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4.0 PRMIN 07-12-2023 Meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall Wednesday, July 12, 2023 Members Present: Chair David Williams, Commissioners Dave Anderson, Mike Brown, Ryan Holmgren, Greg Loidolt, Mike Niziolek, and Mark Rathbun Members Absent: None Council Liaison: Councilmember Mike Beyer Staff Present: Assistant City Administrator Joe Stremcha, Parks and Recreation Manager 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 Agenda Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Anderson to approve the July 12, 2023, agenda. Motion carried 7-0. 4. Consider Minutes Moved by Commissioner Rathbun and seconded by Commissioner Holmgren to approve the June 14, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes. Motion carried 7-0. Moved by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Commissioner Loidolt to approve the June 28, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission Special Meeting Minutes. Motion carried 7-0. 5. Open Forum Chair Williams let everyone in attendance know that staff received numerous emails regarding the grass walking trail located between York Avenue and Zumbro Street and suggests staff meet with anyone that has a concern. There will be a meeting scheduled for residents for or against the trail to meet with staff. Rickie Buttweiler, 12891 187th Circle NW, explained that she spoke with Mr. Hecker 3 years ago about Eagle Scouts cleaning up the trail. Mrs. Buttweiler asked how residents would be notified of the next meeting. Chair Williams suggested having people put their name and email address on a piece of paper before leaving the meeting. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 2 July 12, 2023 Teresa Kleven, 909 York Ave NW, spoke with Mr. Hecker on June 28 on site. Mrs. Kleven asked Mr. Hecker what she could do about the trail next to her property. He stated she could attend a commission meeting and it could be an agenda item at the July 12 meeting. She would like to know why it was not added to the agenda. Mr. Hecker stated he did mention it could be added to the agenda as a discussion item but was not sure if Mrs. Kleven would be attending. Chair Williams stated that whether it had been on the agenda or not, there would still be a follow-up meeting with staff. Mrs. Kleven asked if the commission would be voting on the trail. Chair Williams stated there was not a vote and the Commission gave a consensus for the Boy Scout project to move forward. Mrs. Kleven added since it was brought up at a past commission meeting, she thought the commission would make a recommendation to approve or deny. Chair Williams shared it was a presentation not an action item. Mrs. Kleven asked if the next step is gathering more information, which Chair Williams confirmed. Mrs. Buttweiler said there were many people that were not able to attend the meeting tonight and asked if she could add their names to the list. Commissioners suggested spreading the word with neighbors and said if their name is not on the list, they can still attend the meeting. Staff discussed having the meeting take place in about two weeks at 6:00 p.m. 6.1 Free Grace United Halloween Hayrides Karlie Phelps, Family Pastor of Free Grace United, presented the report. Last year they had hayrides in their parking lot during the annual Trunk or Treat, and it was a huge hit. They would like to make it an Elk River event and utilize the trails at Lion John Weicht Park for the hayrides. It will be a free event for the community held on Saturday, October 28, 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Commissioner Rathbun asked if there is a similar event held at Woodland Trails Regional Park in the Fall. Mr. Hecker said we have not done events like this recently at that park. Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Holmgren to approve the Halloween Hayride event to be held at Lion John Weicht Park on October 28, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Motion carried 7-0. 6.2 Elk River Band Booster Haunted Trail Walk Rayma Sivaraj presented the report on behalf of Elk River Band Booster Club. The haunted trail walk will be 1.3 miles at Lion John Weicht Park with minor spooks 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. for younger children and major scares 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. There will be an entrance fee of $10 per person and they are hoping to have 80-100 participants and are hoping this will be an annual event. The booster club has an insurance quote from North Central Insurance Company, and they will name the City of Elk River as an insured party. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 3 July 12, 2023 Commissioner Brown asked if the trails will be cleaned after the event and Mrs. Sivaraj stated the band students will clean everything. Commissioner Holmgren asked who will do the scaring. Mrs. Sivaraj stated the band students. Commissioner Holmgren suggested asking theater students to participate. Moved by Commissioner Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Holmgren to approve the Elk River Band Booster Haunted Trail Walk to be held at Lion John Weicht Park on October 7, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Motion carried 7-0. 6.3 Good Shepard Lutheran High School Family Festival Roxanne Dennison presented the report on behalf of Good Shepard Lutheran High School for their family festival, which they are hoping will become an annual event, to be held on either October 8 or 15 at 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. They will supply food, have attractions such as a band, pony rides, petting zoo, bingo, variety of games, bounce houses, possible dunk tank, water balloon toss, face painting, wacky hair station, 3-legged race, cornhole competition and a raffle drawing. Chair Williams asked if she has discussed food requirements with staff that we require other groups to follow. Mrs. Dennison shared staff let her know the policy for having food trucks and if they are planning to provide the food, they will not need a food handlers certificate since it will be more of a potluck. Chair Williams shared that goes against what we are making the athletic associations follow. Mr. Hecker asked if they have insurance, which they do not, and let Mrs. Dennison know they will need to provide liability insurance and list the City as an additional insured. Commissioner Anderson suggested having a specific date and time to approve the festival. Commissioners discussed the dates and agreed October 15 would be best. Commissioner Brown asked if the pavilion and shelters are rented on that date. Staff will need to look at the reservation calendar. Commissioner Holmgren suggested having an inclement weather backup date. Moved by Chair Williams and seconded by Commissioner Holmgren to approve the Good Shepard Lutheran High School Family Festival to be held at Orono Park on October 15 provided that the food requirements and insurance are set and verification on shelter and pavilion availability. Motion carried 7-0. 7.1 Plants and Things Athletic Complex Proposal Mr. Stremcha presented the staff report. Staff are looking to see if the commission is okay with sponsorships if the funds are being applied to site improvements rather than a general fund or general capital expenditure. The other component we want to capitalize on is the opportunity for renaming when we partner with MNDOT on the signage. Whether the signage for MNDOT relates to an Athletic Complex versus a recreational complex or park we want to make sure we can utilize the rights-of-way and capitalize on that opportunity as well. We are looking for a consensus from the Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 4 July 12, 2023 commission that this is a good opportunity, and it is agreeable to have the funds be used for site improvements. Chair Williams spoke with Mr. Hickman and staff about this and the only concern he had, that was not stated in the staff report, is if the money coming into the Youth Athletic Complex needs to stay with YAC and not be included in the Parks and Recreation budget. The Commission agrees to move forward. 7.2 Park System Playground Replacements Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. There are many capital playground replacements to be done between 2024 and 2028. Fresno Park, scheduled for replacement in 2028, looks to be in the most need of replacement according to our certified playground inspectors on our Parks Maintenance staff. The basketball court was removed from Fresno Park so the courts could be upgraded at Country Crossings Park. Mississippi Oaks Park is scheduled for replacement in 2027. Country Crossings Park is scheduled for replacement in 2025. Riverplace Park is scheduled for replacement in 2026. Highlands Park is scheduled for replacement and has unique features that are not in other parks. Mr. Hecker asked if the commission has a desire to replace all the playgrounds or combine some. Chair Williams shared one of the things discussed at the Fields Master Planning meeting was an idea of condensing things into certain areas, such as one park will have basketball court, one will have a playground, etc. Commissioner Niziolek shared we should determine number of users at each playground with a survey and have it done before the commission has this conversation. That will guide us to make a sound decision for the community. Commissioner Anderson thinks there should be a work session with maintenance staff to make an informed decision. Mr. Hecker said we should kick off the Park Improvement Fund and Park Dedication Fund discussions at an upcoming meeting. Commissioner Niziolek shared we should investigate the status of the park property to see if it can be sold if we remove the playground. He does not suggest removing any parks, but it would be good to know if it is possible to sell the land. Chair Williams stated if the land was park dedication it is nearly impossible to sell it. Councilmember Beyer thinks it is a great idea to do a survey. He asked if staff could give a written observation of every piece of equipment. Mr. Hecker confirmed they can and shared that we have two certified playground inspectors. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 5 July 12, 2023 7.3 Orono Park Playground Rock Replacement Options Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. Orono Park is a signature playground and park, and staff feel something needs to be added to the vacant location where the old rock climber was removed. Mr. Sevcik gathered quotes for replacements of features that will fit in the existing container. ▪ Option 1 - Boulder replacement $46,000 ▪ Option 2 - Fortress Multi Climber or We-Go-Round $60,000 ▪ Option 3 - Rope Climber $40,000 ▪ Option 4 - No replacement Mr. Hecker shared that Chair Williams has mentioned discussing this when the commission discusses the Park Improvement Fund, and Mr. Hecker recommends waiting until 2024 for the replacement. Chair Williams shared the commission needs to get back in the habit of approving projects when the budget is discussed and stop adding things throughout the year. 8. Parks and Recreation Manager Report Mr. Hecker presented the staff report and shared that a new playground at Lion John Weicht Park will be coming in the Spring 2024. Commissioner Loidolt asked about the status of the playground covering at Youth Athletic Complex. Mr. Hecker shared it was installed this week after being delayed. 9. Announcements Chair Williams shared there will not be a regular meeting on August 9, 2023, due to not having a quorum. There may need to be a special meeting if there is business that needs to be approved before the September 13 meeting. 10. Motion to Adjourn Moved by Commissioner Rathbun and seconded by Commissioner Anderson to adjourn the meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Motion carried 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Minutes prepared by Ali Wallace. ___________________ David Williams, Chair ___________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk