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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 07-14-2005MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING July 14, 2005 Page 1 PRESENT: Commissioners Fiemann, Aamoth, Davis, Krahulec, Mohagen, Pederson, Rezabek; staff Blank, Busch, Evans, Pederson; Planning Commissioner Weir ABSENT: Commissioners Griwac, Singer CALL TO ORDER Chair Fiemann called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the Plymouth Creek Center Conference Room. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Davis made a motion to approve the minutes of the May meeting. Commissioner Aamoth seconded. Motion carried, all ayes. Director Blank introduced Max Mohagen, who was recently appointed as a youth at - large member of the commission. He lives near Mooney Lake and has lived there for four years. He plays hockey and formerly played baseball and soccer. He also enjoys golf. He attends Wayzata High School. The other commissioners and staff introduced themselves and briefly described their backgrounds. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present. b. Staff. Evans discussed Music in Plymouth. She said approximately 14,000 attended the event, the largest crowd ever. It went very well. Rezabek said the fireworks were fantastic, but began much too late. He received a number of complaints about that. Other commissioners who attended agreed that the fireworks began too late, and commented that the cannon wasn't necessary, as it did not add anything to the program. Evans and Blank agreed and said the cannon would be dropped from the event in the future, and that the fireworks would begin at 10:05 next year. Davis said his mother-in-law was in town from Philadelphia, and she was very impressed with the event. Blank stated that Evans is now a board member of the Plymouth Civic League, a position that he held for a number of years. She is heavily involved with the site operations on the day of the event. Evans talked about events coming up including the parade, which also encompasses the art fair, a 5K fun run, pancake breakfast, women's health/heart fair, post parade entertainment, Ducky Derby, and an evening concert that will be held at the Wayzata High School. All of these events take place on Saturday, September 24. The first City Council meeting was held at the Black Box Theater on Tuesday, due to city hall construction now moving to the main building. All city meetings will be taking place at the Plymouth Creek Center for the next several months. The second Halloween at the Creek is October 31 at the Plymouth Creek Center. We expect 1,000 to participate in that. The Water Ski show was held Tuesday evening at Parkers Lake. The beaches have been PRAC Minutes/July 2005 Page 2 packed due to the hot weather. We're getting ready to send our next brochure to the printer in a week. 4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. No report. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. No report. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Review Plymouth Creek Center operations. Busch gave an overview of operations at the Plymouth Creek Center and reviewed the handouts that were given to the commissioners in their packets. He stated they have five full-time staff — Busch is the general manager, and there is one full time maintenance worker, one full time clerical who works mostly with the senior program, a second full time clerical that works on wedding planning and all other bookings. Her position is titled rental coordinator. And there is one full time senior coordinator that is contracted through Senior Community Services. Additional employees are part-time, including a second maintenance person who is seasonal. There is a half-time clerical person who works in the mid morning to early afternoon. There are evening and weekend building supervisors, too. The building opens at 8 a.m. and closes around 10 pm. There are a number of volunteers who also help out during the day, along with field house supervisors. Busch said they booked about 1,500 hours at the field house spread over 25 weeks, 60 hours a week, from 5-11 p.m. and 7 a.m.-11 p.m. on weekends. The six-month period of January, February, March, April, November and December of 2004 took in 310,000, netting about $120,000 after expenses. Soccer is the major activity taking place in the field house using about 80% of the total time. There is a growing lacrosse program, and girls' high school softball takes place in the field house, along with rugby, golf, and the popular walking track. Busch estimated that 23,000 walkers probably use the track in the winter months. Evans said the field house is also used for special events like the Yard and Garden Expo and the Halloween at the Creek event. When the activity center opened five years ago, part of the lower level was not used and some of it was leased to a company to do specialized sports training, Busch said. The Council approved expansion of the lower level three years ago, and that construction was completed about one year ago. This expansion added the Black Box Theater, multi-purpose rooms, music rooms, conference rooms, and a food court area. About 92-94% of the groups that use the facility do not pay a fee. The goal of the City Council was to have this building used first by city groups, community groups, Plymouth non-profit groups, etc. The remaining 6-8% of the users are paying a fee for things such as weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, etc. Tax dollars help support this facility. Busch said we'll spend $450,000 annually to run the activity center, and we'll take in $150,00 in revenue. There are a lot of city meetings taking place here now, due to the construction at city hall. The groups that make up the 92-94% usage include park and recreation activities (40%), seniors (31 %), staff meetings (14%), non-profit groups (7%). Aamoth asked about the problems that might be created by having city meetings here, and if PRAC Minutes/July 2005 Page 3 this will force others out. Busch said some of the non-profit groups may move to the Ice Center, and other groups that were scheduled in the Black Box Theater may be shifted to other rooms in the Plymouth Creek Center. Saturdays are committed to weddings, Blank said. Busch stated that there are 39 weddings scheduled in the garden this year. Once Saturdays fill up in the garden, weddings move to Fridays and Sundays. There were even small wedding groups on Wednesday and Thursday last week. Busch said there is a new program in the garden involving Plymouth residents who work in the garden maintaining it, and doing plantings, etc. They are volunteers who assist two garden maintenance workers. Aamoth asked if the city is liable regarding anything that might occur as a result of alcohol being served during an event in the garden or at the Plymouth Creek Center. Blank said there is always a police officer on site when alcohol is being served. So far we haven't had any issues come up. The bar closes at 11:30, Busch said. Bartenders are contracted through Suzanne's Catering. Blank said cities can always be sued, but if we follow proper procedures and do everything we can reasonably do, we should be okay. Fiemann asked if staff talks to the rental groups about the rules and regulations ahead of time. Busch said all rental parties are apprised of rules, regulations and procedures before they finalize any rental. Each walk through for a wedding takes two to three hours. Blank said that Sara wasn't able to be at this meeting, so she will attend a meeting at a later date to discuss the senior programs. Busch talked about Suzanne's Catering and how we get a percentage of the money they bring in when they cater an event. The seniors are permitted to bring in their own food, and then they also serve that food themselves. To supplement the maintenance at the Plymouth Creek Center, there is a company called E- quality that finds jobs for mentally retarded adults. They supply six people two hours per day Monday -Friday to help clean. This service costs only $30 a day. b. Review 2007 rental fees. Residents are allowed to book the facility 18 months in advance, so it is necessary to discuss fees now for the years 2007-2008, Busch explained. City budgets have been going up about 3% per year for inflation, etc. Rezabek asked if a 3% increase is enough. Busch said he thinks that is adequate. Blank explained that this facility was not built to be a large generator of revenue, so there is no target number we have to reach. The higher we go with our rates, Suzanne's Catering would likely raise their rates also. We want to keep it reasonable, so we don't price ourselves out of the market. Busch feels our fees are very fair. He has never received complaints about the rental rates. Residents have an 18 -month priority when renting; non-residents are allowed to reserve 12 months in advance. We try to remain competitive with The Reserve, a catering business nearby on Fernbrook Lane. Pederson said our goal should be to have fees as high as they can be without pricing anyone out. Fiemann said we need to be competitive in the market place, but also be fair to the residents. Rezabek suggested raising the non-resident rate more than the resident rate. Six percent of the users should pay six percent of the operating rate Pederson said. Staff is proposing a 3% increase each year for two years. Operating expenses have increased due to the expansion of the lower level. Fiemann asked for opinions from commissioners on the proposed fees. Blank said the Plymouth Creek Center is in the general fund, which means it is taxpayer funded and PRAC Minutes/July 2005 Page 4 operated. The limiting factor is that the building was designed to be for community residents and the seniors, Blank said. Pederson said non-residents should definitely be charged more. Aamoth asked what the demand is. Are we turning people away? Busch said yes, everyday. The majority of people on waiting lists are non-residents. REZABEK MOVED TO APPROVE FEES FOR 2007-2008 AS RECOMMENDED BY STAFF. DAVIS SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED, ALL AYES. c. Review 2006-2010 CIP. We have made an offer on the 10th playfield to buy 40 acres, but we have not received any response yet from the Begin family. Blank reviewed the list of projects in 2005, including the playground at Queensland Park, repairing the plaza at Parkers Lake Playfield, replacing doors and locks, trail and parking lot repairs. Rezabek would like some sort of sun protection over the dugouts. Evans said she knows that there is something like that, but they are very expensive. For 2006, proposed projects include trail funding, another payment toward the playfield acquisition, open space acquisition, trail and parking lot repair, irrigation system, the last year of the monument signs, and new walls and plaza at the Zachary Playfield. Blank said we're not getting a lot of funding to take on new things, so we need to look seriously at whether we can afford to build a neighborhood park in 2006. Seven Greens park is on the schedule, and it would be fairly inexpensive to build, with low maintenance costs. Davis was concerned about parks and recreation possibly taking budget cuts, and he feels PRAC should speak up about this. Fiemann wanted to know when the appropriate time would be to let the Council know how the Commission feels about the budget and its impact on parks and recreation. Blank said he agrees that the commissioners can approach the Council as individuals to voice their concerns about the parks budget. The reason we do the capital budget at the same time as the operating budget is to let the Council know upfront what to expect. Fiemann asked when Seven Greens would be completely built out. Pederson suggested delaying building the Seven Greens park until 2007. Rezabek wanted to know what's going in on the northwest corner where the underground water tank is going in. Blank said it will be landscaped with a lawn, and eventually a fire station will be built there. Fiemann asked about buying parcels in northwest Plymouth before development takes place. Aamoth asked if there's a concern that development could happen before we have the funds to buy property. Blank then reviewed the projects for 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Blank said that Hampton Hills has been sold and may be developed. A large piece of the Northwest Greenway will be dedicated from Terren Hills. Until final plats come in, we cannot commit to any major park projects. The comprehensive plan is underway, Blank said. Some meeting dates have been set to discuss development of northwest Plymouth. Aamoth asked what happens when the entire park system is built and no more dedication money is coming in. Blank said that the park replacement fund takes over then. Davis wanted to know about the timeline for developing the 10th playfield. Blank said not until 2009 at the earliest, if the Begin's accept the offer. In addition to the purchase price, it would cost about $4 million to build the playfield. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION PRAC Minutes/July 2005 Page 5 Davis mentioned that he was at the Music in Plymouth 5K. He parked his car on the west side of Plymouth Boulevard and then crossed through the landscaping to get to the entrance to the Hilde. He suggested installing a path across the landscaping, which would be across from the Hilde entrance. Blank will ask the traffic engineer to look into it. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Blank discussed other items that were included in the packet, including the controversial court decision regarding a golf course in Eagan. He also discussed trail work we are doing. We had a couple of volunteers go over every inch of our trail system and label them in terms of whether they were OK or needed minor or major repairs. We are also looking at some software that allows bicyclists to wear a GPS system on their backs, which creates a map as they ride along on the trail. Rezabek asked if the city had ever looked into purchasing a golf course. Blank said he has had discussions over the years with the owners of Hampton Hills, Hollydale and Elm Creek, but nothing ever came of it, and now two of these courses have been sold to developers. Blank said we may end up with four executive courses in Plymouth, but probably never an 18 -hole course. Blank said the August meeting needs to be moved to a different date, due to his daughter's wedding rehearsal. August 4 is a possibility. 9. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m