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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 11-10-2005MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING November 10, 2005 Page 1 PRESENT: Commissioner Aamoth, Davis, Fiemann, Krahulec, Mohagen, Rezabek, Singer; staff Abel, Blank, Evans, Sankey ABSENT: Commissioner Griwac, Commissioner Pederson CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Singer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Rezabek moved and Krahulec seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the October meeting. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present at the meeting. b. Staff. Blank congratulated Singer on her 20 years of service for youth soccer. Evans said Oct 31 Halloween at the Creek was a success with 560 participants. Attendance was down a bit from last year because of the participation of fewer churches this year and the nice weather. The Volunteer Recognition dinner will be on Nov. 17, and around 300 volunteers are expected to attend. Nancy Anderson sought donations for this event from businesses through a mailing, and this one letter has brought in over $2000 in donations. Old Fashioned Christmas will be on Dec. 4 at Plymouth Creek Park and the Historical Society building. The event is co-sponsored with the Historical Society. New Year's Around the World is set for Dec. 31 at the Ice Center and Lifetime Fitness. People can skate, use the pool, and do activities in the gym from 6-9 pm. We still need volunteers for this event. The winter brochure was just sent off to the printer and will be in hands of the community the first part of December. Things to keep an eye on include some new art classes, Teen LAN parties and LAN Tournament, and "When Pigs Fly Yoga" for those who have been afraid to get started in yoga. We are already starting on the summer brochure which will go to print in March. Last year, we started a formal evaluation program, and we have done about 20 programs per year. In 2004, 86% of our customers rated us as excellent. So far this year, we have a 91 % excellent rating. We'll continue to track this in the future. One question we asked was what mode of registration they are using. Of the people who responded, 31 % registered on line in 2004, and 44% in 2005. The department is working on an art policy. We will soon begin working on the state conference which will be in Plymouth in 2006. Davis asked about the LAN party and whether it would be in the brochure, and Evans confirmed that it will. Blank showed the City & County Magazine which contained an article about the Ice Center and the donations from Providence Academy and Wayzata hockey. Abel said that as of the end of October, we have received over $1 million in revenue, which broke the previous record. Advertising has raised over $42,000 and is used on the zambonies, dasher boards, pamphlet board, and popcorn bags. Ice rental was about $760,000 as of end the of October. With the third ice sheet, concessions can have more consistent hours, which is helping sales. Sales are at $77,000 so far. Adding the new ice sheet was the correct decision for the facility because of how busy we are. In fact, we are probably the busiest ice arena in the state. The tournaments have a great effect on the local economy. In fact, the local businesses want to know when the tournaments are because they need to increase staff. The layout of the facility is working very well. Hockey numbers are good. Wayzata Hockey has over 1100 children participating, and they claim to be the largest in the 5 -state area. They still need to buy ice elsewhere. Fiemann agreed, saying that they buy more ice at the VMIA rink than anyone else. Hockey won't be going away. Abel said he must turn people away. Singer asked about growth in recreational skating. Abel said the skate school is growing again earning $100,000 with 700 children in skating school. Open skate is growing also, with a lot of participation in daytime offerings like Parents and Tots and Open Hockey. It is harder to offer a lot of open skating in the evening because of rental demands. Abel said he is working with a company which sells advertising on pamphlet boards for which we receive $5,000. The newest advertising idea we are trying is in conjunction with a company called Reach. They will be installing two 42" plasma TV screens, one in the upper lobby and one in the lower. The company sells half of the screen for advertising; the other half of the upstairs screen will be for our announcements. On the downstairs screen, it will show locker room assignments. The company likes our venue because of the captive audience for looking at the screens. Blank said computerized TVs were part of the planning of the project, and would have been a $5,000 to $10,000 expense. Reach is paying us $5,000 and is setting it up for us. There will be a six-month trial, with an evaluation in March. If successful, there will be a 3-4 year contract. Krahulec asked how the data is maintained. Abel explained that the advertising is done by Reach over the internet. We will send our announcements to them, and they will be added this way also. Locker room assignments will be done by us on a computer in house. Fiemann said it would be nice to have one in the back lobby to encourage people to come that way. Abel said that Reach is setting up trial sites at the Super Rink, Braemar, and Woodbury, but Plymouth has the most businesses wanting to advertise. That could perhaps help us to get a third screen. Providence is very happy with the facility. They have fulfilled their agreement of 225 hours. They think they will probably have both a varsity and a JV team within the next two years. New lockers from Australia are on order. They cost 1 to use and are large enough for a purse or a motorcycle helmet. This will fill a need for our public. Singer asked if there have been complaints about parking. Abel answered that it has gotten better because more and more people are using the rear lot. He has ordered a sign to direct people to the back side. At large events there usually is a parking problem, although in the worst case, a person would park a block away. The more people who get used to the back lot, the better it will be. Blank said they have created a special spot for high school buses, which should help. Abel mentioned that he is looking into putting in an ATM machine. Fiemann pointed out that the Arena is a wireless site and people are using their computers every night here. Able agreed, saying that they will often sit at the tables out in lobby. Some work on homework with kids. One man used the area for his laptop while his office computer was down for a while. Able said that they are looking at prices for tile floor for the new lobby addition. The Center Ice Room will be re -carpeted. An artist will be painting a mural in Rink B this year. Fiemann asked about the blinds in the Blue Line Room. He noted that half of them aren't up and wondered if there are plans to fix them. Abel explained that the room is used for birthday parties, and kids hang on the blinds until they break off. We need to look at some other type of window covering. Evans wondered if tinting the windows would be enough. Abel said the windows on rink C had to be tinted because at certain times of the year the goaly at the east end had to wear sunglasses. He also mentioned that we are starting to repair and replace things — the building is 9'/ years old now. The zambonies travel 40,000 miles per year. Rezabek said some members of the Council say there is money available for the tile. Blank says he is holding back until all of the contracts are finished and he makes final payments. The project is $15,000 over budget, and he wants them to see all the numbers before we ask to tile the lobby. Maybe by late December he will be able to go back to the Council with the request. Abel said it could be done during the season because each area only has to be down 24 hours and they could work around it. Rezabek asked about whether we have made any headway with getting the same software that others have. Wayzata and Armstrong youth hockey both have Max Ice. It would be easier to work with everyone. Fiemann asked what we are using. Blank said the current software, Class, does the scheduling and runs the financials through it. Rezabek said that any software can be made to integrate. Blank said he will talk to IT about it. Rezabek also mentioned a complaint from the Wayzata Hockey Board meeting about garbage along windows and on tables. Abel said that some of the part time staff has been a problem, especially if no one is standing over them. They don't take the initiative to pick up. Rezabek said there was a locker room with a broken shower, and Abel said it has been fixed. It has been broken several times and costs $300 to fix it each time. We do incur a lot of damage in the building, especially downstairs. Blank said that our philosophy is that when something in the parks system is broken, we fix it as quick as we can. Aamoth wondered if we have volunteers who could help with this. Abel said he has four volunteers working at skate guarding and other positions. He thinks it might be hard to get a volunteer for repair work. We do have Equality, a group of special needs adults who come in and do some cleaning for us during the week. The weekend hours are the hardest for cleaning because there isn't enough staff to keep up as thoroughly as we would like. Blank said we didn't add any full time staff after the third sheet was opened. After we evaluate, we may need to go to the Council and request another position. We wanted to make sure we were making the anticipated revenues. Abel said he actually receives many more compliments then complaints about the cleanliness of the building. Aamoth asked it there would be any additional tournaments coming up. Abel said they added two new ones this year. Rezabek said they lost out on two big tournaments because of area association politics. The feeling is there that other rinks need the money more. Fiemann says there will be 28 teams in the Gold Star tournament. They might expand some of the tournaments because the demand is so high. Bill says that not only have we added two tournaments, but our usual tournaments have been able to add teams because of the third sheet. This has been really good for local hotels and restaurants. c. Others. There were no other presentations. 4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Plymouth/New Hope Little League Baseball Request Update/Review. Blank said that it would be a problem to give up the two skinned fields at Zachary. Patti Weldon needs two fields for Armstrong's Girls Fast Pitch. We have a wonderful relationship with Armstrong High School, and it would not be good to push them out. However, he said, in the last couple days, things have fallen together. A consultant has drawn new plans which would include five fields and drainage corrections. He will meet with the baseball group next Tuesday to propose this project. Retaining walls and changes would have cost the city 300,000 plus. The consultant looked at the plan and suggested an alternative that would cost us around $25,000. There would be three grass infields for baseball. A portable pitching mound could be used on one field so high school could still use it for softball. The plan would create a nice mall area in the middle. We can use natural drainage by pulling apart the fields. To add another field would affect the parking. With the cost going down to $25,000 for us, we could afford to add 25 or more parking stalls, so adding the additional field would not create such a problem. The consultant is analyzing the issue of adding parking. Blank hopes to have the proposal ready by the December meeting. He would cap the expenses at $225-250,000 for the baseball association. Our costs would be whatever would be on top of that. This package would be a win-win. The Recreation Department and Armstrong High School can continue their programs, and Baseball would get their facility. Fiemann said it is very important to take care of the Armstrong Girls Softball teams. Krahulec asked what the portable mound is like. Blank said it is made of fiberglass. Rezabec asked what would happen if they were to get a big tournament. Blank said he would sod the infield temporarily for a national tournament. Fiemann asked what the cost would be for additional parking. Blank said about $1,500 per stall. Fiemann said the project would be very good for the park and area. Krahulec asked how close it would be to Rockford Road. Blank said it wouldn't go past existing fences because the outfields would be shorter. Krahulec asked if the new generation of lighting is more efficient. Blank said it is more efficient, and the fixtures allow the light to cutoff right at the edge of the field like a curtain. We would switch back to white lights. Blank needs to crunch the numbers on lighting. At Elm Creek, our people have to go in and groom fields after the high school girls fast pitch games so they are ready for adult games. They can't make it over to Plymouth Middle School in time to groom them for the evening events. This proposal would solve the problem. Blank said he would like to go out for bid in March and award by May 1. It would take about 4'/ months to get it up and running, so it could be ready for the 2007 season. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. 2006 Rental Fees and Policies. Evans presented the rental information. She said we are not proposing any increases for this year. We feel the fees are reasonable and competitive with our neighbors. No information is included about the Millennium Garden and Plymouth Creek Center because that will be presented in May. Singer said she noticed that the tobacco policy was missing on some of the forms. Evans said we are transitioning and updating all the forms. Aamoth said he thought it was a good idea that we aren't increasing fees right now. SINGER MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RENTAL FEES AS PRESENTED. REZABEK SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. b. Comp Plan and Park Dedication Update. Blank said that in the Tarn Hills area, a 25 acre swath of trees was dedicated and saved. We will get about $500,000- 600,000 in cash, plus this land as park dedication. The comp plan is going forward. The City Council and Planning Commission are meeting with staff Nov. 30 and Dec. 6. It would be interesting for PRAC members to attend. They are planning a meeting for the public to come in and speak on the plan Dec. 12. Blank said we have already done our planning based on development. He thinks the Council is thinking more towards single family homes, which is more favorable to children and creates more park needs. Buying land and developing parks creates a big economic impact. We need factual information for projections for youth athletics. Guiding and density issues plus youth athletic issues will be blended for working into the comp plan. c. Hilde Center. Blank said that the Hilde Center could become a venue for paid events. We have met with a person who does events. Artists of the caliber of Sheryl Crowe or James Taylor would be booked. They would temporarily fence in the site, and security would be required. Tickets would be sold, and parking would be offsite. We would be making money from this to be earmarked toward the arts. Timing is important. The promoter will be looking for artists that would be traveling on bus tours next summer. We need to get back to the promoter in January or February in order to book the artists for 2006. The Council will be asked at a study session if they think it is worth spending time on this and studying it further. We don't want to spend a lot of time on this issue unless the Council thinks it could be a good idea. Davis asked how this fit with our current rental policies. Blank said a new policy would have to be written to fit this issue d. Possible Future Referendum. Blank pointed out that Eden Prairie had 3 out of 4 referendums pass. This may tie into us because we may need a referendum to finish our park system projects such as the Northwest Greenway, the 10th playfield, and trails. If we keep taking land instead of money for park dedication, we may be short of cash for finishing the projects. Open space acquisition would be an important piece. Eden Prairie and Woodbury passing their referendums is a good indication for us. He said that we may bring in a consultant to do a survey of the public about a referendum to purchase open space. Next general election is November of next year. We would need to know by July in order to put it all together. Aamoth asked what happens once the city is all developed and no new money is coming in. Blank explained that a trust fund of up to $6 million would be desired. We could use $500,000 per year from the interest for maintenance. If we can accomplish this, we would be one of the few areas in the country to do repairs without going into the general fund. Recently, the electric company routed through Nature Canyon Park. We negotiated $500.000 from the electric company for coming through. This was one way to add to the trust fund. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION Mohagen suggested that the Parks Department designate an area where people could play paint ball. Blank asked what would be needed. Mohagen said trees are needed, but not necessarily grass. He said the space behind Wayzata High School would be ideal. Blank said that property is protected space. If paint ball were allowed, there would be a real problem with the public. He thought any place that has woods would have neighbors that would object. He said he would talk to staff Singer spoke on Sports Alliance of Minnesota whose purpose is to promote a positive sports environment. She presented information on a summit they are sponsoring and invited the commissioners to come to the summit and participate. Sportsmanship and respect in sports, treating the facility well, and treating each other well are goals of the group. Rezabek agreed that this is a huge issue that is being addressed. One example he has heard of is using points against teams whose parents are acting improperly. STAFF COMMUNICATION The December meeting will be at the Plymouth Creek Center on December 8. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50