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051419 Pk MinsCITY OF SHOREWOOD PARK COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2019 MINUTES CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Chair Mangold convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD SHOREWOOD CITY HALL 7:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present: Chair Mangold, Commissioners Vassar, Barr, and Hirner; City Planner Darling; Park and Rec Coordinator Grout Absent: Commissioner Rock B. Review Agenda Chair Mangold noted that items 4A and 4B will be switched so the sports groups will be talked to first. Hirner moved to approve the agenda as amended. Mangold seconded the motion. Motion carried 5 -0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of April 9, 2019 Vassar moved to approve the minutes of the April 9, 2019 meeting as written. Barr seconded the motion. Motion carried 5 -0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were none. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion with Organized Sports Chair Mangold explained that the Park Commission tends to work on long -term planning and more expensive maintenance items brought forward and the hope is to be able to blend the two and meet somewhere in the middle for planning purposes. He asked the representatives to introduce themselves and give their perspective on how the City interacts with their organizations and their "hot button" issues. Chad Dill, Tonka Football, stated that they have been very appreciative of the arrangement that they have had with the City for both the fields and parking. He stated that they have been very happy. Vassar asked how many kids he typically has using the City fields. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2019 PAGE 2 OF 5 Mr. Dill explained that they typically have 500 -550 kids and about 125 coaches but noted that the program is growing and noted that girls football programs are increasing. He gave an overview of the school fields that they are able to use. He noted that in the City, they are currently only using Badger Park. Bobbi Hoebelheinrich, Tonka United Soccer Association, stated that they use Freeman Park for their recreational program (games and tournaments) and Manor Park for training and practices two nights a week. She stated that this program has about 1,600 kids involved in the summer and about 1,000 in the fall. She also gave an overview of the fields that they use in the surrounding cities. Chair Mangold asked if they had access to enough fields. Ms. Hoebelheinrich stated that for right now, they do have enough fields for outdoor use. Kelly Benning, Minnetonka Girls' Softball Association, stated that their program has grown quite a bit which means their field needs have grown. She stated that there are about 300 girls in the program. She stated that they use Freeman Park and Manor Park. She gave an overview of other area fields that they use in other communities. She stated that scheduling the fields has been pretty tight and there isn't much room for rescheduling games because of rain delays and that sort of thing. Chris Gibney, Minnetonka Lacrosse Association, stated that they use Manor Park and Badger Park. He reviewed the area parks that they use in other communities. He stated that their biggest issue is weather and being able to find referees. He stated that they have about 120 girls and 140 boys involved in their program this year. Chair Mangold stated that it is interesting to note that three of the four associations are using Manor Park. Commissioner Hirner asked from a growth perspective, what the associations' future desired expectations are. Mr. Gibney stated that Badger Park is not currently at full -scale regulation size so they would like to see it become full -size. He stated that they would also like stands for people to sit in, restrooms and better parking. Chair Mangold explained that the plans for Badger Park do include construction of a new restroom facility which will be completed this year. Mr. Gibney noted that currently water is pooling behind the wall and between the walkway and the field. Planning Director Darling noted that the drainage issue will be addressed as part of the project. Chair Mangold explained that the plans for next year are to resurface the tennis courts. Commissioner Vassar asked that the associations encourage parents not to park in the bottleneck drop off area of Badger Park. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2019 PAGE 3 OF 5 Mr. Dill asked if each association paid a fee to the City in order to use the parks. Park and Rec Coordinator Grout stated that they all pay a fee to the City based on the same scale. Mr. Dill stated that he cannot commit their organization, but stated that they want to be a "team player" and if there are small things that are needed in the City, they would be willing to help share the expense for things like bleachers. Chair Mangold stated that those are the types of things where the City can make an educated guess on the best place to put them, but would love more input from the associations that are using the fields to make sure that it lines up with reality. He stated that part of the meeting tonight is to get input from the associations on upcoming needs or desires, so the City has time to plan and budget for them without the expectation that it will be done in the next 3 months. Ms. Hoebelheinrich stated that Freeman Park has had very wet springs and the bottom area has drainage issues and some of the fields are unusable. She stated that they would like to reseed the field this fall and would cover the expense of it themselves if they had the City's permission. She stated that their initial plan was to reseed in August, which she thinks would work fairly well and not inconvenience too many other teams. She stated that she wanted to echo Mr. Dill and state that they did not just want to come to the City to ask for things but wanted to work together with the City. Commissioner Vassar asked about the lighting situation for lacrosse and football and whether it was working out okay for the associations. Mr. Hill stated that there was a bit of a learning curve last year, but it is working out well for them. He stated that he appreciates the things that the lacrosse association has stepped up and done for the field this last year. Ms. Benning stated that softball is unique because they cannot share fields like football, lacrosse and soccer. She stated that their concern is that as the program is growing, there will not be many opportunities to add more softball fields to the area. She stated that while she also could not specifically commit their association to anything specific, she does see them being willing to help participate in some costs and give back to the community. She stated that their biggest concern is losing some of the field access because of higher demand from new club organizations coming into the City. She stated that they would like to have first right of refusal over club teams because of their long- standing association with the City. Park and Rec. Coordinator Grout explained the type of formula she uses to determine the scheduling of the fields. Commissioner Vassar thanked the associations for coming to talk to the Commission and noted that she felt it was very helpful. Chair Mangold stated that he agreed and encouraged the associations to come and talk to the City whenever there are issues and things that they would like to discuss whether it is big or small. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2019 PAGE 4 OF 5 Mr. Gibney stated that he would like to put in a few requests for the City to think about. He asked for fences on the sidelines at Badger Park and a path to the field rather than having to walk through the mud. Chair Mangold stated that the plans for Badger Park does not have a path connecting the field to the walkway but just around the perimeter. Mr. Gibney stated that they also had a shed where they were storing things but it got torn down and asked if they could get it back. Chair Mangold stated that the shed had to be removed for the planned layout. He explained the issues that City has had with the hardcover and the extra $50,000 that will be spent on the pond. He stated that he would hope that they can sneak in a sidewalk to connect the field to the walkway, but additional buildings may be a problem. Mr. Gibney stated that they would like garbage and recycle cans near the fields because he has noticed that the players tend to throw their bottles into the bushes. He stated that they would also like to have grills put in. Chair Mangold reiterated his invitation for the associations to stay in touch with the City and noted that they are planning a full walk through of the park system in the next month or so. The Commission discussed the scheduling formula and problems with softball this year; adding a sidewalk connection to Badger Park and additional trash and recycling containers. Planning Director Darling indicated that grills would be installed with the playground project B. Rink Attendant Pay Scale Chair Mangold noted that staff had pulled together pay scales for surrounding cities and most are in the same ballpark. He stated that he likes the incentives that the City offers but they are designed to retain employees and not pull them in. Park and Rec Coordinator Grout noted that last year's attendants were mostly hockey players so they were unable to work weekends because they were playing. Chair Mangold asked if there could be a higher pay scale for weekend and high demand nights. Planning Director Darling stated that they can discuss it with Human Resources. Park and Rec Coordinator Grout explained that they didn't used to have trouble and the incentives weren't needed, but then they started having trouble with people not showing up, locking up or turning off the lights, so they came up with the incentives. Chair Mangold stated that he thinks the base pay scale will need to be bumped up and add bonus pay for the higher demand nights. He asked what the process is for the pay scale increase. Planning Director Darling noted that this will have to go through City Clerk Thone, who is the Human Resources Director for the City. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2019 PAGE 5 OF 5 Park and Rec Coordinator Grout explained the background check requirements and process Commissioner Hirner asked if the City had ever contacted Normandale or Bloomington Community Colleges to see if there is an untapped pool of potential employees there that the City hadn't thought about. Park and Rec Coordinator Grout stated that they have not tried the community colleges. She explained some of the other ways that they have tried to find rink attendants. Mangold moved to recommend Council direct staff to look into increasing the base pay and look at a bonus incentive based upon being able to work on high priority nights for ice rink attendants. Barr seconded the motion. Motion carried 5 -0. 5. OLD BUSINESS A. Budget for Future Projects Planning Director Darling stated that the bids for Badger Park came in quite good and were lower than the engineer's estimate. She reviewed the breakdown of the bids and alternates that were accepted by the Council. She stated that after Freeman Park and Badger Park, it leaves the Park Commission with approximately $50,000 to $60,000 to use on another project. Chair Mangold asked which contractor was awarded the bid for Badger Park. Planning Director Darling stated that it was awarded to Blackstone Contractors. Commissioner Vassar asked if the City could save money by installing the equipment ourselves with a representative from the company present. She noted that her school had done that in the past because it helped bring down the costs. Planning Director Darling noted that the installation costs had already been included and paid for at Badger Park. Chair Mangold stated that the City could look into that possibility at other parks, such as Freeman Park. 6. STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS / UPDATES A. City Council Planning Director Darling gave an overview of discussion at the May 13, 2019 Council meeting. B. Staff Commissioner Barr noted that this will be her last meeting with the Park Commission. 7. ADJOURN Barr moved to adjourn the Park Commission Meeting of May 14, 2019 at 8:16 p.m. Hirner seconded the motion. Motion carried 5 -0.