Loading...
03-07-2011 PRCEMMINUTES Parks, Recreation & Community Education Advisory Board March 7, 2011 Members present were Jim Waldron, Elizabeth Hanninen, Jay Bartholomew, John Rodeberg, Mary Christensen and Mike Retterath. Also present were Dolf Moon, Sharon Armstrong, Sara Witte, Mike Bahe, September Jacobsen, John McRaith, Raquel Bushman and Karen McKay. The meeting was called to order at 5:15 pm. A motion was made by John Rodeberg and seconded by Elizabeth Hanninen to approve the minutes dated February 7, 2011. The board unanimously agreed. NEW BUSINESS Recreation- John McRaith, Recreation Services Coordinator, reviewed accomplishments from 2010 including adding a new activity, Kidd Klub, a playground program for children in the summer. He also used high school soccer and volleyball players to help coach the youth programs and provide their programs with a fundraiser. John will be offering adult teams an opportunity to have flexible scheduling of games to make participating easier with work schedules. He will also be communicating with participants via e-mail; a process which has been made easier with a recent upgrade. Raquel Bushman, Tournament Director, updated the board with statistics from the tournament season. Boys, girls and adult basketball, girls fastpitch, volleyball, broomball and adult softball tournaments were held in Hutchinson last year. Teams return to play in Hutchinson due to the tournament formats and PRCE’s efforts to better accommodate players and teams. Raquel also coordinates the concession operations at the Rec Center and Roberts Park. Revenues remain strong by catering to the players and spectators at tournaments. Income from the stands helps fund recreation in Hutchinson. Parks – Sara Witte, Parks Supervisor, outlined 2010 park maintenance projects including burning, planting and mowing parks. The redesigned park sign installation project was completed after a four- year cycle. New playground equipment was installed in Riverside, Rotary and Lions West parks. The school district athletic fields were also renovated in 2010. Projects scheduled for 2011 include: an Arbor Day planting event with 3M volunteers in April, the planting of native prairie areas at Roberts Park, Millers Woods and Cedar Park, and installing lighting in the School Road tunnel and Tartan Skate Park. Veteran's Memorial Field will undergo renovation in the concession and shelter areas. Work will also begin on the Parks Comprehensive plan. Community Education – Sharon Armstrong, Community Education Program Coordinator focused her presentation on student success.Core values and relationships are essential and a culture of high expectation is critical for student success. The board received statistics on program enrollment and facility usage. Overall participation has remained steady for youth programs, the number of adult programs held declined the past two years, but rebounded in 2010. MINUTES PRCE Advisory Board March 7, 2011 Page two Event Center/Senior Center - September Jacobsen, Event Center Coordinator, reviewed Event Center usage. The Event Center was open 352 days in 2010. There were 21 weddings with half of those producing a repeat rental. Electrical usage was down 1% and gas consumption was down 3.5% last year. Goals for 2011 are to insure that regular renters are satisfied and attract new rental groups to the Event Center. Adaptive Recreation is a program offered to the physically and mentally challenged population of Hutchinson and the surrounding communities. It began in 1982 and has approximately 40 participants meeting weekly during the school year and once per month in the summer. Activities include bingo, dances and bowling. Senior programming is available at the Event Center such as massages, toenail clinics, tours, card games, AARP defensive driving courses and dances. A monthly newsletter is sent out to senior citizens. By e-mailing some of the newsletters, two month's worth of postage was saved in 2010. Volunteers made over 500 chair covers to be rented out as a part of a fundraiser. They also knitted 300 hats for men and women in the military. September will continue to work with younger seniors to promote programming. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 pm by a motion made by Mary Christensen and seconded by Jim Waldron. The Board unanimously agreed.