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032602 PK WS AgP I• u • CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD PARK COMMISSION WORK SESSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2002 7:00 P.M. AGENDA 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING A. Roll Call Palesch_ Arnst Puzak Meyer Bartlett Callies Young B. Review Agenda 2. DISCUSS PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR 2003 3. DISCUSS APRIL 23 WORK SESSION Council Liaison: April. Meyer May: Puzak .NGu�cicsl�� CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD • SHOREWOOD, MINNESOTA 55331 -8927 • (952) 474 -3236 FAX (952) 474 -0128 • www.ci.shorewood.mn.us • cityhaI1@ci.shorewood.mn.us TO: Park Commission FROM: Pat Arnst RE: Park Management issues from December 11 joint meeting. DATE: December 29, 2001 As a result of the December 11 meeting with City Council, the following park management issues were defined by the group. Following, for discussion purposes, is a listing of those items. The order of listing does not indicate any priority. No consensus was reached on their relative importance or resolution: • • Parking/traffic Police enforcement of "no parking" • Unauthorized alterations to and construction of facilities • Exclusion of individual users and/or organizations • Blanket scheduling of fields and coordination of activities • Unclear relationship with MCES • Liability issues caused by improper use of green space for playing fields • sack of park management • Uncertainty about who uses the fields • Poor direct communications between City and organized users • Uncertainty of exactly who "we" or "ourselves" are when referring to the City • Breakdown in communication between MCES /City /Organizations • Perceived "ownership" of field space by certain organizations • Should Shorewood work in partnership with other cities to resolve its park issues? • Regaining control and balance of the park management • A balanced approach between the problem and management resolution • Management of $200,000+ annual budget, rink attendants, tournaments, and concessions, in addition to scheduling and oversight • Staff time involved in oversight of collection of rosters, insurance certificates and user fees • Enforcement of park rules and policies when developed: who does it? The group did agree that further action should be taken on the following items, and results discussed at the January 8 Park Commission meeting: Uncertainty about MCES continuing it's service to city—Dawson to contact MCES and confirm status No clearly defined policies d� rapQrts , uganizations who use the parks —Brown to w4w develop a draft for Park Commission review, discussion and recommendation at 1 -8 -02 FIELDS 2002 5.00 p.m. until dark • • FIELDS Clear Springs 1 MONDAY ETLL TUESDAY ETLL WEDNESDAY ETLL THURSDAY ETLL FRIDAY ETLL SATURDAY ETLL SUNDAY Clear Springs 2 ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL Deephaven 1 MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA Deephaven 2 MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA DEC Pit (3:15 -5:00 p.m.) Girls LaCrosse Girls LaCrosse Girls LaCrosse Girls LaCrosse Girls LaCrosse DEC Pit TU TU TU TU TU TU TU Excelsior 1 MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA Excelsior 2 MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA Groveland1 ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL Groveland 2 MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MHS 1(Baseball) LEGION LEGOIN LEGION LEGION LEGION LEGION LEGION MHS 2 (Softball) MHS 3 (Baseball) MGSA LEGION TONKA REC LEGOIN MGSA LEGION TONKA REC LEGION MGSA LEGION MGSA LEGION LEGION MHS 4 (Softball) MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MHS Upper Fields TU TU TU TU TU TU TU MHS Upper Fields tin 5:00 LaCrosse LaCrosse LaCrosse LaCrosse LaCrosse MHS Upper Fields 5:00 -7:00 p.m. Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate Frisbee Minnewashta Baseball 1 STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL Minnewashta Baseball 2 STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL Minnewashta Soccer TU TU TU TU TU TU TU Minnewashta Softball MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MME BR BR BR BR BR BR BR MME 2 (infield) BR BR BR BR BR BR BR MME MME4 MMES MME Football (5 -6:30 p.m.) MGSA HMR HMR Rugby MGSA HMR HMR Rugby MGSA HMR HMR Rugby MGSA HMR HMR Rugby MGSA HMR HMR TU MGSA HMR HMR TU MGSA HMR HMR TU MME Football (6:30 tits dark) TU TU TU TU TU TU TU MME Open Space TU TU TU TU TU TU TU MMW 1 MGSA STLL MGSA STLL STLL MGSA STLL MMW Soccer TU TU TU TU TU TU TU Scenic Heights 1 ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL Scenic Heights 2 Cathcart ETLL ISTLL ETLL STLL ETLL ISTLL ETLL ISTLL ETLL ISTLL ETLL JSTLL ISTLL 03/20/2002 FIELD USE 2002 5.00 p.m. until dark FIELDS MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY Cottagewood ETLL MGSA ETLL MGSA ETLL ETLL Excelsior Commons SSSA STLL SSSA SSSA STLL STLL Freeman #1 STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL Freeman #2 STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL Freeman #3 STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL Freeman #4 SSSA &TL+ SSSA MGSA SSSA MGSA MGSA Freeman #5 SSSA STLL STLL SSSA STLL STLL STLL Freeman #6 SSSA &TLf SSSA MGSA SSSA MGSA MGSA Freeman Soccer TU TU TU TU TU TU TU Hockey Rinks TU TU TU TU TU TU TU Manitou Park East MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA MGSA Manitou Park West STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL STLL Manitou Soccer TU TU TU TU TU TU TU Manor Park ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL Thorpe #1 ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL Thorpe #2 Neighborhood ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL ETLL Thorpe Open Field TU TU TU TU TU TU TU Red Signifies a change from 2001 CONTACTS: East Tonka Little League(ETLL), Legion, Babe Ruth (BR) Mark Ridge -1525 Vine Ridge Rd, Shorewood, MN. 55331 Hopkins /Minnetonka Rec(HMR) Ron Schwartz - 14600 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka, MN. 55345 South Tonka Little League(STLL) Ron Sepiol - 600 Virginia Shores Circle, Excelsior, MN. 55331 Minnetonka Girls Softball Assoc (MGSA) Therese Douglas - 3980 Vandan Road, Minnetonka, MN. 55345 Tonka United Soccer I Kay Turner - 18326 Minnetonka Boulevard, Deephaven, MN. 55391 South Shore Softball Assoc (SSSA) Gordy Lindstrom - 23680 Mc Lain Road, Shorewood, MN. Boys LaCrosse Minnetonka High School Activities Department Girls LaCrosse Minnetonka Community Education and Services Ultimate Frisbee Minnetonka High School Activities Department Rugby Minnetonka Community Education and Services • 03/202 • �xn��fi � Jeffery V. Bailey 19660 Sweetwater Curve Shorewood, MN 55331 • (952) 474 -3827 December 8, 2001 Pat Arnst Chair, Shorewood Park Commission 5480 Teal Circle Shorewood, MN 55331 Dear Pat: I am writing on behalf of the Minnetonka Girls Softball Association (MGSA). We are a volunteer, non - profit organization funded solely by fees from our member participants. Our mission is to provide the opportunity for girls to learn the sport of softball and engage in a fun, healthy, and competitive environment, while developing good sportsmanship skills. We offer a variety of slowpitch and fastpitch softball programs to girls ranging in age from five to eighteen years old. The MGSA's primary service area is the Minnetonka School District. (Note that we serve girls attending both public and private schools.) Between 500 and 600 girls participate in our programs annually. Over the years, the bulk of our operation has been conducted at Bennett Park, on Highway 101 just south of Minnetonka Boulevard. We recognize, however, that for our . programs to grow and prosper, we need to attain greater exposure on the west end of our service area. We believe that Freeman Park has the potential to help us achieve that enhanced exposure. Our challenge, however, is gaining access to the Freeman Park softball fields. As you are well aware, Minnetonka Community Education Services (MCES) is under contract with the City of Shorewood to schedule field use at Freeman Park. We recognize that satisfying the needs of many different sports organizations is a complicated task. Nevertheless, it is our contention that MCES does not offer a "level playing field" to the users of Freeman Park. We believe that the MCES approach to field allocation is fundamentally flawed. Specifically, the MCES approach is neither fair, open, nor efficient.. • In terms of fairness, current field assignments are based solely on past assignments. No comprehensive annual assessment of changing needs and priorities takes place. Individual requests for changes invariably meet with a negative response. Newcomers are effectively shut out. • In terms of openness, MCES conducts its decision - making behind closed doors. Despite repeated pledges to the contrary, in recent years the MCES has failed to bring together representatives of the users of the Freeman (and other area) softball fields to discuss scheduling needs. MCES does not make available a formal description of its field allocation procedures. • In terms of efficiency, MCES delays announcing field assignments each year. This creates uncertainty and makes it difficult for MGSA to certify field availability to the • various leagues in which we participate, thus hampering our ability to schedule games I} 11' clk-t at Freeman. Further, MCES seems unable (or unwilling) to fine -tune its field allocations. Organizations appear to "own" certain nights, as opposed to sharing access on those nights. Consider our dilemma. MGSA has been assigned two fields at Freeman Park on • Wednesday night for several years now. Presumably, we "own" those two fields on Wednesday. That day, as it turns out, is a poor night for MGSA. One of our biggest problems is finding fields for our traveling slowpitch and fastpitch teams, who play teams from other communities. Due to the leagues that our traveling teams play in, the majority of our field needs are on Tuesday and Thursday nights. MCES has repeatedly said that it can give us no Freeman fields on those nights. Why? The MCES response is that other organizations have been assigned those nights in the past. Could we meet jointly with those other groups to see if some accommodation could be arrived at? The MCES response has been that such a meeting will be scheduled in January, which then gets pushed back to later in the winter, and then never happens. Or if the meeting does take place, the other softball field users who are absent still get their historically allocated nights. Is it possible that we might get even one field on Tuesday or Thursday? The MCES response is that is not how things have been done in the past. Can we get final confirmation this year of the night that we are assigned? The MCES response is that such a confirmation will be forthcoming soon, and "soon" typically turns into late February or early March. We don't mean to demonize MCES. They perform many valuable services for the community. It simply appears that they don't do a very good job of allocating space at Freeman Park. We can hardly claim to be blameless in this matter. Despite Wednesday night being a low demand night by MGSA teams, we need to be more aggressive at maximizing use of the Freeman fields on whatever weekday night(s) we are assigned. We have also been i assigned fields on Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. That is a bit like being paid in Confederate currency, as those are very low demand periods. Nevertheless, we need to find a way to make greater use of the Freeman fields during those times. Further, in the past we have been all too willing to acquiesce to MCES hidebound practices. We need to be more proactive and insist on a more progressive approach. We are requesting the City of Shorewood to help us in bringing more fairness, openness, and efficiency to the allocation of Freeman fields. We are not asking for preferential treatment. It may be that, after all is said and done; the current field allocations will represent the only practical solution. While we don't believe that will be the case, all that we really want in the end is equal access to a public resource so that we can provide a valuable service to the girls and young women of our community. Sincerely, Jeff Bailey Vice President Minnetonka Girls Softball Association