Park & Recreation Advisory Board

Public Services – Parks & Recreation REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF THE ANOKA PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2023 COUNCIL WORK SESSION ROOM OF ANOKA CITY HALL 2015 FIRST AVENUE, ANOKA MN MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Steve Nelson, Mark Beckenbach, Bob Erickson, Mary Blankenship, Derek Sebesta, Don Rowell and Anna Hauglie MEMBERS ABSENT: Joe Anderla and Kirk Schnitker STAFF PRESENT: Lisa LaCasse, Public Services Administrator and Jon Holmes, Public Services Supervisor APPROVE MINUTES There being no corrections to last meetings minutes. A motion was made by Rowell, seconded by Beckenbach to APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD. 8 ayes – 0 nays. Motion carried. OPEN FORUM None. NEW BUSINESS Main Street Mural Review (Ribbon Cutting Saturday October 21, 2023 4:00pm) Jenks explained that a concerned citizen commented on the Facebook community page regarding the Native American mural in the tunnel. Screenshots of the comments are included in the packet. The artist of the piece in question is of Native American decent and did reply to the concerned citizen explaining his meaning behind the mural. The citizen also emailed Jenks and reached out to the Human Rights Commission. Their main concern was that the mural is potentially racist and that the mural made negative depictions of Native Americans. The Human Rights commission was asked to discuss the topic, but ultimately decided that it was not an appropriate topic for their commission. Jenks asked the board to discuss and determine whether this part of the mural in particular fits the original them and intention of the tunnel, not if it’s racist or depicts negative images of Native Americans. The artist interpreted the person he drew and painted as representative of a Dakota legend. A new webpage dedicated to the mural and its artists has been created on the City website. People can learn more about the artists and explains their work. Staff spoke with Rum River Arts staff about cultural appropriation of the mural and there was no concern as the artists of the mural pieces in question are of Native American decent. Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board October 17, 2023 Page 2 Blankenship asked if there is something by the tunnel directing people to the website for more information. Jenks is currently working with sterling trophy to make a plaque with an etched QR code to bring people directly to the tunnels’ webpage. Nelson doesn’t think anything is wrong with the mural. Blankenship said if it’s explained then she doesn’t feel qualified to pass judgement on to the artwork and would like to respect the artists’ intent. Rowell thinks it should be left alone. LaCasse stated that often art evokes emotion or reaction in people, and in this case, for this individual it evoked a negative emotion. The board agreed that they don’t want to sensor the art, the artists were given a theme; as a whole, the tunnel art is appropriate and very well done. Beckenbach asked how often the art in the tunnel will be changed. LaCasse said the last time it was done was in 2015, so it’s been 7 or 8 years. Jenks said the board could create a timeframe for when the tunnel should be redone. Nelson asked how expensive it was to do this in the tunnel. Jenks explained that the city received a $15,000 ‘Flexible Support’ grant from the Metro Regional Arts Council (MRAC), which covered the cost of supplies (paint, brushes, etc.) for the tunnel, the mural that Geno Okok did at the Aquatic Center, and the artists did get a stipend from the grant for their time. A motion was made by Beckenbach, seconded by Blankenship to SUPPORT THE ARTIST AND NOT ASK HIM TO CHANGE ANYTHING. 6 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. Winter Recreation • Outdoor Skating Rinks 2023 Season The City Council discussed outdoor ice-skating rinks at the September 25th, 2023 work session. Jenks emailed the board a link to the recorded video of the discussion prior to the meeting for members to watch. The main discussion is whether to keep an ice rink at Lincoln Elementary. The Council had a 3-2 vote to keep the rink but thought that the park board should also be weighing in on this topic. Jenks asked the board if there should be changes to the rinks, and if Lincoln should be taken off the list. The power point that the Council had seen was shared with the board. Jenks and Holmes had met with the district last year before winter and everyone agreed a smaller rink would be better at Lincoln. The rink was just a general rink with no boards or anything and only pond hockey goals. For insurance reasons hockey goals cannot be on the rink if there are no boards around the rink. One concern that one of the rink attendants has is that it’s not very safe getting to the warming house since they can no longer drive right up to it. The attendants have to park on the street and walk, which can be a treacherous trek some days. An option to make it better for the attendants is to open the rink later than 4 so that buses will be gone by then and they don’t need to deal with the extra traffic in the area. Jenks is bringing the park boards’ discussion back to Council on Monday October 23rd, 2023. The final decision is up to the Council. Blankenship thinks that if the school district is not opposed to having the rink at Lincoln, then the city should still be providing service to that neighborhood. One council member did bring up the fact that the neighborhood is changing and there are more people with small kids moving into the area. LaCasse mentioned that another topic the council discussed was having free skates available at some locations to help draw more people to the rinks. The idea was to put out a request to the community for donations of gently used skates and see if Erickson can sharpen them. Erickson did say he or one of his guys could sharpen donated skates for the city. Jenks asked if free skates is something the board wants to see at all locations for just one. Blankenship thinks that we could offer free skates at one location to start. Beckenbach indicated that Lincoln could be closed because it doesn’t get good attendance. LaCasse told the board to keep in mind that attendance can vary from location to location…could be as an taken as an hourly snap shot or as each person walks into the warming house. So, the numbers Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board October 17, 2023 Page 3 aren’t entirely accurate as people still go to the rinks outside of the warming house open hours. The attendance numbers always fluctuate depending on the type of winter we have. If there is snowfall on a weekend, the rinks are cleared after all normal routes are finished. Staff is open to ideas, last year we tried the skate ribbon at Sorenson and depending on who you talk to it was hit or miss. Sorenson will most likely just have 2 hockey rinks this year. Nelson asked the board if they wanted to shut down any ice rinks for the season or keep it as is. Rowell and Beckenbach both voiced that Lincoln should be shut down. It was suggested to give it a year and see if complaints come in about the closure and then re-evaluate the decision before the skating season next year. A motion was made by Rowell, seconded by Beckenbach to CLOSE THE ICE RINK AT LINCOLN ELEMENTARY FOR THE 2023-2024 ICE SKATING SEASON. 3 – AYES, 2 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. • Cross Country Ski Trail at Greenhaven In the packet is the modified route for the cross-country Ski trail at Greenhaven. Staff was asked to redo the route so that it fit on the front 9 holes and did not overlap with the disc golf course. Staff worked with the school teams that used the trail the most to work out what distance course loop would work best for them. There was an issue last winter with the disc golf course and cross-country skiing overlapping each other. • The Cedars Disc Golf Course at Greenhaven The modified layout of The Cedars Disc Golf course is included in the packet. It is separate from cross-country skiing and no longer overlaps. The course does extend off Greenhaven into the old Highland Park property. The group will be doing leagues and tournaments just like last year and will be hosting another youth day on Presidents Day. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Tobacco Free Parks Policy to Include Cannabis Use in Parks In the packet is the first draft to the policy. LaCasse explained that the policy is being revised to include the prohibited use of e-cigarettes and cannabis products. Everything in red is new language, everything strike through it is what is being removed. LaCasse included several examples of policies and language being used by other cities around MN, the League of MN Cities, and Anoka County’s adopted policy. Some cities are restricting it to all public places within the city, and some are restricting it to just public park property. Baumgartner will look at the new policy and make any changes or suggestions to it and then the board will see it again and make the final vote in November. Then the policy will go to Council for adoption in December and it will be in affect by January 2024. The main thing that was added was restrictions on vaping/e-cig use and cannabis use. The policy has a strict minimum distance for park buildings and entrances, which is 45 feet. LaCasse asked the board if anyone has any strong feelings about what else should be included. Blankenship asked if people with heart and lung conditions could be added to the list of people it could be hazardous to. LaCasse feels strongly that there should be no use allowed at the aquatic center, because it is a mind-altering substance and the heightened risk of the water. We don’t allow alcohol or even tobacco smoking. Sebesta suggested including verbiage for both tobacco and cannabis for the radius from building entrances. COMMUNICATIONS Grey Ghost Field / ARAA Dome The City is in the process of selling Grey Ghost to Anoka Ramsey Athletic Association (ARAA). They are currently looking at the plans, getting surveying done and looking at if they can fit additional parking to the north. All of the points that the board made and questions from the last meeting were relayed to Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board October 17, 2023 Page 4 the Council. At some point, a representative of ARAA will come to a park board meeting, talk about the project and will answer questions. Once they get their plans finalized they have to come back to the City and go through the planning commission and that whole process. Baumgartner is writing up the purchase agreement. West Rum River Trail Staff has requested a one-year extension for the grant deadline, so it would be pushed to June 2025 if it’s approved. The State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) have not made a recommendation yet with the historical pieces of the project. They need to complete an evaluation of the riverwalk project with the Giddings property, the gardens, and the amphitheater. We had to submit in writing that we are not going to impact the stone wall at the Woodbury House. If the extension request isn’t approved we could lose the grant. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING 2023 Aquatic Center Annual Report / 2024 Season Information 2024 Master Fee Schedule Park Reservation Policy Update Adjournment There being no further discussion, a motion was made by Rowell, seconded by Sebesta, to ADJOURN THIS REGULAR MEETING. 6 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. Time of adjournment 9:23 pm Respectfully Submitted, Lisa LaCasse, Public Services Administrator