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PRMIN 12-13-2023 Meeting of the Elk River Parks and Recreation Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall December 13, 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: Parks and Recreation Manager Michael Hecker, Senior Administrative Assistant Dawn Larson, Assistant City Administrator/Business Services Director Joe Stremcha 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 6:30p.m. by Chair Williams. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Consider Agenda Chair Williams stated that he would like to remove item 7.1 from the agenda and refer to Mr. Stremcha for an explanation. Mr. Stremcha shared that staff would like to take another approach to the subject by gathering input from user groups and reevaluating the process going forward. Chair Williams requested the addition of item 6.3, to request replacing himself from the Athletic Fields Master Planning Committee with another Commission member. Moved by Commissioner Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Rathbun to approve the December 13, 2023, agenda with the above amendments. Motion carried 7-0. 4. Consider Minutes Moved by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Commissioner Loidolt to approve the November 8, 2023, Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes. Motion carried 7-0. 5. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 2024 Calendar Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Brown to approve the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting schedule of the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. during 2024. Motion carried 7-0. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 2 December 13, 2023 6.2 Camp Cozy Natural Resource Plan Mr. Hecker presented his report. Commissioner Anderson said that he would like to request in the future that when the commissioner gets a thick technical document like this plan, it would be accompanied by a 2-page cliff notes summary version with a map. He would like a summary page with a map and bullet points. Mr. Anderson stated that with the dollar amount of the request being exceptionally large, unless there is successful grant writing he does not see the project happening. Mr. Hecker said that he and Tim Sevcik are meeting with Alex Roth, the Director of FMR’s Land Conservation Program, next Thursday about this. Commissioner Brown said that his concern is the money. He said that if it is paid for with a grant, it would be fine and sounds like a good thing to do. He also said that it would be good if we can move forward and get the buckthorn under control. Commissioner Niziolek said he totally supports it and would like to thank the Friends of the Mississippi group for all their hard work. Moved by Commissioner Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Holmgren to adopt the Natural Resources Plan for Camp Cozy Park. Motion carried 7-0. 6.3 Fields Master Planning Committee Position Change Chair Williams explained that he no longer has time to be on the committee, so he has asked Commissioner Loidolt to take his place since he had initially expressed interest. Chair Williams asked if anyone else wanted the position. Moved by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Commissioner Anderson to remove Chair Williams from the fields committee and put Commissioner Loidolt on. Motion carried 7-0. 7.1 Disc Golf at Burr Oak Park Removed from the agenda. 7.2 Public Art Mr. Hecker presented his staff report. Mr. Stremcha explained that the Beautification/Public Art committee has money that they have set aside from the Economic Development Authority and areare looking at using to pursue grant opportunities (with a match) for a public art installation. They are looking for input from the commission on the type of public art and location that public art would be desired. Due to feedback the committee has already received, Mr. Stremcha suggested an art feature that is climbable or interactive. Location suggestions from the committee are Rivers Edge Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 3 December 13, 2023 Commons and Orono park. Past conversations have suggested that Rivers Edge already has a lot going on and may not be ideal. The committee is requesting feedback from the commission on input regarding the fixtures, concepts, ideas, and specific location for the art within a park. The next step would be to appoint a representative from the Commission to sit on the selection committee during the request for proposal process. The committee is also looking at doing something indoors as well like a community mural at the FT Center. Mike Westgaard will be the MFAC liaison to the selection committee. Commssioner Anderson said that the Park and Rec commission should be intimately involved in this process. He said that there are too many questions that they would have to answer before the commission could propose where. He likes the idea of art in the parks and believes there is room for it but never thought of interactive art. He also agrees that Rivers Edge is busy already. He would like to know more details before the design and funding process moves forward. Mr. Stremcha said that right now they are looking for feedback on what plot of land would be desirable for a sculpture or interactive play art. Through an RFP there will be a list of desirable features and criteria for it being community oriented and playable. Based on those frameworks the artist would have free reign to come up with a design proposal. The selection committee would then select a design and then it would come back to the commission for their review and support. Commissioner Anderson asked if it can go in any park or just Orono Park or Rivers Edge Park. Mr. Stremcha confirmed that the beautification committee is suggesting Orono, Rivers Edge, or the FT Center. The committee would like feedback from the commission on whether they are agreeable to those locations in general, and then specifically which of the two park sites and a location within the park. Commissioner Holmgren said he envisions something in Orono Park between the public boat launch and the beach that might be a boat scene or something that kids could climb on. Something near the former baseball field would be desirable. Commissioner Anderson also confirmed that Commissioner Holmgren was talking about the old Kuss Field area and that something with a water theme would make sense. Commissioner Anderson said he must see what the piece of art is before he can decide or give input. He said he thinks there are many places where the piece of art could go. Commissioner Niziolek said that he does think that he could leave it to the artist to select the location and the art and then that could be brought to the commission for their approval. That would give the artist the ability to match their artwork to the site. He said it would be important for the artist installation to include the mounting and preparation for the site so that there is not an extra cost to the city to secure the art for safety and security at a later date. Mr. Stremcha said the committee had identified $10,000 in 2023 and 2024 to use for matching grant opportunities to use as a base cost of $40,000. The intent would be no cost to the City beyond the initial contribution from the EDA and for the committee to fundraise for any gaps in funding. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 4 December 13, 2023 Commissioner Anderson agreed with Commissioner Niziolek but said that he feels that the Committee already seems committed without receiving the input from the commission. Councilmember Beyer said that he has concerns about whether the artist is collaborating with the committee and is the committee looking at all the park locations, history, and ways to tie the art into the community. Mr. Stremcha said that the artist has not been selected yet. The project is in its infancy so there are more questions yet to be answered. A request for proposals will be submitted by artists and then those will be reviewed by the committee. Councilmember Beyer said that he would like to see the options of location opened to all parks, not just Orono and Rivers Edge. Commissioner Niziolek said opening it to more than one or two parks would open it up for the artist to fit the art to a location. Mr. Stremcha said that there is a request to have a highly visible location which is why those three locations were chosen. Propose to the artist the area so they can design. Commissioner Holmgren said that could limit the artist options if they do not have any art that would fit within those options. Commissioner Brown asked what other parks an option could be. He feels that Orono already has a lot going on and is too busy. He feels Lion John Weicht Park would be the next signature park because of the new playground installation in 2024. He thinks that there are other options to consider. Mr. Stremcha asked if there is someone interested in serving on the committee to help with the request for proposal process to help refine criteria and selection process for Art and Artists. It would also be a subcommittee and not the full committee. Commissioner Niziolek said he would like to be on the committee if the time works out. Mr. Stremcha will follow up with him. 8. Parks and Recreation Manager Update Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. He explained that the Trott Brook Park playground concept designs will not be ready in January. He and Tim Sevcik, City of Elk River Street and Park Superintendent will be meeting with Flagship Recreation about the playground designs this week. City staff will bring concepts to the Parks and Recreation Commission in early 2024 and will also be reaching out to the neighborhood for input. 9. Announcements Commissioner Anderson asked if they could get an update at a future meeting on the process that has started with some proposed layouts and timeline with the Mississippi Rd. Trail open house tonight. He would like to know the target completion date. Mr. Hecker will confirm the next steps of the project. Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 5 December 13, 2023 Commissioner Brown asked about the status of aging playgrounds. He would like to see the blueprint of the future of playgrounds replacements, and he would like to see a layout of the replacement schedule. Mr. Hecker said he can include that information in his report at the next meeting. Commissioner Rathbun has an information request. He has someone he knows that is in the Rogers hockey community that was asking about renting ice time at the FT Center and they are always told no. Mr. Stremcha told them to give them his number for a contact and he would gladly speak with them. Mr. Stremcha said anyone can buy ice at any time if it is available. 10. Adjourn Regular Meeting Moved by Commissioner Loidolt and seconded by Commissioner Holmgren to adjourn the regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission at 7:04 p.m. Motion carried 7-0. Minutes prepared by Dawn Larson. ___________________ Greg Loidolt, Vice Chair ___________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk