Parks, Arts & Recreation Commission

PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOV 30, 2023 MINUTES PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2023 - 8:00 A.M. BRIDGE ROOM – CITY “To enhance community pride through developing and maintaining City parks with a high standard of quality.” Members Present: Julie Jelen, Janine Kopff, Adam Leiferman, Danielle Murdoff, Sam Murdoff, Maria Onnen, Daryl Tindle, Mercedes Turner Staff Present: Sara Cahill, Beth Green, Tom Pawelk, Angela Schuman, Sue Seeger, Erica Witzmann 1. General Business A. Call to Order: Julie Jelen called the meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. B. Approval of Agenda – Items may be added for discussion purposes or approval. DANIELLE MURDOFF MOVED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. MOTION SECONDED BY ADAM LEIFERMAN. MOTION CARRIED. C. Approval of Meeting Minutes  Regular Meeting Minutes from September 21, 2023 JANINE KOPFF MOVED TO APPROVE THE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER 21, 2023. MOTION SECONDED BY DANIELLE MURDOFF. MOTION CARRIED. D. Citizen’s requests and comments.  The Pickleball Club attended the meeting and asked to speak. They attended a PARC Meeting in 2020 and gave a presentation about pickleball. Today there are well over 100 seniors in the pickleball group here in Monticello. It was noted that pickleball is a sport for all ages and genders and there are many moms with kids and younger teens who play. The group is looking for dedicated pickleball courts to be built outdoors in Monticello. The presenter noted that she currently plays in Elk River, St. Michael and Otsego. They are asking the PARC to look at it again. It’s obvious that it’s a growing sport internationally. Tom Pawelk said that he is working with the school district on possibly building at Pinewood, and looking at where it falls in our CIP for budget purposes. Pawelk said he sits on the Facilities Committee with the school district and they’re looking at ways to partner and they are still interested in the partnership of building the courts at Pinewood. It was noted that the City doesn’t have another location picked out other than the school Page 1 of 8  PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOV 30, 2023 property. The group said that they are very interested in keeping the pickleball courts within the core of our community. The group noted that the school has pickleball at the Middle School but it’s only open pickleball in the evenings for the public. Tennis players are switching to pickleball. Pawelk said there could be a potential for courts at Bertram or the Pointes at Cedar but that is long-range out and dependent on funding. Funding is not currently available within the city budget. In 2022 the estimate to build the courts was between $250,000 - $350,000. It’s also important for there to be a parking lot. At Pinewood there is existing infrastructure and restrooms. 4th Street Park could also be a good location and has parking and infrastructure, restrooms, etc. Pawelk explained that the courts would need to be located in a community park more accessible to the public rather than within a neighborhood park. The group said there could be limitations with playing on school property during the school day. Commissioner Murdoff said she feels like 4th Street Park may be a better location. Pawelk noted that it would need to be multi- use in that the courts would be flooded in the winter for skating rinks for hockey. Pawelk said it’s on the radar. He is going to dive deeper with the school district and look into funding and see what the next budget cycle brings. The group was asked about helping to fundraise for the project, similar to the grass roots effort put in for the dog park. If they are sponsored by the Senior Center currently and have a number of members, they could email the group and see about becoming organized to help with funding efforts. That could go a long way and getting this off the ground. Pawelk said that he will continue discussions with the School District. Also, the City is deep into the Park Master Planning project. Once we gather all that information, we’ll have a better idea where things are going to click and fit into the community. The master plan will be completed at the end of 2024. E. Commissions Liaison Updates. None. 2. Regular Agenda A. U of M Economic Impact Study Betram Chain of Lakes Athletic Park Event Attendees 2023: Brigid Tuck presented from the University of Minnesota Extension. Her full presentation will be included in the minutes for this meeting. She said the project goals included: Page 2 of 8 PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOV 30, 2023  How much do sports tourists spend in the community during their visit.  Which businesses directly benefit from sports tourists  What opportunities exist to increase the economic benefits of sports tourism. Tuck explained that she had volunteers collect the information and survey visitors to the athletic park. They received a total of 250 surveys. In summary, 84% of those surveyed said they came to Monticello specifically for an athletic event, and of those surveyed, 73% do not live in the Monticello community. Of those surveyed, 97% are extremely or somewhat satisfied with the facilities in Monticello. Visitors spent money in Monticello, on average, $49.15/person/day. The study also outlined opportunities to increase the economic impact of the athletic park which include: o Hosting larger events (e.g., state tournaments)  Increases per person spending  Increases number of attendees o Develop marketing materials to drive visitors to other Monticello attractions. Agela Schumann thanked the U of M and Tuck specifically. She said this information is very valuable. From an economic development perspective, the city needs to work on marketing, talking more about the community and what we have to offer in Monticello. When talking with hospitality businesses, the City is working actively to get a flagship hotel. This data is very important and good info for the Chamber as well so we will pass that info along. Tom noted that it’s Like a mini needs assessment for the park itself. Tuck also indicated that if Monticello is able to secure a state tournament at Bertram they will come back and do a 1-day study to compare the two. B. Motion to appoint a commissioner to a task force related to Monticello’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (CSAP) in connection with the Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program. Angela Schumann gave a shoutout to the engineering team at the city, as they have been able to secure all grants they applied for this cycle. This is a Federal Grant and a planning grant to work towards zero deaths on Monticello’s roadways. This plan is looking at making all of our corridors safer for all modes of travel. Understanding data on how people move along our corridors. The task force will include reps from the hospital Page 3 of 8 PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOV 30, 2023 district, school district, Sheriff’s Dept, Wrigth County, etc. Hoglund transportation is already at the table. Would be nice to have a PARC Commissioner to serve on the task force for that perspective. There will be approximately 3 to 5 meetings, and the plan should be done by spring. Would like to get in-person participation but will have an online option as well. Maria Onnen said that she would be interested in serving. DARYL TINDLE MOVED TO APPOINT MARIA ONNEN TO THE TASK FORCE. MOTION SECONDED BY JANINE KOPFF. MOTION CARRIED. C. Consideration of placement of AEDs in weatherproof containments (Advocates for Health presentation). Joel Vogel presented for Advocates for Health. Dr. Johnson was also present and talked about working to make Monticello a Heart Safe City. Part of this is to place outdoor AEDs and making them accessible. The units are provided by Advocates for Health (a certified 501c3 non-profit). The cost of the AED Smart Monitored Cabinet is $7,500 plus $600/year for annual maintenance. The cabinets have a 10-year life span. This includes the AED Smart Monitoring subscription. It is suggested that the units are placed in convenient locations. The unit requires 110-volt power. There is a donation coming from the Monticello Lions to help offset the cost of an AED unit. Dr. Johnson said that for the Heart Safe City designation, they are doing a needs assessment to determine where the greatest need is in the community for additional devices. The Lions would like to see the first unit placed at the Bertram Chain of Lakes Athletic Park. Councilmember Sam Murdoff questioned the necessity of the AED unit being that the youth coaches have training and should have portable AED units with them. Commissioner Danielle Murdoff mentioned that signage will be very important. Both she and Councilmember Murdoff had concerns about the $600/year maintenance fee and noted that it could add up as a high cost to the city especially if more units are placed within the community. DARYL TINDLE MOVED TO ACCEPT A DONATION FROM THE MONTICELLO LIONES FOR THE PURCHASE OF AN AED SMART MONITORED CABINET TO BE PLACED AT THE BERTRAM CHAIN OF LAKES ATHLETIC COMPLEX. MOTION SECONDED BY ADAM LIEFERMAN. MOTION CARRIED. D. Consideration of Commission Appointment Renewals for Danielle Murdoff and Daryl Tindle. JULIE JELEN MOVED TO REAPPOINT COMMISSIONERS MURDOFF AND TINDLE FOR A 3-YEAR TERM FROM JANUARY 1, 2024 THRU DECEMBER 31, 2026. MOTION SECONDED BY JANINE KOPFF. MOTION CARRIED. Page 4 of 8 PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOV 30, 2023 E. Motion to approve Fee Schedule Proposed Rate Increases for 2024. Pawelk review3ed the fee schedule with the Commission. The increases would include raising membership rates by 3% across the board. Keeping the meeting room rates the same, but adjusting things where it seems appropriate. Park Superintendent Berthiaume recommended a 5% increase in field rental rates. Fertilizer costs have stayed the same this year and last year rates were raised by 3%. He said he doesn’t want to price out the cost to the point where the fields won’t be rentable. With the school district leasing the shared maintenance shed, that is paying for the maintenance at the Bertram Athletic Complex. As we expand more in the future, then it may be necessary to look at increasing field rates again. JANINE KOPFF MOVED TO RECOMMEND FEE SCHEDULE PROPOSED RATE INCREASES FOR 2024. MOTION SECONDED BY DANIELEE MURDOFF. MOTION CARRIED. F. Motion to approve Monticello Community Center Policy Update – Family Membership. Sara Cahill explained that looking at the rate structure, there was a requirement to track college transcripts for adult students still on their parent’s family membership. It was quite a time-consuming process to keep track of that and didn’t necessarily seem appropriate. It was determined that it would be better to reduce the family membership age to 20 & younger for adult children to remain on their parent’s family membership, and a college transcript will not be required. Commissioner Onnen was concerned that young adults may not be able to afford a membership on their own. Cahill said that the amount of young adults on family memberships was very small and it is better in the long run to streamline the rate structure now. JANINE KOPFF MOVED TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE MCC POLICY UPDATE RELATED TO THE FAMILY MEMEBERSHIP. MOTION SECONDED BY JULIE JELEN. MOTION CARRIED. G. Motion to approve MCC Kitchen Program applicant. Pawelk said that we have received one application for the kitchen program thus far. He noted that in the future there should be a committee consisting of a few members from PARC to assist staff in reviewing and approving future applications. Commissioners Murdoff and Leiferman volunteered to serve on the Kitchen Program Review Committee as needed. The first application is from Top It LLC, and the Commission reviewed their application. Page 5 of 8 PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOV 30, 2023 ADAM LEIFERMAN MOVED TO RECOMMEND APPROVING THE APPLICATION FROM TOP IT FOOD TRUCK FOR THE KITCHEN PROGRAM. MOTION SECONDED BY DANIELLE MURDOFF. MOTION CARRIED. H. West Bridge Park Concept Plan Review and Approval. Pawelk shared the concept plan for the West Bridge Park Playground Redevelopment. The conceptual design was created by Miracle Recreation and it carries public comments received over the past two years into the design that consists of a unique twin tower feature for age groups 5-12 and a smaller apparatus for 2-5 age groups. The design elements include retaining the blue color, and adding more swings, wheelchair-accessible playground equipment, a zipline, shade structure, and bigger slides. The plan incorporates the new Walnut Street design features linking the park's pedestrian edge by including a looped sidewalk around the playground and connecting trails for safe bike access to the playground. The entire playground surfacing is planned to be made of rubberized playground surfacing material. Pawelk explained that there are no dedicated funds in 2024 for this project, but the goal will be to gather stakeholders for a community build in 2024. It was important to get the concept plan together to have something to show the stakeholders. Commissioner Danielle Murdoff asked about how we arrived at Miracle Recreation for the design, and she stated that she wasn’t all that impressed with the design. Pawelk explained that the City utilizes Sourcewell as it offers national buying power through cooperating purchasing, saving the City time and money during the procurement process by utilizing Sourcewell contracts. Most of the equipment in the City park system has been from Miracle and it's been tried and true and has worked very well, and they offer a lifetime warranty on their equipment. Park Superintendent Berthiaume explained that when it comes to maintenance and efficiency, all of our kits are the same with Miracle. They have all of the hardware needed and there is no downtime, as they’re able to get everything out to us right away. Commissioner Murdoff said she didn’t realize the City was this far along in the process. She thought there would be more input, more committee or subcommittee meetings. She said she personally doesn’t love it and it’s not what she had in mind. She would like to see another bay of swings added, for instance. She said she was on a committee for the playground at Eastview and there were meetings after meetings on providing input and approving designs. Pawelk explained that whatever the school does in their process, we as a City do that as staff time to bring more of a completed design to the Commission. He said that a lot of thought and public input Page 6 of 8 PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOV 30, 2023 went into this design, reiterating that this is a concept design, nothing is being finalized today, just looking for approval to continue moving forward with the process so that we have something to bring to stakeholders, an example of what the playground could look like, when requesting funding assistance. Commissioner Jelen said that in her job with LMC she inspects playgrounds. She has been to a lot of ADA playgrounds and to compare it, she said it is better than others she has seen, and it meets accessibility. Councilmember Sam Murdoff said he has concerns about not having a clear picture of wat we need in the park as we won’t have the Park Master Plan in place until next year. Pawelk noted that we do have two years of community data that we’ve gathered for West Bridge Park. The City consultant Bolton & Menk said that it’s good to have this concept design now as the elevations will need to be looked at for this play area within the park due to the construction on Walnut and River Streets. Councilmember Murdoff said he wonders if we have a good idea that were utilizing West Bridge Park it the right way. He said he doesn’t know if putting the play structure in the same location is the right way, and maybe it should be spread across the whole area if the basketball courts are moved, for instance. Murdoff said he is thinking of a destination park like Central Park in Maple Grove. He said he would like to see it spread out more with other smaller features to enlarge the park. Commissioner Danielle Murdoff talked about a long balance beam feature similar to Buffalo Covenant Church. She said there are so many ADA features at Buffalo Covenant. She said that is the hottest park right now and we should look at a similar design. She said that Landscape Structures designed that park. Councilmember Sam Murdoff noted that once a concept is proposed it’s hard to change. Commissioner Murdoff said that she thinks we should also look at other parks like Promise Park and Robbins Regional Park in Willmar. Again, Pawelk explained that community input was provided and taken into consideration in this conceptual design. The design estimate is $700,000. He needs to have a concept to bring to stakeholders for funding options as it is not in the City budget. Commissioner Onnen said that she agrees with Pawelk in that this is a conceptual design and there is room to change the design but that it is important to have something to share with stakeholders, something that will give them an idea of what the playground could look like. JULIE JELEN MOVED TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE WEST BRIDGE PARK CONCEPT PLAN AND TO MOVE FORWARD WITH NOTING ADDITIONAL AMMENITIES IN THE DESIGN SUCH AS THE WAVE BALANCE BEAM. MOTION SECONDED BY MARIA ONNEN. MOTION CARRIED. Page 7 of 8  PARKS, ARTS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOV 30, 2023 3. Discussion of Added Items None. 4. Updates A. MontiArts Update (SS). Updated included in agenda packet. B. MCC Operations Update (SC/TH). Update included in agenda packet. C. General Park Updates (TP).  Park Needs Assessment: Bolton & Menk update: Wrapping up the Needs Assessment and moving into Park Master Planning and will culminate in a full recommendation report in 2024. Please email city staff with important takeaways that stand out that you want brought to City Council.  Park Master Planning: Will move into that next year and will be led by Anna Springer from Bolton & Menk. The peer community comparison with Buffalo and Elk River has been complete. Schumann asked about avoiding duplication and weaving in what was in Comp 2040 Plan implementation section. Springer said they don’t want to duplicate where things have already been identified and they want the plan to be cohesive and comprehensive. She said they will revisit those, make sure they still hold and carry forward. Could look at identifying them as coming from the 2040 Comp Plan. They envision the Park Master Plan as an appendix to the 2040 Comp Plan and will build off the work that has already been done.  Tree Inventory: Davey Tree has been doing the inventory for the past 3 weeks. This is part of the project that’s included in the EAB Grant the City received. 5. Schedule Next Meeting Next Regular Meeting: January 25, 2024, at 8 a.m. in the Bridge Room at the Monticello Community Center. 6. Adjournment MEETING ADJOURNED AT 10:57 A.M. RECORDED BY: Beth Green DATE APPROVED: 01-25-2024 ATTEST: Tom Pawelk Page 8 of 8