Loading...
05-12-2021 PRMMeeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall Wednesday, May 12, 2021 Members Present: Chair Williams, Commission members Anderson, Holmgren, Loidolt, Niziolek, Rathbun, and Soltvedt Council Liaison: Ms. Wagner Staff Present: Parks and Recreation Director, Michael Hecker, Recreation Coordinator, Tonya Love 1. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chair Williams. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Consider 05/12/2021 Agenda Moved by Commissioner Rathbun and seconded by Commissioner Loidolt to approve the May 12, 2021 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting agenda. Motion carried 7-0. 4.1 Consider 04/14/2021 Regular PRC Minutes Under Item 8.1 Organized Use Park Regulations, third to last paragraph replace “asked why” with “agrees” by Commissioner Rathbun. Moved by Commissioner Rathbun and seconded by Commissioner Anderson to approve the following April 14, 2021 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes with changes. Motion carried 7-0. 5. Open Forum - None 6. Presentations - None 7.1 Park Dedication – Majestic Oaks Mr. Hecker shared his staff report. Commissioner Niziolek consulted with Steve Rolf, the developer and agreed that the city environmental staff will look at language that we could restore wetlands in Woodland Trails Regional Park. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 2 May 12, 2021 ----------------------------- Moved by Commissioner Niziolek and seconded by Commissioner Loidolt to recommend to City Council to accept staff recommendations to accept park dedication for Majestic Oaks be paid, at the applicable rate, for the final number of dwelling units when the subdivision is released for recording. Motion carried 7-0. 7.2 Park Dedication – Broadway on 10 Mr. Hecker shared his staff report adding that there are sidewalks on Yankton St. Moved by Commissioner Soltvedt and seconded by Commissioner Rathbun to recommend to City Council to accept staff recommendations to accept park dedication for Broadway on 10 be paid, at the applicable rate, for the final number of dwelling unit when the lots are released for recording. Motion carried 7-0. 7.3 Park Dedication – Rise Up Addition Mr. Hecker shared his staff report. Commissioner Niziolek questioned the access from School St. or Jackson Ave. and not having a negative impact on sidewalk use for pedestrians. Chair Williams stated Planning staff would know about the parking lot access. Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Niziolek to recommend to City Council to accept staff recommendations to accept park dedication for Rise Up Addition be paid for property value at the applicable commercial rate when the lot is released for recording. Motion carried 7-0. 7.4 Organized Use Park Regulations Mr. Hecker shared his staff report. Exempted school groups and booster clubs, MORC, example is Nordic ski group. Commissioner Anderson asked if Nordic ski holds an event at Hillside do they pay or not if the park they volunteer in is a different park and would like to add Elk River Endurance to the exempt list. Chair Williams asked to remove from page 3, on number 5, the city must be named Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 3 May 12, 2021 ----------------------------- as additional should be deleted and the last whole sentence removed. Commission Anderson asked to have no permanent paint markings on the trail, only chalk may be used to mark trails and could be added to #13. Commissioner Anderson asked if this applies to only the parks that they volunteer in or will it apply to all parks? Mr. Hecker said it would apply to all parks. Commissioner Loidolt stated that page 3, #8 states they cannot use picnic tables, statement is misleading. Mr. Hecker shared that we wouldn’t allow a group to monopolize a playground and can be removed. Commissioner Loidolt asked why they cannot consume alcoholic beverages? Believes there are there are too many rules to follow. Commissioners asked if there can be less rules. Chair Williams asked commissioners to look at it and bring back their dislikes. Council member Wagner, brought up to other council members as a commission update at last meeting, and asked how this is different than the Special Event permit the city has and what preempted the need? Mr. Hecker shared the Special Event policy doesn’t pertain to event requests in the parks. This policy has been tested with 3-4 different groups with no complaints. Council member Wagner asked if there could be a minimum number of people that would trigger the use of this policy. Chair Williams asked commission member for their input on direction. Commissioner Soltvedt would help to see again with all the changes suggested tonight. Commissioner Anderson is not comfortable with people making a profit in the parks, application is simple but seems to be too many rules and needs more time. Commissioner Holmgren needs to be reviewed more. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 4 May 12, 2021 ----------------------------- Commissioner Niziolek, no vote tonight, size limit and amend Special Event policy if possible. Commissioner Rathbun rules are redundant, get rid of page 3 and 4, the application has all the info and agrees there needs to be more work on the policy. Chair Williams table for further refinement Moved by Commissioner Niziolek and seconded by Commissioner Rathbun to table and modify it accordingly. Motion carried 7-0. 7.5 Commission Meetings in Person Mr. Hecker shared his staff report. Commission members discussed meeting in person at City Hall, agreeing that having a hybrid in-person/virtual model meeting to give flexibility to members. Moved by Commissioner Soltvedt and seconded by Commissioner Loidolt to start meeting in person, however, to provide a remote option if commissioners or public were not comfortable meeting in person at this time starting July 14 2021. Motion carried 7-0. 8.1 Emergency Action Plan – Athletic Fields Mr. Hecker shared his staff report stating that sharing at a staff level when there are large events going on. Commissioner Loidolt suggested to hang up contact numbers at concession stands at the athletic fields. Commissioner Niziolek asked if there is a size of event where the police are present. Ms. Love shared that currently the police department staff get a weekly report sharing when there are events with 100 or more people present. Council member Wagner brought this issue up due to a storm while out at the fields, so when the associations use the fields what communication is there for bad weather. Asking if there can be a chain of command for bad weather incident coming. Commission members discussed what groups can do to stay informed regarding bad Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 5 May 12, 2021 ----------------------------- weather incidents. Chair Williams will work with Council member Wagner and Chief Dickinson. 9. Active Elk River Update Mr. Hecker shared the Active Elk River Update with the Director report. 10. Parks and Recreation Director Update Mr. Hecker shared his staff report. Sharing photos of Ice Breaker Tournament, Woodland Trails Regional Park Ribbon Cutting event, and the Dog Days of Summer event. Commissioner Loidolt shared an update regarding the Ice Breaker Tournament and that there should be netting over the playground, as kids playing there do not hear the warnings the fly balls are coming. Mr. Hecker will review the cost for netting in the park dedication fund. Mr. Hecker shared that Elk RiverFest is in full planning stages along with Riverfront Concert Series. Commissioner Anderson asked for an update regarding Sedge Meadow in June. Mr. Hecker shared that city staff is filling cracks on the Great Northern Trail and a contractor is doing micro-surfacing in early July for the length of the Great Northern Trail. 11. Announcements Council member Wagner shared about volunteering at the Ice breaker Tournament and hearing the comments about the improvements at the Youth Athletic Complex. 12. Adjournment There being no further business, Chair Williams adjourned the meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission at 8:04 p.m. Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 6 May 12, 2021 ----------------------------- Minutes prepared by Tonya Love. ___________________ David Williams, Chair _____________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk