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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 02-09-2012MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING February 9, 2012 PRESENT: Commissioners: G. Anderson, N. Carroll, M. Riley, A. Vanderwall, K. Wyse, J. Zwack Staff: D. Evans, B. Northway, C. Anderson, D. Sankey Planning Commission Liaison: D. Kobusson City Council Liaison: G. Black ABSENT: J. Vecere 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Carroll called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION was made by Commissioner Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Zwack to approve the January minutes. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. 3. OPEN FORUM 4. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS (NON -ACTION ITEMS): a. Learn to Swim Program — Cindy Anderson Cindy Anderson spoke on the Aquatic Program. She explained that we are making a transition from the Red Cross to a Plymouth Aquatics program. Tara Ethridge assisted in the development of this new program. Fall, winter and spring sessions are held at East Middle School pool. Summer is held at East and West Middle School pools. We lease them from the school district. We have a wide range of offerings from infant through adult learn to swim, plus specialty lessons, private swim lessons, junior lifeguard and lifeguard training, water safety instructors and water safety aide, and pool rentals. The Red Cross instituted a new fee structure in July 2011. Our program had already started by that time, and without time to adjust the course fees, we would have taken a big hit financially. They also cut down services provided. Their contract stated that they needed to give a 90 -day warning. Anderson went to them and asked them to abide by the contract, so the fees stayed at their former level through the summer. Fees would have gone up $5 per participant, or over $7000 total. There had already been a $200 base fee. PRAC Minutes/February 9, 2012 Page 2 Anderson has been on the Water Safety Committee for many years and chaired it at one time. The Red Cross has dissolved the committee. When they tried to raise the fee in 2008, there was a huge revolt among the organizations using their program. The CEO agreed with the Water Safety Committee and backed off on raising the fees. Commissioner Zwack asked what the Red Cross actually delivers. Anderson said they give us a curriculum for the swim lessons and safety classes. We are still using their WSI, WSA, Junior Lifeguard, Lifeguard, Babysitting, First Aid, and CPR. The Chapter will give onsite training for a fee. We decided to make a transition with the youth program. We held a focus group of staff and aquatic staff. We dropped their learn to swim program and developed our own class objectives, curriculum, and passing criteria. We evaluated the program through the fall. We have developed a comprehensive program for children and youth. We made some modifications in parent/child classes. We also added some additional components for safety, including exit skills for getting out of the pool. We continually evaluate the program. Participants have remained consistent. The aquatic staff is still Red Cross certified as instructors, aids, and lifeguards. b. Three Rivers Park District — Xenium Trail Bridge. Director Evans explained that this pedestrian bridge will be constructed by Three Rivers Park District, and it will cross Xenium Lane, connecting to the Luce Line Trail. They need to pick up easements from Carlson Company and Deltak. They will meet with city staff to make sure we get good connectivity with our trail system. They are trying to complete this project in 2012. c. Northwest Greenway/Park Land Appraisal Director Evans said that a neighborhood park is designated to go in north of Hollydale Golf course. We are getting an appraisal for this property. We would like to pick up this parcel before development is completed in the area. The City Council would decide if we make this purchase. The future improvement of Vicksburg Lane may play a role. Councilmember Black said the Council has talked about widening Vicksburg Lane, and they have talked about on -road bike trails. Commissioner Anderson asked if this discussion is coming up. Black said it is in preliminary discussion. 5. NEW BUSINESS (ACTION ITEMS): a. Designate Chair & Vice Chair NOMINATION: Chair Carroll asked for nominations for chair. Commissioner Anderson nominated Commissioner Carroll. Commissioner Zwack seconded. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. PRAC Minutes/February 9, 2012 Page 3 NOMINATION: Chair Carroll asked for nominations for vice chair. Commissioner Carroll nominated Commissioner Anderson. Commissioner Riley seconded. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. b. 2011 Annual Report & Work Plan Director Evans presented the annual report for discussion. Commissioner Riley noticed that her name was misspelled. Chair Carroll mentioned that he liked the picture of the Skate Park "P" on the cover in color. He also asked if referring to PRAC as an advisory council was correct. Evans said it would be changed to "commission." Evans pointed out some changes we have made since the commission copy was printed. Commissioner Zwack said we could say a little bit more on emerald ash borer in the Forestry Division section. Evans said the Council is very concerned about this issue. We can probably add some information to the report. Zwack said this is a huge national problem. Evans said that as trees die, they become hazardous and must be taken down. Not everyone understands the complexity of the issue. Zwack said Fort Wayne, Indiana, lost 3700 trees last year, and they become brittle and a safety hazard. Evans said we will gradually ramp up the education factor. MOTION: Commissioner Riley moved to forward the annual report on to Council. Commissioner Vanderwall seconded the motion. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. Director Evans presented additional information on the past year. She pointed out some new additions to the report, including an organizational chart and several projects that were completed. We were a finalist for a Gold Medal. The Skate Park, which was completed at Plymouth Creek Playfield, is a big hit. We are discussing how to supervise it so that it does not impose a burden on the neighborhood. We are talking about a Skate Park Ambassador program. The lighting project gave us significant savings by bundling several years' worth of improvements into one year. With the lighting project, we increased efficiency and gained the ability to control the lights remotely. Residents are so thrilled with the improvement because the light bleed was significantly improved. We get a 10 -year re-lamping, so we will not have to worry about lights for 20 years. Chair Carroll asked about Eagle Scout Projects. Evans said she did not have a list with her, but every year we get requests from Eagle Scouts. For this year, we have a request to put in benches at Plymouth Creek Playfield. She said if anyone is interested, they need to start with Jackie Maas, our Volunteer Coordinator. Director Evans pointed out statistics for our Maintenance, Forestry, and Volunteer divisions. In 2011, we had many groups come forward to do volunteer projects. In the Recreation Division, we are constantly receiving requests for more programming for 3-5 year olds. Plymouth Creek Center is very well used. We had 66 weddings last year. The Fieldhouse has over 322,000 yearly visitors. The Ice Center serves three high schools. Wayzata Youth Hockey is the largest hockey association in the nation. PRAC Minutes/February 9, 2012 Page 4 Evans noted some of the ways we have changed in the last five years. Volunteers keep track of hours on line. The Parks Division has remote access control of playfield lights. We are planning the layout of soccer fields by the use of GPS. The Recreation Division is responsive to community requests - we have added a Farmers Market and Movies in the Park. We are using text messaging to reach employees. The Plymouth Creek Center uses electronic door counters and CAD for layout of tables for parties. The Ice Center has improved energy efficiency. c. Strategic Goals MOTION: Commissioner Anderson moved to approve the Strategic Goals. Commissioner Riley seconded. Commissioner Vanderwall asked about the list of goals and the rationale behind prohibiting private parks. Director Evans explained that sometimes a developer will come in and offer to build their own park instead of contributing to park dedication fees. These developments are often run by homeowners associations, which sometimes go defunct. At that point, they want the City to take over the park and repair it. Commissioner Zwack asked about the public art goal. Director Evans said we are working on identifying places to put art. We would like to expand our city art collection over time. VOTE: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. d. Mission Statement MOTION: Commissioner Zwack moved to approve the department's Mission Statement. Commissioner Vanderwall seconded the motion. Chair Carroll said he thinks it is a great statement and well defined. Sometimes mission statements are too long and wordy. VOTE: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. 6. COMMISSIONER/STAFF UPDATES Chair Carroll said that he went to Fire & Ice and volunteered, and he had a very good time. He really encouraged the other commissioners to volunteer next year. Councilmember Black asked how the hat contest went. Director Evans said we had many participants, with more adults than ever before. Evans estimated that we had over 4000 participants at Fire & Ice. PRAC Minutes/February 9, 2012 Page 5 Evans said we had just received notification from Hennepin County that they have closed all lakes to vehicles because of ice conditions. o Upcoming Community/Special Events Director Evans asked Donna Sankey to send a list of upcoming special events to the commissioners. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION Chair Carroll welcomed back Dick Kobussen as Planning Commission liaison and welcomed Ginny Black as City Council liaison. 8. ADJOURNMENT Chair Carroll entertained the motion to adjourn. MOTION was made by Commissioner Vanderwall and seconded by Commissioner Riley. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. The meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m. The next meeting will be held on May 10 at Plymouth City Hall. Donna Sankey - PRAC recorder