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08-02-2010 PRCEMMINUTES Parks, Recreation & Community Education Advisory Board August 2, 2010 Members present were Jim Waldron, Jay Bartholomew, Chad Czmowski Mary Christensen, Mike Retterath and Deane Dietel. Also present were Dolf Moon and Karen McKay. The meeting was called to order at 5:15 pm. A motion was made by Chad Czmowski and seconded by Deane Dietel to approve the minutes dated April 5, 2010. The board unanimously agreed. OLD BUSINESS City/School Advisory Committee – The advisory committee will meet to review facilities and information on financial issues. Summer Wrap Up – The board reviewed statistics from summer participation. There was a good turnout for youth athletic camps and swim lessons. A comparison of participants from ’09 to ’10 will be available at the next meeting. The requests for getting fees waived increased in ’10. There is some compensation from United Way of McLeod County to cover the waived fees. Ice Resurfacer Legislation – Nothing has happened yet at the legislative level that would require ice arenas to have stricter air quality standards. NEW BUSINESS Budget - City – City staff is working to reduce the proposed budget for 2011. Twelve possible positions will be eliminated. PRCE has been asked to reduce its budget by $95,000 on top of a $190,000 reduction in 2009 and $350,000 in 2003. A permanent part-time position will be cut in the PRCE office and there will be a 10% reduction of wages at the Event Center. Programs will not be reduced; the quality of maintenance may suffer as more green space is added to the park maintenance schedule. Projects: -West River/Utilities – City staff and the Chamber’s Leadership group planted landscape materials at the Hutchinson Utilities building on the corner of Highway 7 and 15. Hutch Utilities provided the materials. Phases two and three will be done some time in the future. -Rotary Park – A swing set was added to the playground. The picnic shelter had electricity installed. -Lions Park West– A swing set was added; wood chips will replace the sand this is currently there. -School Campus – The baseball field and fencing have been removed. A soccer field will be developed in the old baseball field area. It is hopeful that the turf will be seeded before winter. The new baseball field, located north of the Middle School, will have an irrigation system installed soon. Blue Zone – Minnesota Author, Dan Buettner, studied the people of the world living to the age of 100 years. There were nine keys to living a longer life some of which include exercising more, eating better, finding a purpose in life and becoming a part of a community (groups/organizations). Blue Zone is a trademark process and Mr. Buettner charges $15,000 for a one-hour group session. MINUTES PRCE Advisory Board August 2, 2010 Page two Hutchinson is trying to pilot its own “Blue Zone” by focusing on three key elements and educating the community by eating right, exercising more and connecting to community. Representatives from the community include the school district, city, hospital and fitness groups. Crow River Dam – The water flow is down from last year.City staff is happy with the performance of the dam’s design. The landscape material is doing well. Volunteerism – There is a lot of volunteering going on in Hutchinson. PRCE used to pay coaches for its youth programs, now parents volunteer and have their child’s registration fee waived. Parents volunteer for advisory boards and coach the Junior Baseball, Girls Softball, and Hockey Associations as well as run their tournaments. Volunteerism does require preparation and supervision by city staff. BOARD MEMBER ITEMS A board member received an e-mail complaining about tall grass under park benches. Four board members are no longer on the advisory board. Two member’s terms expired; Deane Dietel and Beth Hepola. Scott Scholl and Lora Muilenberg accepted new jobs out of town. Dolf thanked former board members for their service. There will be an advertisement for new members in the Hutchinson Leader and on the City website. th Deane Dietel invited board members to the annual clean-up of the Crow River on September 18. There will not be a board meeting in September due to the Labor Day holiday. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 pm by a motion made by Mary Christensen and seconded by Mike Retterath. The Board unanimously agreed.