9 PRSR 08-14-2019N:\Departments\Parks and Recreation\Commission\Packets\2019\08-14-2019 PRC Packet\Director's Report 8-14-
19.docx
Item: 9
Memorandum
To: Parks and Recreation Commission
From: Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director
Date: August 14, 2019
Subject: Director’s Report
_______________________________________________________________________
This report is a monthly highlight of department activities related to collaborations, strategic
planning, staff changes/developments, and park operations.
Elk River Fest July 4, 2020
Staff presented an overview of this year’s Elk RiverFest to the City Council on August 5. Council
direction was to keep the event on the first Saturday of July making 2020 on July 4, 2020. It will
include additional costs for employees, fireworks and band since it is on a holiday.
Lion John Weicht Park Construction
The northern section of Lion John Weicht Park is now closed until spring of 2020. Demolition of
the Lions Park Center should occur this week. Underground utility work will take place in three
phases with Lions Park Drive closed this week and then work under School Street causing lane
reductions on August 16. Crews will move to the Elk River High School parking lot on August 23.
Construction of the new softball fields will start in a few weeks.
Parks maintenance removed the small picnic shelter located next to the skating rink. It was originally
scheduled to be demolished as part of the ball field project but after evaluation it was found to be in
very good condition it was decided to save it for future use in another park. This shelter could
possibly be utilized at Woodland Trails Regional Park in the new nature play area to meet the desire
of the committee to have a shaded seating area as part of this park feature or at YAC.
Active Elk River Construction
Crews hope to have all the utility construction and demotion work, including the Ice Arena Barn
demo, completed by the end of August. We do have a camera posted on the Active Elk River site to
view the demolition and construction progress. This will also provide us a time lapse video. Stay
posted on all of the construction progress by visiting www.ActiveElkRiver.com
City Wayfinding Program
Phase II of the new wayfinding signs were delivered and installation is underway. Street Division
staff conducted lane closures on TH 169 and TH 10 this week to allow our vendor, Graphic House,
the room needed for their equipment to install the “Welcome to Elk River” monument signs.
N:\Departments\Parks and Recreation\Commission\Packets\2019\08-14-2019 PRC Packet\Director's Report 8-14-19.docx
Oak Knoll Fields
The Oak Knoll fields will be used in 2020 by ERHS varsity and JV softball for their temporary
transition to fast pitch. Some changes will be made to the fields and we have kept Elk River Youth
Baseball aware of those ballfield changes
Communications Report
Attached is the July Communications Report. As expected, Elk RiverFest was a top hit for web
visitors and on the day of the event (July 6) we had the most unique visits to our site over any other
day in July. The Multipurpose Facility groundbreaking event and the wayfinding sign installation
took top spots for popular social media posts on both Facebook and Twitter.
WTRP Great Northern Trail Closure
As many of you are aware, the sanitary sewer line installation to convey leachate from the Elk River
Landfill along the WTRP Great Norther Trail to our wastewater treatment facility will not occur this
year. The city and the Elk River Landfill are continuing to work on an agreement for the project.
The plan is now expected to begin in spring of 2020.
Riverfront Concert Series
we have two concerts remaining this summer. On August 15 is the Arch Allies and August 22 is Pop
Rocks. Depending on the weather, both concerts are expected to draw a large crowd similar to the
record crowd we received with the Fabulous Armadillos on August 8.
Rivers Edge Commons Park Dock
City Council approved the new dock location for the Rivers Edge Commons Park Master Plan as
recommended by the Commission. Staff met with the DNR Area Hydrologist on August 1 to
discuss the city’s concept plan and found a permit will not be required. The velocity and depth of
the river at the proposed location is under review and it appears we can continue to move forward.
Shannon Tatro is beginning to talk with local business leaders for funding.
Trott Brook Farms Park Tennis Courts
The Trott Brook HOA expressed concerns with the condition of the tennis courts at Trott Brook
Farms Park. They were recently resurfaced and the large cracks are reappearing. Unfortunately, the
subsoils were not properly corrected when the courts were installed. To correct the issue they will
have to be rebuilt after a major soil correction, which will be a relatively expensive improvement.
This will be reviewed by the Commission as part of the overall Park Improvement Fund along with
the YAC dugouts.
Athletic Fields Analysis
Staff is looking at a sport field analysis to project youth sports participation estimates and calculating
athletic field demands for the next several years. We hope to have a work session with the
Commission in September to begin this process.
Communications
Performance Report
July 2019
WEBSITE VISITORS
NOTE: The number of website visitors represent the number of times the website was visited, without regard to repeat visitors. The “most visited pages” list reflects all pages other than the homepage.
Current Month: 48,776
Previous Month: 37,465
Fireworks
Farmers Market
Jobs
Fall Breakaway Hockey
Elk RiverFest
Night to Unite
City Council
Deer Herd Management
Maps
Fourth of July
10 Top Search Terms
Elk RiverFest 14,962
Facilities (Reservations) 3,722
Riverfront Concert Series 2,191
Parks and Rec 1,456
Arena 996
*Form Center (details below) 970
Pinewood Golf Course 950
Employment 908
Agendas 790
Police 746
10 Most Visited Pages
Form Center Activity
Permits and Licensing
Mechanical Residential
Rental Dwelling
Plumbing Residential
Recreation
Facility Reservation
Field Use
Police
Night to Unite Party Registration
Home Security Check
FACEBOOK
July New “Likes” 59
Total Page “Likes” 2,428
Total Page “Followers” 2,616
Total July Reach 64,386
July New “Followers”: 8
Total Followers: 263
Total July Impressions: 18,228
TWITTER
Facebook Reach: The number of people who had any post from our page enter their screen.
Twitter Impressions: The number of times users saw your content on Twitter.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Top 3 Top 3
No. 1 - Multipurpose Facility Groundbreaking
No. 1 - Bear Sighting Home Video
No. 3 - Hwy 10 City Entrance Sign Video
No. 2 - July Volunteer of the Month, Linda Krieger
No. 2 - Multipurpose Facility Groundbreaking
No. 3 - Wayfinding Secondary Entrance Signs