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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 05-12-2022 1 Approved Minutes May 12, 2022 Approved Minutes Park & Recreation Advisory Commission Thursday, May 12, 2022 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Tricia DeBleeckere, Vice Chair Marilyn Sunseri, Commissioners: Ann Hoekstra, Vita Wilson, James Kuznia MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioners: Allie Storti, Hannah Wegner STAFF PRESENT: Recreation Manager Kari Hemp, Plymouth Ice Center Manager Erik Halverson, Volunteer Coordinator Jackie Maas, Office Support Specialist Genny Layne COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES: Council Member Jim Willis CALL TO ORDER Chair Tricia DeBleeckere called the meeting to order at 7:01. Introductions were made for all Commissioners and Staff attending. PUBLIC FORUM PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION ANNOUNCEMENTS (3.1) Volunteer Operations Volunteer Coordinator Jackie Maas was present to share an update on volunteer operations. During COVID Volunteering became even more important for some of our residents. Volunteering helped them to feel grounded and part of the community. They were so excited to spend time with each other and support the city in any way that they could. Some volunteers chose not to participate due to concerns about COVID and their health risks. And others joined in as soon as they felt comfortable. Some early spring programs such as hockey ticket taking, and special events such as Fire and Ice did not occur, but when the weather warmed up and we could safely gather again, city staff provided lots of volunteer opportunities for volunteers to participate. We saw the biggest growth in environmental projects such as garlic mustard pulls and buckthorn busts, where they can safely work together to improve the environment in their community. We continue to have mutually beneficial relationships with local businesses, faith-based communities, and schools. In fact, the more outdoor opportunities we can provide high school students the better. Volunteers also returned to city buildings when it was safe to do so. They provided support to Finance and Accounts Payable and they helped with assembly projects such as preparing the smores packets for the Holiday at the Hilde event. We had some new programs this year through the Adopt-a-Spot program. We had people adopting gardens, parks, fire hydrants, and storm drains. They were able to do that online through our website. We also had a huge increase in volunteer opportunities in our Historical Society. And we did offer some remote projects through Plymouth Post. Volunteers were able to provide caring cards to lonely seniors, and local schools partnered with us to provide many cards to the volunteers. Our new Community Center is going to provide so many more volunteer opportunities. During the first opening weeks volunteers were scheduled for 40 hours just to greet and welcome people and provide tours and introduce people to this fantastic new space. Volunteers can't wait to sign up and continue to do that. We also added art ambassadors to showcase the artwork that we have and to provide some light security. And then in the summer when we open the new space, we will have senior ambassadors, volunteers who will help to promote the senior programs and make sure that they facilitate the meetings and make sure things run smoothly. In terms of industry trends, increasingly we've seen volunteers prefer one time only opportunities and sometimes they want shorter shifts. We don't have to do a lot of recruitment with a population of over 80,000 residents. We 2 Approved Minutes May 12, 2022 have a constantly renewable resource with our volunteers. Obviously, we need to treat them well, which I hope we do. But they just keep coming. They see photos of volunteers having fun activities in social media and they like what we do. We just did some pushes for Fazendin Environmental planting, and we added 30 new volunteers who never participated with us before. I'm not going to turn those people away. We're going to put them in the volunteer database we'll just start sending them notice of other opportunities as they occur. Residents enjoy volunteer because they interact with our volunteers during special events. Neighbors also recruited for us, you know they have a good time and tell their friends. But the big question is why do people volunteer for the city in the first place? And I can tell you, it's because they love living here. And they want a wonderful place to live. Of course, they volunteer because they feel like the work that we ask them to do is meaningful. We had people from 30 Different communities participate last year. So, we are a global community. The volunteers enjoy their interactions with the residents. Dave Callister, our City Manager, has always said the volunteer program is not about the money saved (last year we had contributions in-kind of over $700,000), it's not about the work accomplished (we had more than 2000 volunteers contribute more than 25,000 hours of service. That's equivalent to over 12 FTEs), our volunteer program is about the relationships that we build with the people in our community. That's why they participate. It’s the relationships that they build with our staff members, relationships that they build with each other. And our volunteers are treated with respect by our staff members. And they also participate because they build their own personal network and build social interactions. So, these positive volunteer experiences are part of that intangible network structure that we have in our community. Our volunteers our partners, making Plymouth a wonderful place to live. And Plymouth wouldn't be the same without them. Chair DeBleeckere asked how quickly volunteers came back after COVID. Coordinator Maas advised we went into lockdown in March and were doing outdoor planting projects in May. They immediately asked what they could do remotely. We had volunteers making face masks. One volunteer alone sewed over 1000 face masks that we shared with our public safety staff. And then once we had what they needed, we took them out into the community to our senior facilities. Chair DeBleeckere asked what year Coordinator Maas started. Coordinator Maas stated she began 15 years ago. Nancy Anderson started the program 30 years ago. So she and I have been the only two staff people been here. Commissioner Hoekstra asked if most volunteers are empty nesters. Coordinator Maas stated that is not the case. There's a big group of people. We meet people where they are at, and we meet them at all stages of their life. Manager Kemp brought up the Teen Volunteer Program. Coordinator Maas explained that 14-year-olds and older were able to participate in mustard pulls ad walks with seniors to pick up trash. Commissioner Wilson encouraged everyone to sign up for Coordinator Maas’ newsletter. Coordinator Maas utilizes the newsletters to connect with people and let them know about volunteer opportunities and special events, such as the annual recognition event. This year through National Volunteer week, we had an open house at the Community Center to show our appreciation. Council Member Willis stated he felt it was important to show appreciation and meaning for what the volunteers do for the City. Vice Chair Sunseri thanked Coordinator Maas for the work she does. Manager Hemp stated that all the programs and facilities rely on the work Coordinator Maas does. Council Member Willis spoke about what a great program we have and how important it is that the program is so diverse. Coordinator Maas described some of the programs we have that encourage that diversity within the Volunteer program. (3.2) Plymouth Ice Center Operations Plymouth Ice Center Manager Erik Halverson presented an update on PIC operations. We're averaging about 75,000 guests a month. It was some rough times for us having to be shut down for about five months during COVID, and then having restrictions on how many people can be in the building at a time and things like that. We've rebounded nicely. We opened in January of 2021 in the middle of the month and slowly increased our 3 Approved Minutes May 12, 2022 numbers as we went through the month. And then we finally opened our concession stand in September of 2021. And now that is fully operational as well. We're seeing all of our numbers come back and passing and exceeding some numbers and in terms of ice rental and usage. Here is a brief background of how the Plymouth Ice Center is funded. We are an enterprise fund, meaning all of our revenue has to match or exceed our expenses. Capital projects, we do get some help with some city tax dollars or surplus dollars. We also have some great partnerships with Wayzata Youth Hockey Association, Wayzata High School and Providence Academy. On top of that we have Map FHIT, which is a training program which leases space on the back side of our building. That space was added in 2014 with the help of Wayzata Youth Hockey. They paid a 10-year lease payment to the Plymouth Ice Center for that and that is starting to expire here in 2024 and as well as the city's portion of having to pay on that space. So, in 2024 any payments that we get for a lease will go straight into our budget. And that's roughly going to be around $93,000 a year. Wayzata Youth Hockey rents over 3000 hours a year from us which is more than any other youth association in the state. We are very comparable to Edina in that sense. And we are probably nationally ranked as one of the largest youth associations. So, they've been a great partner. They come to city council meetings and every few years they donate some money to different projects in the facility. This year they donated $25,000 to do some repainting in Rink B and then in October they'll probably be doing another 25,000 to finish the sound system in Rink A. And then with the high schools, they rent a lot of ice as well. And then Map FHIT rent a lot of ice in the summer. In terms of your typical hockey rink, you generally don't think that hockey is going on this time of year. Hockey should be over. But, in fact we pick up so and that is thanks to Map FHIT who leases the space on the backside and then Wayzata Youth Hockey does some clinics as well. So those are basically who we serve. We also have a learn to skate program which gets a lot of residents in the Plymouth area to try ice skating. Whether they want to join hockey or figure skating, that is an avenue for them to first get on the ice while we also offer open skate and open hockey programs as well. Here are some of the highlights for 2022. TPH hockey is a new partner for us. They are now leasing the center ice room during the school days. They are a school. But not your traditional type of school. They have kids from sixth grade all the way up to about their junior year in high school. It is more of an online course, but they come to the Ice Center. They're about 20 kids right now they come to the Ice Center, and they have their instructors online, but they have two teacher assistants in the classroom with them along with a skating school director and they make sure they stay on top of their studies. They are a fully accredited program. They have multiple locations throughout the nation, including Illinois, Arizona, Alabama, all over the place. They rent time in this building when we typically would not be renting time. During the school day Wayzata and Robbinsdale kids are in school. Providence kids are in school and so are West Lutheran kids. They draw from all over the area, so they don't have to be a Plymouth resident to attend that school, but there are a few. They rent two hours of ice during the day and then that classroom and we get about $5,600 a month right now, and that will increase as this was a trial period going into next year and they have already expressed interest in being here. They will have a satellite area up in Blaine at the National Sports Center as they're going to try to get into some baseball and soccer. And that's something that we might explore as well. They've just showed interest in wanting to do baseball, but then they would have to probably rent at the PCC in the dome, turf space but they would not have a classroom space over there. We have booked a tournament pretty much every weekend from the middle of March all the way until June. That's not typical. But there's a demand for AAA tournaments and kids in their offseason wanting to skate more. So, there's a lot of different options for them. It's called checkbook hockey. If you can pay for it, your kid can play in the spring. They come in rent ice from us here. And then we as we get here into the summer, our summer ice rental is off the charts. We've never been this busy in the summer. I think we're booking it more than we are in the winter because kids aren't in school. So, we're opening at 6:30 a.m. for ice rental on going until about 9 p.m. In the school year, we only have a couple hours of ice from TPH but everything else is in the evenings or on weekends. So, we're seeing a high demand for ice rental here in the summer which is a great thing. It is a little bit more expensive to run an Ice Arena in the summer, especially in Minnesota, but we stay on top of all of our costs and electricity and gas has gone up. But that is something that we're reviewing for our ice rates going forward. Along with that since we are busier than normal, our concessions have increased quite a bit. I'm happy to say that we reached the $100,000 revenue mark in the end of April, which we typically don't hit until October. So yes, we did increase our rates a little bit for concessions because it's hard to get supplies and everything costs more for shipping but it's pretty astounding how quick we've rebounded, especially on our concession stand since we only 4 Approved Minutes May 12, 2022 opened in September. But from January until now we're well over $100,000 in revenue, which great. We have some more goals to attain next year in 2023. Moving on to CIP projects, we're currently sitting in a room that's called the Blue Line Room. We have this attached with the Plymouth Ice Center Roof Replacement Project which is still currently under construction. This room was leaking. It's a 25-year-old building so there's bound to be some things that fail but this this space here cost about $165,000 to replace and that included all the windows that you see on the backside here and then also the metal panels as you walked up to the building. We also had a lot of problems with an ice sheet here having all this cold air, and then you have the outdoors. They clash, and above this, you get a lot of condensation. So there used to be windows instead of the metal paneling up there. We eliminated those windows because all that sunlight was getting right in and basically creating its own atmosphere above us so and so far, even through all this humidity and the rain that we've had, we haven't had any issues with this space. Along with that we did have the roof project which was just estimated over a million dollars at $1,018,000. And that is going well. We started that back in August. It was supposed to start earlier than that, but due to materials and the delay with COVID, it got pushed back a little bit. Rinks A and B were finished in the fall and now we're currently working on our lobby space and then a mechanical room. And once that's done, we just have to put up some metal cap rails on top. The rink C roof is in good condition, and we still probably have a good 10 years left on that roof. That was put on in 2004 when that addition was put on. And then then the training center was an addition in 2014. The other thing that we have for Capital Project this year is we're replacing a desiccant wheel for one of our dehumidification units. Humidity is the enemy for ice. On Rink C we have to replace the wheel which basically sucks all that human air out of the rink and it's like a honeycomb. And this absorbs all that and it keeps spinning so then it dries out as well. That wheel needs to be replaced. Other projects that are not Capital Projects that will be covered by our budget is we're replacing a few doors throughout the building. It’s best for our energy savings. Heat goes right towards ice. If you have any cracks underneath doors or along the walls, that will go right to the ice surface and then we have to spend more energy to keep it cool. So, we're replacing a couple of doors here in Rink A and then also on Rink B, which includes one garage door, in case we ever need to get the Zamboni out for maintenance. Our building is 25 years old, but one of the things that we do well here is our staff does a good job of cleaning the building. One thing you can do to make your building not look old is by having a clean building. So, if you see a piece of garbage, you pick it up and then we stay on top of our maintenance items. We make sure that all of our CIP projects are on a 10-year plan. And then we're replacing or fixing anything that breaks in a timely fashion that helps keep our building looking young and not old. As far as Ice availability and growth, I think we're sitting really well. We're maximizing our ice rentals. Our summer ice has been really busy. In years past, we would take an ice sheet out in the summer and do other things in there or just let it sit. Now we're not able to do that because we have the demand from the community that wants to rent ice and we're able to fill it. And then staffing during COVID. I'm happy to say the Plymouth Ice Center right now is in a good spot maybe better than some other areas. industry wide. Our concession stand has been able to stay open. We have a good group of concession workers from Robbinsdale Wayzata high school students. We have a couple of retired people that pick up some hours as well. As far as Zamboni driving that is kind of a niche thing, but we've been lucky to find some people and train. Our operations supervisor Steve Langer does a really good job of training people. Manager Hemp asked how much is brought in from concessions each year. Manager Halverson stated that we are typically bringing in between 125,000 to 150,000. This year we should easily pass 150,000 if trends stay where they are, and the supply chain doesn't go too crazy this fall. It's about where we bring in 150 and after staff cost and the supply cost for resale, we're still bright bringing in about 50 grand or more just in revenue. Commissioner Wilson asked about Wayzata Youth Hockey Association being the largest renter. Manager Halverson stated that they rent 3000 hours, which is about 38-39% of the ice rental. Commissioner Wilson asked if the agreement is renewed annually. It is renewed annually. 5 Approved Minutes May 12, 2022 Commissioner Wilson stated that would be her question after last year with the Joint Powers Agreement changing. Do you foresee like a beautiful new rink in Medina and then all of a sudden, this building has 39% less rentals? Manager Halverson does not see that happening as the school district is operating in a deficit this year. They have an ice rink at Central Middle School that is in much need of repair, which Wayzata Youth Hockey donates money to as well. Manager Hemp states that some of the ramifications of losing the Joint Powers Agreement is that users are not getting the same service as they had with the City, from what we are hearing. They do not have the same staffing or equipment. Commissioner Wilson stated she was concerned due to spending the money on the roofing project. Manager Hemp stated as an Enterprise Fund, is supporting itself. Commissioner Wilson stated a million dollars for a roof is a lot. Manager Halverson stated it is surplus dollars. Chair DeBleeckere states she has been to all the facilities, and this is by far the nicest ice rink in the area. Manager Halverson states we have a strong relationship with Wayzata Youth Hockey, and have a lot of meetings with their board, ad everyone wants to play at PIC. Our tournaments have also been great. Minnesota Hockey is a huge partner for us. Minnesota Hockey is basically the governing body for Wayzata Youth Hockey and having a lot of Minnesota Hockey’s events here and wanting to be here shows this is the place for hockey. Commissioner Wilson asked if there has ever been an analysis of the tourist dollars that come in from these events? Manager Halverson stated that national tournaments are brought in as well and they do stay at local hotels. APPROVE AGENDA (4.1) Approve Agenda Motion by Commissioner Wilson and seconded by Commissioner Hoekstra recommending approval of the May 12 Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting agenda. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Consent Agenda (5.1) Adopt proposed Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes Motion by Commissioner Kuznia, and seconded by Vice Chair Sunseri recommending approval of the February 10, 2022 Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting minutes as written. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. General Business (6.1) Appointments of Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Chairperson and Vice Chairperson Chair DeBleeckere stated that while she has been on the Commission and Chair for quite some time, she is happy to serve through the end of the year as it is already May. She is open to anyone else that may be interested but stated that her plan was not to serve on the Commission next year. Commissioner Wilson stated she would be interested in serving as Chairperson next year. Chair DeBleeckere suggests that if Commissioner Wilson is interested in serving in that capacity next year, that she may want to take the Vice Chair position for the remainder of this year if everyone is okay with that. Motion by Chair DeBleeckere, and seconded by Commissioner Hoekstra recommending Commissioner Wilson as Vice Chairperson. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. 6 Approved Minutes May 12, 2022 Motion by Commissioner Wilson, and seconded by Commissioner Hoekstra recommending Chair DeBleeckere as Chairperson. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. (6.2) Update Facility Fees and Policies Manager Hemp presented the updates regarding Facility Fees and Policies. Chair and Commissioners before you this evening, there's the facility fees and policy updates for the Commission to review and approve. After you review them and approve them then they'll be presented to the City Council for their final approval. Staff review the fees and policies on an annual basis to recommend fee increases to cover inflation, utility and maintenance fees, demand, and wages. Fees were last adjusted in June of 2021. But here were the following adjustments that are being proposed: adding the Northwest Green Room rental rate at the Greenway. We did not have the green room on a separate fee and so we are adding that this year. We would like to increase Watercraft Rack Rentals by $20. That fee was $55, and it would go to $75. They get the racks from May through October 25. It's a long time that they get to utilize those racks and charging the $50 the first day of the day that we rent them, they're all gone. What that's telling me is the demand is out there and that does need a price increase. Last year when you approved and City Council approved those fees, those are only for residents. That's so that's just residents filling those up. It's not nonresidents. Commissioner Wilson asks if there is a lot of maintenance on those racks. There's a little bit we must do. We have them labeled now as some are eight feet and some are 10 feet. And they would be better if they were all eight feet because then you don't have to get modified at times by residents to put some boards on there so they're watercraft can sit on the rack. This does not damage the rack and they remove them at the end of the season. Commissioner Wilson points out that Three Rivers charges 20 bucks an hour to rent a craft, so this is not much to pay for the convenience of having the rack. With our outdoor fields, rink and court rates, they increased by $2 per hour and $5 per day. We also increased the attendant hourly rate, and that's basically to cover the current pay rates that we have out there. Artificial turf at the PCC that was increased by $2 per hour and $3 per day rentals. The PCC Plymouth room rates were increased. We are seeing a lot of those getting booked up already without the facility even being open. After we started this rate structure, we're seeing what works and what does not work. The fees were adjusted for that. We would like to add a 20 day or 20 Punch pass for playground admission. What that equates to is if you buy the 10 punch pass, you get one free. If you buy the 20 you get three free. We have a lot of people that are asking us for more of a membership base for the playground. We're just not ready to go to that at this point in time. Commissioner Kuznia asks if 2 and under still get free admission to the playground. Manager Hemp advised that they do. We are booked for our birthday parties in both of those rooms all the time, even the private rental. What that tells us is that we're underpriced. We did a little bit of research of surrounding communities, and we did increase those as well as we added a damage deposit fee. We're charging a $25 damage deposit for them to utilize the space. And then PIC as Eric talked about, has increased, and added some additional fees. This was to accommodate as he said the increase in the demand for ice year-round. He had to look at his summer rates and he had to try to increase those because they're getting booked up. The Fieldhouse rates are increased by $10 per fee for the primetime rates, but then what we're looking to do is lowering the nonprime rates. And this is because when the dome is up, that facility is not being utilized during the day so we're trying to entice more people to come in during the day by lowering those fees. Basically, the policies then were just updated to reflect these fees. And some of the things that we found that were missing from them. For example, one of them at the community center. We did remove the police officer, and that was also in the rates. The police officers are only required for events that are 300 Plus that are serving alcohol with our response rate to the community center. It's not something that we need to pass along to the renters of having a police officer sit there. So, we're going to change that and try to see how it goes, and the chief of police was supportive of that. Chair DeBleeckere asked and it was confirmed that a police officer is only required if there is more than 300 people. Commissioner Wilson asked how shelter rentals are going. They are going very well, especially at the Greenway. 7 Approved Minutes May 12, 2022 Motion by Chair DeBleeckere, and seconded by Commissioner Kuznia recommending approval of the Updated Fees and Policies. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Reports and Staff Recommendations (7.1) Approve 2021 Annual Report Manager Hemp presented the final draft of the 2021 Annual Report as seen at the previous meeting. Motion by Commissioner Hoekstra, and seconded by Vice Chair Sunseri recommending approval of the 2021 Annual Report. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. (7.2) Upcoming Events Manager Hemp presented the current and upcoming special events calendar. Our next meeting will be June 9 At six o'clock at the community center. We'll be touring the new space. We will meet in the youth room. Tomorrow night is Date Night from 6-9. We have a couple comedians coming in to do that. And we also have the Plymouth Civic League that will be have alcohol available to purchase for that event as well and some food trucks. As of today, we have 145 tickets sold. Next week, May 18, from 10 to one at the Greenway is Pie Day, which helps support our senior programs. Pies will be available either by the slice or $25 per pie. They'll have apple, key lime, Wildberry, cherry, lemon meringue, French silk, coconut cream, and peanut butter chocolate pie. Then next weekend, on Saturday, we have Bark in the Park from 9-12 at the Hilde which is always a fun event. They'll have lots of different things to do. Thedog races will be back this year, and the dog treat trail. Then next Saturday from 9-12. They have the Fazendin Park planting project at Fazendin Park. And then right after that, Memorial Day event on May 27 at the Plymouth Veterans Memorial from 11-12. This is something that we've been doing in collaboration with Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. Just a couple updates.The Plymouth Community Center is continuing to stay busy in the month of April, there were 5789 visits to the KUBE, 1058 open gym visits and 31,800 active wing entrance visitors overall. So that's down but we expected that as soon as the weather improved. It's fabulous, how much we're seeing use of that facility. And then summer registration revenue. This is very exciting for me. It has surpassed all of our previous years. In the first month of registration for this summer 2022 the revenue was 656,951, and that's compared to 468,728 in 2021. Before that, it was always under that. We're up $200,000 in revenue. Commissioner Wilson asked if there is staff for all of that. Manager Hemp stated some of them are contract based on our staff. But I don't think that we knew how much the Community Center would increase our program revenues. So, it is it is daunting on staff. There will be some requests for some staff over there during the budget discussion. And maybe on my staff, so it's surpassing anything that we ever expected. The revenues are showing it and the visitors. On a final note to share with you, we do have a new director of Parks and Recreation that will be getting June 1. And that's Jennifer Tomlinson. She was at our last meeting. She was the Deputy Director that came from Idaho. There'll be more updates and news on that coming forward here in the next month or two. And that's all I have unless you have any questions Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Wilson, seconded by Vice Chair Sunseri, recommending adjournment of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting. With no objection, Chair DeBleeckere adjourned the meeting at 8:09 p.m.