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4.1. SR 03-16-1998ity of 'ver Item 4.1. MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Mayor and City Council Patrick Klaers, City ~i/nistrator March 9, 1998 Community Recreation Board Update The City of Elk River is a member of the Community Recreation organization. Councilmember Holmgren is the city representative on this Board (and is chairman of the board) and Jeff Asfahl is the Community Recreation Director. This organization and Jeff are in charge of the city recreation programs. The Community Recreation Board meets at least monthly. The board most recently met on February 24, 1998. Attached for your review is some of the background material from this meeting. Also attached is the February/March Youth Initiatives newsletter. Jeff and/or Roger will be in attendance at the City Council meeting and will be able to provide an update to the Council on recent Community Recreation activities. It should be noted that one of the youth initiative programs that Jeff is working on is also before the City Council on March 16, 1998. This youth initiative program is the possible use of the former Prairie House restaurant for youth activities under adult supervision. Jeffhas put this proposal together and has worked on a draft lease agreement with the representative of the owners of the Prairie House. He will be present for discussion on the conditional use permit later in the evening. s:\councfl\comrecud.doc 13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425 Community Recreation Board Notice of Meeting Tuesday February 24, 1998 - 11:45 am LaRoses - Elk River * Your attendance is always important! If you cannot make the meeting please arrange to send an alternate or notify me at 241-3523 that you will not be in attendance. Thank you! AGENDA A.) CALL MEETING TO ORDER B.) CONSIDER / CHANGES TO AGENDA C.) CONSIDER CONSENT AGENDA: C.1) Minutes from: 12/8/97 & 1/26/98 regular meetings D.) STAFF REPORTS / INFORMATIONAL UPDATES: * Review: FEATURE program or service of the month D.1) Youth Initiatives update D.2) Winter & Spring program updates D.3) Summer 1998 Program Planning D.4) Otsego field maintenance considerations D.5) Update on MRPA "Youth Initiatives" 1998 legislative action D.6) Weeks ahead OTHER E.) COMMUNITY REPORTS: Community representative reports of items of interest or concern. F.) DISCUSSION / BOARD ACTION ITEMS: F. 1) Consider goals for 1998 G.) SET NEXT MEETING: consider March meeting date and location H.) ADJOURNMENT Please see the reverse side for explanation of the Agenda items. Agenda Item Background C.)CONSENT AGENDA: (All items approved as one motion, unless a Board member would like a particular item discussed.) C.1) Minutes from 12/8/97 D.) STAFF REPORTS / INFORMATIONAL UPDATES: ** Program ! service of the month: See the attached report. D.1) Youth Initiatives: Progress continues. Rick Briggs representing the Boys and Girls Club efforts of the Elk River area spoke with the group about the club, its organization, and their goals for establishment in Elk River. The potential use of the old Prairie House in Elk River is still developing and making its way through the conditional use process with the city of Elk River. The grant request to the MASC for development of the skatepark was funded. This will greatly advance the development of this project. D.2) Winter & Spring Pro,ams Update: The Spring brochure will be delivered February 25th, with mass registration being held on Saturday February 28th. Please also review Michele's report enclosed where you will find an updated number of program :egistrations since our last meeting. D.3) Summer 1998 Program Planning: If the recent weather hasn't reminded me of Summer, the deadline for our Summer brochure certainly has. The Summer brochure goes to print on April 2nd. This coming summer should be very exciting. Otsego has received some grant funding through the MASC to support the Ride the Rec. program that we developed and administered back in 1995. We are looking forward to working with this program opportunity in Otsego. We also hope to pilot the Roving Playground program this year in Rogers. We have numerous planning meetings scheduled with CE and ECFE to assure that we are maximizing efforts to best meet the needs and wants of residents. D.4) Otsego field maintenance considerations update: At the last meeting Mark Beming asked for some help with considering the needs and developing a strategy to properly maintain the ball field facilities in Otsego. Jeff A. was directed to work with Mark and other Otsego representatives with this matter. Mark has since asked that Jeff and City Administrator Mike Robertson begin working on this item. I will be meeting with Mike on Wednesday Feb. 25th. D.5) MR_PA Legislative action "Youth Initiatives" · At this time this bill is still alive. As usual supportive phone calls to your representatives is helpful. Last month you received a variety of information on this. If you need more please let me know. This will provide great opportunity for future funding to benefit Parks, Recreation, Comm. Ed, programs &/or recreational facilities. D.6) Weeks ahead: The following items are a quick review of upcoming matters that the Community Recreation office will be working on in addition to managing existing Winter/Spring activities; - Spring program mass registration - Saturday February 28th - Summer program planning (next brochure to be delivered April 29th) - Assistance with the youth association summer program registration, field scheduling, and coaches training - In partnership w/CE working to offer a summer / outdoor recreation equipment swap - Planning / coordinating for field preparation and maintenance needs - Continue coordinating development on the Varsity / Community ballfield improvements as recently organized by committee the past several months - Continued work with Youth Initiatives and other local efforts to serve youth ( Boys and Girls Club efforts, "Watz Up" Cafe Club efforts and potential use of the vacant Prairie House ) - Support to MRPA legislative committee to follow through on the proposed legislation - Support to Skatepark development - Support to coordinating soccer field / irrigation improvements to fields at Meadowvale - Development of scheduling policies for the new Youth Athletic Complex in Elk River E.) Community Reports: All representatives are encouraged to share items of interest, current events, etc. or concerns that the Community Recreation Board should be aware of. El/Consider eoals for 1998: - The following is "primer list" for discussion. Please bring your wish list and thoughts on goals for 1998. Goals: - Increase program offerings and participation - Coordinate / partner facility developments - Eliminate transportation barriers - Better market our programs - Increase understanding of our programs and service VALUE!! - Be part of efforts & solutions to better serve teens - Consider /plan for future sattelite offices /extended hours - Human resource presence in more local communities. - Coordinate sharing of services'/equipment to maintain recreational facilities - Develop a regional field / facility development plan - Facilitate meetings to explore / research park and recreational facility development successes for future considerations by any interested community in this region COMMUNITY RECREATION BOARD Minutes Fr: 12/8/97 Attendance: Staff: J. Asfahl- Comm. Rec., C. Blesener - Dist. 728 Com. Education Community Representatives: Doug ,'hompson - Hassan, Gary Eitel - City of Rogers, Mark Berning - City of Otsego, Roger Holmgren - City of Elk River, Shirley Slater - City of Dayton, Jeff Gongoll - lSD 728 Guests: Pat Klaers - City of Elk River Community Representatives absent: None A.) Call meeting to order: - The meeting was called to order at 12:00 by Roger Holmgren B.) Changes / additions to agenda: None C.) Consider consent agenda: Motion by Mark Berning to approve consent items as follows: C.1) Minutes from 11/17/97 Motion seconded by Shirley Slater. Motion Carried. D.) Staff Reports/Informational Updates: JA reviewed the various staff report items as presented with the agenda. Among the report items, JA reviewed some grant opportunities offered through the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission. While Jeff noted many numerous possibilities across the communities, he is interested in pursuing one grant request to assist the Skateboard association with their Skatepark development and one other grant to assist the Girls Softball and Youth Baseball associations construct a concession building at the recently developed Youth Sports Complex located in Elk River. On a motion by Jeff Gongoll, seconded by Doug Thompson, JA was encouraged to pursue these grant opportunities. Motion Carried The Board had some general discussion about our program continuing to utilize the strength of our regional partnership znd consider other opportunities to receive funding support through grants with other park and recreational ~mprovements. - JA also updated the Board on some recent discussions related to utilizing a vacant restaurant in Elk River as a site for teens. Conceptually, the site would be available for youth as a teen center. This concept has been a focus of the Youth Initiatives for nearly 2 years. It would allow for a variety of opportunities for youth to be positively involved, not just merely a place to hang out. This has been a rapid development. More information will be known at our next meeting. The Board found this to be a favorable approach and encouraged continued pursuit. - Mark Berning reported the good news from Otsego. Mark stated that Otsego is still very interested with the number of participants and which programs they are utilizing. He also cautions continued budget increases. Mark is interested in particular to see who uses the open gym programs. Doug Thompson is also interested in these figures and asked Jeff for frequent reports on open gym attendance. E.) Discussion / Board Action Items: E.1) Approve 1998 Budget and Related Assessment Formula: On a motion by Doug Thompson, seconded by Shirley Slater the 1998 budget and revised assessment (attached) formula as presented was approved. It was also noted that the assessment variable related to participation cover the time pedod of Sept. 1, 1997 - August 31, 1998 for determining the 1999 budget, just as the 1998 assessment formula utilized the time period Sept. 1, 1996 - Aug 31, 1997. Motion Carried. Next regular meeting: Monday, January 26, 1998. Respectfully Submitted, COMMUNITY RECREATION BOARD Minutes Fr: 1/26/98 Attendance: Staff: d. Asfahl- Comm. Rec., C. Blesener - Dist. 728 Com. Education Community lepresentatives: Doug Thompson - Hassan, Gary Eitel - City of Rogers, Mark Berning - City of Otsego, Roger Holmgren - City of Elk River, Sandy Borders - City of Dayton, Zach Fox - lSD 728 Community Representatives absent: None A.) Call meeting to order: - The meeting was called to order at 12:00 noon. Zach Fox was welcomed as the newly appointed ISD 728 Board Representative. B.) Changes / additions to agenda: None C.) Consider consent agenda: Minutes from 12/8/97 were not available for review. Will review / approve at February meeting. D.) Staff Reports/Informational Updates: The following report items were reviewed: Youth Initiatives update, Winter program updates and review of Spring activities, report on the recently past Joint Meeting with ECFE & CE Advisory Councils, MRPA 'Touth Initiatives" 1998 legislative action, and a feature review of two services that we provide. 1) Warming house supervision and management & 2) program flyer distribution for several youth associations. E.) Community Reports: Mark Beming asked for Community Recreation Board support in reviewing Otsegos needs and how to best maintain their ballfield facilities that should be available for use this coming Spring/Summer. Staff was asked to work with Mark and other Otsego officials to examine the needs and issues and report back at the February meeting. ~.) Discussion / Board Action Items: F. 1)Con~ider 1998 officer and committee assignments: On a motion by Mark Berning, seconded by Gary Eitel the following assignments were determined: Motion Carried. Chair = Roger Holmgren Vice Chair = Doug Thompson Budget Committee = Gary Eitel, Doug Thompson, Mark Berning Personnel Committee = Roger Holmgren, Gary Eitel Transportation = Mark Beming F.21 Consider goals for 1998. Tabled Motion to adjourn by Mark Berning, seconded by Doug Thompson. Motion carried. Next regular meeting: Monday February 23, 1998. Respectfully Submitted, Staff Report Michele Bergh February '98 Winter Programs We have entered approximately 800 registrations. This includes the Cheerleader Clinic which has 154 participants registered. Please refer to Feature Program page for more information. Warming Houses The warming houses are all closed for the season. We managed to keep a couple open until February 15 because the ice was okay and they had sledding. The rest closed the week prior. Spring Programs The brochure is finished and will be delivered with the Star News on February 25. Prairie House This is still being worked on. The people who were going to lease the kitchen have backed out of the deal so Gwen Segelstrom from Edina Realty is trying to find another party. The owners would prefer to have both areas used. The conditional use permit is in process. The hearing is the week of the 23rd. Open Gyms Jeff will be reporting on Open Gyms and our updated tracking system. Summer Programs I am beginning summer program planning. We will be requesting summer shirt bids in the next two weeks and placing ads for employment as well. Deadline for employment applications will be approximately May 1. The summer brochure goes to the printer April 2 so all programs must be set by this date. A tentative list of programs is attached. Summer '98 Program Wish List Termite T-Ball/T-Ball Free Tennis Lesson/Tennis Lessons Preschool Fun Short Sport/Sport Pee Wee Soccer Funtastic Fridays Park Adventures Roving Playgrounds Penny Carnivals Entertainment in the Park Gymnastics Girls' Basketball League Basketball Camps Baseball Camps Soccer Camps 3 on 3 Basketball Tournaments Volleyball Camps Summer Strength and Conditioning Open Gyms Lions Den Cross Country Running Track and Field Youth Golf Golf League Open In Line Skating Dance Football Camps Cheerleader Clinic Feature Programs February '98 Open Gyms We have the following Open Gyms: Sundays at Rogers and Elk River Mondays at Salk and Lincoln Tuesdays at Vandenberge Thursdays at Vandenberge Fridays at Rogers and Elk River This year we added the Friday night ones for Grades 5-9 and this has been used by that age group. The attendance has varied but, for the first year offered, it is going well. This is also the first year we have used Vandenberge for Open Gyms and have had many "not meeting" dates due to basketball tournaments. I am not sure if we will use Vandenberge again next year. We will have to revisit it again in the Fall. Attached you will find our new Open Gym Residency Log form that the Open Gym Supervisor use to log where the participants are coming from. We have switched our sign in sheets to just have the boxes to check where they live. This is not "fool proof'. We have many people signing in and checking, for example, Elk River but they have a Big Lake phone number. This means they reside in Big Lake Township or the City of Big Lake. I have also noticed people signing in with phone numbers that begin with "497", but they check Elk River. ! think phone numbers beginning with this prefix could be St. Michael, Albertville, Rogers or Otsego. It is most likely Otsego as many people write Elk River instead of Otsego because that is their mailing address and it's habit for them. Total numbers for '98 so far (as you can see there are dates that we do not have yet - the supervisors turn them in approximately every two weeks with their time sheets) are: Elk River 172 - Otsego 37 Dayton 12 Rogers 57 Hassan 32 Other 54 Cheerleader Clinic ~/~ ~ We have coordinated a Cheerleader Clinic with Erin Youngquist, the Cheerleading Advisor. A flyer went out to the elementary schools the first week of February. The Cheerleaders were in the elementary schools selling buttons for Sno Week and helped to promote the program at that time. This was the only advertising we did. The participants will be coming for a 3 hour clinic where they will learn a few cheers and then they will be cheering at a Boys Basketball game on Feb 27th. We have been overwhelmed with registrations for this clinic. We were able to accommodate 154 participants and had to turn away approximately 50 registrations in addition to the numerous phone calls we have received every day. We tried to make arrangements to accommodate more but, because of space and staff limitations, this was not possible. Although this is a good problem to have, it is very hard to make all the phone calls and we had many upset people. We will be trying to coordinate at least one more for the end of the summer and then the participants would get to cheer at a football game. Purpose Statement The Youth Initiatives Committee has developed and adopted the following Purpose Statement: To unite various segments of the community to develop and promote positive resources and opportunities with and .for youth. Student to Student Mentoring The district is in the process of hiring a staff person to work with this program. We are hopeful that the position will be filled soon so the program can begin. February/March, 1998 Volume 6 Youth Initiative What's Happening? There are many exciting opportunities for youth currently in the works and some are close to becoming reality; such as the Student to Student Mentoring program, the leasing of the old Prairie House for increased programming opportunities and the skate park. At the last meeting, Rick Briggs joined us to share information about the Boys & Girls Club that is being planned to open in Elk River at Lions' Park. Anyone interested in learning more about the Boys & Girls Club should contact Daryl Thompson at 441- 3775. The Youth Initiatives Committee meetings are a wonderful place to share your thoughts, ideas, and talents to provide opportunities for our youth. Please consider joining us at the next meeting --Thursday, March 12, 7pm at the Elk River City Hall. Leasing the Prairie House The conditional use permit was recommended for approval by the City of Elk River Plarming Commission on February 24. This will now be presented to the City Council on March 16. The vision for this program is to have youth involved in the planning of this facility; including naming it, setting rules and deciding what types of games and machines are brought in. Elk River Skateboarders, Inc. ~ The Elk River Skateboarders continue to raise money for an eventual skate park. Although they have made a good start in their fundraising efforts, they still have a quite a bit more to raise. We are at a crucial point in the development of a skate park. Some money has been " raised and the city is prepared to talk space, but we still need to raise additional funds and plan the park. This organization really needs the benefit of experienced adults to help mentor the youth. Anyone interested in helping should contact Michele Bergh at 241-3523 for more information. Wondering what's happening for youth? Visit http://www, elkriver-nm.com/youth cormections.htm [ Watz Up Cafe Club Mark and Annette Watz continue to work on their lease agreement with the City of Elk River for the old liquor store building, as well as becoming a non-profit organization. The CD titled "Unheard Collection", is available at Main Street Music for $10. Proceeds will benefit the development of the Cafe Club. For more information, please call Mark and Annette Watz at 441-1030. BMX Biking Margo Foster and John Thompson continue to work on the possibility of having a BMX Biking site. As a group, we will continue to discuss the needs and possible solutions for biking in this community. If any youth are interested in becoming involved in this process, please contact Michele Bergh at 241- 3523. Wish List The Youth Initiatives Committee has devised a "wish list" of items that are needed by various groups involved in the process. .~~ · Concrete for the eventual skate park · Lumber for the eventual skate park. · Skilled labor for the eventual skate park. · Businesses to sell the "Unheard Collection" CD · Youth at the meetings · Aluminum can donations at the Recycling Center for the start up costs associated with the Watz Up Cafe Club, a youth cafe club hoping to become a reality. Youth Initiatives Sub-Committees Mentoring Youth Empowerment Existing Facilities Shared Comrn,mlcations Contacts . General Informatlo~ Community Recreation 241-3523 Community Education 241-3520 Other. Commumty' Groups Elk River Skateboarders, Inc. Michele Bergh 441-8770 Watz Up Cafe Club Mark/Annette Watz 441-1030 If you would like to be included in our regxflar mailing list, please contact Community Recreation at 241-3523.