06-09-2021 PRMMeeting of the Elk River Parks and
Recreation Commission
Held at the Elk River City Hall
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Members Present: Chair Williams, Commission members Anderson,
Loidolt, Niziolek, Rathbun, and Soltvedt
Council Liaison: Ms. Wagner
Staff Present: Parks and Recreation Director, Michael Hecker, Recreation Assistant,
Ali Wallace
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 06/09/2021 Agenda
Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Soltvedt to
approve the June 9, 2021 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting agenda.
Motion carried 6-0.
4.1 Consider 05/12/2021 Regular PRC Minutes
Moved by Commissioner Rathbun and seconded by Commissioner Soltvedt
to approve the following May 12, 2021 Parks and Recreation Commission
Minutes with changes. Motion carried 6-0.
5. Open Forum - None
6. Presentations - None
7. Action Items - None
8. Discussion Items - None
9. Active Elk River Update
Mr. Hecker shared the Active Elk River Update report with the Director report.
10. Parks and Recreation Director Update
Mr. Hecker shared the Director report.
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May 12, 2021
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Mr. Hecker shared the plans for the Trott Brook Tennis Courts have been sent to
New Look Construction and paving contractors for quotes that will be due by the
end of June. The plan is to go to the City Council meeting the end of July for
construction approval and the construction will take about a month to complete.
Mr. Hecker shared that he sent the commissioners an email from Sherburne County
regarding the expansion of the Great Northern Trail. The county would like to get
feedback from the commission members. The next meeting will be on Wednesday,
June 16 at the Princeton Great Northern Railway Depot.
Mr. Hecker shared pictures with the Orono Park update.
Commissioner Anderson asked if the boardwalk along beach will be concrete. He
also asked for clarification about how much soil will be removed at the tennis court.
Mr. Hecker said the boardwalk will be a 10-foot concrete boardwalk. There will be 3-
4 inches of soil removed after the existing tennis court is removed and will confirm
that is correct.
Councilmember Wagner asked for more information on Orono timeline and when
does the contractor think it will be finished.
Mr. Hecker said the completion date is not until October and the project is still on
track for this year.
Commissioner Niziolek asked if there are any segments that will be opened earlier.
Mr. Hecker said it is too early to tell.
11. Announcements
Chair Williams shared he has been working with Tim, Josh, and Karen on scheduling
fields since the school district is down six 100yd fields, and one JV baseball field due
to construction. He wanted to thank them and the whole staff for their hard work.
Commissioner Anderson shared we have some potential Eagle Scout candidates.
12. Adjournment to Work Session
There being no further business, Chair Williams adjourned the meeting of the Elk
River Parks and Recreation Commission at 6:44 p.m.
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May 12, 2021
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13. Work Session
The work session meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission was
called to order at 6:46 p.m. by Chair Williams.
13.1 Elk River Youth Football Association Field Lighting Payment
Deferment Request
Chair Williams presented the staff report. He requested a preliminary review meeting
and their financials, but nobody was able to attend. Since there was not a preliminary
review meeting, he requested their board members come to the meeting tonight, but
nobody was in attendance.
Commissioner Niziolek suggested that we wait until 7:00pm to start the meeting in
case any of the board members show up.
Commissioner Anderson suggested that they continue to talk about the request.
Chair Williams agreed and said that if anyone showed up for the meeting they would
start over.
Chair Soltvedt asked what the annual payment amount is.
Chair Williams said the payment is $7416 a year. He also shared that ERYFA claims
they have never seen a copy of the agreement between Football, Baseball, Lacrosse,
and the city. They have also increased their prices $60 per player.
Mr. Hecker is requesting commission members to give a direction that can be shared
with the Council.
Councilmember Wagner said that partnerships are crucial. It was a big expense to
put the lights in so we need all the youth associations to pay, or we will be behind.
She agrees that invoices need to be sent to the youth organizations but it’s a moot
point because they had been paying for it in the past.
Commissioner Anderson shared if there is a legitimate financial hardship that would
hurt the program then they need to show us and sit down and talk to us, then he
would support the deferment.
Commissioner Rathbun asked if baseball and lacrosse showed financials and if our
records show that we were given financial information.
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Chair Williams shared that baseball and lacrosse met with him and they provided
their financials and were transparent.
Commissioner Loidolt shared that he asked a past Elk River Youth Baseball
treasurer if they received an invoice every year and she said they did. He would like
to know if there is a paper trail for invoices for all associations.
Commissioner Anderson asked when 2021 payments are due.
Chair Williams said the payments are due July 1st.
Commissioner Anderson suggests that upon receipt of the 2021 payment and a
subsequent meeting with representatives of the board then we can add a payment
onto 2023.
Commissioner Soltvedt would like to see what the financial hardship was. Baseball
and Lacrosse lost their whole season and fundraisers, but Football had a Fall camp
and had a fundraiser to help support the High School program. They made a
financial decision to allocate those funds elsewhere instead of their organization.
They need to show what the financial hardship is. Instead of offering a deferment he
suggests offering a modified payment schedule so all payments are current and made
by the end of 2022 unless they can prove the hardships they have had.
Commissioner Niziolek suggests giving them additional 5 months to be paid in full
by end of 2022.
Commissioners feel like they have not been provided with enough information to get
a deferment. They would like at least 1 representative from ERYFA to come to the
commission meeting with financials and will add it to the work session for the July
meeting and then put it on the agenda in August.
Commissioner Rathbun asked if they payments are to reimburse the city for a
payment in whole that the city has already made and if there is an interest expense?
Mr. Hecker said yes, it is to pay the city back and there was no interest.
14. Adjournment
There being no further business, Chair Williams adjourned the meeting of the Elk
River Parks and Recreation Commission work session at 7:33 p.m.
Parks & Recreation Commission Minutes Page 5
May 12, 2021
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Minutes prepared by Ali Wallace.
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David Williams, Chair
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Tina Allard, City Clerk