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4.1 PRMIN 9-13-23 Meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall Wednesday, September 13, 2023 Members Present: Chair David Williams, Commissioners Dave Anderson, Mike Brown, Ryan Holmgren, Greg Loidolt, and Mike Niziolek Members Absent: Commissioner Rathbun Council Liaison: Councilmember Mike Beyer Staff Present: Assistant City Administrator/Business Services Director Joe Stremcha, Parks and Recreation Manager Michael Hecker, Senior Administrative Assistant Dawn Larson 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. Consider Agenda Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Anderson to approve the September 13, 2023, agenda. Motion carried 6-0. 4. Consider Minutes Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Brown to approve the July 12, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes. Motion carried 6-0. 5. Open Forum Tim Schreder, an Otsego resident explained that he is a former world champion disc golfer and has some questions about the disc golf course at Lion John Weicht Park. Mr. Hecker said that the course is going to be completed over the next couple of years in house by Tim Sevcik, Street and Park Superintendent for the City of Elk River. Mr. Hecker will follow up with Tim directly on any questions he has about the park. 6. Presentations 6.1 Eagle Scout Beck Cleaveland, Firewood rack for the Woodland Trails Regional Park firepit Beck is a sophomore at Elk River High School and is working on his Eagle Scout project. He described the project as a wood shelter with a concrete floor, cedar tone treated lumber, and a painted corrugated red metal roof located near the existing firepit outside the pavilion. He will fundraise the $800 to $1200 that is needed and will purchase the supplies from Menards. This project went through the site planning review committee. Once the project is done Beck will present it again to the commission. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 2 September 13, 2023 7. Action Items 7.1 2024 Shelter and Pavilion Rental Fees Mr. Hecker asked the commission to recommend by motion the 2024 rental use fees for park shelters and pavilions. Commissioner Anderson said he lives partially in a world where greed is driving down prices. He said he wants to make sure that we do not jump on that band wagon. Secretary Larson explained that after doing research current shelter fees are still much lower than the surrounding communities. The City of Elk River is still playing catch up with the rates after raising them for the first time in 2018 after not raising them for over a decade. Commissioner Loidolt asked about Woodland Trails Pavilion rentals being higher this year and yet the income from the rentals was lower. Secretary Larson explained that community education does some rentals for their programs for free as part of an exchange with the city. Commissioner Brown expressed support due to rising costs everywhere and expenses. Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Holgren to approve the rental fees for 2024. Motion carried 6-0. 8. Discussion Items 8.1 2024 Park Improvement Fund and Park Dedication Projects Mr. Hecker presented his report and options for Orono Park boulder playground replacement. Chair Williams said if staff are not hearing any complaints from the public then he recommends not acting yet. Commissioner Brown would like to wait on it and put the money into something else. Commissioner Holmgren said it is intriguing to have options. Commissioner Niziolek said he would like to make sure that we continue to make Orono a destination playground. Chair Williams asked Mr. Hecker what he was looking for from the Commission. Mr. Hecker said he is just looking for a consensus on what the commission would like to do. The consensus is to wait on replacing the boulder feature that was removed at Orono Park playground. Mr. Hecker reviewed the spreadsheets with the commission. Mr. Hecker explained that he has been working on AED pricing and will continue to do more research. Chair Williams said it is important to make sure they have an alarm on them. He shared that there is one at the stadium called a save station that staff could look at. The save station is an alarmed and heated cabinet with an AED inside. Mr. Hecker asked if the commission wants AEDs. Chair Williams said yes, especially out in the fields. Commissioner Brown suggested moving the AED’s around as we need them so we can move them out of the weather from season to season. Chair Williams mentioned doing one or two per year. Mr. Hecker suggested doing two for 2024, one at Orono and YAC. There is one already at Lions but inside the concession area. Commissioner Niziolek wants to see statistics for the population that would most positively benefit by it. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 3 September 13, 2023 Mr. Hecker pointed out the park dedication line item for the Meadowvale trail. Mr. Hecker asked if there is anything else the commission would like to see as far as projects are concerned. The Commission did not have anything else to add. Mr. Stremcha explained that the money from the Plants and Things Center will stay in the YAC budget. Chair Williams asked how things are going with the Pinewood course and if the City is still getting the payments from it. Mr. Hecker said that he is not aware of issues. Councilmember Beyer said he also is not aware of anything. Commissioner Anderson mentioned that it does appear that the greens have suffered some snow mold damage. 9. Parks and Recreation Manager Report Mr. Hecker presented his staff report. He also gave an update on the Grass Trail project between York and Zumbro that Eagle Scout Tristan Jordan is working on. It is going well and after a meeting with the neighbors yesterday it is moving forward. Also, there will be a public meeting on November 8, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. that will be hosted by Friends of the Mississippi at City Hall. This is an open house to discuss the grant project going on at Camp Cozy Park. Commissioner Niziolek said to do a positive shoutout to Friends of the Mississippi for all the work they have done in the city. They have also been helping with the William H. Houlton Conservation shoreline restoration project. 10. Announcements 11. Adjourn Regular Meeting Moved by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Commissioner Loidolt to adjourn the regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:04 p.m. Minutes prepared by Dawn Larson. ___________________ David Williams, Chair ___________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk