HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-07-09 Parks & Rec Comm MinutesDraft Minutes☐
Approved Minutes☒
Approved Date: 8/13/2019
Minutes
City Of Edina, Minnesota
Edina Parks & Recreation Commission
City Hall, Council Chambers
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
7 p.m.
I. Call To Order
Chair Good called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
II. Roll Call
Answering roll call were Commissioners Strother, Willette, Miller, Dahlien, Good, Nelson, Ites and
Student Commissioner Osborne.
Absent: Commissioners McAwley and Student Commissioner Anderson
Late arrivals: Commissioner McCormick arrived at 7:04 p.m.
Staff present: Staff Liaison Perry Vetter, Assistant Director Parks & Natural Resources Tom Swenson
and Administrative Coordinator Janet Canton
III. Approval Of Meeting Agenda
Motion made by Nelson to approve the meeting agenda. Motion seconded by Willette.
Motion carried.
IV. Approval Of Meeting Minutes
Chair Good asked to amend the minutes and change the number of commissioners who golfed at the
tournament on May 15 from four to five.
Motion made by Miller to approve the June 11, 2019 amended minutes. Motion seconded by
Nelson. Motion carried.
V. Community Comment
None
VI. Reports/Recommendations
A. Lake Cornelia Vegetated Buffer Project
Assistant Director Parks & Natural Resources Swenson introduced and gave a presentation on
the Lake Cornelia Vegetated Buffer Project. He indicated with this project they would hire a
consultant that would plan and build out the prairie area. It would then fall under Parks &
Recreation Maintenance so they wouldn’t allow buckthorn and invasive species to come back.
Assistant Director Parks & Natural Resources Swenson went over what some of the challenges
are in this area. He discussed funding for the program and added there will be no park funding
or assessments to any homeowners with this project. He also went over the benefits of this
buffer project as well as what the next steps are in the process.
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Commissioners asked questions and made comments on the project.
B. Arden Park Construction Update
Assistant Director Parks & Natural Resources Swenson gave a quick update on the progress of
the Arden Park construction. He then showed pictures recently taken of the park to show the
progress being made.
Commissioners asked questions and made comments.
C. Fred Richards Park Playground Project Update
Staff Liaison Vetter informed the commission they received some excellent bid results for the
Fred Richards Park Renovation Phase I project. The bid will go to the City Council for approval
at their July 16 meeting. Their hope is to have the project completed by the fall so it can get
used before the seasons change.
D. Parks & Recreation Commission Work Plan –
The following updates were given on the Work Plan Initiatives:
Initiative 1 – Chair/co-chair a cross-commission committee to review the naming
of a public facility in the Grandview area after the BC and Ellen Yancey.
Commissioner Dahlien indicated he reached out to the Human Rights and Relations Commission
(HRRC) committee to let them know what they learned from the City Council. The HRRC
committee is going to think about what would be a representative recommendation from their
perspective and then bring it back to the PARC committee where the two committees will work
together based on that information. They will then put together a formal proposal to have ready
for the City Council.
Initiative 2 – Serve on a cross-commission committee in partnership with communities
of color to identify barriers for participation in programming. Commissioner Strother
informed the commission she has connected with the Human Rights and Relations Committee.
She is still waiting to hear back from one person and is hopeful they will have a meeting set up
next week.
Initiative 3 – Chair-co-chair a cross-commission committee to develop a draft plan on
Edina Grand Rounds, including wayfinding. Commissioner Nelson informed the
commission she is currently waiting to hear back from the Transportation Commission’s
committee so they can set up a meeting and get started.
Initiative 4 – Complete a study and report for fields, courts and rinks capacity and
utilization from the data provided by staff. Chair Good informed the commission the
committee has updated the data on field and rink use since this initiative is a continuation from
last year’s Work Plan. They are still working to access court information. Their intent now is
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to consider how well they integrate new sports into the fields, courts and rinks where there
are new or underutilized assets they could be bringing in. Also, how can they improve on the
current system to utilize space? Their challenge is the city owns some of the assets and the
school district own some of the assets.
Initiative 5 – Investigate possible alternative funding options to support future growth
and development of Edina’s parks, programs and green spaces. Commissioner Miller
informed the commission their shortfalls in funding could be filled one or two ways. First,
there would be an outside philanthropic organization like Friends of the Park. The second is
internally leveraging the assets they have to create more revenue to invest back into the parks
which is what they are now looking at. A few weeks ago they met with an outside group that
does this type of thing for organizations, cities, parks, etc., all around the country and they
were very helpful. What it came down to is they don’t know what their assets are, they don’t
know what they are worth and they don’t know if they are leveraging them correctly, which
they are not. They need to get that defined and they are probably not going to be able to do
that as a group running around. They are going to need some kind of professional help to
understand it and that will determine what their next steps are as far as any kind of internal
leveraging. We don’t know everything that is going on and we need to get that defined. He
noted he has also talked to City Manager Scott Neal to understand what would be the process
as well as what the regulations and rules are behind it. Their next step is to engage with the
city and get defined what it is they actually have.
Initiative 6 – Review and comment on the Race and Equity policy statement developed
by city staff. Commissioner McCormick informed the commission they are waiting for the
policy that staff is creating. Staff Liaison Vetter informed the commission Edina’s Race & Equity
Coordinator Heidi Lee will be attending the August Parks & Recreation Commission meeting
to give a history on how the policy was created as well as share the policy and thoughts behind
it.
Initiative 7 – Serve on a cross-commission committee to complete requirements for
Edina to receive the AARP City Designation. Commissioner McCormick informed the
commission the cross-commission committees met a couple of months ago and they were
supposed to do their walkabout sometime in July. However, they are still waiting to hear back
from the person on the Community Health Committee to let them know when that will
happen. They should have an update soon.
VII. Chair and Member Comments
• Commissioner Nelson informed the commission she read the correspondence they
received in their packet and it does make sense there should be a water spigot of
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some sort at the dog park. Chair Good indicated he thinks it’s a possibility that
should at least be considered.
• Chair Good thinks the pickleball courts are something they should have on an
upcoming agenda. His wife and he play pickleball quite a bit and they have been
getting asked if the Parks & Recreation Commission is considering guidelines for the
current courts because they are so heavily utilized. They have also been asked when
there are going to be plans for future courts.
• Chair Good informed the commission a couple of residents have been asking him
about mountain biking and when are we going to get mountain biking and walking
trails that were prioritized on the Braemar Master Plan. He noted as soon as they
can find a funding source they will be moving forward.
• Commissioner Nelson informed the commission she would like to see something
that would show which playgrounds are going to be updated, maintained, etc. She
stated that in 1996 a lot of the playgrounds were redone and now a lot of them need
to be redone again and they are not going to all be redone at the same time.
Therefore, she would like to see a maintenance schedule of which playgrounds will be
redone next. She wants to make sure they are giving the residents the confidence
that the playgrounds are safe and maintained. Chair Good added they need to
continue to let the residents know what is happening. There are a lot of good things
going on with the enterprise and park facilities. Unfortunately, the downside is they
have a que with very good ideas just waiting to get the appropriate funding.
VIII. Staff Comments
Staff Liaison Vetter gave the following update:
• The 2019-2020 Student Commission appointments were recently conducted and
Bryn Osborne has been reappointed for another one year term and Zoe Lelas will be
joining the commission starting Sept. 1 for a one-year appointment.
Chair Good pointed out to the commission that their August meeting will take place at
Centennial Lakes Park where they will gather for a little social activity and dinner before the
meeting starts at 7 p.m.
IX. Adjournment
Motion made by Dahlien to adjourn the July 9, 2019 meeting at 8:09 p.m. Motion seconded by
Nelson. Motion carried.