Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutDec 12, 2012 min City of Columbia Heights Park and Recreation Commission December 12, 2012 Tom Greenhalgh called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Eileen Evans; Tom Greenhalgh; Stan Hoium; Kevin McDonald; David Payne; Marsha Stroik Staff Present: Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director; Gary Peterson, Mayor; Keith Windschitl, Recreation Director; Deanna Saefke, Secretary In attendance: Steve Oslund, Jackie Haugen, and Josh Shea from the North Metro Youth Hockey Association APPROVAL CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Stroik, second by Hoium, to approve the consent agenda. Upon vote: All ayes. Motion Carried. LETTERS AND REQUESTS Hansen introduced a proposal to promote the community and ice hockey on January 19th National Hockey Day MN at McKenna Park. Resident Steve Oslund attended the most recent City Council meeting to present the community day idea and is present at this meeting. Hansen indicated staff would try their best with the weather conditions to make good ice at the park. Payne indicated Oslund attended the previous CH Athletic Boosters presenting plans for the community hockey event, including the Boosters to be at the event with food options. Oslund introduced himself; he has lived in the city for seventeen years, has a wife and three children and has been a volunteer coach for the Recreation Department. He belongs to the North Metro Youth Hockey Association which includes Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Fridley, and Columbia Heights. The Treasurer, Jackie Haugen and a Youth Program Director, Josh Shea, are also in attendance from the Association. Oslund would like to see more youth in the City to take part in hockey, but also to bring a positive event to the community. He complimented staff on keeping the ice in good condition at McKenna Park. Oslund is proposing four hockey games, at least two boys and two girls games to be played at the th park on the 19. The organization would also ask Defending the Blue Line, an organization of NHL players that donate money towards military families for kids to play hockey. Oslund stated that he is trying to think out of the box to involve the community. He indicated that a lot of help will be needed to make the day a success. McDonald asked what the goal is for the day. Oslund replied that the main focus is awareness about hockey. The group has applied for grants from MN Hockey to help fund any repairs or work needed at the rink. He would like to see a whole community park day with open skating, sledding, bonfires, the CH Athletic Boosters food truck, and a general awareness for hockey. Windschitl asked if the hockey association has committed to the games. Shea replied yes, the U10 girls and a Mites team at this time. Windschitl asked about any temperature restrictions regarding cold weather. Shea replied that they will play when it is cold. Oslund indicated the North Metro Stars, a girls High School team, as well as the head coach from Totino Grace have shown interest in participating in the event. Stroik indicated there are many hockey alumni in the area and having an alumni game for both men and women would be an idea to try. Oslund stated he will need help with getting the ice ready, he has donations of paint for the ice, a gate may need Park & Recreation Commission December 12, 2012 Page 2 to be fixed or installed, and he also has volunteer workers to help with the gate if needed. Hansen replied Staff is getting the ice prepared and he will have Oslund meet with Staff at the rink to assess additional needs. Peterson asked if McKenna is the best park for this event taking all activities and parking into consideration. Hansen replied that Keyes Park may be a better fit regarding parking, and the warming house is closer to the rink. Peterson suggested for Oslund to meet with Hansen for the park maintenance, to get advertising out right away, to talk with Windschitl for other details and that the City is agreeable to the community event idea. Oslund suggested using a shuttle of some sort to go between the park and the nearby schools. Evans thanked Oslund, Haugen, and Shea for attending the meeting. A. Request for the rental of the LaBelle Lounge on December 31, 2012 for a family party. Windschitl indicated the facility is typically not rented on New Year’s Eve due to past functions have some issues and staff will need to be scheduled. This will be a private family party for about sixty people and a staff person has indicated that they would be willing to work. McDonald asked if the family has rented in the past. Windschitl replied yes their past events have been good with no issues. Motion by Hoium, second by Greenhalgh, to allow the rental of the LaBelle Lounge on Motion carried. December 31, 2012. Upon vote: All ayes. B. Request for the fee to be waived for the use of Murzyn Hall on January 19, 2013 for an annual banquet and meeting of the Columbia Heights Firefighter’s Association. Evans asked why they do not use the lower level of the Public Safety building for their event. Windschitl replied that he does not know, but the Police Association also used Murzyn Hall for their holiday event last weekend. To be consistent the charges have been $20 per hour to cover custodial staff costs with no entry fee required. Windschitl indicated current City staff will be among the group, but this is an event through the associations and feels that the custodial staff time should be covered. Motion by Hoium, second by Payne, to charge the Columbia Heights Firefighter’s Association a rate of $20 per hour of use in Murzyn Hall on January 19, 2013 for their annual banquet and Motion carried. meeting. Upon vote: All ayes. OLD BUSINESS A. LaBelle Park status update Hansen reported the City Council accepted the master plan for LaBelle Park as the Park & Recreation Commission recommended. The current stage is to find funding sources. The new playground equipment has been received and will be installed in the spring. Some trial work will need to be done to connect to the playground area. One possible source of funding would be to remove the boardwalk. With the removal of the boardwalk there are two things to take into consideration, contamination of the soil and the shoreline restoration for 15-20 feet of naturalization. One grant application has been submitted to the DNR. The MWMO, Mississippi Water Management Organization, is interested in helping but will wait to hear the results from the DNR grant as they do not double up on grant awards. Hansen indicated the removal of the boardwalk, shoreline restoration, and playground installation will be the extent of the improvements until further funding is available. Evans asked about funding from the sale of Park View Villa. Peterson replied the sale is been delayed but is still moving forward. The sale of the former Mady’s site is tentative for tomorrow, which would able the City to tear down the building and make the site available for development. Park & Recreation Commission December 12, 2012 Page 3 NEW BUSINESS A. Rental rates for John P. Murzyn Hall in 2014 Windschitl reported the rental rates are set for two years in advance, these rates are for 2014. Staff recommends keeping the current rates for rentals of Murzyn Hall in 2014. Windschitl indicated the revenue is down for 2012 with one reason being that there were eight cancellations after a down payment was made. He stated that the recommended rates would not be approved by the City Council until the first meeting in January. Evans asked if 2014 begins to be rented after the first of the year. Windschitl replied yes and that a good portion of the Saturdays in 2013 are already reserved. Saefke indicated there were not as many Friday rentals in 2012 as there were in 2011, which may have been a factor in the lower revenue. She stated the last time the rentals rates were increased was from 2010 to 2011. Hoium asked if the rates are exactly the same as the current rates. Windschitl replied that the only rates which may change would be an increase with linens or pop use and the rates would increase accordingly. He stated that over the years the rates for the deposits have worked really well with no issues. There is a rate of $160.69 for a renter of Saturday to use the hall on Friday during the business hours to decorate ahead of time. Windschitl indicated that it does not involve additional staff time because the office is open and custodial staff would setup for the event during the morning shift. It is a nice benefit for a Saturday renter although it does not bring in a lot of additional revenue. Windschitl noted that a Columbia Heights resident still receives a 25% discount off of the rental rate. Evans asked what the rental rates are for neighboring facility such as Silverwood Park. Stroik replied that the rental rate is quite a bit higher. Windschitl replied that he will be doing that research on rental rates, but that it is difficult to compare other facilities because we allow renters to bring in their own food or caterer. Many facilities require a food minimum or alcohol minimum that increases the initial rental rates. Stroik asked if the rental rates applied towards a funeral luncheon. Windschitl replied that we work with the situation to discount the rate to reflect the hours needed for this type of event. Motion by Greenhalgh, second by Payne, to accept the 2014 rental rates for John P. Murzyn Hall. Motion carried. Upon vote: All ayes. REPORTS A. Recreation Director Windschitl reported a positive comment was received thanking staff for the new online registration program. The system has been successful so far. B. Public Works Director/City Engineer Hansen reported staff is trying to make ice at the three rinks. He stated a staff person will need to be on duty for the January 19 community hockey event. Windschitl indicated speaking with Oslund about having the commitment from hockey teams before moving forward with improvements of the boards and other items at the hockey rink. He is in support of the community hockey day event. Evans asked how the weekend was for staff with the weather conditions. Hansen replied staff came in twice for plowing. Stroik stated a good job was done. Hansen indicated that more plowing is scheduled for the week. C. Commission Members Greenhalgh indicated the light at Keyes Park on the hill was out. Hansen will follow up with staff on the status of the light as to if it is burnt out or on a timer. Park & Recreation Commission December 12, 2012 Page 4 Evans asked if a garbage can be place in the south parking lot of Prestemon Park off of 39th. She indicated there are two cans in the other lot. A lot of cars stop at the park during the lunch hour and leave garbage. Hansen will follow up with staff to move a garbage can to the area. Payne asked if a small playground could be installed in the open space near the public safety building, even using old equipment. Hansen replied that all playground equipment that is salvageable is passed down to other parks. All equipment from McKenna Park is not reusable. The state law requires all playground equipment to be inspected annually to meet certain standards. The City has one or two certified playground inspectors. In terms of the back parking lot most of the new playground equipment is installed with footings. The City also does not have enough space and the parking lot area is used for storage of material in transit. During the winter snow is brought to that area, dirt is stored during major construction because the rear lot of Public Works is full of equipment. Hansen indicated that the Fire Department asked about installing a playground in the area as well. Payne indicated seeing a lot of down or dead trees at LaBelle Park on the East side hill area. Hansen replied staff has done tree cleanup twice this year. The East side hill has privately owned property; the City only owns property part way up the hill. Peterson indicated desire to see a clear view of Hart Lake with cleanup between the trees. Peterson announced a kickoff for the Columbia Heights Community Tower being installed in the roundabout at Huset Parkway. It will be a four-sided tower, 28 inches wide and 8 feet high. The four sides will each have a theme; History of the workers and founders of the City, Recreation, Education, and Diversity. The School District is getting involved to help design the artwork to keep a consistent medium. Peterson encouraged input and any ideas on the artwork. Stroik thanked Peterson for the Taste of Columbia Heights Holiday Kickoff Event. The food was phenomenal, well priced, and a great event all around. Evans adjourned the meeting at 6:42 p.m. ______________________________ Deanna Saefke, Recreation Clerk Typist II