10 PRSR 05-13-2020 Memorandum
To: Parks and Recreation Commission
From: Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director
Date: May 13, 2020
Subject: Director’s Report
This report is a monthly highlight of department activities related to recent collaborations, strategic
planning, staff changes/developments, and park operations.
Naming Rights for Multipurpose Facility and Lion John Weicht Park
City Council approved the naming rights professional services agreement with Front Burner Sports on
March 2. Front Burner will perform the services in two phases from March through December 2021.
Phase One started with the first draft to evaluate and determine the valuation of the multipurpose facility.
This includes the development of solicitation materials.
The consultant, Chris Potenza, has completed his interviews with members of Council and Commission.
Staff provided Chris a tour for of the new facility and Lion John Weicht Park.
GNT Wastewater Conveyance or Leachate Pipeline
The consultant for the wastewater conveyance project had an original construction start date this coming
week but postponed construction until May 18. They will begin staging some materials and equipment on
May 14; however, construction will now begin on May 18 for completion this year. The current timeline
and sequencing of the project is currently as follows:
May 18, 2020 – Project Starts, construction south of CSAH 33
GNT closed from CSAH 1 (Elk Lake Rd) to CSAH 33 (Ranch Rd) for horizontal directional
pipeline drilling.
GNT open north of CSAH 33
July 1, 2020 – Construction north of CSAH 33
GNT open from CSAH 1 to CSAH 33
GNT closed from CSAH 33 to 221st Avenue
Item: 10
Active Elk River Park Improvements Orono Park and YAC
On April 20, the City Council approved to hire SRF Consulting Group for $367,172 to complete the
design and construction services for the Orono Park and YAC projects. We had to extend our proposal
deadline date from the original date of April 3 to April 6 because of COVID-19. We received eight
proposals and narrowed it down to two for interviews. The interview video conferences were very helpful.
We decided on SRF for the following reasons:
Experienced design and engineering team knowledgeable in both design and construction. They
have an in-house engineering team with the right fit for this project.
Multiple projects similar in scope to Orono and YAC,
Focused on YAC’s building assessment early in the process. They already assessed the building last
week.
Outlined COVID-19 issues and challenges during the design and construction process.
On May 4, they evaluated the park sites and YAC building. Initial feedback seems to suggest that the YAC
building will be a redesign and not new construction. Survey crews will be out the next few weeks at the
sites.
Park System Usage
As the weather gets nicer and people are beginning to flock to the parks, we have witnessed an increase
demand on porta potties and trash cans. Park Maintenance placed additional trash cans this past week to
avoid overflowing. It seems people are ordering food from local establishments and eating them in the
parks. Also, we had to order additional clean-up of a few porta potties because of the demand.
Multipurpose Facility Fees, Staffing and Commission
Staff presented the proposed new facility fees to City Council in December. The Council directed staff to
present the information to the youth athletic groups, review private banquet room costs and update the
fieldhouse budget projection with a higher expected us. The youth groups suggested a nonresident fee
above the resident fee. The feedback and recommendations were discussed at the May 4 City Council
work session. An organization plan was also presented and discussed along with the duties and mission of
a new multipurpose facility advisory commission. We are recommending Recreation Manager Steve
Benoit as the new Multipurpose Facility Superintendent.