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1996-11-12 Parks and Rec Comm Agenda PacketCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA AGENDA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION November 129 1996 6:30 p.m. -Large Conference Room Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of October 8, 1996 Minutes 4. Pazk Reservation Policy Revision Full Time Recreation Programmer 6. Updates • "Drought" Conditions • Parks Report • Police Report (Available Tuesday) Adjourn Auxiliary aids for persons with disabilities are available upon request at least 120 hours in advanceI If a notice of less than 120 hours is received, the City of Mendota Heights will make every attempt to provide the aids. This may not, however, be possible on short notice. Please contact City Administration at 452-1850 with requests. CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OCTOBER 8,1996 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, October 8, 1996, in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 6:40 PM. The following members were present: Spicer, Libra, Liberacki, and Kleinglass. Commissioner Linnell arrived late. Commissioners Norton and Damberg were excused from the meeting. Also present were Recreation Programmer Chris Esser and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Kieinglass moved to approve the September 10, 1996 Minutes with no corrections. Commissioner Libra seconded the motion. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 ISD 197 COMMUNITY EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL RECRUITMENT Mr. Max Saucedo, Chair of the ISD 197 Community Education Advisory Council and Chair of the west Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee appeared before the Parks and Recreation Commission to recruit a Commissioner to sit on the Advisory Council. Mr. Saucedo explained that the Advisory Council addresses issues of early childhood and adult education and has a broad spectrum of members from the community. Chairman Spicer asked what kind of a time commitment would be involved for a volunteerI Mr. Saucedo responded that the Council meets the third Tuesday of each month for about 1%hours at Learning Center South on the corner of Enterprise Drive and Mendota Heights Road, Chairman Spicer remarked that Commissioners Linnell, Norton and Libra may be the most appropriate candidates for the position, since they still have young children and have demonstrated concern for children's education. Chairman Spicer asked Mr. Saucedo if two Commissioners could fill the seat and rotate so that each Commissioner would only have to attend the meeting once every two months. Mr. Saucedo said that this would be possible. Parks Report and Police Report The Commission had no questions on these two items. Big Rivers Trail Commissioner HIeinglass commented that he had biked along the new Big Rivers Trail and feels that it is a tremendous amenity and asset to the community. Mr. KMeinglass continued that it is well integrated with other trails in the region. Mr. Meinglass commented, however, that the numerous warning signs about snakes along the river portion were perhaps a bit alarmist and may make people nervous. Commissioner Linnell agreed that it is a wonderful trail, but added that the transition between Valley Park and the Big Rivers trail should be smoother and more obvious with better signage. Commissioner Liberacki asked Staff to write a letter to Dakota County commending them on their excellent work on the Big Rivers Trail, and to tell them not to widen the trail at Valley Park, Chairman Spicer asked Staff to ask Mr. Kullander about the status of the park signage improvements. PARK RESERVATION POLICY REVISION Mr. Esser presented Staff s proposal for amending the fee and damage deposit provisions in the Parks Reservation Policy. Commissioner Kleinglass moved to recommend that the Council approve Staff's proposed revision of the Park Reservation Policy with some minor changes. AYES: NAYS: ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Kleinglass and seconded by Linnell. AYES: 5 NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 7:35 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Patrick C. Hollister TO: Parks and Recreation Commissioners FROM: Chris Esser, Recreation Programmer RE: Amended Draft of City Pazk Reservation Policy DATE: October 25, 1996 Staff is in the process of amending the current policy regarding the reservation and rental of park areas and facilities. At last month's meeting, suggestions for amendments to the City Park Reservation Policy were presented and discussed. The Pazks and Recreation Commission voted to recommend that the City Council adopt the revised reservation policy. Staff wishes to verify that we have correctly interpreted the Commission's suggestions. Please review the revised Park Reservation Policy. If revisions or corrections are needed, please recommend changes and additions. �.1 Y C t II Ih ►Y i� �, D. Park Permits shall be submitted for park reservations and shall contain the following information: 1. Name of the park 2. Date 3. Time 4. Event (such as family picnic, softball game) 5. Number of people attending 6. Name of person/contact responsible for event. E. Reservations will be tentatively recorded in the reservation book when called in. Applicants will have three working days to submit deposits and fees or their reservation may be canceled. F. A damage deposit of $100.00 will be required by all groups reserving picnic shelters in the parks, with the exception of nonprofit youth service organizations when making the written reservation. The facility will be inspected immediately after the event and provided there are no damages, or clean-up costs, the deposit III be returned promptly. G. The Mendota Heights Police Department and Park Maintenance crews will be notified of all reservations. H. Groups wishing to reserve shelters shall abide by the attached rules and regulations and a copy of the park permit will be issued by the City to the sponsor setting forth the terns for the use of the shelter. The attached rules and regulations are identified as "Exhibit A." I. Mendota Heights schools, nonprofit civic organizations and City of Mendota Heights employee organizations are fee exempt. These groups must, however, pay a damage deposit. J. There will not be a park attendant on duty. The reserving group is responsible for supervising the event and for cleaning the reserved area. K. The refund policy for canceled reservations shall be: Cancellation 1-7. 4 days in advance 100 % refund Cancellation 1 to i3 days in advance 589fr refund Refunds due to inclement weather on the day of the event will not be considered. There will be no additional charge for rescheduling events postponed due to weather. ► �11 1 Y f' A. Softball fields: Adult Standard Fields (Mendakota, Civic Center) Neighborhood pazk fields Field preparation For all user groups except City sponsored programs) 1yy $25.00 per field for non-residents First come, first served with the exception of seasonal reservations. $25.00 per user group (this excludes weekday prep. for Mendota Heights Athletic Association) NNOW All requests for field reservations will be made in writing between January 1 and March 15. Field reservations will be confirmed by April 1 and any requests received after March 15 will be handled on a first come, first served basis. The field reservation priorities are identified as Exhibit "C". B. Soccer $35.00 per field for non-residents Field preparation $25.00 .per field for weekend tournaments All requests for field reservations for the summer season (May 1 through August 15) will be made in writing between January 1 and March 15. Field reservations will be confirmed by April 1 and any requests received after March 15 will be handled on a first come, first served basis. All requests for field reservations for the fall season (August 16 through October 31) will be made in writing between June 1 and July 15. Field reservations for the fall season will be confirmed by August 1 and any requests after July 15 will be handled on a first come, fast served basis. The field reservation priorities are identified as Exhibit "C". C. Ice Rinks $20.00 per site per hour for non-residents $5.00 per rink per hour for lights There will be no reservations between 12:00-6:00 p.m. on weekends and School Holidays. CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS MEMORANDUM TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Chris Esser, Recreation Programmer RE: Full Time Recreation Programmer DATE: November 5, 1996 Parks and Recreation provides a wide range of benefits that display a city government's investment in their community. Recreation opportunities improve the quality of life for residents and promote a sense of community. Leisure pursuits encourage a healthy, holistic lifestyle. People come together as a community to recreate. Picnics, leagues and neighborhood parks help to bring neighbors together. People coming together builds a sense of community and neighborhood trust. Community pride and trust reflects a good, healthy government. People live in and move to communities because of amenities, not low taxes. Residents look for and demand good community services like schools, police and fire, recreation opportunities and a nice park system. A community that cares about itself and its amenities demonstrates that it possesses resident pride and that people enjoy living there. A full time Recreation Programmer will create a vital parks and recreation system. The aim of this position is not to create a large department, but one that is energetic, community dynamic and responsive. The other half of the Recreation Programmer position will provide numerous benefits to the City of Mendota Heights. The two main benefits can be broken down into two categories: I. Additional programs and II. City Service. I. Additional Programs A. With only a half time programmer, we are greatly restricting the recreation opportunities for the residents of Mendota Heights. Currently, virtually every segment of the population of Mendota Heights are under -served through the lack of City sponsored programs and opportunities. A full time programmer would have the time and flexibility to create new programs to serve every possible segment of the community. B. Full time would also provide the flexibility to create or expand collaborative programs with other Cities, Community Education, Mendota Heights Athletic Association, and private groups. The Recreation Programmer's task is to tap into surrounding resources through collaborative efforts, not to duplicate or compete with participation to over 25000 people per year as a result of staffing a full time programmer. That will serve close to 20% of the residents in Mendota Heights annually. I. City Service and Other Benefits A. A full time Recreation Programmer would greatly improve customer service to the community. Currently, the half time Recreation Programmer is only available at certain times throughout the week. The schedule is irregular to the point where people have complained about not being able to reach the Programmer regarding urgent business. Still others have voiced dissatisfaction about having to wait a day to get a return phone call if the Programmer has left for the day. A full time Programmer will be there a greater majority of the time to answer questions, take registrations, reserve parks, etc. B. A full time Recreation Programmer will be better able to coordinate tasks that need very detailed attention. Creative scheduling of ballfields, coordinating activities with other agencies and planning Celebrate Mendota Heights Parks! are just a few examples of programs and activities that require a greater amount of attention than they are currently receiving. A full time Programmer will have the time and flexibility to give these programs the attention they deserve. C. A full time Recreation Programmer will be able to optimize use of existing facilities throughout the community. Mendota Heights has a wonderful parks and trail system that is well maintained throughout the year. The tax payer investment of maintenance of our parks should be complimented by programs that put residents in the parks. Many residents are not aware of the recreation opportunities they have through their own community parks and recreation system. Expanded programming and education will help people of all recreation abilities and interests to be aware of our amenities. Awareness will lead to active participation in local programs and/or passive participation during leisure time pursuits. November 7, 1996 •&W.L!j M XCO•; 1. General Maintenance -End of the year mowing, striping soccer fields, etc. 2. Put cement sealer down at Mendakota. 3. Add sprinkler heads to dry areas between fields at Mendakota. 4. Aerate all baseball, softball and soccer fields. 5. Fertilize all parks. 6. Blow out all sprinkler systems and building. Winterize all buildings. 7. Vandalism: a. Kids burned down satellite at Wentworth Park - $500. Submitted by: Terry Blum Parks Leadperson TB: kkb