9 PRSR 07-14-2021 Memorandum
To: Parks and Recreation Commission
From: Michael Hecker, Parks and Recreation Director
Date: July 14, 2021
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.
Hire Recreation Sports Coordinator
The City Council approved the hiring of Warren Ellingworth as our Recreation Sports Coordinator
effective July 27, 2021. The position has been vacant since Tim Dalton became the Furniture and Things
Community Event Center Superintendent. With reduced programming in 2020 due to the pandemic we
delayed filling the position. We went to market in April and received 166 applications.
MRPA Awards of Excellence
Steve Benoit made an appearance at the July 6 City Council meeting to award the MRPA Award of
Excellence for the Furniture and Things Community Event Center and Woodland Trails Regional Park
Upgrades. Steve serves on the MRPA awards committee. The award is given to an organization that has
completed a project that exemplifies the highest level of excellence in Parks and Recreation.
Proposed Parks Facilities Attendant
Staff is proposing a seasonal full time parks facilities attendant for the 2022 budget. This position will be
responsible for inspecting the athletic facilities, mainly YAC and tournaments making sure scoreboard
controllers, field lighting, facilities access and field prep supplies are in order. The main justification for
this request is due to the fact the city has taken a loss of over $25,000 in park assets due to thefts and/or
damages. An AED valued at nearly $3,000 was taken, various scoreboard controllers taken ($450 each),
field lighting left on after hours and field prep supplies taken. Also, the well at YAC was shut off resulting
in a burned-out motor costing over $8,000. Master park keys were also recently stolen so the athletic
facilities had to be re-cored costing the city $thousands.
Item: 9
We plan to have a future work session with the Commission to discuss possible revenue sources to pay
for this proposed seasonal position.
Active Elk River - Orono Park & YAC
The Orono Park construction project continues to proceed on time. New Look Contracting found a
concrete slab that appears to be the foundation for an old farmhouse next to the lake near the splash
pad location.
Our Skate Park contractor, Spohn Ranch, notified us of a 7% cost increase in the contract pricing due to
COVID inflationary costs. The impact adds $27,489, for a total of $420,189. It is nearly impossible to
reduce the scope of the skate park as the engineering and architectural work may be cost prohibitive and
similar to ERMU’s steel issue, the contractors can afford to walk away from the project. After
consultation with the city attorney’s office, they indicated our options are slim. This added cost may be a
qualified expense for our ARPA funds. Construction is expected to start next week.
We continue to provide access to the boat launch during weekends. This will become problematic as the
skate park construction gets underway. People continue to use the beach even with the “Closed” signs
posted throughout the park.
The city received three bids for the YAC septic system on July 7. Staff is reviewing the bids and plans to
present them to City Council July 19.
Park Improvement Fund
City Council updated the Park Improvement Funding policy on June 21 to be at least $250,000 annually.
This is a transfer from the Liquor Fund to the PIF. The policy revision sets the transfer from the
municipal liquor stores of up to 45% of operating income less budgeted transfers or $250,000, whichever is greater.
This will provide stability to the long-term funding source and allow for the planning of replacement
and maintenance of park assets.
Great Northern Trail
The work on the Great Northern Trail is complete. The resurfacing took place June 23-26 as part of
the Elk River Landfill leachate project from last summer. They applied an asphalt micro-surfacing
which added roughly one inch of new asphalt material to the surface of the trail. This should
improve ride quality along the trail following the construction of the pipeline and to seal the surface
from the elements.
Riverfront Concert Series
The first two Riverfront Concert Series concerts had a “normal” feel reminding the crowds and staff of
pre-COVID crowds. The second concert with the ‘Rockin’ Hollywood's’ had an estimated crowd of 1,400.
The next concert on July 15 will be our fourth concert with “Buddy Holly”.
Rivers Edge Commons Park Dock
City Council approved the dock for Rivers Edge Commons Park on June 21, 2021. Concepts were
approved by the Commission August 12, 2020, and City Council September 2020. Resident Boat and
Dock Enthusiast Shannon Tatro and Michael Hecker met with Chris Carlson of Envision Company/ERX
to express gratitude for his financial commitment to install the dock. The Carlson Family Lightshield
Foundation will donate $57,500 toward the dock which was a commitment made last summer covering
50% of the 2020 dock quote. The city will pay the balance of $68,204.
We continue to work on the installation timeline for the dock. The earliest the dock may be installed is
early September.
Pinewood Golf Course
Hartman Companies completed irrigation inspection and repairs on the play areas of all nine holes. The
work took just over 87 hours of manpower, 30 waterproof electrical connectors, 28 sprinklers of four
types, and two PVC fittings. City Council approved on June 30 a new management agreement for the
operations of Pinewood. The plan is for the management firm to take ownership of the course to be
discussed by City Council July 19.
Senior Center Memberships
Our Senior Center memberships recently surpassed 400, nearing the 2019 membership total. About
35% are new memberships. A few of the older members have been complaining the restrooms are too
far away and suggested we have staff assist with a wheelchair. The first trip in 16 months will be in mid-
July to Stillwater with 32 members.
Park Maintenance well watering
Park Maintenance is busy watering ballfields, newly planted trees, the downtown flowers, and non-
irrigated landscape areas to keep things living through this extended drought. We are also looking closer
into the Oak Knoll well to determine the cause of its water deficiencies. Six years ago, we collaborated
with ISD #728 to connect to city water after determining the well wasn’t adequate to provide enough to
irrigate in hot months. We are looking again into the causes of the well failure and determining if any
actions can be taken to improve the well to minimize the use of city water.