Parks and Recreation Board

Maple Grove Parks and Recreation Board Regular meeting June 20, 2024 Regular meeting The regular meeting was called to order by Chair Bill Lewis at 7:00 p.m. Board members present Present in the chambers were Chair Bill Lewis, Vice Chair John Ferm, Board Members Ken Helvey, Deb Syhre, Kelly Cunningham, Andy Mielke, Krista Kuhnly. Board members Board members absent were: none absent Also present Also present in the chambers were: Council Representative Hanson, Chuck Stifter, Director; Ben Jaszewski, Parks and Planning Superintendent; Aimee Peterson, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director; and Angie Dehn, Community Center Manager. Approval of agenda Chair Lewis called for any changes to the agenda. Director Stifter replied there are none. Motion made by Vice Chair Ferm, seconded by Board Member Cunningham to approve the agenda for the June 20, 2024 meeting as presented. Upon call for the question, on a voice vote, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. Public comments No requests were received. Special business, Parks and Planning Superintendent Jaszewski reported staff Minnesota Recreation and was honored to announce Maple Grove Parks and Recreation’s Parks Association – Award Park Improvement Project at Gleason Fields has been selected of Excellence presentation for a 2024 Minnesota Recreation and Park Association (MRPA) Award of Excellence for Parks and Facilities. He commented on the public engagement that was involved to create this one of a kind facility. Nick Jacobs, MRPA awards committee member, presented the board with an MRPA Awards of Excellence for the Gleason Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 2 Fields project. He noted the MRPA was formed in 1937 to foster the growth and development of the parks and recreation profession. He explained members come from municipal, county, state, commercial and private businesses. He reported the MRPA awards committee was formed in 1987 with the purpose of acknowledging individual members and agencies for excellence in the area of parks, recreation and leisure services. He stated the Awards of Excellence Program was presented yearly in several different categories. He explained the City of Maple Grove was being awarded an Award of Excellence for Parks and Facilities from the MRPA for the Gleason Fields project. He commended the city for creating a premier sports facility. A round of applause was offered by all in attendance. Chair Lewis thanked the MRPA for this award and stated he had great appreciation for what this organization did for the entire State of Minnesota. Board member reports Board Member Kuhnly thanked everyone who participated in Officer Jamal Mitchell’s memorial service. Board Member Syhre explained a parent reached out to her regarding parking challenges at Fernbrook Fields during a recent event. She stated apparently there were cars parked up against the building and on a grass berm. She indicated she brought this concern to staff. Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Peterson reported staff was aware of the parking issues and will consider how to address parking at Fernbrook Fields if this tournament were hosted here in the future. Chair Lewis stated he was glad to see such great representation at the new pickleball courts at Lakeview Knolls. He thanked staff for all of their efforts on this project. Board Member Helvey indicated he has played at the pickleball facility several times and reported it was being well utilized by the public. Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 3 Board Member Mielke reported he was proud to be a resident of Maple Grove. He commended staff and the City Council for allowing the Park Board to move wonderful projects forward for the community. Staff reports Director’s report: Director Stifter thanked the Park Board for attending a joint work session with the City Council on Monday, June 17. Assistant Parks and Recreation Director’s report: Aimee Peterson thanked staff and her team for putting together a special ribbon cutting ceremony, and to Pints and Paddle for providing refreshments. Ms. Peterson reported the community garden was in full bloom and there has been great success. Ms. Peterson discussed the Tails and Ales event which was held on Saturday, May 18 in Central Park. Ms. Peterson commented on the city hosted Juneteenth event which was held on Wednesday, June 19 at Town Green. Ms. Peterson stated the Sounds of Summer would be held at Town Green beginning Monday, June 24. Chair Lewis explained he received five comments from the public regarding the Juneteenth Celebration. He thanked staff for their tremendous efforts on making this a meaningful event. Councilmember Hanson stated she also heard many positive comments regarding the Tails and Ales event. She agreed the Juneteenth celebration was a well-managed and great event for the community. Parks and Planning Superintendent’s report: Ben Jaszewski provided the Board with an update on Lakeview Knolls. He reported he was confident the contractor would get things finished up in the coming weeks. Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 4 Mr. Jaszewski commented on the upcoming playground replacement for Village Park noting there were not a lot of options that would bring an artful presence into the park. He explained the proposed option would compliment the architectural design of the area surrounding the park. Board Member Cunningham asked if a tire swing could be added to the space since there would be no swing set. Mr. Jaszewski stated he could look into this, but noted swings need a very large safety zone and take up a great deal of space. Board Member Cunningham questioned if more color could be brought into this park and play structure. Mr. Jaszewski indicated the proposed playground structure would match the surrounding buildings and building finishes. Vice Chair Ferm inquired if there would be benches under the shade structures. Mr. Jaszewski reported this was the case. Community Center Manager’s report: Angie Dehn stated Chalkfest was held on Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9, and this was the first-year city staff had a booth at the event. Ms. Dehn commented on the all-night senior parties that were held at the Maple Grove Community Center. Ms. Dehn reviewed the upcoming events that would be hosted at the Community Center. Board Member Cunningham thanked staff for bringing in great artists for Chalkfest. Council Liaison’s Report: Council Member Hanson provided the board with an update from the City Council. She discussed the recent subdivisions that were approved by the Council, which included a classroom expansion to the Hindu Society’s campus. She commented on the ribbon cuttings that had been held in the community for new businesses in Maple Grove. She explained it was a very big undertaking for Maple Grove to host fallen Officer Jamal Mitchell’s memorial celebration and she thanked all staff members who were instrumental in making this event go seamlessly. Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 5 CONSENT BUSINESS Consent business Motion made by Board Member Mielke, seconded by Board Member Syhre to approve the Consent Items as presented. A. Minutes – May 16, 2024 regular meeting B. Approve claims C. Subdivision – Evanswood 4th Addition D. Subdivision – Rush Hollow 4th Addition E. Special use – Beyond the Yellow Ribbon – concert July 10 Upon call for the question, on a voice vote, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS Old business, Item A Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Peterson stated staff Regulatory park signage developed a park guideline sign package for parks, courts, and program trails. The new signs are updated to include current city ordinances. These changes included updated guidelines around cannabis laws, assisted electronic bike use, and pet/dog leash guidelines plus give a fresh look in line with new city and department branding. The court guideline signs were approved at the May 15 board meeting. At the May board meeting the board directed staff to research language around electronic scooters and electronic dog collars and provide follow up at the June meeting. After doing research and talking with other city leaders, staff recommend the wording remain as originally presented. The city does not have an ordinance allowing electronic scooters on trails. In this case, electronic scooters fall under the motorized vehicle category. The city does have a city ordinance allowing e-collar leashes. Staff feel it is important to leave that language on the sign as presented. The parks currently have 309 park rules signs located throughout the system. A previous practice was to place a park rules sign at every entrance into a park area or trail segment that connects to a road or sidewalk. In an attempt to reduce the impact of signage in our parks, staff is requesting board Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 6 approval of the following standard for placement and location of park guideline signs resulting in less signs but comparable messaging. Staff commented further on the proposed sign park guideline and trail guideline locations and recommended approval of the sign design program. Vice Chair Ferm commented he believed 20 miles per hour was quite fast for pedal-assisted bikes. Ms. Peterson reported the city would be following state guidelines for speed limits on trials. Vice Chair Ferm supported the city having more language in place to differentiate between electric and pedal assisted bikes. Board Member Cunningham recommended the city stick with state guidelines so as not to confuse the matter further. Further discussion ensued regarding how a bicycle was defined and it was noted a bicycle must have pedals. Councilmember Hanson was in agreement that 20 miles per hour was extraordinarily fast for bicycles on trails. Chair Lewis asked what the Three Rivers Park District has done for their signage. Ms. Peterson explained their signs do not address electric bikes, but do state no motorized vehicles. She indicated the city could add language to state bikes must have pedals. Board Member Helvey indicated Three Rivers website talks about e-bikes being electric assisted and pedal assisted but they also allow motorized foot scooters. Board Member Cunningham stated she walks the trails and she has e-bikes she uses on the trails. She reported not all e-bikes provide speed data to the user. She explained as a walker she does understand how scary it can be to have bikes passing at a fast speed. She questioned how the city would monitor the speed of bikes on trails, but noted the city would have to be Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 7 prepared for e-bikes to be on trails because this was a growing trend. Ms. Peterson agreed. Vice Chair Ferm suggested the ordinance have some regulation in place when it comes to the speed of e-bikes on trails for safety purposes. Chair Lewis recommended 15 miles per hour be set for e-bikes. He explained this could be adjusted in the future if the need were to arise. Board Member Mielke suggested staff speak with the Three Rivers Park District regarding the speed limit they have in place for e-bikes. Director Stifter supported the city doing more research on this matter. He recommended staff take some time to investigate this further and that the board only approve the park guidelines at this time. Ms. Peterson discussed how the language within the code speaks to bicycles being effectively controlled on city trails. She explained she would research this matter further and would provide the board with an email on this topic prior to the July Park Board meeting. Mr. Jaszewski further discussed how signs would be placed within city parks. He reported the goal with the new program would be to reduce the number of signs within the park system. Board Member Mielke stated he appreciated how the new sign plan would reduce the number of overall signs and how the signs would be strategically placed going forward. Chair Lewis appreciated the effectiveness of the new sign plan and that the city would be moving from two sign posts to one sign post for signs. Vice Chair Ferm stated he liked everything about the new proposed sign placement plan. He asked if the new sign posts would be wood or metal. Mr. Jaszewski indicated the sign posts would be a composite material. The Park Board supported this recommendation. Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 8 Ms. Peterson stated one way to address miles per hour regulation for e-bikes would be to have the speed limit posted on a separate smaller sign so any future modifications are less expensive. Board Member Cunningham commented this would mean the city would be adding more signs. She preferred all of the rules on a singular sign. Chair Lewis proposed the board proceed as was mentioned earlier and that staff report back after completing further research on how other communities and the Three River Parks District was addressing e-bike speed. Board Member Mielke questioned if the miles per hour was critical. He asked if language could be included to state bikes must be at a reasonable speed. Chair Lewis reported the language currently requires bikers to have effective control. He believed this language was intuitive, but also recommended the city have an actual speed limit to protect the city. He indicated he wanted the city’s speed limit to be the same as the Three Rivers Park District so as not to confuse users. Board Member Cunningham agreed the trail speeds should be integrated with Three Rivers Park District. Motion made by Vice Chair Ferm, seconded by Board Member Helvey to table action on this item to the July Park Board meeting to allow staff to research this item further. Upon call for the question, on a voice vote, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS New business, Item A Ben Jaszewski, Parks and Planning Superintendent stated for 2024 Play equipment the 2024 play equipment replacement program staff has replacement program continued to utilize a collaborative design process that included the board, vendor, staff, and residents from each Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 9 neighborhood. This approach has been very popular with our residents and has produced creative solutions for the replacement program. Replacement play equipment is designed to fit into existing containers unless the curbing and drainage are severely deteriorated. For 2024, the existing structures are in good condition and will be used for the new play equipment. Poured-in-place rubber surfacing will be used at the entrances and for ADA access to the primary structure and the ADA swings. The rest of the area will feature wood fiber surfacing, which is the only ADA compliant non- rubberized material. The play equipment design team, Board Members Syhre and Kuhnly, Parks and Planning Superintendent, and representatives from Flagship Recreation met to develop the recommended plans. This year community engagement with neighborhood residents will take place on June 18, 2024. Mr. Jaszewski reported the results of those engagement meetings will be shared with the board at the July board meeting. Staff will continue to conduct community engagement for play equipment replacement projects in the spring to ensure delivery and installation occurs in the fall. The Park Board utilizes cooperative purchasing through the state contract to procure play equipment and installation. This process allows the board to select the vendor of their choice (Landscape Structures) to ensure excellent quality and service. The State of Minnesota allows cooperative purchasing for materials and services as long as the vendor is a member and holds a current contract. Landscape Structures holds a state contract for play equipment so the Park Board can procure this purchase to ensure delivery in 2024. The recommended budget in the CIP allocates $140,000 for larger playgrounds and neighborhood parks and $90,000 for smaller playgrounds and playlots. Staff reviewed the costs for each park location and recommended approval of the play area designs and installation of the play equipment. Chair Lewis requested information on how the retired equipment will be managed. Mr. Jaszewski reported staff would be reviewing the condition of the structures. He stated in the past some were too worn down for reuse. He explained since COVID, some of the groups the city worked with in the Park Board Meeting June 20, 2024 Page 10 past have been unresponsive. However, if the structures were in good shape, they could be listed on a government auction site. Board Member Kuhnly thanked Mr. Jaszewski for being patient with her and Board Member Syhre in working with them as they worked through the different playground equipment designs for these three parks. Motion by Board Member Cunningham, seconded by Board Member Kuhnly to approve the play equipment and area design for Donahue North, Polaris and Nottingham, allowing staff to make modifications per the outcome of the community engagement meetings. Upon call for the question, on a voice vote, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. Motion by Board Member Cunningham, seconded by Board Member Kuhnly to approve the proposal from Landscape Structures and Flagship Recreation for the purchase and installation of play equipment at Donahue North, Polaris and Nottingham. Upon call for the question, on a voice vote, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. Adjournment Motion made by Board Member Kuhnly, seconded by Board Member Syhre to adjourn. Upon call for the question, on a voice vote, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Chuck Stifter, Director Parks and Recreation Board City of Maple Grove