HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 12-08-2011MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
December 8, 2011
PRESENT: Commissioners: G. Anderson, N. Carroll, M. Riley, A. Vanderwall, J. Vecere,
J. Zwack
Staff: D. Evans, D. Lauer, R. Michaud, B. Northway, D. Sankey
Planning Commission Liaison: D. Kobusson
City Council Liaison: Bob Stein
ABSENT: K. Wyse
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Carroll called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION was made by Commissioner Vecere and seconded by Commissioner Riley to
approve the October minutes.
Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved.
3. OPEN FORUM
4. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS (NON -ACTION ITEMS):
a. Staff Presentation: Dan Lauer, Recreation Supervisor
Dan Lauer reported that he has been with the City for 12 years. Plymouth Parks &
Recreation is regarded as an innovator in the field. His main responsibilities include
youth and adult athletics. He is also working on special events, with Fire & Ice coming
up in February. There will be a new musical group at Fire & Ice called "Divas through
the Decades" which should be a very entertaining show. Lauer is also working on the
Yard & Garden Expo, coming up on April 13 and 14.
Commissioner Riley asked if we have an intro program for preschoolers to try a variety
of sports. Lauer said yes, we have several of these programs such as Sports Sampler,
Mini Hawks, and Little Sportsters.
b. Staff Presentation: Regina Michaud, Recreation Manager
Regina Michaud reported that she has worked for the city for 11 years. She started as
an intern while working on her master's degree in recreation. She then worked as a
recreation coordinator, then recreation supervisor. She started a lot of the teen
programming, worked on special events such as Halloween at the Creek, New Year's
Eve, and Yard & Garden, and supervised many others such as the playground
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program. Two years ago, she became Recreation Manager and now supervises the
recreation staff. She is liaison with the Senior Program. We contract with Senior
Commuity Services for Sara Mittlestaedt to provide senior programming. Michaud was
one of the leads on the Skate Park project and met with teens to get their input on the
design. She worked on the NRPA Gold Medal Award, and we were one of four
finalists. She worked on accreditation over the last couple of years as well.
Commissioner Anderson said he visited the skate park, and it was very active. It looks
like a major success. Michaud said a lot of credit goes to the teens in the focus group.
They wanted concrete construction. We kept it a Tier 1 park, although we pushed it to
the limit. The designers were great at what they do. Anderson asked if there was a
way to track attendance. Michaud said we will have an ambassador stationed at the
park to talk with the skaters and do some counts.
Director Evans mentioned that Michaud served as Activity Center Manager after Rick
Busch's retirement, and Dan Lauer managed the Fieldhouse.
c. Staff Presentation: Barb Northway, Deputy Director
Barb Northway introduced herself. She is the new Deputy Director of Parks &
Recreation. Her background includes working with the Minnesota Recreation & Parks
Association, the Minnesota Sports Federation, and Community Education in Rockford.
She serves on the Park Advisory Council in Greenfield and as a Special Olympic
volunteer. She has spent the last three weeks meeting the great staff and working
with Dan Heitke, Lowell Luebeck, Paul Buck, and Lara Newberger on the yard waste
site to improve it. She is also working with the GIS program doing asset management.
They have started flooding rinks, getting ready for the tree sale, and the Capital
Improvement Plan. She is looking forward to being part of our staff.
Commissioner Riley asked what the most attractive things were about this position for
her. Northway replied that Plymouth has an outstanding Parks & Recreation system.
In addition, she admires the quality of life in Plymouth. Parks & open spaces are
important here. It was an honor to be chosen for the job.
Director Evans explained that Eric Blank, Mark Peterson, and Rick Busch all retired
this year. We combined the Superintendent of Recreation and Superintendent of
Parks position into Deputy Director, so we lost one management position. The
interview process was rigorous and we are honored to have Barb.
5. NEW BUSINESS (ACTION ITEMS):
a. Park Fees
Regina Michaud presented a report on the review of the park fee rate structure and a
survey of other communities' park fees. Based on this study, we have determined that
no increase should be made at this time. We will look at a more extensive change in
2012 for 2013.
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b. Special Events
Michaud also gave an update on current events. Halloween at the Creek was held on
October 31 at the Plymouth Creek Center. We had 575 participants taking part in
carnival games, prizes, magic, and a juggling show. We provide free passes to
Interfaith Outreach and Prism to help families in need to participate.
The Kids Garage Sale is held twice a year and helps kids learn money management,
buying, and selling. We sold out with 30 tables, and 400 shoppers took part.
Veteran's Day Breakfast was held at the Plymouth Creek Center Capt. Dick Steiner
was the speaker.
Old Fashioned Christmas was held on December 4. The snow made perfect scenery.
We were packed with participants. This year, reindeer were available for petting and
for photos. The Plymouth Historical Society does a lot of the work for this event.
New Year's Eve is coming up at the Ice Center/Lifetime Fitness. There will be an open
gym, open swimming, open ice, and a juggler. We are also providing free tickets for
needy families for this event.
6. COMMISSIONER/STAFF UPDATES
Director Evans spoke on the following topics:
o Update on Department Strategic Goals
Evans explained that the strategic goals tie to the Comprehensive Plan. Each division
does initiatives tied to the goals. She pointed out and explained the highlights in the
distributed report.
Zwack asked if Evans had a sense of how many ash trees we have in Plymouth. She
said Paul Buck has a pretty good idea of the ash count for park property. He will
report on this in an upcoming meeting.
o Commission Appointments
Ned Carroll, Kipp Wyse, and Aaron Vanderwall were reappointed to the Parks &
Recreation Advisory Commission. A new liaison from City Council was appointed.
Ginny Black will be in place in February. We really appreciate our outgoing liaison Bob
Stein's work.
o 2012 PRAC Meeting Schedule
Evans presented the schedule for 2012 and said we could add a meeting if necessary.
o Projects Update
Playfield Lighting Project - $2.5 million was funded through a loan from the
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Community Improvement Fund. Lighting for all of the playfields was replaced. We
came in $70,000 under budget. Some wiring replacement was needed, but there
were very few issues. From a smart phone or computer, we can turn the lights on and
off in any of the parks. We have received a lot of positive comments from park
neighbors.
Dog Park Project - The paving and landscaping are done. Amenities like dog agility
features and benches will be added in the spring. We came in $23,000 under budget.
Skate Park Project - We came in $600 under budget and used creative engineering to
get there. The 20 -something boarders didn't visit our old park, but they are using the
new one. Because of the older kids, there have been smoking and language issues.
We need a staff person, an ambassador, to educate some of the users and to help
keep things in good shape. Councilmember Stein asked about how the Plymouth P
was working out. Evans said she sees kids using it all the time. It is a challenge for
them to figure out how to use it, and they enjoy that.
o Commission Photograph
A photo of the group was taken by Barb Northway.
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
Chair Carroll thanked Bob Stein for his work as Council Liaison.
7. ADJOURNMENT
Vice Chair Anderson entertained the motion to adjourn. MOTION was made by
Commissioner Zwack and seconded by Commissioner Vanderwall.
Vote: 5 Ayes. Motion approved. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
The next meeting will be on January 12 at Plymouth City Hall.
Donna Sankey - PRAC recorder