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12.09.2025 Park Commission Meeting Minutes CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Vice Chair Garske convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. A. Roll Call Present: Commissioners Wenner, Garske, Bahneman, Sylvester; City Council Liaison Sanschagrin; Parks/Recreation Director Czech Absent: Chair Hirner B. Review Agenda Commissioner Wenner moved to approve the agenda as written. Commissioner Bahneman seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of October 28, 2025 Vice Chair Garske requested a correction to page 5, paragraph 1, to indicate: Chair Hirner noted that when looking at the CIP, most are a refresh of what is currently in the parks, except for South Shore. Vice Chair Garske requested a correction to page 6, paragraph 2, to indicate: Commissioner Garske stated that he is not in support of the ramp because if it goes to a dirt trail, which is not used much anyway, then it does not add any value. Commissioner Sylvester requested a correction to page 4, paragraph 3, to indicate: She added that the church nearby uses the park and the parking lot frequently, and wondered if the church would contribute to the park at all. Commissioner Wenner moved to approve the minutes of the October 28, 2025, meeting as amended. Bahneman seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were none. 4. GENERAL BUSINESS A. Parks Master Plan Update Parks/Recreation Director Czech provided an update regarding the Parks Master Plan process. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025 PAGE 2 OF 4 The Commission discussed the different items that were talked about at the Council meeting regarding the Master Plan. Commissioner Sylvester noted that it was not stated, but that the parks add value to all the houses in the community, therefore benefiting everyone by being there. Parks/Recreation Director Czech noted that alternative funding will be a part of the final draft, along with much of the necessary data to address issues that have arisen. Commissioner Wenner brought up using South Shore for affordable housing and checking to see what will be done with Highway 7 in that area. Commissioner Wenner asked about playground inspections. Parks/Recreation Director Czech explained that there are just frequent inspections done by Public Works over time, and things get taken out or replaced as needed. Vice Chair Garske noted he is in favor of using South Shore as a park. Parks/Recreation Director Czech noted that he believed MnDOT may have donated that piece of land to the City, and if the City were to sell, then the City would have to pay back MnDOT. Staff would have to look into this further in the event the Commission or Council would like to pursue alternative options with the land. Vice Chair Garske shared his excitement for nature play options. He asked if there was anything to be looking at additionally to prevent large repairs in the future. Parks/Recreation Director Czech explained that some of that is being done, especially with playground equipment. Vice Chair Garske discussed other ways to make pickleball function better, but at lower costs to the City. Parks/Recreation Director Czech noted the noise and problems that it can bring with more pickleball in certain areas of the City. Parks/Recreation Director Czech explained that the movement of the garden in South Shore was to preserve more trees and try to fit everything in the park. He added that the trees were assessed by the consultant. Commissioner Wenner asked about when the next tree inventory would take place. Parks/Recreation Director Czech noted that it is not scheduled, as it is very costly, and alternatives are being looked into. Commissioner Wenner noted that the Mayor brought up that the City is a Green Step City and a Bee Safe City as well, and that it would be a great thing for the Commission to discuss. She asked about having more discussion about that in the future. Parks/Recreation Director Czech noted that more is coming with that. Parks/Recreation Director Czech asked the consultant about using the Freeman South equipment at Cathcart and then using Freeman South as the nature play area. The Commission loved the idea. Vice Chair Garske asked about different equipment or lower-cost parks that could be used to replace the existing ones. Parks/Recreation Director Czech shared that the plan will help to PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025 PAGE 3 OF 4 keep costs down because discounts and grants are offered at the beginning of the year, but also, there are other types of cheaper equipment as well. B. 2026 Oktoberfest Discussion Parks/Recreation Director Czech reviewed the memo as found in the Agenda Packet. He added that further discussion was needed by the Commission for the event in 2026. He pointed out that Tonka United Association had recently reached out with an alternative. He added that Oktoberfest could continue without the City portion of the event. Commissioner Wenner suggested that one problem with Oktoberfest is that it is too spread out, and that if it were all in Badger Park, it would help with some of the issues that have arisen for families. Parks/Recreation Director Czech noted it is possible, but does present some other issues. The Commissioners discussed that Oktoberfest has some issues and would be okay with trying something different, such as the event with Tonka United Soccer Association. Vice Chair Garske asked about sponsors. Parks/Recreation Director Czech shared that there are no specific sponsors for Oktoberfest. Wenner moved to reallocate funding for the Oktoberfest event due to no increase in numbers, and reallocate funds to a different event on a different weekend in the fall, potentially in Freeman Park, potentially with Tonka United. Sylvester seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. C. Parks Unplugged Pop-Up Programming Parks/Recreation Director Czech explained the memo as presented in the Agenda Packet about Parks Unplugged Pop-Up Programming. Commissioners discussed that it is a fantastic idea. Commissioner Sylvester noted that a partnership with the churches near the parks may help take more ownership in the parks as well. Commissioners shared that there are so many ideas and activities that could go along with this that eventually it could even be monthly. Commissioner Sylvester asked about communications with the events. Parks/Recreation Director Czech shared the different ways that the community will be engaged. Vice Chair Garske asked about partnerships with the local schools. Parks/Recreation Director Czech pointed out that there has not been a lot of reason in the past to engage, but it is something to look into. The Commissioners discussed putting the flyer on local grocery store bulletin boards and different ways to advertise. D. End of Year Recap Slideshow Parks/Recreation Director Czech shared a slideshow of the things that were done by the Commission throughout the year. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025 PAGE 4 OF 4 Commissioners suggested putting it on Facebook and thanked Parks/Recreation Director Czech for all of his work. 5. STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS / UPDATES A. City Council Council Liaison Sanschagrin reported on recent Council discussions. B. Staff Parks/Recreation Director Czech gave an update on the Shorewood Community Events Center (SCEC) and the consultant who came in to do a facility assessment. He explained the updates that need to be done in the SCEC and that it is in the $1,100,000 range to have done. He added that meeting with more consultants for other ideas is going to happen in the near future, with the goal of having season. He stated that Safety Camp is being discussed again as a potential partnership with Community Education, as they have more outreach to the community. He added that his family is expecting a baby in the next week, so he will be out intermittently. C. Commission Commissioner Sylvester shared an idea to have patches for volunteers. Parks/Recreation Director Czech noted that a more formal volunteer program would be developed more in the new year. 7. ADJOURN Bahneman moved to adjourn the Park Commission Meeting of December 9, 2025, at 8:22 p.m. Wenner seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0.