HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 01-13-2011MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
January 13, 2011
PRESENT: Commissioners: G. Anderson, N. Carroll, M. Riley, J. Zwack
Staff: D. Evans, D. Sankey
Planning Commission Liaison: D. Kobusson
ABSENT: Commissioner A. Vanderwall
City Council Liaison Bob Stein
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION was made by Commissioner Carroll and seconded by Commissioner Zwack to
approve the December minutes. Vote: 4 Ayes. Motion carried.
3. OPEN FORUM
Carlos Gutierrez, 1725 Garland Lane, spoke on providing a facility for the game of
squash. He said there is a lack of regulation -sized squash courts in the area. He would
like to have an indoor facility in Plymouth. Lifetime in St Louis Park has 4 squash courts,
although they are converted from racquetball courts, have bad floors, and they are not
regulation size. It would be good to have a facility in the industrial area in the eastern part
of Plymouth. Chair Anderson asked about other facilities in the area and whether they
were owned by cities or Lifetime Fitness. Gutierrez said most are run by Lifetime, and
there are a few that are privately run. Superintendent Evans asked if our Lifetime has a
squash court. He said that they have one. Commissioner Zwack asked about self-
sustaining facilities. What are the rates? Gutierrez said with membership fees of $100 per
month, with 80-90 members, it should be self-sustaining. In Madison last year, the
Madison Squash Workshop started, and it is starting to pick up. Badminton is also very
big and the cost is a lot less. Anderson asked if he has a public-private partnership in
mind. Gutierrez said he is open to anything. Anderson said he should talk to Evans more
about the idea.
4. STAFF UPDATE:
a. Staff Presentation: .
none
b. City Budget & CIP:
Superintendent Evans provided city budget information to the commissioners.
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In presenting the CIP, Evans pointed out some highlights, including the replacement
of the dance floor at the Plymouth Creek Center. We are getting bids and want to get
the job done as early as possible before the big wedding season. There is $130,000
set for a new trail. Money for Northwest Greenway land acquisition is included. For the
Cheshire Lane trail crossing, $250,000 is budgeted. The Trillium Woods project was
approved, although it has been delayed. For South Shore Park, $125,000 was
approved for the replacement of the playground. The Skate Park asphalt surface will
be replaced with probably a concrete surface, and $210,000 is set in place. We held
open house for the Skate Park, and quite a few people attended. We will meet with
them again. The Dog Park parking lot may be paved and made larger. It is on a
county road and the county may require road improvements if we adjust the entrance.
Chair Anderson asked if this would be a park budget expense. Evans said it would
require an additional lane for the road, and it would have to be covered by the park
budget. Commissioner Zwack asked why the CIP goes up and down each year.
Evans said funding comes from a variety of funding sources such as the Park
Dedication Fund and Park Replacement Fund. The General Fund supplies some
money each year for the Park Replacement Fund. It requires careful balancing to not
use up all of the fund, so some years have larger amounts being used and some
smaller. Playfield lighting replacement will come up. If we do them all at once, there
could be a savings. Doing it in 2011 provides a larger savings than 2012.
c. City Council Liaison.
Superintendent Evans announced that Councilmember Bob Stein has been
reassigned as the liaison to our Commission.
d. Board & Commission Appointments
Superintendent Evans announced that Chair Greg Anderson was reappointed. J. D.
Nelson is leaving. John Vecere will be joining in February. One more vacant position
remains, and Council is working on finding a replacement.
5. NEW BUSINESS
a. 2010 Annual Report & Work Plan - draft
Superintendent Evans explained that we are required by ordinance to do an annual
report plus a work plan for the Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission. We must
give it to the Council by the end of February or early March. Eric Blank will be retiring
the end of June, and Mark Peterson is retiring the end of February. Commissioner
Carroll asked about succession for Eric. Evans said she will take over as Director of
Parks & Recreation on July 1. Commissioner Riley asked if we ever use outside
people to help decide on realignment opportunities. Evans said it is typically done
internally, although we sometimes use consultants to do some testing and analyzing
to help us find the right people for certain high level jobs.
Evans highlighted the report. Because we are now accredited, we have added some
features to the report to accommodate the accreditation requirements. Chair
Anderson wrote a very good letter for the report. We will host a grand opening and
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Page 3
ribbon cutting for the new Hilde Center. Because concrete is still curing, it is hard to
get ice on the new Plymouth Creek hockey rink. Shiloh Park playground equipment
replacement included refurbishing the playground and sending it to Poland. Plymouth
won the Step to It Challenge this past year. We have done well in the recreation
programs and have some surplus funds. This will enable us to add some
enhancements like Movies in the Parks and more fireworks at Fire & Ice. As Eric and
Mark approach retirement, Ellie Singer is interviewing them and documenting the
department history.
Chair Anderson asked whether the Cheshire trail overpass will be built in 2011. Evans
said if Trillium Woods gets started, the money is in place in the CIP. Commissioner
Zwack noticed that although the department has eight divisions, only seven were
listed. Evans noticed that the Fieldhouse was left out. She mentioned that Maple
Grove is building a dome, so we will lose Maplebrook Blast as a renter. We will be
redistributing those hours among other renters. The turf is going to need replacing
within the next few years. This would be covered partially by the Fieldhouse Fund and
part by the Park Replacement Fund. Commissioner Carroll asked if the Fieldhouse is
an enterprise fund. Evans said yes, and over a million dollars is in the fund. Carroll
asked what the expected lifespan of the dome is. Evans said it is 15-20 years. We are
at 10 years now. It is still looking good, and staff feels that there is definitely another
10 years left in it. It probably in such good shape because it is down six months of the
year. The goal is to continue to build the reserve. We picked up one event from the
Metrodome collapse - a Jewish community center football game. We happened to
have the one day open that they needed. Open Play is one of the big programs in the
Fieldhouse.
Evans pointed out that we had a $200,000 reduction in expenses from last year and
100,000 more in revenues. These figures are unaudited. The total participant
number is down, because there were a few events that didn't run, such as concerts at
the Hilde and the Art Fair. We had an increase in inclusion participants. Special events
had about 45,000 participants. Health & fitness is experiencing a boom. Senior
program participants are declining a bit, but we think they are also using the adult
programming because that went up. Some of them don't want to be identified as
seniors."
Sports and Aquatics are doing well. Last year was the first year of administrative fees
for athletic associations. We collected $87,700. Council anticipated $100,000.
Volunteer Services continues to do well. The total hours look like they are down, but it
is probably because of the new technology and better, more accurate tracking.
The Plymouth Creek Center had 60 weddings. We expect 75 in 2011, with two time
slots per day for the garden weddings. Fieldhouse revenue was about $370,000. The
Ice Center had a $150,000 profit. They closed down one rink during the summer,
which was a real money -saver. Forestry and Park Maintenance are busy with emerald
ash borer control and other projects. Commissioner Carroll asked about the trail use
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counts. He said he did not see Ferndale on the list. Superintendent Evens said we
move the counter around to different locations.
6. COMMISSIONER UPDATES
Upcoming Community/Special Events
Superintendent Evans reported that we had 350 participants at the New Years event. It is
a great event, and it should have more attendees. We will work on beefing it up. The
Little Sweetheart Ball will be on February 4. Fire & Ice is on February 5. We are offering
our first ever medallion hunt for Fire & Ice. There will be a Belgian Waffle Breakfast on
February 6 at the Plymouth Creek Center. The price is $6 for ages 6 and up and $4 for
ages 5 and under. Evans mentioned that staff is considering moving the date for Fire &
Ice to a different weekend in the future because of competition from other events in the
area. Chair Anderson said the commissioners should contact Jackie Maas and volunteer
for the event.
7. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Anderson entertained the motion to adjourn. MOTION was made by Commissioner
Zwack and seconded by Commissioner Riley. Vote: 4 Ayes. Motion approved. The
meeting adjourned at 8:17 p.m.
The next meeting will be held on February 11 in the Council Chambers.
Donna Sankey - PRAC recorder