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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 12-11-20141 Approved Minutes December 11, 2014 Approved Minutes Park & Recreation Advisory Commission Thursday, December 11, 2014 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Ned Carroll, Vice Chair Greg Anderson, Commissioners: Tricia DeBleeckere, Merrilee Riley, Michael Swanson, Aaron Vanderwall, Kipp Wyse MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Parks & Recreation Director Diane Evans, Deputy Parks Director Barb Northway, Recreation Manager Regina Michaud, Office Support Specialist Sarah Josephs COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES: Planning Commissioner Dick Kobussen GUESTS: Richard Burkhardt 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Carroll called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Riley, recommending approval of the October 9, 2014 Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting minutes as written. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. 3. OPEN FORUM: Introduction of Mr. Richard (Dick) Burkhardt. Mr. Burkhardt will be joining PRAC in 2015 after serving many years as a City volunteer, most notably, he has painted hearts on over 47 miles of City trails. Aaron Vanderwall & Kipp Wyse have been reappointed to their positions on the Commission. Ned Carroll will be leaving the Commission in 2015 and has been elected to the Plymouth City Council. Mr. Carroll will serve as the Council Liaison for PRAC. 4. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS (NON-ACTION ITEMS): 4a. Recreation Operations (Regina Michaud) Recreation Manager Regina Michaud provided an overview of recreation operations. The primary goal of the Recreation division is to provide quality programs and services that meet the needs of the community. They currently operate with a yearly budget of $1.7 million dollars. The Recreation Division uses a Special Fund Budget, operating mostly through program fees 65%), tax subsidy (32%) and interest revenue/miscellaneous revenue (3%). They offer over 2,000 programs annually; including classes, activities, and 80-100 special events. There are four Recreation Supervisors that plan the programs and events that serve over 100,000 participants annually. The majority of participants are youth (65%). Registrations continue to be primarily done online (73%). The Division operates 3 seasonal facilities through the year. Three beaches are open between late-May and late-August and have 5,000-9,000 visitors, weather depending. The Farmers Market sees around 9,000 visitors each season, between the months of 2 Approved Minutes December 11, 2014 June – October. During the winter months, five warming houses are open for open skaters. Each season has between 5,000-7,000 skaters at the outdoor rinks. The Recreation Division offered inclusion services to 205 youth in 2014. Most participants received services for allergies (55%) while others received one-on-one assistance during the program (20%). Financial services were offered to 179 youth in 2014. There is a budget of 12,000 per year to supplement program costs for Plymouth families in need of assistance. Projects coming up include the Senior Program Transition. Due to a retirement of a contract employee, the City will no longer be contracting with Senior Community Services. The current Recreation Supervisors are taking over programs based on focus area. The City hired a 5th Recreation Supervisor to plan Education & General Recreation programming. The new hire will begin Jan 5. Staff have been working on the re-accreditation of their CAPRA status. Every 5 years the NRPA sends a team of delegates to review the Department and deem it an accredited agency. Plymouth Parks and Recreation was initially approved in 2010. A self-assessment will be submitted in 1 month, and in March a team will come and complete an objective review of the department. Lastly, the department will undergo a registration software transition. The Class system currently being used will only be supported through 2016. Two demonstrations will be held in January of the preferred candidates. The timeline plans for implementation of the new software in 2016. Top choices at this point are; Vermont Systems (RecTrac), which currently is serving many cities in the area, and Arux, a MN based company that is working with 40 area Community Education departments. Plymouth would be a Beta site for Arux to modify their software for Parks and Recreation. 5. NEW BUSINESS (ACTION ITEMS) 5a. Park Fees/Policy (Action) Materials were provided in packet for the updates to Park Fees and Policy in 2015. Each year staff complete a review of market range fees with comparable cities to see where Plymouth falls. Staff strive to stay competitive and comparable in their fees. Last year (2013), no changes to fees were recommended. For 2015, staff is recommending a 2-5% increase based on increasing maintenance costs. Staff would also like to add an additional fee item; Artificial Turf Field fee. This would allow the City to save money for future turf repairs, painting, and additional costs. These fees would be for events outside of regular practice, such as for tournaments. Staff is recommending to not make any changes to the fee policy, but to remove numbers and amounts so that the details would remain current over years. This increase in fees would bring in $1,500- 2,000 dollars in added revenue. Motion by Commissioner DeBleeker, seconded by Commissioner Riley, recommending to approve the Park Fees and Fee Policy as presented. With no objection, motion passed. 5b. Recreation Mission Update & Marketing Update (Action) Commission members should review the Mission Statement and PR, Communication and Marketing Plan and Evaluation plan. The mission statement will continue to be “Enhancing the quality of life for all residents. Fostering individual and community development in all aspects – physical, mental, social and environments.” All marketing functions are under the Park and Recreation Director’s review and are managed by the Recreation Division, primarily the Recreation Manager and the Office Support Specialist and Representative/Graphic Designer. The Parks and Recreation department works with each division in cooperation with the Communications Department to promote programs through all available media outlets. 3 Approved Minutes December 11, 2014 An Evaluation Plan was created to ensure that the Parks and Recreation Department is marketing their programs and events as well as possible. Key factors include the timely release of information and accuracy in information. Public feedback is received from participant surveys, tracking participation levels and feedback giving to the Communications Department through social media. Motion by Commissioner Vanderwall, seconded by Commissioner Wyse, recommending to approve the Mission Statement and PR, Communications & Marketing Plan and Evaluation . With no objection, motion passed. 5c. 2015 Meeting Schedule (Action) The 2015 PRAC meeting schedule was presented. Commission meetings are always held on the 2nd Thursday of month. Looking ahead, Commissioner Swanson is unable to make the January meeting. Motion by Commissioner Riley, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, recommending to approve the 2015 Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting Schedule. With no objection, motion passed. 6. COMMISSIONER/STAFF UPDATE (NON-ACTION ITEMS): The request to bid the NW Greenway Trail project was approved at the last Council Meeting. A few changes were made to the project due to Vicksburg Lane construction. The driving bridge and pedestrian bridge will move to 2016. Project designers will ensure that the trail work remains far enough out of the way of the driving bridge. Hilde phase II construction is still underway. A brick mason is closing off sections of brickwork through the winter. The project is running ahead of schedule. The Veterans memorial has the wall up, but still needs the fountain, lighting, and flags added. Staff are working on a policy for veterans to have names engraved on wall. The Grand Opening for the PIC Training Center will be held Saturday, December 13 at 9 a.m. On December 1, Acceleration and iBack Chiropractic moved into the space. Staff have been approached by Breakaway Academy, a hockey education school for 4-6th graders, to rent space at the PIC for their 2015-2016 school year. The school is comprised of classroom work and on-ice hockey lessons and training. This rental would provide for $30- 40,000 additional revenue. A feasibility study will be initiated to see about adding retail space to the front of the Ice Center. The goal would be to draw in a sporting goods store to generate revenue through leasing the space. The parking lot at the Ice Center will be renovated in 2015 with the hope of gaining up to 100 additional parking spots. Before work begins, four separate variances will need to be approved for the project (e.g. lighting, set-back off the road, sufficient islands/medians, street-side parking). The project is estimated to cost $1,000,000. The City and LifeTime will split the cost of the project 50/50. Over 1,200 were in attendance at Old Fashioned Christmas. Santa & Mrs. Claus even stayed late in order to greet all the kids in line. This was the first time the even was held on a Saturday. That, and very nice weather, contributed to the high turn-out. 4 Approved Minutes December 11, 2014 The New Years Eve event will be held at the Plymouth Ice Center on Wednesday, December 31. Fire & Ice will be held on February 7 from 3-7pm. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Jackie Maas at 763-509-5230. 7. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Riley, seconded by Commissioner Swanson, recommending adjournment of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting. With no objection, Chair Carroll adjourned the meeting at 8:07 p.m.