9. PRSR 06-11-2014 City
Elk
Memorandum
River
To: Parks and Recreation Commission
From: Michael Hecker,Parks and Recreation Director
Date: June 11,2014
Subject: Director's Report
This report is a monthly highlight of our Department's activities informing the Commission on
items related to collaborations, strategic planning, staff changes/ development,and park operations.
Summer Concert Series
We are very pleased to report that the first concert of the summer concert series will be this
Thursday,June 12. The first band to kick off the concert series will be the Rockin'Hollywoods with
their classis rock and roll.
Rivers Edge Commons Park
Parks maintenance staff did a fine job in preparing Rivers Edge Commons Park for the
spring/summer season with trimming,pruning and turf preparation. Flowers were planted just two
weeks ago. The circulation pump for the water feature presented several issues Memorial Day
weekend,but staff has worked diligently to keep it operating.
The pavers in the alley next to Rivers Edge Commons Park continue to deteriorate and crumble
each day. Staff has met with the president of Borgert Products,Inc.,the company that presumably
supplied the pavers. He acknowledged that the pavers are showing damage in excess of normal
wear and tear;however we have been unable to locate paperwork showing Borgert was the supplier.
The paver subcontractor who installed the pavers went out of business. In the meantime,we have
installed a temporary asphalt patch so pedestrians do not trip,especially upcoming concert goers.
Parks Maintenance Workload
Some of you might be getting calls on playfield conditions,trail conditions,park mowing etc. With
the hard winter,late spring,and heavy rains all of our work is severely backed up. The winter was
tough on trails,parking lots,pavers and grass. We are also taking a number of calls each day and
trying to work them in with the rest of the workload. We staff and budget based on our historical
average for workload and when a season is irregular it takes time to catch up. Parks maintenance
has three more seasonal staff that recently started Monday,which should help some.
Parks staff is now involved with the maintenance of the Twin Lakes Parkway. This past week it
took 12 hours to mow and weed whip the medians.
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YAC Football Field
The YAC football field is closed this spring due to its poor condition. The field was seeded last fall,
but the spring weather has not allowed the seed to grow as it had been expected. .This has made a
negative impact on the Three Rivers Soccer Association (TRSA). We are concentrating seed,
fertilizer,and irrigation to get a strong,dense turf for late summer.
Orono Park Beach
We had a complaint last week about a steep drop off within the swimming area at Orono Beach. A
woman said her child stumbled into it and she was challenged to pull the child to safety. The
Sherburne County Sheriff's Office Water Patrol checked out the area and found nothing out of the
ordinary. The beach is signed No Lifeguard on Duty. The SCSO places and replaces water buoys
on our behalf. They have requested a meeting to discuss turning the work back to us as we are the
only city in the county that they do this for. Taking on the work/contracting out may have a budget
impact.
Independence Day Fireworks
The city is coordinating the July 4th Independence Day fireworks this year. The city is contributing
toward the fireworks and donations are strongly encouraged. The total cost for the fireworks show
is$15,000.
Houlton Property
The good news is that we continue to work with the Conservation Fund on the acquisition of the
Houlton farm property. We have found a potential funding source that could assist. We hope to
have good news for the Commission by the July meeting.
Oak Knoll Athletic Field Lighting Project
Work on the installation of Musco athletic field lights for Oak Knoll should begin this week. The
total budget for this project is $135,000,with donations of$73,000 total coming to the city over a
four year period from Elk River Youth Football and Elk River Youth Lacrosse. This project has
been delayed because of the unusual wet spring.
Bailey Point Nature Preserve Master Plan
We need to develop a master plan for Bailey Point Nature Preserve. This will require a public
workshop meeting planned for Wednesday,July 9 following the regular meeting. Feedback from the
parks and recreation master plan process will assist in this effort.
Parks and Recreation Master Plan Open House June 25
The Parks and Recreation Open House is an opportunity for residents to reviews survey results,
preliminary plans and provide input on the future of city parks,trails,athletics,public art and more.
The open house is Wednesday,June 25 from 5 to 8 pm at City Hall. Commission members are
encouraged to attend.
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