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4.9. SR 05-18-1998ity of iver MEMORANDUM Item . TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Mayor and City Council Patrick Klaers, City Ad~tor May 18, 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 Jeff Asfahl is the Community Recreation Director. Additionally, Jeff manages the city recreation programs. The Community Recreation Board meets at least monthly. The last regular meeting of the board was on April 27, 1998. Attached for your review is some of the background material from this meeting. Also attached is the April/May 1998 Youth Initiatives Newsletter. In addition to the April 27, 1998, meeting, the Community Recreation Board met with city Park and Recreation Commissioners from Elk River, Otsego, Rogers, and Hassan Township in a joint planning meeting on May 7, 1998. \\elkriver\sys\shrdoc\council\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 Monday April 27, 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) Approve minutes from: 3/30/98 regular meeting D.) STAFF REPORTS / INFORMATIONAL UPDATES: * Review: FEATURE program or service of the month D.1) Youth Initiatives update D.2) Summer 1998 Program update D.3) MASC Grant opportunities D.4) Update on MRPA "Youth Ertrichment Bill" 1998 leg4slative action D.5) Weeks ahead OTHER E.) COMMUNITY REPORTS: Community representative reports of items of interest or concern. F.) DISCUSSION / BOARD ACTION ITEMS: El) Review outline for our May 7th field development "visioning" meeting E2) Discuss Zimmerman Area Recreation request F.3) Review remaining 1998 goals and determine strategy on next goal G.) SET NEXT MEETING: consider Regular May meeting date and location H.) ADJOURNMENT Please see the reverse side for explanation of the Agenda items. Agenda Item Back~ound C.)CONSENT AGENDA: (All items approved as one motion, unless a Board member would like a particular item discussed.) C.1) Minutes from 3/30/98 D.) STAFF REPORTS / INFORMATIONAL UPDATES: ** Program / service of the month: See the attached report. D.1) Youth Initiatives: Progress continues. Skatepark expected to open soon. Recent changes from the LMCIT now make it easier to offer as a part of your overall park and recreation system. I will have a packet of information to share with you on this. I will also verbally update you on the youth recreation center( in Elk River) ( Former Prairie House restaurant use) concept that has been in development the past 5.5 months. A group of BM)( enthusiasts are working to build support for development in Elk River. They are meeting with the ERPC on May 13th. D.2) Summer 1998 Program Plannin~: The Summer brochure went to print on April 3rd. Brochures delivered on 4/22 - with mass ~'egistration beginning 4/30 in Rogers and Saturday May 2nd in Elk River. You are invited to attend and help! We have had 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.3) MASC grant opportunities: Please see the attached information. Otsego and Elk River were successful applicants with this same program this past winter. Perhaps we could all together determine a project for mutual benefit. I will share some of my thoughts at the meeting. D.4) MR_PA Legislative action "Youth Enrichment bill": I will have a verbal update. D.5) 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 the existing Spring activities; - Summer Mass registration Thursday evening 4/30 in Rogers Saturday May 2nd in Elk River. - Assistance with the youth associations summer program field scheduling and coaches training. All league play begins first part of May. - Planning / coordinating for field preparation and maintenance needs - 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 Elk Hills Restaurant. Formerly the Prairie House ) - Support to Skatepark development - Support to coordinating soccer field / irrigation improvements to fields at Meadowvale - Implementation of scheduling policies for the new Youth Athletic Complex in Elk River - Summer program preparations. Preparation for student intern. We have various projects planned for her to complete. - First Annual Ice Skating Show at the Elk River Arena. Saturday May 2nd - 3:30 pm. Your are invited. 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) Review outline for our May 7th meeting: I will have a draft outline for your review. The following is a sampling of items I think would give us a good start. - Review existing inventories and status / options for enhancement - Hear community plans from each representative - Review general development needs and costs to consider: (all cost and other considerations of:land, parking, acreage requirements, fencing, aglime bases, etc, irrigation, goals, seating, maintenance requirements / equipment, lighting, seed/sod - Identify partnering opportunities E2) Discuss Zimmerman Area Recreation Request: The Zimmerman Recreation Coordinator has requested that we waive the nonresident fee on the Girls Summer Basketball league that we administer for the city of Elk River as part of our Community Recreation Board programs. Our office response was not favorable to him. This matter has some further "fallout" issues. ! will review this matter at our meeting. F.3 Review 1998 goals as approved on 2/24/98 and determine plans to accomplish: - The following is a list of the goals and some of my thoughts for strategies to accomplish each. We have begun working towards goal B, and we should consider setting our sights on another and begin our work. I would like to suggest item C. Goals: A- Increase program offerings and participation: support fr: each community in extra promotions, commitment to help keep program fees affordable, assistance with program ideas and identification of human resources who have interest in recreation B- Coordinate / partner facility developments: Review future needs with a regional perspective C- Eliminate transportation barriers: Support with identifying funding sources to help underwrite transportation costs, consider relationship with existing county transportation systems D- Better market our programs: assist with promotion in local mediums ( newsletters, utility billings, etc. E- Increase understanding of our programs and service VALUE!!: Support upcoming July as Park and Recreation month, help to communicate our value often, F- Be part of efforts & solutions to better serve teens: Involvement/understanding of/with other local efforts, promotion of the community Assets model as developed by the Search Institute G- Consider /plan for future sattelite offices /extended hours - Human resource presence in more local communities.: Consider how technology could help accomplish this as well. H- Coordinate sharing of services / equipment to maintain recreational facilities: organize a meeting with representatives of the maintenance crews to establish relationships, identify need / support areas. I- Develop a regional field / facility development plan: update inventory and review future needs, establish communication between local park commissions J- Facilitate meetings to explore / research park and recreational facility development successes for future considerations by any interested community in this region: Consider areas of interest and begin! K- Importance and focus on providing / investing in the provision of positive experiences for youth to enable them opportunity to have successful enjoyable experiences: develop understanding of benefits based objectives with programming COMMUNITY RECREATION BOARD Minutes Fr. 3/30/98 Attendance: Staff: j. Asfahl- Comm. Rec., C. Blesener - Dist. 728 Com. Education, Pat Klaers - City of ELk River Commtw~ity Representatives: Gary Eitel - City of Rogers, Mark Berning - City of Otsego, Roger Holmgren - City of Elk River, Sandy Borders - City of Dayton, Zach Fox - ISD 728, Community Representatives absent: Hassan Township A.) Ca/1 meeting to order:. - The meeting was called to order at 12:00 noon. B.) Changes / additions to agenda: None C.) Consider consent agenda: Minutes from 2/24/98 approved on a motion by G. Eitel seconded bv S. Borders. Motion carried. ' ' D.) Staff Reports / Informational Updates: The following report items were reviewed: Youth Initiatives update, Winter and Spring program updates. 1998 Summer planning, July as National Parks and Recreation month. MRPA '~'outh Initiatives" 1998 legislative action, and a feature review of two services that we provide. 1) Entertainment activities organized by our office, & 2) Other community activities that we help promote E.) Community Reports: Charlie Blesener spoke about changes at the CE center due to the ALC building project- Gary Eitel me,'~tioned coordination opportun/ties with existing county, transportation systems. Gary also mentioned a local engineer with experience in developing "swim lakes" as a resource. - Mark reported that Otsego will be seeding one ballfield at their Otsego Prairie Park.,. Previous position was not to seed at all. - Pat Klaers shared the ERPC is planning a park improvement bond referendum for this fall. Roger Holmgren mentioned the various improvements made at the Varsity / Community Baseball field that the city of ER and LSD 728 have cooperated on. F.) Discussion / Board Action Items: F. 1) Consider goals for 1998. The following goals were adopted at our 2/24/98 meeting. We them reviewed options for pursuit as outlined below: - Increase program offerings and participation: support fr. each community in extra promotions, commitment to help keep pr%~rarn fees affordable, assistance with program ideas and identification of human resources who have interest/n recreation - Coordinate / partner facility developments: Review future needs with a re~onal perspective - Eliminate transportation barriers: Support with identifying funding sources to help underwrite transportation costs, consider relationship with ex/sting county transportation systems - Better market our programs: assist with promotion in local mediums ( newsletters, utility billings, etc. - Increase understanding of our programs and service VALUE!!: Support upcoming July as Park and Recreation month, help to communicate our value often, - Be part of efforts & solutions to better serve teens: Involvement/understanding of/with other local efforts, promotion of the community Assets model as developed by the Search Institute - Consider /plan for future sattelite offices /extended hours - Human resource presence in more local communities.: Consider how technology could help accomplish this as well. - Coordinate sharing of services / equipment to maintain recreational facilities: organize a meeting with representatives of the maintenance crews to establish relationships, ident//3r need / support areas. - Develop a regional field / facility development plan: update inventory, and review future needs, establish communication between local park commissions - Facilitate meetings to explore / research park and recreational facility development successes for future considerations by any interested community in this region: Consider areas of interest and begin! - Importance and focus on providing / investing in the provision of positive experiences for youth to enable them opportunity to have successful enjoyable experiences: develop understanding of benefits based objectives with programming It was agreed that these were good ideas to pursue. We set May 7th as a special meeting date to begin the process for developing a regional plan for the development of recreational fadlities. Staff was directed to invite representation from each Park Commission to share their future development plans and goals. Staff was also asked to present a draft outline / agenda for the May 7th meeting for review at our 4/27.98 reg-i~r meeting. Next regular meeting: Monday April 27, 1998. Motion to adjourn at 1:05 by Gary Eitel seconded by Roger Holrngren. Motion carried. Submitted: Respectfully~~ ~~ 4 ~o 6."".--,~ -.=.-_ · It's one of dozens o£ sue- cessful programs put on by Education, the Youth Initiatives Committee and the o.001 Committee. which are also active in improving the quality of life for area residents. Community Recreation offerings are published quarterly in a brochure deliv- ered in the Elk River Star News. The brochures can also be picked up at the Community Recreation Office. 1230 School St., Elk River. The phone number is 241-2520. There are also a host of youth athletic organizations that offer recreational opportunities for kids and families. .~ohansson, who has competed at the senior level as a figure skater and has coached senior figure skaters in Sweden. said Community Recreation sets the Elk R/vet area apart from other communities. ~(Community Recreation) has been real open to growing our program and has even helped out with suggestions and ideas to grow it,' Hour said. 'That just doesn't happen in other communities we've worked with. It's been such a breath of fresh air.' Johansson serves as a coach in the pro- gram. while Hour handles more of the administration side. Because of the growth, the ~vo have began to train other coaches. The learning-to-skate program uses the United States Fi~ure Skating Association's model, which teaches skat- ing in a very systematic way. much 'like swimming lessons are taught. The program, which was started last fall. helps develop figure skaters, hockey players and freestyle skaters. It teaches basic skills. %Ve're not here to take away ice time from the hockey program,' Hour said. "We're here tn build our program and feed kids into the hockey program. We'll pro- vide Them with better skaters at a young age. Someday, Johansson and Hour would like To see a figure skating club in Elk River. They believe Elk River could become the Augsburg of the West iAu_~sburg, Germany is kno~vn [bt its ute ~kating club}. Staff Report May 1998 Michele Bergh Summer Staff I am still accepting applications for summer employment. My biggest needs are for evening 2'Ball programs. This is the hardest time to staff since so many people are busy with their own or their family's recreational needs in the evening. Summer Shirts Shirts have been ordered. We are going with individual desig-ns this year for each sport that has a large number of participants such as TEall/Baseball, Basketball, Gymnastics, etc and then a more generic design with our logo on it for the smaller sport V,.-pe programs and the park programs. Summer Programs The brochure was delivered on Wednesday, April 22. I am proud of the selection and variety of programs we are offering and anticipate good registration. I am a little concerned about non-resident fees being so high and making it difficult for people to afford some of our programs. A couple of examples are Summer Strength and Conditioning for a resident is $55, non-resident $80, Girls' Summer Basketball League for a resident is $36, non-resident is $52, John Tobler's Gyrrmastics for 3 hours is $126-144, non-resident is $201-$228. This may influence our numbers this summer. Featured Program - Elk River Skating Academy/!st Annual Ice Show Please see the attached article on the Elk River Skating Academy. We are also in the process of planning the first annual ice show. RaeAnn has worked really hard with Janice and Sandra, the instructors, on planning and coordinating this show. The theme is Peter Pan and the parents have really been wonderful about pitching in and helping with costumes and props. I think this show will be really enjoyable for both the participants and the audience. Marissa from the City of Elk River will be videotaping the show. 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. Leasing the Prairie House The City will not be leasing the Prairie House. The same concept is being reviewed for placement at the old liquor store facility. We are currently going through the Conditional Use Permit process and hope to have something open this summer. A large part of the concept is to have youth involvement in the planning and running of the facility. Anyone interested in this type of role should call Community Recreation at 241-3523 and ask for Michele Bergh or Jeff Asfahl. April/May, 1998 Volume 8 lmt at ves What's Happening? Several action steps were determined at the last meeting to be completed before our next meeting. * Get youth involved in the Young Artists Unite committee. · Seek assistance in building ramps for the skate park. · Get youth involved in planning and running the facility for youth being planned for the old liquor store. · Continue building support of our efforts with the community. Young Artists Unite Student involvement is still needed in the 2001 Arts Alliance. One project is the Arts Festival of June 1999, a week long event. Students are needed to serve on the student committee as well as the mixed-age committees such as marketing, artist resources, location, etc. The large group meets the 3rd Thursday of each month. Sub- committees have individual meeting schedules. Contact Annette Watz or call the Arts Hotline 441-9555. Elk River Skateboarders, Inc. The insurance carrier for the City has made some changes recently regarding .their coverage of skate parks. This will make it much easier to get sornething up and going. The City is interested in getting a skate park open this summer near the City Maintenance Building. They would be paving the site and the Elk River Skateboarders would be building ramps that meet specifications set up by the City and its' insurance carrier. The Elk River Skateboarders, Inc. continue to struggle with involvement from area youth and their parents. We are looking for youth and their parents to become involved in the organization to help build ramps and work with the skate park once it is open. Anyone interested in helping should contact Michele Bergh at 441-8870 for more information. Watz Up Cafe Club A partnership with Mark and Annette Watz was considered with the City of Elk River for the old liquor store facility. They have decided to continue pursuing their own private location. For more information, please call Mark and Annette Watz at 441- 1030. Student to Student Mentoring The program has been set up and there has been some recruitment. There are students signed up to participate in the Fall. They are requesting a funding extension since they were unable to get the program in place for this year. Questions can be directed to Louise Kuester at the Senior High. Youth Initiatives Sub-Committees Mentoring Youth Empowe~ment Existing Facilities Shared Comm-nications Contacts General Information Community RecreatiOn 241-3523 Community Education 241-3520 Other CommUnity Groups Elk River Skateboarders, Inc. Michele Bergh Watz Up Cafe Club Mark/Annette Watz BMX Biking Margo Foster 441-8770 441-1030 241-0292 Wish List The Youth Initiatives Committee has//it' devised a "wish list" of items that are" '" ~ needed by various groups involved in the process. · Blacktop, lumber and skilled labor for the eventual skate park. · 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. BMX Biking Margo Foster and John Thompson continue to work on a BMX facility. They are working to find out how many kids are interested and what type of facility is desired. Some students and adults on the Youth Initiatives Committee made posters and hung them at the schools for the BMX Biking and Skateboarding. Anyon~ interested in getting involved should contact Margo Foster at 241-0292. If you would like to be included~ in our regular mailing list, please-contact Community Recreation at 241-3523. Wondering what's happening for youth? Visit http://www, elkriver-mn.com/youth cormections.htmI