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091103 PK JT MIN CITY OF SHOREWOOD SHOREWOOD CITY HALL JOINT PARK COMMISSION AND 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD PARK FOUNDATION MEETING 6:00 P.M. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 MINUTES 1. CONVENE JOINT PARK COMMISSION AND SHOREWOOD PARK FOUNDATION MEETING Park Commission Chair Arnst and Park Foundation Chair Dawson called the meeting to order at 6:04 P.M. A. Roll Call Present: Park Commission: Chair Arnst; Commissioners Young, Palesch, and Callies; City Administrator Dawson; and City Engineer Brown Park Foundation: Chair K. Dawson; Commissioners Keeler, Lindstrom, Guy, and J. Dallman Absent: Park Commissioners Gilbertson and Davis; Park Foundation Commissioners Eddy, Kelly, and Bix B. Review Agenda 2. UPDATE ON PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES OF PARK FOUNDATION Chair Dallman welcomed the Park Commission to the joint meeting, expressed the Foundations desire to develop a partnership between the two groups, and invited a Commissioner to sit on the Foundation Board. Dallman passed around a drawing of the proposed ‘family oasis’ for Freeman Park and explained that the Foundation would be getting on the campaign trail for the buy-a-brick program to support this endeavor. In addition, Dallman reported that the annual “Art for the Park” craft fair was slated for November 1, 2003. Of the $5,000-$6,000 netted off the craft fair last year, the Foundation gave approximately $4,500 to the Park Commission. Dallman indicated that more space and vendors had been recruited this year and that additional time and money would be devoted to advertising the event to the public. He estimated more than 30 volunteers would be needed to pull off the event. Young indicated that he would be a willing volunteer and Callies asked to be notified of a job chart or time slot to sign up for. J. Dallman noted that the High School would be hosting a school dance the night before, on Halloween; therefore, the set-up might be difficult for vendors this year. She indicated that Coldwell Banker would be helping to promote the event with a flyer, a mailer would be sent out, as well as, newspaper articles and billboards to promote the event. J. Dallman added that musician Pat Surface would be performing, as would the high school Choral group and a pianist during the day. As the event grows each year, Dallman stated that they will continue to incorporate the public’s suggestions, as they have done this year by hiring a gourmet food vendor for the show instead of offering cafeteria fair. K. Dallman introduced the Foundation’s newest member, Jon Guy, whose fundraising expertise will aid the Foundation in its efforts to promote parks. He asked the Park Commission to comment JT PARK COMMISSION AND PARK FOUNDATION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 PAGE 2 OF 5 on how they see the role of the Park Foundation evolving and how the Commission can partner with the Foundation to accomplish great things for Shorewood Parks. The Foundation and Commission members introduced themselves. While 25 years ago, the City began charging a per lot development fee earmarked for parks, Keeler explained that this no longer works since Shorewood is mostly developed. He pointed out that the Foundation was created to fill that void, as a fundraising entity for Shorewood Parks in an effort to find new ways to support the city parks other than through taxation and referendum. Dawson interjected that, while the Foundation is committed to fulfilling its annual commitment to Freeman Parks Eddy Station, they are looking for additional avenues to get sustained long term giving for the park system as a whole. Since development is limited, alternate funding sources must be found. Keeler stated that it is the Foundations goal to provide a constant source of revenue for maintenance, upgrades, and additions to the parks. He believed an annual contribution of $250,000 to the city park system would be a great aspiration. Dallman pointed out that, while the Foundation membership had been scaled back to 8-9, the Foundation would like to have a mass of volunteers or ‘friends of the Foundation’ to which they could turn to for financial and volunteer support. Once again, he indicated that they were holding a seat open for a Park Commissioner. Keeler suggested that a member of the Park Commission be present, at minimum, on a rotating basis in order to share information. Chair Arnst asked that the Foundation begin to receive a copy of the Commission’s minutes. While Callies could see the value in having a Park Commissioner sit on the board, she indicated that the time commitment tends to overwhelm volunteers who already serve on various committees. Young disagreed, stating that he did not see the need to have a park commissioner serve on the Foundation board. Having served on the board for a time, he maintained that a regular member was not necessary and that reports could be shared when critical issues arose. He did not believe there had been any absence of communication when a subject warranted a liaison. 3. DISCUSSION OF PARK MASTER PLAN/PARK COMMISSION VISION Guy stated that the Foundation needs to partner with the Commission to develop an overall vision that it can take out to the public and promote in order to raise money. He believed that a million dollar plus vision was not out of the question if the public could get ‘passionate’ about some initiative. He indicated that the Commission needs to help the Foundation identify the ‘bigger picture’ through a shared visioning process. Chair Arnst stated that the Park Commission had spent the greater part of the last two years analyzing and classifying each park, the master plan, and assets or deficiencies of each park on a micro level. Through this analysis, she believed that the neighborhood parks had been developed to capacity and that Freeman Park was as developed as it needs to be, in consideration of parking issues. While she felt there was room to provide additional recreational experience for youth and seniors during off sporting hours, she didn’t know where $2 million would be spent on huge improvements. JT PARK COMMISSION AND PARK FOUNDATION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 PAGE 3 OF 5 While the parks are currently developed, Callies noted that additional funding might allow the vision of individual parks to change. Although maintenance and park improvements could be made to enhance the current parks, Keeler pointed out that the money could be used to acquire additional park land. Dawson stated that endowments for long term spending could be set up as well. Callies commented that the Park Commission might not be qualified to lay out the ‘big picture or vision’ that the Foundation was looking for. Guy suggested the two entities join force to brainstorm ideas for the broader vision in terms of recreational opportunities and destinations. Palesch tossed out the suggestion that the city investigate developing supervised recreational activities in the parks and provide an accompanying shuttle service to get the youth there, for instance tennis lessons, etc. J. Dallman added that, with the assistance of an environmentalist, the park could provide future family areas that would provide other opportunities in the parks besides sports. Lindstrom pointed out that the original park master plans were laid out in 1980, and master plans should be updated as needed. He noted that Richfield reprogrammed their parks on a 25-year cycle. He noted that the original plans included trails connecting destinations throughout Shorewood, which have still not come to fruition. He believed that Shorewood could use as much financial support as could be given to improve the quality of life for all without turning to tax payers to foot the bills. Guy pointed out that, while the craft fair was just one way to raise money, it required a great deal of volunteer support and expense to obtain a small fixed amount of revenue. He maintained that once a specific mission can be identified, the money will follow, and the public will often sponsor a project that they get behind. Since the Foundation plans to kick off with a mid May fundraising event, Dawson encouraged the groups to narrow the field of projects to get endorsement for. He acknowledged that it is far easier to get people excited about new projects versus Eddy Station which, in the public’s eye, is already complete. Chair Arnst agreed, asking how much the oasis would cost. She commented that once the oasis was built, the public might be motivated to give to other projects. Dallman estimated the project could run anywhere from $10,000-$20,000 to be put together. In order to get past the Park Commission member gap in the board Callies stated that she would be willing to serve for a time. She believed that it was important for someone on the Park Commission to represent them on the board, if the Commission expects the public to rally behind the parks and the Foundations effort. She argued that the board member position should be more than a mere liaison position, with the member holding the same active role as the others. Keeler acknowledged that the board has gone to great lengths to find members with vision and fundraising experience, as well as those with a strong interest in the future of the parks. JT PARK COMMISSION AND PARK FOUNDATION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 PAGE 4 OF 5 4. DISCUSSION OF DONOR CAMPAIGNS While the first vision, or Oasis project, has been laid out, Guy believed the Foundation could continue to motivate different groups within the community to rally behind specific causes, for instance, the football or hockey organizations. Keeler pointed out that the goal of the Foundation is, and always has been, to make the Shorewood Parks better than they are, a goal that generally mirrors that of the Park Commission. As money was in short supply, Chair Arnst recognized the fact that the Park Commission has spent a great deal of time over the past two years focusing on policy, research, and recommendations versus dealing with visioning on a grand scale. She stated that, she believed, the Park Commission was now at a point where it could embrace new ideas. Palesch agreed that, while the Commission referred to a vision for each specific park as it reviewed the master plans, they did not develop an overall park vision. On the other hand, she recognized the difficulty in engaging the public and felt the Commission needed feedback from the community on the type of projects they might rally behind. Lindstrom reiterated his frustration that the City has not been able to construct trails or provide youth the ability to safely get to the parks. He pointed out that community education does a good job offering recreational opportunities outside of sports, but admitted that this, too, could be expanded. Chair Arnst suggested that the Park Coordinator position could be expanded to handle additional programs in the parks. Keeler stated that, unfortunately, in 1978 the City Council did not support the recommendation to spend $20,000 to construct a trail down Smithtown Road, since it is nearly impossible to do so today. Now that the Park Commission has developed a master plan and the Foundation has appointed it master visionaries, Chair Arnst asked what would be the next step. Guy stated that, once the Park Commission has compiled a list of ideas that they view as the most important to pursue, the Foundation will rally behind them to fulfill the vision. Chair Arnst stated that the Park Commission would schedule a brainstorming work session, or add the discussion item to its next agenda, in order to generate ideas for the parks which could be forwarded to the Foundation to fulfill. 5. OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS There were no additional items. 6. ADJOURNMENT The Joint Park Commission and Park Foundation Meeting adjourned at 7:15 P.M. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Kristi B. Anderson JT PARK COMMISSION AND PARK FOUNDATION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 PAGE 5 OF 5 Recording Secretary