Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 10-13-20161 Approved Minutes October 13, 2016 Approved Minutes Park & Recreation Advisory Commission Thursday, October 13, 2016 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Merrilee Riley, Vice Chair Aaron Vanderwall, Commissioners: Dick Burkhardt, Michael Swanson, Kipp Wyse MEMBERS ABSENT: Greg Anderson, Tricia DeBleeckere STAFF PRESENT: Parks & Recreation Director Diane Evans, Deputy Director Barb Northway, Ice Arena Manager Bill Abel, Recreation Supervisor Dan Lauer, Office Support Specialist Sarah Josephs COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES: Councilmember Ned Carroll, Planning Commissioner Jim Kovach GUESTS: Gregg Gibson - Wayzata Youth Hockey Association, Scott Ward – Steven Engineers 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Riley called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Swanson, seconded by Commissioner Burkhardt, recommending approval of the September 8, 2016 Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting minutes as written. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. 3. OPEN FORUM: 4. PRESENTATIONS (NON-ACTION ITEMS): 4a. PIC Ice Rental Rates – Bill Abel (PIC Manager) Manager Bill Abel shared that the PIC operates as an enterprise fund, separate from the City’s general fund. Staff are always looking for ways to continue having revenue exceed their expenses. In September of this year the ice rental rates were increased by $10/hour during the winter months of September – March. The summer rate was increased $5/hour during the months of April – August. Due to high school practice times starting later this year the PIC is loosing out on 45 minutes of rental revenue every week day. Typically the high school teams would start practice at 3:00pm, but are now starting at 3:45pm. The increase in ice rental rate should offset the loss in revenue from the later high school start time. Additionally, the cost to the High School for ice time on their game nights has increased by 15/hour. The PIC has an agreement with each High School to split the gate receipt profits. The PIC provides a score board operator, announcer, and ticket takers while the school districts provide security, game officials, and programs. This increase will also help offset the loss of ice rental time from 3-3:45pm. The question was asked about where concession revenue made during high school games goes. Manager Abel explained that all of the revenue goes to the City since they are solely responsible for 2 Approved Minutes October 13, 2016 staffing and the ordering of products. Annually, the concession stand brings in nearly $80,000 in net profit. The PIC also brings in additional revenue from renting advertisement space on dasher boards, the Zambonis, and from vending machine commission. 4b. Wayzata Youth Hockey Association - Greg Gibson (President) Wayzata Youth Hockey Association (WYHA) President Greg Gibson was present at the meeting this evening. This is Mr. Gibson’s 15th year as the President of WYHA and 17th year as a part of their Board. Currently the association has 1,027 players ranging in all levels and ages. The WYHA strongly feels that they have the best facility to skate in in the entire state. To show their appreciation, the association works very hard to support the facility as much as possible. WYHA uses the PIC year-round for practices, games, and clinics. They also host a variety of local, state, and regional tournaments at the PIC. WYHA, in close partnership with the City and Wayzata High School, have secured hosting a national High School tournament in 2018 at the PIC. The tournament will bring in 32-48 teams, utilizing all three sheets of ice. Wayzata High School has been able to participant in the tournament the last two years. They are very excited to show off the great facility, staff, and volunteers. In addition to the benefit of hosting the tournament at the PIC, the hotels and restaurants in Plymouth will benefit from the large number of out of state visitors. The association is well aware of the large financial commitment of proceeding with the resizing of Rink C and converting the cooling system. In looking at the long term viability of the rink they agree that the changes should be made. Present the association membership has 85% of its players in 8th grade or younger. The Olympic sized rink is very large for the young players to skate on. They further support making the changes in 2017 instead of waiting any longer as the systems may begin to fail and would be more costly to replace. On behalf of the WYHA, Mr. Gibson request that the PRAC support the changes. 5. NEW BUSINESS (ACTION ITEMS): 5a. PIC Refrigerant & Rink Conversion Project – Bill Abel (PIC Manager) & Scott Ward Steven Engineers) Scott Ward of Steven Engineers was present to provide more information regarding the proposed arena changes. The PIC is one of the top facilities in not only MN, but the US. Steven Engineers has been involved in over 180 ice rink conversion projects. They believe the city was very smart in their proactive planning and very much look forward to working together. To complete the project, they will need to either shut down two sheets of ice or rent a refrigeration system to keep the sheets operational. The first being proposed is the conversion of the refrigeration system. The R22 system that is currently in place is being phased out in 2020. By that time, the PIC will need to change their system. Most arenas are converting to ammonia or C02. Steven Engineers recommends using an ammonia cooling system as it will increase operational efficiencies. Once the system is updated it would have an expected life of 30 years. An additional change would be converting Rink A from an Olympic sized rink to a Professional sized rink. The lengths of the rinks would remain the same, but the width would be decreased. At the time the rink was built there was a growing trend of adding Olympic sized rinks. As of more 3 Approved Minutes October 13, 2016 recently, the preference is now for Professional sized rinks. By decreasing the size of the rink, it will use 10% less energy to run the rink. While the rink is undergoing the renovations, they would also like change the floor material from sand to concrete. This change will help the longevity of the floor. With sand floors, the pipes within the sand tend to migrate and move up and down. Often times the pipes would have to be dug out and adjusted. Once you install a concrete floor around the pipes, there is no movement. The sand floor also tends to create uneven surface space and requires a thicker sheet of ice in order for it to freeze properly. Moving to a concrete floor will be more cost and energy efficient. Mr. Ward shared that sand floor rinks are very rarely built; he has seen maybe 1 a year at the most. Council Member Carroll inquired why those rinks would still use sand floors if there are so many disadvantages. Mr. Ward shared that many times it comes down to the cost of the floor. Installing a sand floor is significantly cheaper than a concrete floor. The rink may only be used for a portion of the year so having a permanent floor would not be as critical to those communities. Commissioners asked if there was an estimate to the amount of revenue that would be lost should two rinks be down over the 4 month construction period. The total revenue that would potentially lost would be between $17,000-18,000 per month. Staff are contemplating renting a cooling system to keep both rinks operational. It may cost more to keep the rinks open, but it would be a positive customer service to keep the ice users in Plymouth. Initial estimates show that renting the cooling systems would cost approximately $25,000 per month. The PIC currently spends $1000 every day for heating and electric costs. Completing these changes will result in a 30% savings in heating and electric costs. The construction plan would be to complete the refrigeration system in both rinks A and B. Rink C is already using an ammonia system. Rinks A and B currently use a single system that operates both rinks simultaneously. The new system would allow them to operate independently. Steven Engineers anticipates that the construction process would take place between the middle of March thru the end of August. The timing of the project is good as construction costs have been fairly flat as of recent. Costs are just beginning to increase within the construction industry so it is beneficial to go to bid soon. Commissioners asked if there was any clause in the agreement should the project run late. At this time they do not have it included with the agreement. Mr. Ward has completed several rink conversion projects and strongly believes that scheduling 4.5 months is sufficient time to complete the project. If a penalty clause is added, that typically results in higher bid totals. Adding in that clause also tends to deter contractors from bidding the project. Typically the contractors on this type of project understand the priority and urgency of completing the projects on time so that the rinks can reopen as scheduled. Staff and Steven Engineers still need to finish construction documents for the project. They will present to the City Council in November and receive either approval to proceed or reject . Motion by Commissioner Swanson, seconded by Vice Chair Vanderwall, recommending the approval of the PIC Refrigerant & Rink Conversion Project as presented. With no objection, the motion passed. 4 Approved Minutes October 13, 2016 6. COMMISSIONER/STAFF UPDATE Recently staff have been approached by residents near Birchview Elementary to put in a trail along Ranchview Lane. The City Council has recently tasked staff with possibly adding a trail along Vicksburg Lane that would allow foot traffic into the new Fresh Thyme/Goodwill shopping area. Staff will need to look into the feasibility and cost to add a trails near Birchview Elementary, the Fresh Thyme/Goodwill shopping area, and along Medina Road. Plymouth on Parade went very well in September. There was a wonderful group on volunteers on hand to make sure everything went smoothly. In total, there were 110 units. Staff will be adjusting next year’s parade to start earlier in the day and end closer to lunch time. The Fieldhouse dome is schedule to go up on Friday, October 7 (weather permitting). There is currently a concern of high wind speeds, which would delay the project until the following week. Halloween at the Creek is coming up on October 28 at the Plymouth Creek Center. Attendance is typically pretty high at this event. Many families find it a good opportunity for pre-Halloween festivities. The Kids Garage Sale will be held on Sunday, November 6 at the Plymouth Creek Center. A new Plymouth Creek Center Manager has been hired. Chris Fleck comes to Plymouth from the City of Woodbury where he was a Facility Manager. Staff are in the midst of transitioning registration software systems. All upcoming winter and spring programs will use the new system. The Northwest Greenway pedestrian bridge is complete. Weather delays had pushed the project back a bit. The City will host a grand opening event next spring. Work continues on the trail near the road and on the “on-ramp” to the bridge. Aspen Ridge Park is looking fantastic. The shelter is built and the asphalt has been laid. Crews will need to finish grading in the coming weeks. A grand opening will be held in the spring. Staff met with a new architect to walk the site of Crooked Creek Park. Several staff were at the National Parks & Recreation Conference last week and found a very unique playground and purchased it onsite. The playground company is based in Forest Lake. The Pump Track grand opening was cancelled due to rainy weather. Next spring staff will schedule a workshop and offer demonstrations from Erik’s Bike Shop and 3rd Lair. The Zakkary Johnson Foundation is still working on raising funds for their universal playground and miracle field at Zachary Park. Several trails were recently reconstructed. While renovating Gateway Park and Three Ponds Park, staff fixed and repaired rough parts of the trail. Additional repairs were made at Parkers Lake Playfield. New light fixtures and poles were added to the Hilde Performance Center. Staff were able to retro fit some of the lights. They are currently set up between the Hilde and the Ice Center, and will be added around Plymouth Creek Park next year. The Volunteer Appreciation event was held recently with a Hawaiian theme. Commissioners shared that it was nice to meet with other volunteers and that they appreciate being included in the event. Trail repairs were recently made at Three Ponds Park. Staff are confident that the repairs will hold as a lot of base work was done beforehand. Quite a few trees were removed last winter along the edges to help reduce overgrowth of roots along the trail. 7. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Vice Chair Vanderwall, seconded by Commissioner Burkhardt, recommending adjournment of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting. With no objection, Chair Riley adjourned the meeting at 8:21 p.m.