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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 01-08-2004MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING January 8, 2004 Page 1 PRESENT: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Aamoth, Krahulec, Meyer, Rezabek, Singer, Ritchie, Rodriguez, staff Blank, Evans, Greupner and Pederson; Planning Director Hurlburt; Councilmember Slavik ABSENT: Fiemann 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Krahulec moved and Rezabek seconded a motion to approve the December minutes. Motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. No athletic association representatives were present at the meeting. b. Staff. Evans announced the Fire and Ice event coming up on February 7 and solicited volunteers for the bonfire. She said staff is making changes in the new year including having some of the park and recreation staff attend PRAC meetings occasionally. At the first meeting of the year, a draft of the annual report is typically handed out, Evans said. It has a new look this year, so it's in very rough form. We wanted to highlight a little more about the programs, as well as the statistics. We are bit behind schedule because of the changes. There are many pages of statistics regarding budgets, program attendance, etc. We're trying to do a better job of focusing on special events in the annual report and tracking attendance at these events. Evans said PRAC should e— mail her with any comments. One of the final things that will go in this report will be a time capsule of some of the highlights that happened 20 years ago. c. Others. There were no other presentations. 4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. Director Blank stated that the Council approved park dedication fees for 2004. Residential went up from $2,600 per unit to $2,800 per unit, and commercial/industrial went up as well. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Update on Ice Center. Blank stated we are on track and have another meeting with consultants and the construction manager. We now have a complete outline on how the project will be bid. November 14th is still predicted to be first date for skating on the new ice. PRAC Minutes/January 2004 Page 2 b. Update on Plymouth Creek Center. Blank said we received 22 bids on the lower level finishing of the Plymouth Creek Center, the most bids he has ever opened for any project since he's been here. The estimated construction cost with alternates was $825,000 according to the project consultant back in December. The low bid was $601,000, 28% under the estimate. There were five bidders under $600,000. Lund Martin has been chosen as the contractor. If the Council awards the bid Tuesday, January 13t", construction will get started right away, with a projected completion date of May 1. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Presentation by Anne Hurlburt — city demographics. Blank said the demographics of Plymouth are changing along with the rest of the world. This presentation was done at an all—staff workshop back in November. Evans was a panelist when this presentation was given for city staff. Hurlburt indicated that she pulled her statistics from the 2000 census. Plymouth has been a very fast growing community. We have approximately 68,000 residents living in the city today. Twenty years ago, we only had 50,000. No housing was earmarked for seniors 10 years ago, when Hurlburt started working for the city. She explained that minority population is a combination of race and ethnicity. Race is a social idea, not a biological idea. It's how we see ourselves. During the 1990 census, there were five racial categories on the census form and respondents could choose only one; in 2000, there were 63 categories, and respondents could choose all that applied. The percent of minorities in Plymouth is increasing, but not as rapidly as in Hennepin County. In Plymouth, 91.36% of the residents indicated they are white. The biggest increase in minority population in Minnesota was Hispanic. We doubled our Hispanic population in 10 years. The overall population of Plymouth went up 29.5% from 1990 to 2000. Plymouth is a pretty mobile place; 54% said they lived in the same house now as in 1995, while 46% have moved elsewhere. In Plymouth the median annual income in 1999 for a family was $90,000, higher than the median income in the Twin City metro area, Hennepin County, and the state. More people in Plymouth have jobs than in Hennepin County, the Twin City metro area and the state. We have the highest female labor force participation rates and the highest education attainment. Slightly more than half of the residents in Plymouth age 25 and over have at least a bachelor's degree. We do also have some people in poverty, 2.6% of our population, Hurlburt said. The average age in Plymouth in 1990 was 31.9; in 2000, it showed that we are now older at 36.1. Reasons for this could be lots of new housing marketed toward seniors, birth rates are down, and housing is more expensive. Percentage wise, the 85 and older age group showed the biggest increase. We actually saw a decrease in the 25-34 age category. The number of people with disabilities is highest in the 21-64 age group category. Community development has a lot more information on the census available if people want to take a look at it. Krahulec asked if there was a chart available comparing population by age. Aamoth asked about the labor force and if there are any numbers indicating if people are working later in their lives. Hurlburt said she wasn't certain if either of those issues had been addressed in the census statistics. She said people probably are working longer. There is a statistic for parents in the labor force with children under six PRAC Minutes/January 2004 Page 3 years old, but she did not have that information with her. There are more families in Plymouth with only one parent in the workforce as compared to the rest of the state. Aamoth said we need to work harder to attract younger families to Plymouth and to the workforce to maintain the stability of the tax base here. Singer said she heard on the news that in Minnesota there is a greater number of young people ages 22-35 moving back home with their parents — either as a way to save money or they are in between jobs. b. Update on arts programs and special events — Karol Greupner. Evans introduced Karol Greupner who is in charge of arts programs, music and special events. Karol has been with us 15 years full time, but began working for us back in 1977. Karol said she has been a resident of Plymouth for 28 years. She stated she is very gratified to live here and blessed to be working in the park and recreation department. In 1989, she was hired as a staff person doing recreation programming, ranging from youth craft classes, to adult fitness programs. Her true loves are the arts and special events, which she is now mainly responsible for due to the addition of other staff who have taken over her former job responsibilities. The special events she has developed over the years are Primavera, the Autumn Arts Fair, Plymouth on Parade and the Chocolate Sampler. She has expanded the Concerts in the Parks program and is now working intently on the Fire and Ice Festival, scheduled for Saturday, February 7. In the fall of 1995 there was a call to the community to attract residents who were interested in promoting the arts in Plymouth. The Plymouth Fine Arts Council was eventually formed. They sponsor the Primavera Fine Arts Show, the Plymouth Community Band, the Community Theater, the Poetry Slam, and the city art exhibits, both at City Hall and the Plymouth Creek Center. Karol is the liaison between the city and the Fine Arts Council. In addition to this, she also supervises dance, music lessons, arts and craft classes for youth and adults, etc. She also supervises the puppet wagon. This is a summer program that travels from park to park throughout Plymouth. They perform at Music in Plymouth and at the summer concerts. This year we will have a new vehicle called the Fun Mobile which we got from the sewer department. The vehicle is being refurbished to handle puppet shows and other special events. Some of the newer aspects of Karol's job have been planning and supervising events at the new Hilde Center. A new program last summer was Kids Concerts once a month at Parkers, which have been very well received. Karol stated that our new community theater group hopes to perform this coming summer at the Hilde. Along with other staff, Karol is working on guidelines for displaying public art in the city. An opportunity she is looking forward to is working with Black Box Theater which will be done at the new theater in the lower level of the Plymouth Creek Center. This will be available for all age groups to use. Karol said she is grateful that our city has financed a strong arts infrastructure, and she strongly believes that the arts are vital to the lifeblood of our community. Singer asked about the Chocolate Sampler and when it will be held in 2004. Karol said it would be held this year on May 20th. We decided to move it to coincide with the seasonal opening of the garden. This fall it was decided to combine both the art fair and Plymouth on Parade as a dual event on September 18th. PRAC Minutes/January 2004 Page 4 c. Discuss 2004 work plan. Director Blank said that each year the Council asks every board and commission to develop a work plan for the coming year. Blank prepared a draft list of some items for PRAC to consider: promoting the Tobacco Free Parks policy, building the Reserve Park; holding a dedication for Lake Camelot neighborhood park, promoting the use of the Millennium Garden and implementing policies, combining the art fair and Plymouth on Parade as a dual event, expanding programming for teens and at the Hilde Performance Center, conducting the annual park tour and updating the CIP. Blank then asked for input on other items PRAC would like to consider. Rezabek asked about adding the BMX skate park to the list. Blank said there is no funding in the CIP, but we could come up with the money if we could find a place. Blank said he learned about a month or two ago that Bloomington, Richfield and Edina went together and built an indoor skate park, located where Richfield and Edina meet. Blank feels it will be the premier facility in the Twin City area. Rodriguez asked about expanding programming and advertising for the teen programs. Blank said we use the brochure, the city website, as well as the electronic sign at the Ice Center. If we can come up with other ways and means to do that, we would, he said. Ritchie suggested we consider buying advertising with the school newspaper. A lot of teens read that, she said. Rezabek said there is a Thursday packet that goes home with the kids. Evans said marketing is a struggle for us. We try to get posters up in the parks, etc. Singer said maybe this is the year we should be promoting and educating regarding our programs and projects. Evans said one of the advertising pieces we started last year and hope to expand is advertising on the movie screen at the Mann Theater Complex. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION Rezabek asked about Fire and Ice concessions. Karol has at least two vendors lined up, Evans said. One will be working out of the building and someone will be located outside. What actually happens the day of the event is questionable. Last year one of the concessionaires failed to show up and never notified us. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Blank said he received a series of letters from people on Nathan Lane regarding a trail. By March we will start to give a report to PRAC for dealing with trail projects. Blank announced that Don is leaving the commission after 19 years. He read aloud a letter to Don from Mayor Johnson. During his tenure Plymouth has grown into a thriving community. Our citizen surveys show that our parks and trails play an important role in our high quality of life rating. We have 90 miles of trails connecting neighborhoods, schools, commercial centers and recreation areas. Blank then read highlights from 1985 and 1986. In 1985, the budget for the department was $950,000. In 2004, it is $6.4 million. Also in 1985 the Council approved the comp plan for Parkers Lake City Park. The first phase construction budget was $500,000. St. Mary's neighborhood park was developed. Blank stated that Don is the second longest serving commissioner. Barbara Edwards served for PRAC Minutes/January 2004 Page 5 22 years. Another member who was on the park commission at that time was Carol Beach, who founded the Plymouth Soccer Association, one of the largest associations in Minnesota, Blank said. Other accomplishments Don was involved with during 1986 included the groundbreaking ceremony at Parkers Lake, the fitness course at Plymouth Creek Playfield, a $15,000 fishing dock at Bass Lake in Timber Shores Park and the Green Oaks Park playground. This issue created quite a stir with the neighborhood. Because it was brand new, suddenly hundred of kids wanted to play there. It became very noisy for the neighbors. The people who lived closest to it wanted it moved to the other side of the park, and the residents living there wanted it to remain where it was. To resolve the matter, the playground was moved to the dead center of the park. Blank then thanked Don for his years of service and said what a pleasure it had been to work with him. 9. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.