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11-07-2005 PRCEM MINUTES Parks, Recreation & Community Education Advisory Board N ovem ber 7, 2005 Members present were: Bill Arndt, Lenore Flinn, Kirk Kosel, Beth Hepola, Mike Cannon, Kathy Kalenberg and Ralph Johnson. Also present were DolfMoon, Lawrence Winter and Karen McKay. The meeting was called to order at 5: 15 pm. A motion was made by Mike Cannon and seconded by Bill Arndt to approve the minutes dated October 3,2005. The board unanimously agreed. OLD BUSINESS Pool Results - The High School Pool is operational with the boiler repair approved by the School Board. Having two pools works well to meet the needs of the school and other groups such as the High Tides. Budget - Dolf told the board that at this time the proposed PRCE budget still stands. The City Council meets on November 8th. He told the board that increasing recreation revenues by $10,000 could have some consequences. Participants with special needs currently have registration fees waived for summer swim lessons, t-ball, baseball and softball programs. Other programs with limited enrollment or having minimum limits based on instructor fees are not waived. A new item in the 2006 budget will be mosquito spraying. At this time it hasn't been determined if it will be an addition or if something else will be cut. State Amateur Baseball - Dolf has received many positive comments from state and local individuals. The tournament was financially beneficial to the Huskies and the baseball community. Money raised will help pay for a loan that was taken out to help with field improvements. The city received an additional $8,000 that helped offset the cost of new lighting and other field improvements NEW BUSINESS Proposed Bird Watching Trail - Lawrence Winter, Parks Resource Coordinator presented a request to the board from a local bird watching group lead by Bob Schroeder. They would like to have an area designated for bird watching. Specifically the footpath along the Crow River adjacent to city owned land extending from the parks garage south to the CreekSide compost facility. They are requesting that the area be maintained by the city and mowed occasionally. The trail could potentially be extended to the north, but would have to connect through 3M property and could run under the utility right-of-way. MINUTES PRCE Advisory Board November 7, 2005 Page Two Proposed Bird Watching Trail Cont. Dolf told the board that the bird watchers are a good group to work with and have spent time in the area picking up litter. He also said that there is a potential conflict with other city-owned land use groups such as CreekSide who operate large equipment in the area near the river. Waste Water has fencing around their facility. Bill Arndt made a motion to proceed on with the proposed trail area for the bird watching group. Lenore Flinn seconded the motion, the board unanimously agreed. Downtown Project - The new shorter lights are being installed and wired. The taller and shorter light poles cannot be lit at the same time. There will be banners on the new poles. There will no longer be Christmas lights crossing Main Street. Harrington/Merrill House - $175,000 has been contributed to the restoration of the Harrington/Merrill House over the past three years. A portion of the $175,000 has been derived from matching challenges. An interpretive center, viewing gardens and maple tree tapping opportunities are some of the activities planned for the historic property. Arena Improvements - Parent volunteers are constructing a new meeting room in the northeast corner of the east rink. The current space used for board meetings will be converted into a strength training room to be utilized by hockey and figure skaters Fee Schedule for School Facilities - Dolf and Brian Mohr are working on a new fee schedule for school facility rentals. The current fee schedule is from 1998. The pool/boiler issue prompted the need to update fees charged to user groups so that it would better reflect the cost of operations. There may be different fees for non-profit versus for profit groups. The new fee schedule will be reviewed at the next School Board meeting and will be enacted beginning July 1 st. BOARD MEMBER ITEMS Bill Arndt told the board that a meeting will be held in McLeod County regarding the Dakota Rail system. The snowmobile club could take over the area (for insurance purposes) until the county gets the details resolved. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will lease the property for 20 years. The area will be designated as a "transportation corridor". ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6: 12 pm on a motion made by Bill Arndt, seconded by Beth Hepola, and agreed to unanimously by the board. klm