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021120 Pk Mins CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Chair Mangold convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. A. Roll Call Present: Chair Mangold, Commissioners Vassar, Hirner, and Gallivan ; (arrived at 7:02)City Council Liaison Sundberg; Park and Recreation Director Grout Absent: Commissioner Rock B. Review Agenda Hirner moved to approve the agenda as written. Vassar seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of November 19, 2019 Hirner noted that he is listed as making motions and he was not in attendance at the meeting. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that those changes have been noted and corrected in the minutes. Gallivan moved to approve the minutes of the November 19, 2019 meeting as amended. Mangold seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were none. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Determine Liaisons for City Council Meetings Commissioners discussed upcoming Council meeting dates and determined the following liaison assignments: February – Hirner March - Vassar April – Gallivan PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020 6 PAGE 2 OF B. Warming House Tours in February Chair Mangold stated that the Parks Commission conducted warming house tours 2 years ago which went really well. He noted that this year the Commission was asked to tour the facilities individually in preparation for discussion at this meeting. Commissioner Vassar asked about staffing levels this year compared to prior years because she has had a few people mention that they have tried to go to Manor Park to skate, but it has been closed every time they have tried even though the posted hours say it should be open. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that she has had full staffing and rinks have been open other than when they have needed to shut down because of weather. Commissioner Hirner stated that he had also attempted to tour Manor Park last week and the warming hours doors were locked and nobody was there. He stated that he had a conversation with a resident though that said there has virtually been nobody on the ice. He noted that the resident has asked the City to consider putting in something around the edge such as a cross country ski trail. He stated that this resident told him that the most used facility at this park was the volleyball courts. Commissioner Hirner stated that he toured Cathcart last week which was packed and noted that there was some issue with the parking lot because the snow hadn’t been pushed back as far as he thinks it could have been. He discussed various issues he found with the trailer on site. Chair Mangold asked about staffing and if they were last minute hires. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that there were last minute because as of November, she had nobody interested, but had more people interested by December. She explained that they would prefer to have the applications early because that allows time for the background check to be conducted without slowing things down at the rink. Chair Mangold asked what shifts the City was staffing and keeping the rinks open. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that rinks are open Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 9:00, Saturdays from 11:00 to 3:30 and 3:30 to 9:00, and Sundays noon to 4:30 and 4:30 to 9:00. She noted that these hours change a bit on weekdays when there is no school. Chair Mangold stated that it appears as though Cathcart usage has increased and Manor usage has stayed the same or decreased. Commissioner Hirner stated that he has one maintenance item to bring up regarding an outlet in the far corner that is not working. Commissioner Vassar stated that as far as she knows, that outlet has never worked. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020 6 PAGE 3 OF C. Concession Agreement Chair Mangold stated that this agreement is basically the same as the City had last year at Freeman Park. He noted that he thinks both the City and Russ have been happy with the agreement and thinks it is good for the park to have a concession element. Hirner moved to recommend approval of the Concession Agreement as presented. Vassar seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. D. Bleachers at Badger Park Chair Mangold asked for an overview of the options that are being presented to the Commission. He stated that he thinks the City should be looking at bleachers but has no idea what scale or size bleachers will work best. Park and Recreation Director Grout explained the proposed location of the bleachers and noted that it will take 6-8 weeks for them to arrive after they are ordered. The Commission discussed funding and whether any of the sports groups would be helping to pay for the bleachers and what scale they would be hoping the City installs. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that she will contact the lacrosse and football associations for their input and try to get it in time for the next Park Commission meeting so it can be passed along to the Council in order for this to move forward as quickly as possible. Chair Mangold stated that he thinks the question before the Commission is whether or not this group feels it should financially invest in a bleacher in partnership with the sports groups. He stated that he thinks it is a good idea, and just needs some final details regarding how much the sports groups will contribute what design. The Commission discussed pros and cons of various design options and the possible issues with the topography of the land in this area. E. 2020 Meeting Schedule Chair Mangold asked if there was anything specific the Commission would like to see on future agendas. The Commission discussed the upcoming grand opening for Badger Park and noted that it will depend on weather. Commissioner Vassar asked about the tennis courts at Badger Park. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that Planning Director Darling told her that item will be on the next Council agenda. Commissioner Vassar asked about the proposed fire lane visit scheduled for April. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020 6 PAGE 4 OF Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that is something that Planning Director Darling has proposed, but she doesn’t know any details. The Commission discussed past meetings regarding this issue and the fact that it is a heated subject with snowmobilers wanting access to the lake and some residents putting barriers in the fire lanes. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that she will confirm with Planning Director Darling what her plan is for that meeting and send an e-mail to the Commission so they know what to expect. Chair Mangold asked if the Park Tours should continue to be broken down and scheduled later in the year. Commissioner Vassar stated that she would support moving the tours up to May, June and July, rather than extending out to August. Chair Mangold stated that he would like to compress the schedule and simply having longer meetings in order to tour all the parks in a shorter amount of time. There was a consensus of the Commission to conduct the tours in June and July. Commissioner Vassar noted that the Parks Commission meeting for June is the last day of school and suggested that it may be a good idea to reschedule that meeting. th Chair Mangold suggested moving it to the 4 Tuesday of the month and asked Park and Recreation Director Grout to confirm that schedule change won’t be a problem. He noted that one thing he thinks the Commission should add to its agenda in the future is to be strategically discussing the playground structures before going on the park tours. He stated that he would like to have an overall goal in mind and make sure that the structures at the parks are not all the same. Commissioner Vassar suggested that the meeting date in September be changed also because she believes that is the first day of school. th Chair Mangold suggested checking to see if that meeting could be moved to the 4 Tuesday of the month, similar to what is proposed for June. Commissioner Vassar stated that the date listed for the October Park Commission meeting may be incorrect and asked Park and Recreation Director Grout to check the calendar. Chair Mangold encouraged the Commission to work with staff if there is anything they are interested in discussing. He stated that staff can research those items and pull together information in order to bring it in for full Commission discussion. He stated that it doesn’t just need to happen on an annual basis at this meeting. 5. OLD BUSINESS A. Review Park Fees and Usage for Picnic Shelters PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020 6 PAGE 5 OF Chair Mangold thanked Park and Recreation Director Grout for gathering this information and noted that he would like this to be done on an annual basis so the Commission can stay informed. Commissioner Vassar asked why the Freeman shelter was used more frequently than the Eddy Station shelter. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that she believes it is due to the volleyball courts at Freeman Park. She stated that she believes it is also because that shelter is more secluded. The Commission discussed the fees and possible increases for some of the parks, such as Badger Park. They reviewed resident versus non-resident rates. There was a consensus to move Badger Park to the same rate as Eddy Station and keep the other fees the same. Gallivan moved to use the existing fee schedule and add Badger Park into the same rate as Eddy Station. Hirner seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. Chair Mangold stated he would suggest leaving the tournament fee schedule alone. Commissioner Vassar noted that she thinks the City should re-evaluate the fees for the tennis courts when the Badger Park courts are done. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that she will put the fee discussion on the agenda for the October Parks Commission meeting. Updates to CIP B. Chair Mangold stated that staff is suggesting shifting the CIP plans back a year because of lack of funding. The Commission discussed the proposed changes to the CIP and reviewed previous discussions about the concept of working on one park at a time. Chair Mangold suggested the Commission come up with priorities for the parks in the City and present that to the Council and let the funding work itself out after the priorities have been established. 6. STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS/UPDATES A. City Council Councilmember Sundberg asked the Parks Commission to look into “age friendly” parks. She stated that the Council has discussed Arctic Fever and the possibility of breathing new life into that event. Park and Recreation Director Grout noted at the Council meeting that Councilmember Sundberg missed, the Council voted on Joanne Schmid as the new Park Commission member and noted that she will start her term in March. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020 6 PAGE 6 OF B. Staff Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that there has been some discussion about adding some events to freshen up Arctic Fever. She stated that the turn out for some of the events was low and noted that some of the vendors cancelled because of the roads and the weather. ADJOURN Gallivan moved to adjourn the Park Commission Meeting of February 11, 2020 at 8:18 p.m. Hirner seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.