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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDec 17, 2105 minutes City of Columbia Heights Park and Recreation Commission December 17, 2014 David Payne called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Sean Clerkin; Bruce Evans; Tom Greenhalgh; Stan Hoium; Kevin McDonald; David Payne; Marsha Stroik Staff Present: Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director; Keith Windschitl, Recreation Director; Deanna Saefke, Secretary OATH OF OFFICE Bruce Evans took the Oath of Office as Park and Recreation Commission Member. APPROVAL CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Stroik, second by Clerkin, to approve the consent agenda. Upon vote: All ayes. Motion Carried. LETTERS AND REQUESTS A. Request for a reduced rental fee of Murzyn Hall for a fundraiser event for Bright Water Montessori Schools in Minneapolis on Saturday, March 7, 2015. Stroik asked what kind of activities the group plans on doing as the letter states only music and alcohol. Windschitl replied they will be selling tickets for the event, possibly a silent auction, having a Lions Club bar, and a DJ for music. He indicated the Commission has consistently not allowed a fee waived group to use that rate on a Saturday night. Currently two of the four Saturdays in March are rented. This school is not located in Columbia Heights, however he does not know if anyone involved in the group is from the city. Stroik indicated she was wondering why they are not holding this fundraiser in their community where the school is located. Saefke replied the organizer had attended another fundraiser at Murzyn Hall. Windschitl stated the school indicated their population of students has over half using a reduced lunch program; he reported the Columbia Heights district has approximately 80% of students on a reduced lunch program. He feels that without a tie back to the city or a direct impact to the community there is no cause to waive the fee on a Saturday. Stroik believes this is a for-profit school; the preschool is non-profit as indicated in the letter. Clerkin agreed that with it being a Saturday evening and no direct community involvement, there is no reason to reduce the rental fee. Hoium stated he would be in favor of a 25% resident discount if staff agreed. Motion by Stroik, second by Hoium, to deny the request for a reduced rental fee because it is a Saturday and the group is not tied to the community. The group can apply the resident discount if Motion Carried they have a renter living in Columbia Heights. Upon vote: All ayes. B. Request for an open bar with staff approved bartenders on Friday, August 7, 2015. th Windschitl reported the rental is for an 80 birthday party with approximately 250 people or less. The request is to have an open bar using trained bartenders whom have been approved by staff. Motion by Hoium, second by Clerkin, to approve the request for an open bar using staff approved Motion Carried bartenders. Upon vote: All ayes. Park & Recreation Commission December 17, 2014 Page 2 OLD BUSINESS None at this time NEW BUSINESS A. Update on Huset Park splash pad and condition of current wading pools. Hansen reported a proposal was received from WSB and it was priced extremely high. Staff went out for other bids on a design proposal. This process was difficult because there are not very many consulting firms that conduct design work on splash pads. Bids were received from SRF Consulting for $29,500 and Stantec for $34,000. The primary difference is that Stantec has done the majority of wading pools and splash pads within the metro area. The other two companies associate themselves with a supplier of splash pad materials. Stantec will design anything within your budget. McDonald asked if all firms were shown the same design. Hansen answered they were given the same preliminary information recognizing that we are starting from scratch, the size of the area is 3000 square feet, and a $400,000 budget including the design fee. Hoium asked if the companies design everything from the pump size, to the dimensions, and everything. Hansen replied yes, everything. Hansen indicated staff has been looking for ways to save money on the project and in the spring do the removal on the site in-house. This does however put the project behind schedule. The goal is to have the design done by the end of April, go out for bids in April or May, and then see how long it takes to get materials because everything will be custom made. Hoium asked if Stantec helps to find a builder. Hansen replied yes they would find a specialty contractor or the city may piece each section out and find their own concrete worker for example. Hoium asked if by using city staff to remove the wading pool, will the labor costs come out of the $400,000 budget. Hansen replied no. Windschitl asked if the City Council wanted to keep one of the other wading pools open during the construction of the splash pad. Hansen replied that is the next part of the discussion. The Commission should consider if they would like to keep on or both of the existing wading pools open, and then what the future plan is for those areas depending on funding. The Ramsdell Park wading pool had the State required updates done in 2014 so it is ready to open after the required inspection for the 2015 season. The McKenna Park wading pool will need sand blasting, concrete repairs, and pump repairs at an estimate of $8,000. Greenhalgh agreed with keeping Ramsdell open. Hansen indicated the Commission should discuss maintaining three sites for water features or just two sites which would remove McKenna. Hoium asked how long the wading pools could stay open. Hansen replied as long as they can continue to remain usable. Stroik replied that the public is used to having McKenna closed from 2014, since Ramsdell is ready to open, just open Ramsdell and keep the McKenna site closed again, saving the $8000 for the new features. Hansen indicated using the money towards to removals of the wading pools. Clerkin asked how the closure of the McKenna pool affected the Recreation programs. Windschitl replied that is did have a negative impact because the location is used for programming which means the group has to travel to another location. He suggests keeping the McKenna pool open if Huset West is not going to be in use until later in 2015 or possibly 2016. The Huset West wading pool is a highly used park feature and redirecting them to McKenna Park is not a far distance to go. He would be in favor of spending the $8000 to use the McKenna Park wading pool until as long as it is usable. Clerkin stated there are a number of pools similar to ours that are functioning throughout Minneapolis. Hansen replied the City of Minneapolis has a plan approved by the State Department of Health to make the updates on so many pools per year for ADA compliance and water filtration up to code. Hansen indicated the sentiment of the City Council was to keep Ramsdell wading pool open, close the McKenna wading pool, and move forward with the Huset Park West splash pad. At this time the time line for the opening of the splash pad is unknown. Park & Recreation Commission December 17, 2014 Page 3 Motion by Greenhalgh, second by McDonald, to keep both Ramsdell Park and McKenna Park wading pools open as long as possible. Spend the $8000 to complete the updates for the Motion Carried McKenna Park wading pool. Upon vote: All ayes. REPORTS A. Recreation Director Windschitl indicated the Recreation Clerk, Stacy DeBar, is moving. The half time position has been posted and is actually now closed. A good number of applications were received. Hoium asked what the process is for hiring and who makes the decision. Windschitl replied the Human Resources Director/Assistant to the City Manager, Kellie Bourgeois, reviews the applications to see if they are qualified or not and rates them. From that selection Windschitl will review them as well and call applicants for interviews. The interview will be with Bourgeois, Windschitl, and possibly on other person. The hope is to fill the position as soon as possible. In the meantime a part-time seasonal employee will help to cover the office. Windschitl received an email from a participant of the Custard, Sprinkles, and Santa Party that the Youth Program Coordinator Liz Bray puts together. He stated Bray and Saefke run a great event. The letter was to compliment the department on a great community event, enjoyed by the kids, parents, and grandparents. The letter compliment the youth performed play and the great Santa. Saefke reported receiving two complimentary emails on part-time Murzyn Hall staff during previous events. B. Public Works Director/City Engineer Hansen reported the resignation of a nine year staff person who received their college degree in another field and left for a full time job in marketing. That position will be replaced in February or March. There are currently four job openings in Public Works; one in streets, two in utilities, and one in parks. Hoium asked where the jobs are advertised. Hansen replied through the League of MN Cities website, the City website, and depending on the field of the position an association with that field. The League of MN Cities is where the most hits are received. Clerkin asked if job openings are listed through unions. Hansen replied to a small degree, but there is not that type of setup with that group. Hansen indicated the group discussed the possibility of a bond referendum in two or four years during previous meetings. Before thinking about doing a bond referendum then the group should start looking at the Capital Improvement Plan in the first half of 2015. Payne indicated he would like to see the discussion on a future agenda. Stroik agreed. C. Commission Members Stroik asked for an update on ice rinks. Hansen replied the work was started on the rinks and will continue once the weather stays below freezing. The same parks will have rinks; McKenna Park, Ostrander Park, and Keyes Park. Payne asked about the supply of road salt for the season. Hansen replied the supply is at 85%. th Stroik reported 40 Avenue is extremely icy and hard to stop at the bottom of the hills. She asked if it had ever been considered to pull some of the stop signs during the winter months. Hansen replied that discussion was brought to the attention of the City Council and stop signs will not be Park & Recreation Commission December 17, 2014 Page 4 pulled. The reason is because drivers get used to stop signs in place and it would put the City in a liable position if a driver was anticipating another car to stop for a previous stop sign. th Windschitl asked what the process is to get a two hour parking allowance along 49 Avenue in front of the Hylander Center because many of the participants in the morning are senior citizens. Hansen replied that parking restrictions or changes are done by a resolution by the City Council. The first step is to address the Traffic Commission. Payne adjourned the meeting at 6:08 p.m. ______________________________ Deanna Saefke, Recreation Clerk Typist II