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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-05-13 Parks & Rec Comm MinutesDraft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 06/11/2024 Minutes City of Edina, Minnesota Edina Parks & Recreation Commission Braemar Golf Course May 13, 2024 7 p.m. I. Call to Order Vice-Chair Pfuhl called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. II. Roll Call Answering roll call were Commissioners Kane, Luangrath, Pfuhl, Weaver, Welsh and Student Commissioners DiLorenzo and Holtey. Commissioner Garazatua arrived virtually at 7:06 p.m. Commissioners Absent: Doscotch, Pettit, and Spanhake Staff Present: Staff Liaison Perry Vetter, Assistant Director Parks & Natural Resources Tom Swenson, Assistant Director Recreation & Facilities Tracy Petersen, Park Planner Rachel Finberg, Recreation Supervisor Rachael Walters and Administrative Coordinator Janet Canton III. Approval of Meeting Agenda Motion made by Kane to approve the meeting agenda. Motion seconded by Weaver. Motion carried. IV. Approval of Meeting Minutes Motion made by Weaver to approve the April 8, 2024, minutes. Motion seconded by Welsh. Motion carried. V. Special Recognitions and Presentations A. Welcome New Member to the Parks & Recreation Commission Staff Liaison Vetter introduced Commissioner Garazatua, who is active-duty-military and currently serving in Spain. Commissioner Garazatua is attending virtually, as allowed by State Statute. The Commissioners took turns introducing themselves. VI. Community Comment None VII. Reports/Recommendations A. Edina Girls Fastpitch Association Special Project Request: Pamela Park Softball Fields Lighting Staff Liaison Vetter gave a brief introduction of the term Special Project Request. Special Project Requests are used when people have specific requests or changes, they would like to implement within the parks system. The goal is to show that some thought has gone into the request without being overly burdensome. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 06/11/2024 Vice-President of EGFA Mike Ganley and President of EGFA Laura Helferich were introduced and gave a presentation. The EGFA request is for lighting at softball fields 1, 2, and 3 at Pamela Park. Commissioner Kane inquired about the potential parking issues that the additional games and practices could impose as well as local buy-in from the neighbors. Mr. Ganley replied there should not be an increase in the number of cars parked, but the cars will remain parked for a longer duration. Commissioner Luangrath stated that there are two requests. The primary ask is for lighting and the secondary ask is an overall modernization so that the girls’ facilities are at the same level of the boys’ facilities in the park system. Commissioner Luangrath requested an approximate timeline for when the overall modernization should occur after the lighting is installed in Pamela Park. These questions need to be addressed by staff after some investigation. Commissioner Pfuhl stated that the needs are clearly present. Lighting is the first step. Having the potential capital requests and a timeline would be helpful. Commissioner Pfuhl inquired about the feasibility of supplemental funding. It was noted that the hope is to take advantage of some grant funding, funding provided by the city, and perhaps some small parent contributions. Commissioner Pfuhl inquired about the attrition of the younger girls in the program. It was pointed out the program has been designed in such a way that it is easy for the girls to ascend to the next level. There is naturally some loss from the girls who give it a try and decide to pursue something else or the girls who play softball as their secondary activity. Commissioner Welsh asked why the rink and turf have lights, but the fields don’t. Staff Liaison Vetter replied there is nothing in the official record that states the reasons why those decisions were made. Commissioner Welsh asked where the funding came from for the boys’ facilities. Staff Liaison Vetter replied the most recent improvements were funded by the Local Option Sales Tax Referendum in conjunction with the Braemar Master Plan of 2019. Commissioner Garazatua stated that he likes the idea of more children being involved in the program. Student Commissioner DiLorenzo asked if the fields are being used by club teams; and, if so, would that also increase. It was pointed out the club teams are not technically allowed to be “affiliated” with the Recreational Teams, but there is a club team that uses Pamela Park. Staff Liaison Vetter reminded the Commission that 2024 is a capital improvement planning year and it critical to discuss improvements during the capital improvement planning year. All the Athletic Associations are private non-profit organizations, but they have a relationship with the city. The city charges the Athletic Associations $13 per participant per season to offset the maintenance costs associated with their use of the city facilities. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 06/11/2024 Staff Liaison Vetter pointed out that if scheduled correctly, lighting could allow for the spacing of games in such a manner as to alleviate any potential parking issues if turnover time is incorporated by the association. Additional conversation ensued. Staff Liaison Vetter indicated that at a minimum they would need to have a Better Together Edina project page, photometric lighting study and a community meeting where EGFA presents their proposal and then gauge what those next steps would be. B. Edina Baseball Association Special Project Request: Countryside Baseball Field Upgrades Staff Liaison Vetter introduced Shawn Travis and Josh Johnson from the Edina Baseball Association. Mr. Travis stated that over the past five years, the Edina Baseball Association has increased 38%, going from 27 traveling teams to 39 traveling teams. Due to this explosion in growth, there are no longer enough baseball fields to meet the current demand. There are approximately 468 kids ranging in age from nine years-old through high school. The request is for turf at Courtney Fields Complex and Countryside Park along with additional netting for the backstops to prevent the balls from escaping, and two scoreboards. Mr. Johnson stated that these projects are fully funded by the Edina Baseball Association. Mr. Johnson indicated that the Edina Baseball Association is currently losing an average of 100-150 players per year because of the lack of playing fields. Ideally, the Edina Baseball Association would like to begin the project in the fall so the fields are ready to go the following spring. The plan is to turf the infield only, which will save a lot of money. Additional conversation ensued regarding the logistics and how the growth of athletics will impact the neighborhood parks. Staff Liaison Vetter indicated that at a minimum they would need to have a Better Together Edina project page and a community meeting where EBA presents their proposal and then gauge what those next steps would be. If lights are officially proposed a photometric light study as well. VIII. Chair and Member Comments  None IX. Staff Comments A. Upcoming Meetings and Events Staff Liaison Vetter gave the following updates:  Staff Liaison Vetter informed the commission there are no Work Plan Updates but there is a schedule change. The May 21 Joint Session with the City Council will be postponed. The date has yet to be selected, but it will be moved to later in the summer or during the fall.  For the month of June, the Parks & Recreation Commission meeting will return to Tuesday evening. There will be no July meeting and the August meeting will be on a Monday. X. Adjournment Motion made by Luangrath to adjourn the May 13, 2024, meeting at 8:44 p.m. Motion seconded by Weaver. Meeting adjourned.