Park & Recreation Advisory Board

Public Services – Parks & Recreation REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF THE ANOKA PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2023 COUNCIL WORK SESSION ROOM OF ANOKA CITY HALL 2015 FIRST AVENUE, ANOKA MN MEMBERS PRESENT: Derek Sebesta, Mark Beckenbach, Bob Erickson, Mary Blankenship, Don Rowell, Kirk Schnitker and Anna Hauglie MEMBERS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: Joe Anderla (medical) MEMBERS ABSENT: Bob Erickson and Steve Nelson STAFF PRESENT: Lisa LaCasse, Public Services Administrator; Jon Holmes, Public Services Supervisor and Nickie Jenks, Recreation Manager OATH OF OFFICE Sebesta conducted the Oath of Office for Hauglie. APPROVE MINUTES Blankenship had one correction to the meeting minutes. In page 3 in the discussion about ice rinks she would like a sentence added about how there was an under-representation of the board during the meeting because there was barely a quorum with the number of absences. With corrections, a motion was made by Rowell, seconded by Blankenship to APPROVE THE OCTOBER 17, 2023 REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD WITH CORRECTIONS. 7 AYES – 0 OPPOSED. Motion carried. OPEN FORUM None. NEW BUSINESS Aquatic Center Annual Report Jenks presented the 2023 Annual Report for the Aquatic Center that is in the packet. Summer 2023 was dry and not super warm, the average temps for the season was in the 80’s. Which was reflected in lower attendance numbers, numbers are starting to level out to what we were seeing before COVID. The budgeted revenue overall was surpassed by almost $90,000. Staff is looking at wage increases for 2024. Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board November 21, 2023 Page 2 As costs increase with purchasing from vendors there have been higher expenses for concessions. Overall, the Aquatic Center was about $18,000 over the predicted budget but there were some big maintenance repairs that increased expenses. There was roughly 1000 less people than in 2022, but we did see the number of field trip groups for the year almost double. Overall, there were 2927 kids that attended as part of the groups. There is still that 40/60% split for the resident/non-resident season passes, there were about 100 more residents that bought passes this year. The increase could have been because younger families are moving into the city, or it could be the resident incentives included with season passes. About 600 people attended little splashers throughout the season. There were 1,333 swim lesson registrations with $84,371 in revenue. A total of 19 families were approved for fee assistance for swim lessons totaling $900 in assistance. The concessions exceeded budgeted revenue and cleared expenses and staff wages with a balance of $13,000. Improvements to the facility in 2023 included painting the exterior murals on the building by artist Geno Okok. Jenks explained that he was given the freedom to paint the majority of the building exterior which has really made the area very inviting and kid friendly. Some pictures of the murals were shared on the screen. The three kids painted in the lower left corner picture were there basically everyday and would talk to Okok, so he got permission from the kids and their parents to include them in the mural. The major improvement was the resurfacing project of the pool floor, the contractor finished behind schedule which delayed opening, but the floor performed well and looks really good. There were a few complaints in the beginning of cut feet when the facility was first opened, but that was because the floor wasn’t fully cured. The floor isn’t slippery, but it’s also not rough either, there have been many positive comments on the resurfacing. All the lap lines were replaced with tile, so they don’t need to be painted anymore. The boiler was replaced before the season started. It’s high efficiency and there was a significant savings of about $11,000 for the season. The vendor that the boiler was purchased from helped us get a rebate of $7,000 from CenterPoint Energy. Some mulching and planting of shrubs and a tree out front was completed on the Community Work day earlier in the spring. This fall, the sand volleyball court was removed and filled in with black dirt and grass seed. We plan to plant a few trees next spring. The slide riding surface was refurbished and the exterior painted, so that looks nice. The interior painting of the locker room walls was completed by the Rotary Club. Staff is proposing fee changes for 2024, the main reason being that sales tax went up 1% so we need to figure out where to make that up. We don’t necessarily need to raise daily admission since it’s up to $8 for adults and children over 42”, and $6 for children under 42”. An option is to raise the birthday party fees by $10. The umbrella rental option for the 2023 season was a last-minute addition and ended up being a hit. Staff tried it with one umbrella, and it was rented every weekend for at least part of the weekend. There is a potential to get 2 more umbrellas if Council approves it in the budget. It would be about $13,000 to install 2 new umbrellas. Sebesta asked if people did the birthday parties and rented the umbrellas at the same time. Jenks said that people did combine the parties and the umbrella a lot. We charged $40 for 3 hours, its reasonable to bump that fee up to $50 during the week and $60 on weekends considering Bunker Beach charges $70 for the week and $80 for the weekend for the same amount of time. Sebesta asked if people complained about the price at all when they would call to reserve the umbrella. Jenks said that no one complained and it was more of a sign Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board November 21, 2023 Page 3 me up right now sort of vibe, people were very pleased with the price. The rentals were blocked out so the time slots were 12-4p or 4-7p, the times could be changed but people were really good about making sure they were out of there on time. The board talked about making an incentive for season pass holders for the umbrella rental, and making the season pass umbrella fee $10 or $20 lower than a non-season pass holder. Hauglie asked if there is a designated birthday party area. Jenks said there isn’t a set spot for the parties. Hauglie commented that the whole upper area by the trees would be a good spot. Jenks shared that some of the picnic tables were also reservable, there were 33 people that reserved them over the season for $10 per table. Jenks proposed the price of the birthday parties increased to $100 for the basic package, $150 for package A, and $175 for package B. The board agreed on the increase for the birthday party packages. Other areas that staff looked to increase fees were swimming lessons and season passes. If wages are raised $2 for instructors and if lessons stayed the same there would be about a $5,000 loss in revenue based off the average costs for all instructors. Jenks said if swimming lesson fee were increased $3, it would still be very affordable compared to Anoka-Hennepin Community Education. Blankenship thinks going up to $4 to help close the gap isn’t unreasonable. Sebesta suggested just going up to $5 so that is an even $50, $60 and $70. The board agreed on the $5 increase for swimming lessons. Jenks brought up changing the season pass rate, they could be raised by $5, it’s been 4 or 5 years since that fee was last raised. One thing to keep in mind is taxes are backed out of this fee so we also need to make that up. Each resident season pass holder would still receive 1 guest pass per pass purchased. Beckenbach suggested going up by $10 and including 2 guest passes. Hauglie likes the idea of raising it more and including 2 guest passes. Hauglie asked if staff has ever seen a drastic decrease in season pass holders after a price increase. Jenks answered no not really. Lacasse suggested going up $6 which is worth 7 admissions. The board talked and agreed on a $6 increase for season passes. Jenks asked the board about the guest pass limit. Blankenship said that a family of 5 gets 5 free passes if it is left at 1, the board agreed to leave the guest pass limit to 1 per season pass. A motion was made by Beckenbach, seconded by Schnitker to APPROVE THE 2023 AQUATIC CENTER ANNUAL REPORT AND PROPSED FEES for 2024 AS DISCUSSED. 7 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. • Setting Aquatic Center 2024 Dates of Operation The proposed opening dates for the 2024 season are May 25-27. (An email went out the day after the meeting to correct the fact that Season Passes do NOT have tax built in. The question was if the board still agreed that season passes be increased to $55 +tax for the 2024 season, considering the correction. They all agreed yes, that it should stay the way the discussed, regardless of the correction.) Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board November 21, 2023 Page 4 2024 Master Fee Schedule Included in the packet is all the fees for the parks. Staff is proposing to increase the damage/key deposit from $175 to $200 for all park reservations requiring key access. The fees for the community room slightly increase for weekend rates, Council is adamant on keeping that fee low. There are minimal increases for the parks, staff is recommending that the non- resident price for Peninsula Point Park increases by $100. Same for the rental of all 4 shelters and concession stand at Mississippi River Community Park. The reason behind this is because the non-resident customers aren’t tax payers, we have a lot of groups coming from the north metro and throwing pretty big parties, which end up in a lot of complaints about noise and loud music. With these big parties come additional cleaning, we have had to keep a few key deposits even though they returned their keys just because there was significant cleaning required. For the Monday-Friday non-resident rentals at these parks it would only be a $20 increase per hour. No changes proposed for the resident rates. Staff is recommending that we get rid of the ‘delayed use due to high water credit’ for the boat slip leases. We have no control over Mother Nature and it’s a little ridiculous to give people a credit. A $50 lost/replacement key fee and a $20 fee for a second key was added to the boat slip fees. The $50 per event for events 2-4 hours in duration for Alcohol Vendor Fees at City Events under ‘Concession Vendor Fee at City Events’ was added. The farmers market vendor fees were added to the 2024 fee schedule. It’s broke out into single and double stalls with electrical options, staff didn’t want to increase the farmers market fees too much since its still growing. Jenks brought up that the board never talked about senior season pass or private lesson fees for the aquatic center earlier, should that be raised or kept the same at $30. The board agreed to keep the senior season pass fee the same. Private lessons fill so we can raise those, $96 for 4 session 2 days/week 30 min each. 2 hours of solo one on one time. The board agreed to increase the private lessons to $120. Sebesta also requested to make the math work and offer a whole day rental for the umbrellas. Blankenship made a motion to approve the 2024 Master Fee Schedule recommendations by staff. Motion seconded by Schnikter. 7 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. Park Reservation Policy – Proposed Revisions There are a few proposed changes for the park reservation policy, most are minor. These are the following changes: I. Facilities will only be rentable from 11am until 8pm, changed from 9pm. The parks technically close at 11pm; the buildings with bathrooms have door locks that automatically close at 9pm. Having rentals end an hour before the bathrooms close allows renters time to clean up and exit. Rule followers will leave. No one will be forced to leave. This change is also in respect of the surrounding neighborhoods of these facilities. J. Some general cleanup language has changed in hopes to get people to pick up after themselves some more. Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board November 21, 2023 Page 5 L. Changes regarding amplification equipment since staff has been getting a lot of noise complaints about certain parks. There will now be a fee charged for any sort of amplification and will not be allowed after 8pm. This also gives residents some teeth to call the police to get the noise to stop. And this will give the police department the ability to enforce the permit policies. N. States that all park buildings requiring key access are cannabis and tobacco free. Directs people to refer to the ‘Tobacco and Cannabis Free Parks Policy” for more information. O. Additional language about the social district and restrictions. LaCasse informed the board that there was a request during the last social district meeting between staff and participating establishments that Akin Riverside be included in the boundary. Jenks asked if the policy needs specific social district dates or specific clarification on the season. Blankenship asked what the outcome was like for the social districts. LaCasse shared that the bars and restaurants expressed that they were overall very happy with the results. The Lions Club was also happy with it. There were request to extend the time period through Halloween but that makes the police department uncomfortable. They have enough issues around Halloween, but there was one bar still serving beverages in the social district cups. Council has stated that they want it to run May 1st – October 6th. Schnitker stated that he didn’t really think about the police side of it and it sounds like they need to work out things with Council still. A motion was made by Schnitker, Rowell seconded to APPROVE THE PROPOSED CHANGES FOR THE ‘PARK RESERVATION POLICY’. 7 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. Establish Meeting Dates for January and February 2024 LaCasse asked the board if the December 2023 meeting can be cancelled. A motion was made by Rowell, seconded by Beckenbach to CANCEL THE DECEMBER PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING. 7 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. In both January and February there are conflicts with Presidents Day, Martin Luther King Day and the Regular Council Meetings on the 3rd Monday. With the Monday holidays, Council will need to push their meetings to Tuesday. The January meeting either needs to be pushed to Wednesday the 17th or go to Tuesday the 23rd, which is the 4th Tuesday of the month, or it can be moved up to January 9th. The board agreed to change the January meeting to the 23d. The February meeting would normally be the 20th but, needs to move to either the 13th or 27th. The board agreed to change the February meeting to Tuesday the 27th. A motion was made by Schnitker, seconded by Rowell to CHANGE THE JANUARY MEETING TO THE 23rd AND THE FEBRUARY MEETING TO THE 27th. 7 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Tobacco & Cannabis Use on Park Property Policy – Final DRAFT At the last board meeting there was information provided on recreational cannabis legalization and a mocked-up policy for use on park property for the city. Scott Baumgartner’s additions to Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board November 21, 2023 Page 6 the policy are in blue text. Text on vapes and electronic cigarettes was added and specified smoking and vaping. Baumgartner added number 4 which states that any violator that refuses to comply with the policy will be asked to leave the property. A motion was made by Rowell, seconded by Beckenbach to APPROVE AND ADOPT THE TOBACCO & CANNABIS USE ON PARK PROPERTY POLICY. 8 -AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. Project Updates LaCasse and Holmes provided the following updates on the projects that were implemented in 2023. Riverfront Park Roof - The footings are installed for the new structure at Riverfront Memorial Park. Staff is still waiting on delivery of the structure. If the winter stays mild the installers expect to do some, or all the construction over the winter. Highland Park - Staff took delivery of the playground on November 2, which is about 2 months later than expected. The installation will be put off until 2024. The community build is still an option, but a new timeline will need to be established with the vendor for 2024. The vendor provides a staff person to assist with 8 hours of the build. John Ward Bathroom – There was vandalism at JW in the restroom locks. So the facility was never opened in 2023. All but 1 door lock has been replaced. We are waiting on parts for the final door. The hot water heater has finally been installed. The one that was provided by the vendor was not the correct amperage for the power available in the building so it was traded out for a different unit. There were a few leaks following plumbing installation that have been resolved. A connection will be made from the bathrooms to the existing trail. The preliminary grading has been completed with concrete or bituminous added in the spring. West Rum River Trail Phase 1 Project - The State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) has requested more information which is being gathered by the consultant group. The trail route passes on the river side of the amphitheater and near the Giddings Gardens. We need SHPO authorization to proceed. Staff will be finalizing permit applications this winter with plans to go out for bid in February. Staff did get a notice back that an extension can be requested if we are still going through issues, but that can’t be requested until March 2024. The extension period could be up to one year, if granted. Kings Island / Ash Tree Removal - The Anoka Conservation District (ACD) is doing an Ash tree removal project on Kings Island. 150-200 trees that are within fall distance of the trail are being removed. There is a 1:5 replacement requirement. ACD will be creating an information poster for signage to go around the area. Rum River Channel Restoration Maintenance Project - The dredging project on the lower rum river has started. Rum Riverbank Restoration at Woodbury House – staff continues to work with Bolton Menk and the DNR on the designs and permitting processes for the project. Plan is to go out for bid this spring. The grant funding expires in December 2024. Regular Meeting of the City of Anoka Parks and Recreation Advisory Board November 21, 2023 Page 7 COMMUNICATIONS • The annual tree lighting event will be on December 2nd from 3 – 7pm • The Artisan Winter Market at the Mill Site will be on December 1st 10am – 6pm and December 2nd 9am – 6pm. The City is the organizer of the market and the Mill Site is the host. • Winterfest will be a multi-day event in 2024 with events spread out at different facilities. Staff is trying to target different populations, there will be targeted events for families, adults/senior and kids events. • The disc golf course opens for the winter season on Sunday. They have a tournament scheduled that day with 60 people registered already. The course will be opening at 12pm everyday starting Monday until we get some snow and hard freezing to protect the golf course greens. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING None listed. Adjournment There being no further discussion, a motion was made by Rowell, seconded by Beckenbach, to ADJOURN THIS REGULAR MEETING. 8 – AYES, 0 – OPPOSED. Motion carried. Time of adjournment 8:43 pm Respectfully Submitted, Lisa LaCasse, Public Services Administrator