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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-27 CL ITY OF AKEVILLE PRACM ARKS AND ECREATION DVISORY OMMITTEE EETING O27,1999 CTOBER ITEM #1. Call to order. Chairperson Wanless-Sobel called the meeting to order in the Lakeville Council Chambers at 6:00 PM. ITEM #2. Roll call. Present were H. Lovelace, L. Lulf, C. Wanless-Sobel, J. Larson, P. Messinger and alternate K. Manias. Also present were Park Director Steve Michaud and Recording Secretary Judi Hawkins. ITEM #3. Approval of Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes of October 6, 1999. The minutes of the October 6, 1999 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting were discussed. There were no additions or corrections and the minutes were approved as printed. ITEM #4. Citizen comments. There were no citizens present for items not on the agenda. ITEM #5. Staff reports and summary of current projects. Staff updated the committee on the progress at Kensington Park. A second ? contractor has come onto the site to remove rocks and pulverize the dirt in preparation for spring seeding. Staff mentioned that Greenridge Park is fully graded with proper elevations and ? should also be ready for seeding in the spring. Trails to outlying fields in King Park are complete. ? Trail patching is ongoing with concentrated efforts along Ipava Avenue. ? Maintenance crews are utilizing the County?s hot patching equipment for this project. STS crews have completed work at Rolling Oaks rink. ? STS also assisted with distribution of wood chips on the North Park Haunted Forest ? trail. Staff has submitted a grant for paving the parking lot area at Orchard Lake Park. ? Committee members will be kept informed if a grant is awarded. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Minutes of: October 27, 1999 Page -2- An additional $87,000 grant has been received from the Department of Natural ? Resources for Kensington Park. Funds will be used in 2000 to assist with Phase II park development. Staff briefed committee on the recommendations of the Snowmobile Task Force to ? City Council. ITEM #6. Review draft of Parks and Open Space System Plan. Committee and staff discussed the first draft of the Parks and Open Space System Plan update as well as how to approach the review of the document. The City Council is scheduled to examine the document at a work session in the near future. Staff will be attending the MRPA State Conference next week and will not be available for the rd November 3 meeting. Committee members stated they would prefer to review the document with staff present, and may reschedule the meeting. The document can be divided into three main categories for review purposes. In addition to expanding the park system, several items need to be discussed including how the fund future acquisition and development. Options may include the possibility of a bond referendum and potential adjustment in the park dedication fees. Other discussions should include an inventory of natural resources in the City, such as woodlands and wetlands, and how they may be preserved. Committee member Messinger suggested that a determination should be made as to what facilities should be present in a neighborhood park and what criteria would dictate the inclusion of facilities, such as a park building. Committee members agreed to be prepared to discuss Chapters 4, 5 and 6 at their November 17th meeting. Chair Wanless-Sobel emphasized the importance of committee members being present for all review sessions. Staff suggested that an additional meeting could be held Monday or Tuesday, November 22nd or 23rd, in order to expedite review of the document. 99.32 Motion was made by Larson, seconded by Messinger, to cancel the November 3, 1999 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting and to set a special meeting for rd November 23 to review the Parks and Open Space System Plan. Motion passed. ITEM #7. Consider proposed draft policy for implementing recreation program non-resident fees and priority program registration for residents. During recent budget sessions, the possibility has been discussed of charging non- residents a higher fee for registration into recreation programs. Staff is also discussing a priority registration system to allow residents to register first and non-residents to register if space is still available. In trying to determine an appropriate non-resident fee, research was done on staff time involved, including the registration process and maintenance of facilities. Youth Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Minutes of: October 27, 1999 Page -3- programs are sometimes subsidized by the general fund however adult programs are not. A system of easily separating addresses to differentiate between residents and non-residents would need to be devised. Exceptions could be made in certain circumstances, i.e., Safety Camp, which is subsidized by local businesses and utility companies. Staff conducted a survey over the Internet to determine how other cities handle the situation and found that non-resident fees are very common, especially with community centers and public pools. Committee member Manias asked if Lakeville residents had been given the opportunity during the last citizen survey to express their opinion on the matter. Committee members felt that a set additional fee, such as $5.00 or $10.00 per person, does not seem as equitable as a percentage of the registration cost might be. Adult team registrations were also discussed and would definitely be included. Adult programs are all self-supporting. Senior programs are proposed to be exempt. Committee member Larson stated that he would be in favor of priority registration for residents but would prefer one set fee non-residents as opposed to a percentage based on the resident fee. Staff time has not previously been factored into fees for youth programs. All revenues, with the exception of the Haunted Forest, become part of the General Fund. Other factors to consider are what percentage of programs are filled by non-residents; and would programs run the risk of being cancelled if they were not filled, disallowing Lakeville residents the opportunity to participate. Committee members also stated that there may be some non-residents who could be priced out of the opportunity to participate and, as non-residents, they would be ineligible for the Jaycee?s Recreation Sponsorship program. Other committee members stated that the benefit to Lakeville residents should be their main focus. Committee members requested that they have input on development of a policy and a final recommendation to City Council. ITEM #8. Unfinished business. Steve Michaud and Patty Dexter will be attending the MRPA State Conference in Mankato November 3rd through 5th. Steve will also be out of the office November 11th through 16th on vacation. Please contact other staff members if you have any questions. ITEM #9. New business. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Minutes of: October 27, 1999 Page -4- Three committee members? terms will expire on December 31st. Members Lulf and Messinger and alternate Manias were asked to submit letters to City Council if they are interested in being reappointed to the committee. Chair Wanless-Sobel stated that she may be unavailable to attend meetings from January through May due to a commitment to teach a Wednesday night class at the University. If this is the case, she will request a leave of absence. Colette feels she has learned a lot in her past several years on the committee and is hopeful that she will not need to resign due to this commitment. ITEM #10. Announcements. ITEM #11. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, ___________________________________ Judith R. Hawkins, Recording Secretary ATTEST: ___________________________________ Colette Wanless-Sobel, Chairperson