2014-08-11 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
PARKS AND RECREATION MEETING
August 11, 2014
The August meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on
Monday, August 11, 2014 at Mendota Heights City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve.
Chair Hinderscheid called to order the parks and recreation commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. The
following commissioners were present: Chair Hinderscheid, Commissioners Ira Kipp, David Miller,
Stephanie Levine, Joel Paper and Michael Toth. Staff present: Recreation Program Coordinator
Sloan Wallgren and Public Works Director/City Engineer John Mazzitello.
Chair Hinderscheid started the meeting with a moment of silence to honor Officer Scott Patrick.
Approval of Agenda
Commissioner Paper added the agenda item: Renaming Parks. Commissioner Levine added an
item: Protection of Pollinating Insects. Chair Hinderscheid added Splash Pad and Signs.
COMMISSIONER TOTY MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA; COMMISSIONER
LEVINE SECONDED THE MOTION.
AYES 6: NAYS 0
Approval of Minutes of July 08, 2014
COMMISSIONER LEVINE MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES;
COMMISSIONER PAPER SECONDED THE MOTION.
AYES 6: NAYS 0
Marie Park Hockey Rink
Mr. Wallgren informed the commission that the hockey boards have been removed at Marie Park to
create a staging area for the contractor that is doing road work in the area the next few months.
When the project is complete the contractor will pave the hockey area and new boards will be
installed. The 2014 budget has money allocated to replace a set of hockey boards.
Commissioner Toth asked when this decision happened.
Mr. Mazzitello replied that it has been the intent of the city to pave all of the hockey rinks in town,
and that if we were to pave Marie Park rink now we would be saving over $22,000 which is about
half the normal cost.
Commissioner Paper asked what the condition of Friendly Hills rink was.
Mr. Mazzitello responded that the Friendly Hills rink was paved over 13 year ago and has held up
very nice. It easier to maintain good ice at Friendly Hills compared to Marie and Wentworth Park.
Friendly Hills rink will need some minor repairs in the future.
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Commissioner Paper asked if there were hockey nets at Friendly Hills during the summer for
people to use.
Mr. Mazzitello responded that the nets stayed out at Friendly Hills all year.
Commissioner Levine said that she was very concerned about removing green space from the park.
She has spoken to several residents that are also concerned about paving the hockey rink.
Honey Bees
Commissioner Levine started the conversation about the importance of being environmentally
responsible with the chemicals that are applied around the city. There is concern that the honey bee
population is being threatened by certain chemicals, and that the honey bees are very important the
environment.
Mr. Mazzitello stated that we currently do not blanket spray our parks for insects. Occasionally
maintenance staff does need to spray for bees, if they are presenting a danger to people.
The commission discussed the resolution that the city of Shorewood passed, which says that the
city will not spray chemicals that kill honey bees and that the city will encourage and educate the
residents about the importance of creating and maintaining pollinator -friendly habitats.
Tennis Practice Board
Mr. Wallgren informed the commission that he has received several emails and phone calls about
having a practice board installed at the Marie Park tennis courts. Mr. Wallgren informed the
commission that to have a quality practice board installed would cost between $4,000 and $5,000. The
board could be taken down and moved to another tennis court if it needed to be moved.
The commission discussed the need for a practice board and thought it was a good idea.
COMMISSIONER MILLER MADE A MOTION TO INSTALL A TENNIS PRACTICE BOARD
AT MARIE PARK. COMMISSIONER LEVINE SECONDED THE MOTIN
AYES 5: NAYS 1
Recreation Programming Report
Mr. Wallgren informed the commission that the summer recreation programs have finished. He
will present data with revenue, expenses and participation for each program at the September
meeting.
Mr. Wallgren also stated that he has been working with Trek and OneTen Cycles to organize a bike
ride on our beautiful trail system. The bike ride will be held on Saturday October 11, 2014.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and all the proceeds will go to the Breast Cancer
Research Foundation. More details about the event will be in the next issue of the Heights
Highlights.
Par 3 Report
Mr. Wallgren informed the commission that the golf course ran two promotional offers in the
month of July, one with Groupon and one with Living Social. The sales from the two offers
produced over $5,000 in revenue. We also had 60 youth from the metro area play in a Jr. PGA
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event on July 31St. The 6th hole at the golf course was closed for much of the moth because of the
rain in June. We allowed golfers to play and extra hole during slower times, and offered league
golfers a $2.00 discount. The decrease in Greens Fee revenue for the month of July is a result in
the discount.
Mr. Wallgren told the commission that staff was looking in to integrating Footgolf into the golf
course. Footgolf is a relatively new sport, and is a combination of soccer and golf. The initial cost
to set up the Footgolf course is roughly $1,500.00. Mr. Wallgren would like to get the Footgolf
cups installed at the course before Labor Day so that the course could capitalize on the soccer
season.
The commission was very supportive of the idea of Footgolf.
Total sales for the month of July were $28,998 and total expenses were $17,711. Total sales year to
date are $94,482 and expenses are $66,667 resulting in a net profit of $27,815
Renaming Parks
Commissioner Paper presented the idea of changing the name of a park to honor Officer Scott
Patrick. The entire commission was supportive of doing something to honor Office Scott Patrick.
Mr. Wallgren said that there is talk of doing something, but at this time it was too early to do
determine what the appropriate action would be. If a park name is changed the commission would
be involved in the process.
Park Signs
Chair Hinderscheid asked if there has been any progress with installing signs that describe the
history of each park. Commissioner Paper said that he has talked with staff at Friendly Hills
Middle School, and he will update the commission on the progress in the future.
Commission Comments
Commissioner Toth thought it was a good meeting.
Commissioner Levine said it was a good meeting and encouraged people to recycle in the parks.
Commissioner Miller said it was a good meeting and thanked staff for their work.
Commissioner Paper thought it was a good meeting and would love to see Footgolf at the Par 3.
Commissioner Kipp thought it was good meeting and echoed commissioner Paper's comments
about Officer Partick.
Chair Hinderscheid thought it was a good meeting.
COMMISSIONER PAPER MADE A MOTION TO ADJOUN THE MEETING; COMMISSIONER
TOTH SECONDED THE MOTION.
Ayes 6: Nays 0
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted by Sloan Wallgren
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