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Parks
and Recreation
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Parks and Recreation
Commission Minutes
August 3, 2010 – 8:00 p.m.
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PRESENT: Azer,
Doneen, Etten, Jacobson, Ristow, Stark, Willmus
ABSENT: D.Holt,
M. Holt, Pederson (all notified staff prior to meeting)
STAFF: Brokke,
Anfang
1. INTRODUCTIONS/ROLL CALL/PUBLIC COMMENT
Public Comment deferred until
after the approval of minutes and comments by Commission Chair and Parks and
Recreation Director
2. APPROVAL OF
MINUTES – MAY 4, 2010 MEETING
Commission Recommendation:
Minutes amended with the following; R. Doneen commented that his comments at
the May 4th meeting did not reference an “agreement” but rather an
update to the Commission that the school district had met with the neighbors
and baseball association representatives and informed them that 3 fields were
to be built at Fairview, 2 fields to accommodate the Fast pitch Softball
Program and one field to be used by Baseball.
Amended Minutes for the May 4,
2010 meeting were approved unanimously.
3. COMMISSION
COMMENT / PUBLIC COMMENT
Brokke briefed commissioners on
the tragic death of a 12 year old boy in Bruce Russell Park on Sunday, August 1st.
Commissioners and Parks and Recreation staff extended their sincere condolences
to the family.
Gary Grefenberg addressed the
Commission on two community items;
- As a member of the Roseville Human Rights Commission,
Grefenberg informed the Parks and Recreation Commission that the Human
Rights Commission has been charged with looking at involvement of Roseville citizens in the local government process. The Human Rights Commission is looking
for a volunteer from the Parks and Recreation Commission to take part in a
task force that will study the topic over the next eight months.
Commission Chair Stark directed Commissioners to consider the task and
mentioned that a representative would be named following the next Parks
and Recreation Commission Meeting.
- Grefenberg shared a draft of the upcoming edition of the
SouthWest Area Roseville Monitor (SWARM). This newsletter recognizes the
extensive community involvement that has taken place over the past eleven
months for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update. Grefenberg
commented that some Southwest residents do not trust government and his
experiences with the parks and recreation planning process has resulted in
a willingness on this part to assist in sharing information from the
Citizen Advisory Team with the Southwest Roseville neighbors.
Grefenberg voiced his concern with
the recent bond proposal and feels the completed Master Plan needs to be better
reflected in the referendum budget. He is also concerned that the August 20th
deadline seems to undercut the role of the CAT in the Master Planning process
and the vision and planning process are worthless unless reflected in the
implementation budget. Lastly, Grefenberg commented that citizen involvement
has been wasted unless the budget is reflected in the Master Plan and resulting
implementation. It would be disappointing if on this most critical step of the
planning process the City opts to go it alone with a rushed referendum.
4. REVIEW OF
JOINT MEETING WITH CITY COUNCIL
Commission Chair Stark provided
Commissioners with summary notes from the June 7, 2010 joint meeting between
the Roseville City Council and the Roseville Parks and Recreation Commission.
The notes highlighted discussions and direction from the following topics;
Master Plan Implementation, Budget and Funding Options, Natural Resource Health
and Other Related Topics.
- Doneen commented that it seemed clear that the Council is
looking to the Commission to make strong recommendations in regards to the
Master Plan Update.
o
Ristow commented on his disappointment that during his time as a
Commissioner there has been a lot of talk and not much action due to budget
reductions. Ristow also mentioned the need to sell a local sales tax to
support parks and recreation growth.
o
Azer mentioned the Council recommendation to look to neighboring
communities for shared resources and cooperative opportunities.
o
Willmus questioned how there can be talk of implementation at
this time when the planning process is still going on. We need to see the
planning process through to the end before we start talking implementation.
o
Doneen commented on the forestry and the local tree inventory.
He inquired into whether Roseville forestry staff might be available to talk at
an upcoming meeting and if the Commission would like for him to arrange for an
Urban Forester to update the Commission.
o
Commissioners were asked to forward additional comments onto
Chairman Stark so that he can incorporate those comments into the joint meeting
notes.
5. DISCUSS
COMMISSION RETREAT (SATURDAY, SEPT. 18)
Brokke briefed
the Commission that the annual retreat is scheduled for Saturday, September 18,
9am-2pm. The agenda was discussed and it was agreed that, as time allows, the
topics will be as follows:
o Presentation on
Parks and Recreation Master Plan by Michael Schroeder
o Review and
comment on Master Plan
o Clarify purpose,
role and responsibilities of the Commission
o Tour of park
sites developed as concept plans for the Master Planning process
6. PARKS AND RECREATION
MASTER PLAN UPDATE
Brokke briefed the Commission on
the process for finalizing the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update.
- The latest information includes an implementation
consideration for the November 2010 election:
o
Brokke reviewed his letter to the City Manager on some thoughts
on process as well as a list of potential projects that had been discussed
during the planning process.
o
A smaller and scaled back listing was also included fitting into
a dollar amount suggested by the City Manager.
o
Staff are looking for Commission comments and advice in regards
to a potential fall 2010 ballot question, discussion included the following:
§
Etten talked about how this is not the time frame that has been
discussed and considered throughout the planning process. He is concerned that
the Citizens of Roseville do not know what they will be voting for and that a
referendum question(s) at this time short circuits the process. He believes
that we should be looking at what citizens really want and involve them in the
process further and that it is not appropriate to put a referendum question
forward at this time.
§
Ristow and Azer agreed with Etten’s comments.
§
Willmus reminded Commissioners that successful past bonding
efforts have had a unified front and spent months getting information from
residents and incorporating their thoughts into the process. He recognized
that the Citizen Advisory Team intentionally set the implementation process
aside to focus on creating a very good Master Plan that is reflective of the
community. Because of this, there is not time to educate and inform the
community by November of this year what that plan entails.
§
Stark believes if the $8 million referendum is supported by the
vote it would be difficult to come back in the near future for additional
funding for the rest of the Master Plan recommendations. In addition, if the
referendum is not supported it would be detrimental to the future of the Parks
and Recreation Master Plan.
§
Willmus suggested that prioritization and vetting of items needs
to take place.
§
Etten mentioned that the Citizens of Roseville need to be engaged
in the process of identifying the projects of support.
§
Willmus sees the $8 million referendum as a maintenance fix and
not a parks and recreation system development plan.
§
Azer has seen a lot of interest and enthusiasm for the
implementation of the Master Plan and suggests a year of planning and informing
could make a difference between good and great projects.
§
Ristow suggested holding off on the referendum at this time.
Commission Recommendation:
Motion by Ristow, amended by Willmus, seconded by Doneen that
The Parks and Recreation
Commission recommend to the Roseville City Council to hold off on putting a
parks and recreation funding question on the November 2010 ballot. Further,
the Commission supports the Citizen Advisory Team (CAT) in their effort to see
the planning process through to the end and supports a future implementation
process that incorporates the final Master Plan recommendations. Motion passed
unanimously.
7. DIRECTORS
REPORT
- Brokke pointed out the local sales tax letter received by
Commissioner Ristow from Representative Greiling. It has also been
distributed to the City Manager and City Council. City Manager Malinen is
part of a League of Minnesota Cities Committee on local sales tax.
- 2011 Budget Update
o
September 13 is deadline for the maximum levy to be set
o
It is thought that the City Manager will be presenting his
recommended budget on August 16.
o
Etten commented on his interpretation and observations of the
current budgeting process. The current system is not a ranking system as
presented but rather more of a categorization where as a “5” represents only
the need for public safety, a “4” represents the City’s financial
responsibilities and “3, 2, 1” are used to identify services and mission.
Because of the breakdown of categories, Parks and Recreation will not be well
represented because the organization provides services but is not recognized
for its contributions toward community safety. According to the ranking scale,
parks and recreation cannot really receive more than a “3” ranking. Etten asked
Commissioners to speak with the Council and push for better representation and
systematic ranking in the budgeting process.
- The Skating Center has been approached to host the Kellogg
High School All School Reunion. The event is considered to be scheduled
for July 2011. The organizing committee is looking to book the entire
facility and hopes to have live entertainment outdoors and serve alcohol
throughout the facility. Brokke asked the commission for their thoughts.
Commissioners supported pursuing the event and also suggested a policy be
considered for the use of alcohol beyond current guidelines.
- Recent wind storms have resulted in over $15,000 in tree
damage and clean-up expenses in Roseville parks. Jason Etten recognized Jeff Evenson and his staff for their quick and complete response to damages throughout the
community.
- Ramsey County is looking to repurpose some of its ice
arenas, including Biff Adams, a facility used by RAYHA and RAHS hockey
teams. Ice time availability for Roseville groups has also changed at the
Coliseum. This is an example of how quickly facility needs can change and
the importance for a Master Plan that is fluid.
- The tree inventory is progressing. The inventory of all
boulevard trees is nearly completed, after the boulevard trees are
completed staff and volunteers will move on to park trees. The updated
ordinance will address whose responsibility it is to maintain boulevard
trees in the future.
- Staff are researching EAB treatments and are leaning
toward a combined approach that uses an injection process on some and
removal of the worst trees. An injector and a tested product called
tree-age can be purchased in order to have the ability to perform the
application in-house.
8. OTHER
- Anfang reminded everyone of the Mosquito Bluegrass Jam and
Youth Fishing Contest scheduled for Sunday, August 8 at the Frank Rog
Amphitheatre.
Meeting adjourned at 9:45 pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Jill Anfang, Assistant Director
