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2019-11-06 Parks and Rec Comm Work Session Packet Special Meeting Notice Work Session of the City of Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission Wednesday, November 6, 2019  4:30 pm Mendota Heights City Hall 1. Call to Order 2. Review Open Meeting Law 3. Review Addition to Agenda Process 4. Parks Funding/Budget 5. Priority List Discussion/Review Parks Tour 6. Adjourn OPEN MEETING LAW • The notice must include time, date, location, and purpose of the special meeting • The public body must post the notice at least three days before the meeting • A public body may only discuss matters related to those listed on the notice. Emergency meetings: Special meeting’s urgent circumstances do not allow for the three-day notice, such as in the event of a natural disaster. No additional notice is required, except that public bodies must make a good faith effort to notify media that have requested notice. The Minnesota Supreme Court has stated that the purpose of the Open Meeting Law is to: • Prohibit public bodies from holding secret meetings where they may hide their decision making process from the public • To allow the public to be informed • To allow the public to present its views to their public bodies The Open Meeting Law (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13D) requires meetings of public bodies to be open to the public. The law also identifies limited times when a public body may or must hold a closed meeting and the requirements for doing so. The Open Meeting Law does not address administrative concerns like agendas, meeting minutes, or parliamentary procedure (such as Roberts Rules). There may be other laws public bodies have to follow that affect how they conduct their meetings. W H O ? Public bodies: public bodies are defined in the law and include State-level public bodies and local public bodies (such as county boards, city councils, and school boards). State public bodies and local public bodies have different requirements. The law also applies to committees, subcommittees, boards, departments, or commissions of public bodies. The public: The public has the right to attend open meetings to observe the decision-making process of its governing bo- dies. The Open Meeting Law does not require that public bodies allow public participation at meetings, but it does not prohibit public participation, either. W H A T ? A meeting occurs whenever a quorum (majority) of the public body is present and discusses official business. There are three types of meetings: regular meetings, special meetings, and emergency meetings. A meeting or a portion of a meeting may be closed if the circumstances allow or require closure. Those meetings must be recorded (except those closed for discussions protected by attorney-client privilege). W H E N ? Every public meeting must be properly noticed. The Open Meeting Law has different requirements for notifying the public regarding when and where meetings are to take place depending on the type of meeting to be held: Regular meetings: Public bodies must have a schedule of regular meetings. Special meetings: Any meeting not on the regular schedule or that takes place at a different time, date, or location than a regular meeting requires a special meeting notice. W H Y ? 651-296-6733 or 800-657-3721 INFO.DPO@STATE.MN.US | MN.GOV/ADMIN/DATA-PRACTICES DATA PRACTICES DATE: November 6, 2019 TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Meredith Lawrence, Recreation Program Coordinator SUBJECT: Priority List Review and Budget At the November 6 work session the Commission and staff will review the attached Priority List memorandum. Information will be used in discussion of the budget and priority list. The memorandum was provided to Commission members at the September 10 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. The priority list was compiled based on results of votes of the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission. memorandum DATE: September 10, 2019 TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Cheryl Jacobson, Assistant City Administrator SUBJECT: Priority Exercise Results As part of the July 9, 2019 work session between the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission, members were asked to complete a priority exercise regarding park improvements. The purpose of the exercise was to provide direction to staff regarding improvements to focus on in 2020 and 2021, as well as an estimate of the amount of funds being allocated/spent from the Special Parks Fund. Special Parks Fund and General Levy Funding The Special Parks Fund is a dedicated fund within the City of Mendota Heights budget structure. The Special Parks Fund is funded through park dedication fees which are collected as development occurs. Use of park dedication fees is governed by Minnesota Statutes §462.358, subd. 2b and the use of these funds is summarized as follows: Use of Fees—Fees received must be placed by the municipality in a special fund to be used only for the purposes for which the money was obtained. Park dedication fees must be used only for the acquisition and development or improvement of parks, recreational facilities, playgrounds, trails, wetlands, or open space based upon the approved park system plan. Fees must not be used for ongoing operation or maintenance of parks, recreational facilities, playgrounds, trails, wetlands, or open space. At the July 9 work session, staff estimated that the Special Parks Fund would have a 2020 beginning fund balance of $817,799. With projects such as those proposed for Wentworth Park, the anticipated 2020 ending fund balance would be $575,799. This is an estimated amount as costs of improvement for Wentworth Park and other projects are not confirmed and approved. Park funding is also provided for through the City’s general levy, which is funded by property taxes. Items which are not eligible for funding from the Special Parks Fund, could be funded by City general levy dollars, if approved by the City Council. The City has two budgeted financial obligations relating to parks—the Par 3 and Ice Arena Bonds: Ice Arena—In 2014, the City made a $555,333 commitment to the City of West St. Paul for renovations to that City’s Ice Arena. An initial payment of $277,666 was made on May 15th, 2015. That was comprised of $112,666 of cell tower revenue, $100,000 of fund balance, and an initial levy of $65,000. For each additional year from 2016-18, the City also levied $65,000. There was a final levy (or use of fund balance) totaling $83,333 this year (2019). Par 3—On April 24, 2007, voters approved the purchase of the Par 3 and the issuance of $2,790,000 in General Obligation bonds. Since then, the City has levied annually to repay the bonds. The remaining years and the levy amounts are: 2019 = $243,600 2020 = $244,440 2021 = $245,175 2022 = $248,745 Priority Exercise The proposed project list was made up of 17 improvements that had been suggested over the past several months as well as carryovers from a May 2018 work session between the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission. Council and Commission members were asked to keep in mind available funding of approximately $500,000 from the Special Parks Fund to fund priorities. The Council and Commission were asked to identify up to five park improvements, not in any ranked order, that they would like to see considered. Additionally, if there were items that respondents felt should be removed, they were able to indicate that as well. The following are the results: Identified Priority Projects (summary of votes): • Mendakota Park –Dugouts (4 fields) = 7 • Playground Improvements = 7 • Friendly Hills Tennis Court Resurfacing = 6 • Par 3 Trail Connection = 5 • Rogers Lake Restroom = 4 • Skate Board Park Expanded Features = 4 • Friendly Marsh Soccer Field = 3 • Market Square Park Shade Structure = 3 • Dedicated Pickleball Court = 3 • Splash Pad = 3 • Civic Center Park Field Lighting = 3 • Mendakota Park Field Lighting = 1 • Drinking Fountains = 1 Playground Improvements—Given the estimated cost of $160,000 per playground and the number of playgrounds in need of attention, further prioritization may be needed in order to reserve Special Parks Fund money for other ranked projects. Par 3 Trail Connection. Since the work session, Staff has completed additional assessments on adding a trail connection and has determined that significant grading is required. Given the engineering design services and grading work needed, the estimated cost for this project is closer to $200,000. Identified Projects to Remove (summary of votes): • Mendakota Park- Field Lighting = 5 • Friendly Marsh – Archery = 3 • Splash Pad = 3 • Rogers Lake – Restrooms = 2 • Dedicated Pickle Ball = 1 • Market Square Park Shade Structure = 1 • Ivy Falls Park Development = 1 • Augusta/Lemay Conservation Trails = 1 • Civic Center Park – Field Lighting = 1 Oheyawahe/Pilot Knob Improvements. As suggested by a number of comments, this item will be removed from the Special Parks Fund improvement list. Future improvements will be considered but developed and funded under a separate plan. Splashpad. As determined by the City Council, this item will be removed from the Special Parks Fund improvement list. Development of a splash pad maybe considered in the future with funding sources to be determined; however, the Special Parks Fund should not be considered. Next Steps Staff has reviewed priority exercise results with the City Council during workshops for the 2020 budget year. Staff will continue to develop projects and determine the feasibility and timing of the proposed projects that received the most votes. Continued discussions between the Commission, Staff and City Council will need to occur to ready projects for 2020 or 2021.