clean-up. • Entertainment included a DJ, Dakota County Library mobile book station, petting zoo, balloon artist, and Sheriff’s Department (dive tank and K-9 demonstration). • There were approximately 615 people who attended the celebration this year. 11. Dew Days • Dew Days was held June 22 – 25. • New this year were teen events including several inflatables. However, an adjustment was quickly made to youth as they were the ones interested in the inflatables. • Rain late afternoon, but people still came for Saturday night entertainment. It ended up being well attended. • There was a lot of rain on Sunday morning, but it stopped approximately 10 minutes before the start of the parade and started again after it was over. • There was a question if the Shriners still rode their motorcycles in the parade. They haven’t for several years. 12. Miscellaneous Items • Empire is holding an Intro to Budgeting class November 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. It will be held at the Public Works Building and is open to the public. Folks interested in attending the class should call Empire City Hall to reserve their spot. • Empire inquired if Farmington had a staff member dedicated to Facebook. Farmington has a Communications Specialist who handles Facebook and the other social media channels, city’s website, the Currents, and press releases. • It was decided to form a subcommittee to work out the details of the fall food truck event. Farmington Parks and Recreation Commission will discuss it at their next meeting on November 8 and Empire Parks and Recreation Commission will discuss it at their next meeting on November 13. Director Omlid will follow up with City Clerk McCracken after Farmington’s meeting. Moved by Merricks and seconded by Caron to adjourn the meeting. All persons in favor (APIF). Motion Carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 p.m. Submitted by Kellee Omlid Parks and Recreation Director and Recording Secretary