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PRSR AGENDA MEMO 01-03-1990 „Q Elk River TO: PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION FROM: PAT KLAERS, CITY ADMINIST R DATE: DECEMBER 20, 1989 SUBJECT: AGENDA MEMO The next Park and Recreation Commission meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 3, 1990, at 7 :00 p.m at the Elk River City Hall Conference 1 oom. Attached for your information are the draft 11/1/89 Pak: and Recreation Commission minutes. The main agenda item; for this meeting will be a review of the results of the Community Survey that is being conducted by Decision Resources,. ;-.Ltd. I have had some conversations with Diane and Bill from Decision Resources, Ltd. since the survey began and they have indicated to me that everybody is very receptive to the survey. They believe the publicity the survey had received in the,,;°;Elk River Star News has been an asset in conducting this survey. Furthermore, they indicate that in spite of the community being very diverse that the results at this time are not startling or unusual . The results that will 0 be reviewed on 1/3/90 will not be in its final printed form as this document will be produced later in January. However, Diane and Bill have assured me that there will be a tremendous amount of information available to share with the group at this January meeting. As an extension of the discussion on the community survey results, it is anticipated that a second major topic at this 1/3/90 meeting will be how the results of the survey are incorporated into the Parks Master Plan. It is assumed that the CitY will learn a great deal from this survey about the desires .:' of the community for future park and recreational opportunities. These desires of the community will have to be incorporated into the goals and objectives of the Parks Master Plan. Furthermore, the results of the survey will have to be incorporated into the "action plan” that will help guide City activity in achieving desired results to fulfill, the needs of the community. A third major topic of this meeting will be to provide Mr. Sanders with some feedback on the preliminary Master Park and Recreation Plan that was distributed at the November meeting. This preliminary plan only includes three sections of the Master Plan. Close review and input from the Commission on these sections will assist in a timely development of the final document . I believe it is important to give Mr. Sanders some feedback on the quality of work that he has, so far, provide us . 720 Dodge Avenue N.W., Elk River, Minnesota 55330 (612) 441-7420 V In relationship to the Master Park and Recreation Plan, it is also appropriate to start discussing with Bill Sanders the two focused area studies that are desired to be included within the document . These two study areas are for the Woodland Trails Park and the Hillside Park. The focused area studies are intended to provide the City with a detailed plan of the best development of these areas. Input from the Commission is necessary in order help provide Bill with our ideas on how these areas should be developed. Of course, our ideas on how these areas should be developed may be structured by the results of the community survey. In the future, it is anticipated that a great deal of the focused area studies will be the basis of LAWCON grant applications . If these grant applications are successful, State funds will then assist the City in development of these areas. As time allows, the Commission will also be provided with an update from the staff on winter activities, the 1990 budget, and the proposed Orono Lake boating regulations. Regarding the boating regulations, attached for your information are the June, 1989, Parks and Recreation Commission minutes and the material that was distributed at that meeting. Review of the Big Lake material and the existing City of Elk River material shows two different approaches to regulations of City parks. The first page of the Big Lake material titled, "Park Rules" and Big Lake Ordinance 301 relating to boats are both very acceptable to the City of Elk River and could be incorporated into our ordinances and policies without any difficulties. However, Big Lake Ordinance 2 and Ordinance 3700 are much more difficult for the City of Elk River to accept and incorporate into our ordinances. For example, I am not sure if the City needs to get into the regulation of camping activities, animals on the beach, ice fishing shelters ( 3700 . 080), swimming only at beach locations, and the controlling of bicycle activities . Additionally, the City does not allow liquor in any of its parks (formally) , whereas, Big Lake ordinance does allow beer. Big Lake Ordinance 3700 and Ordinance 2 at this point appear to be too restrictive and cumbersome for the City of Elk River to adopt . Many people may see these ordinances as another example of government involvement where such involvement is not needed. From a practical point of view, the City has received very few complaints regarding activities in the parks and it is the staff position that these two Big Lake ordinances are not needed in Elk River. The City has no problem adopting Ordinance 301 (boats) or expanding our park rules plus the placement of signs indicating these rules, but at this time the staff feels that this is all that may be needed to satisfy the Orono Lake Homeowners Association. Additionally, and as previously discussed, it should be noted that the boating A ordinance must be enforced by the County Water Patrol Division.