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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-11-13 Park Board Minutes 1 EDINA PARK BOARD 7:00 P.M. ARNESON ACRES TERRACE ROOM NOVEMBER 13, 2001 ___________________________________________ MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom White, Linda Presthus, Dave Fredlund, George Klus, Mike Damman, Ardis Wexler, Floyd Grabiel MEMBERS ABSENT: John Murrin, Andy Finsness, Karla Sitek STAFF PRESENT: John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, Janet Canton, Diana Hedges, John Valliere, Tom Shirley, Susan Weigle, Larry Thayer OTHERS PRESENT: Betty Workinger, Bob Kojetin, Rick Sheely ___________________________________________ I. APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 9, 2001 PARK BOARD MINUTES George Klus MOVED TO APPROVE THE OCTOBER 9, 2001 PARK BOARD MINUTES. Dave Fredlund SECONDED THE MOTION. MINUTES APPROVED. II. EDINA GARDEN COUNCIL OVERVIEW – BETTY WORKINGER Betty Workinger, President of the Edina Garden Council, gave the Park Board an overview of what it is the Edina Garden Council does. She explained that in the spring they have an annual plant sale where they raise enough money to buy the soil containers and seeds to plant all of the flowers, herbs, etc. for all of the parks in Edina. She indicated that the Garden Council themselves do the planting at 8 parks while Tim Zimmerman and his crew plant the rest of the city parks. However, it is the Garden Council’s flowers that go into the ground. Ms. Workinger commented that they also make enough money to take care of Arneson Acres Park. Over the years the Garden Council has donated to Arneson Acres Park the gazebo, fountain and they are currently in the process of putting in a native wild flower garden as well as a memorial garden. She added they have had the formal gardens there for a long, long time. Ms. Workinger pointed out that they recently started giving away plants during the Fourth of July parade. They gave away a pick-up truck full of little plants, herbs and flowers. 2 Ms. Workinger informed the Park Board there are seven clubs, which make up the Garden Council for a total of approximately 130 members. She also noted that every two years they have a garden club tour to the various beautiful garden sites throughout Edina. Mr. Fredlund asked if the Garden Council raises their own plants to which Ms. Workinger responded that they buy and plant the seeds from their proceeds. Ms. Presthus asked if all of the plants that are sold at the annual plant sale are the ones that the Garden Council has planted. Ms. Workinger replied that some they have raised while others they have bought wholesale in order to make money. It was noted that the annual plant sale is held the weekend before Mother’s Day. Ms. Wexler asked what is the Memory Garden to which Ms. Workinger responded it is a place where anyone can go and sit and meditate where there will be sculptures, trees and benches. However, there will not be any plaques or dedications, they do not want it to look like a cemetery. The area will be enclosed by shrubs and trees. Mr. Klus indicated that he would like to personally thank the Garden Council because some of the their members came out to Highlands Park and helped with some of their plantings that they have in the common areas. Mr. Klus stated that there is a lot of knowledge within the Garden Council. Mr. Keprios stated that the Park Board should make Arneson Acres one of their stops on next summer’s tour of parks. He noted it is wonderful what the Garden Council has done to beautify Arneson Acres Park. He indicated that the fountain and gazebo were entirely funded by the Garden Council. Mr. White commented that the Garden Club does a wonderful job. III. EDINA HISTORICAL SOCIETY OVERVIEW – BOB KOJETIN Bob Kojetin, President of the Edina Historical Society, indicated that they recently put together two video tapes on the history of Edina. One tape is 53 minutes, which can be purchased for $24.00 and the other tape is 35 minutes, which can be purchased for $20.00. He explained that the tapes are geared for 2nd graders through adults and noted that they really wanted to bring it to the schools. Mr. Kojetin informed the Park Board that there are three paid staff who are in charge of the field trips at the Old Cahill School and Grange Hall. Schools from all over the state attend this field trip where youngsters can experience what it would be like to have gone to school in 1890. The cost is $150.00 per day for which the teachers are paid $90.00. The school is in progress 172 days a year and there are approximately 5,000 youngsters per year who attend. 3 Mr. Kojetin indicated that the Historical Society also has an Executive Director, Kay Wetherall, who does an excellent job. He noted that people are starting to realize that Edina does have a Historical Society and Museum. Mr. Kojetin stated that they have acquired professional photographs that Hennepin County took of every home in Edina that was built prior to 1959 so when people come in to inquire about their homes they now have quite a few photographs. Mr. Kojetin indicated that the Historical Society holds one fundraiser every year, which is their annual book sale and noted that they raise approximately $2,000. He stated that currently there are approximately 230 members of the Edina Historical Society. He pointed out that with a city the size of Edina there should really be at least 1,000 members and that is one of their goals this year to raise their membership. Mr. Kojetin noted that their budget is approximately $25,000 a year, which basically pays for the three schoolteachers and the Executive Director. Mr. Kojetin commented that they are very fortunate that the City provides the maintenance and upkeep of the two buildings and that the Historical Society only needs to operate them. He noted that they are the keepers of the artifacts and history. Mr. Kojetin indicated that a lot of people come in and ask if there is any history on their family. Therefore, a few years ago they started going through the obituaries and writing letters to the family members to see if there was anything they would like to contribute to the Historical Society. He noted that they have received a few items. Mr. Kojetin pointed out that Bob Reid has been conducting oral interviews with people from Edina and so far has completed approximately 49 interviews. He noted that their next goal is to have the interviews transcribed in written form because the interviews lasted anywhere from three to four hours. He indicated it’s very difficult for people to come in and listen to a tape for three to four hours. Mr. MacHolda asked how far in advance the schools need to book their field trips to Cahill School. Mr. Kojetin explained that they start taking reservations the first week of August and within the first three or four days they fill up all 172 days. He added that they have a waiting list every year. IV. 2002 FEES AND CHARGES Mr. Keprios indicated that as he outlined in his staff report they try to keep their fees competitive, yet affordable. Their mission is to make ends meet and be fiscally responsible yet be competitive with the rest of the world that offer similar services. He noted that one program that has probably taken the largest jump is the Playground Program. The fee has gone from $15.00 to $20.00. Mr. Keprios explained that they surveyed all of the parents who had children in the program 4 this past year and ask what their comfort level would be to pay for the program given that it costs approximately $45.00 per child. He pointed out that at $20.00 they still are not paying half of what it costs to provide the program. Mr. Keprios commented that there are still several communities who do not charge anything for their playground programs. He added that we are more fees and charges oriented and noted that with the increase to $20.00 from what the survey results showed they would probably have a very little drop off in numbers. Mr. Keprios stated that some activities didn’t have any increases at all and feels that overall they are covering their expenses and if anything they are in the black a little bit. He noted that adult broomball actually went down. Mr. MacHolda explained that with broomball he is trying to jumpstart the program so he eliminated some of the expenses to encourage teams to come back. Even with the reduced fees, we are covering our expenses. Mr. Keprios indicated that under department rentals they have added a few new categories. They have found that regarding Arneson Acres some people just want to rent the terrace room only, while others only want to rent the gazebo. Therefore, they have come up with different ways to rent the facilities and that is found on page eight. Mr. Keprios commented that in trying to keep pace with those costs, the rental of athletic fields went up from $108.00 to $115.00. He added that the other fairly significant increase was the new park shelter buildings, which have been getting a lot of use. He noted that they have now installed air conditioning units at the new buildings, which did not exist last summer. Therefore, they have gone from $40.00 for a half-day to $50.00 and from $70.00 for a full day to $100.00. Ms. Wexler asked Mr. Keprios about the Senior Advisory Council collecting fees and charges. Mr. Keprios explained that in the past the Edina Senior Advisory Council collected the fees and ran it out of their checkbook to which they have done a good job managing their money. Mr. Keprios pointed out that they have quite a bit of money in the bank and they are going to spend it on furnishings for the new Senior Center next year. He indicated that we are now going to start collecting membership fees as well as all of their fees for trips, etc. This is going to help pay for some of the additional expenses that are going to be incurred at the new Senior Center. He noted this is a whole new category that we haven’t had before. Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that the City Council did approve going forward with the entire Aquatic Center renovation package. Mr. MacHolda indicated that as far as his fees and charges he left the daily admission the same as well as the individual season ticket the same but bumped the second member up $5.00 for both residents and non-residents. Mr. MacHolda pointed out that despite raising some fees they are still slightly below neighboring communities that have similar amenities. Mr. Klus asked Mr. MacHolda if he feels Edina has the same amenities as St. Louis Park to which Mr. MacHolda replied he thinks St. 5 Louis Park had greater amenities last year but as we move towards 2002 they will have similar amenities. Mr. MacHolda pointed out that Bloomington would be coming on line with similar or greater amenities while Apple Valley and Eagan have similar or greater amenities. Mr. MacHolda stated that as the season ticket base shows people are not shy about driving to facilities that are far away. Their radius is fairly large. Mr. White indicated that on the handout it indicates the daily admission as $8.00 and $6.00 but Mr. MacHolda stated it is the same from last year, which is $7.00 and $5.00. Mr. MacHolda stated that an error was made and it should remain the same as last year at $7.00 and $5.00 for daily admission. Mr. White asked what St. Louis Park’s daily admission was to which Mr. MacHolda noted that he believes it was $6.50 and added that Edina is a little on the high end for daily admission. Ms. Presthus commented that there doesn’t seem to be much of a discrepancy between a non-resident and a resident. She asked if there is always room for the residents and asked why we don’t charge the non-resident more. Mr. MacHolda responded that approximately 40% of the season tickets sold are to non-residents and therefore, we rely heavily on them to pay the expenses as well as make improvements. He noted that some communities do not even separate between residents and non-residents, everyone is charged the same amount. Ms. Presthus asked if the pool is ever closed because of too many people and therefore residents get turned away. Mr. MacHolda explained that they have had what they call a “sellout” day, which means only people with season tickets are admitted. There are no daily admissions sold during those times. He indicated that this has only happened a few times in the past and it is because of the safety issue that they have had to do it. Mr. Klus asked Mr. MacHolda why pool rental fees for the Edina Swim Club are not shown. Mr. MacHolda explained that he has had other pool rentals, however, the Edina Swim Club is the primary renter. Mr. Klus asked isn’t that a big revenue source to which Mr. MacHolda replied no. In terms of revenue the Edina Swim Club is approximately 1%, we are pretty much giving the facility away to them. They are being charged approximately $40.00 an hour. Mr. Klus stated that he is fine with that, however, are we being consistent with how we treat other facilities within the city. Mr. MacHolda indicated that the neighboring communities are charging approximately $64.00 and he is trying to gradually bring Edina’s rate up. He noted that if he charged them what it costs to operate the pool it would put them out of business. He commented that he looks at them like the Playground Program in that they are trying to help keep the program afloat. Mr. Klus asked Mr. MacHolda if he is renting the pool to any swim clubs outside of Edina. Mr. MacHolda responded that he has had other clubs knock on his door, however, he cannot afford to give up the Learn To Swim Program which equates to about $200 an hour versus $40.00 an hour. 6 Ms. Wexler asked about private swimming parties to which Mr. MacHolda replied that he has had more and more requests for that in the last few years. He noted that the majority of requests are from Memorial weekend until school lets out because a lot of the elementary schools want to rent the pool for their classes. He indicated that he typically charges $150.00. However, last year he had to turn down 5 or 6 rentals because he simply did not have enough staff because the majority of his staff are high school students. He noted that he does get a few requests during the summer for birthday parties to which he will let them rent the pool when it is closed from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm and the fee for that would also be $150.00. Mr. Klus commented that St. Louis Park does have an area that people can rent out for parties and asked if anything like that has been looked at. Mr. MacHolda pointed out that St. Louis Park closes their pool earlier to have private parties, which he has chosen to extend Edina’s hours for the season ticket holder. Secondly, St. Louis Park had a much broader area to work with in order to make a private rental space where Edina does not have the space. Mr. Keprios commented that another reason they are not raising the prices more than they are, even in light of the 1.5 million we are putting into the facility, is because we have learned from past experience that there is no guarantee we are going to have these improvements in place by the start of the season. Diana Hedges, Director of the Edina Art Center, pointed out that there are a couple of things on page three that need to be looked at. It should read 2002 membership rates are $40.00 per household and $30.00 for individual. Ms. Hedges commented that they raised class prices .25 per hour. What the fees and charges do not show is they have decided to give Edina residents who are members a $5.00 discount and are estimating it will cost them approximately $1,500.00. However, with the .25 an hour raise will bring in approximately $10,000 to $12,000. She noted that the Art Center Board and a lot of customers have said that Edina residents should get a break. Ms. Hedges indicated that they had a 5% percent increase in fees last year and are in the same range as Bloomington and Minnetonka. Ms. Presthus asked if the Art Center is pretty much at capacity most of the time to which Ms. Hedges replied they have a cancellation rate of approximately 5% to 8%, which is really good. They are doing very well this year. Ms. Hedges informed the Park Board that Phil Johnson, manager of the media studio, raised some of the hourly fees and left some of them the same. She indicated that they are hoping to bring in about $30,000 more in the media studio next year. Mr. Valliere, Manager of Braemar Golf Course, indicated that 2001 was difficult in terms of financial performance. He noted that he attributes that to the extremely cold and wet spring as well as the down economy and events of September 11th. He added that most of the six state region has seen a 7% to 10% 7 decrease. In the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area they are down an average of 14% in revenues. Mr. Valliere stated that Braemar enjoys a prime location with high customer loyalties that will practice greatly in customer participation. He noted that Braemar’s price point for greens fees would ensure us a continued popularity with the cooperation of the weather. Mr. Valliere commented that with the new improvements to the clubhouse it would enhance both its appearance and marketability. He added that the new open practice area just west of the clubhouse was well received and enjoyed by the customers. Mr. Valliere noted that they set their fees to be commensurate with other municipal courses not necessarily with privately owned public courses that need to make a profit and have taxation issues. Therefore, we can’t always compare fee prices across the board. Mr. Valliere explained that Braemar’s increases are cost driven and not necessarily profit motivated. He noted they had a down year financially, however, a couple of good things did happen. The projected cost for the improvements to the clubhouse was $450,000 but the actual bid came in at $364,000, so that helped a lot. Also, with the extended golfing season with the wonderful weather they’ve been chopping at their deficit as well. Mr. Valliere pointed out that they are down approximately $250,000 from a normal year. He noted that last year in contrast was an exceptional year. Mr. Valliere informed the Park Board that golfers are very mobile and therefore, we do not have resident and non-resident greens fee rates per se. What they do have, however, is a patron card that residents can purchase which provide reduced greens fees and reservation privileges. Ms. Wexler asked how many patron cards were sold last year compared to this year to which Mr. Valliere replied last year they sold 2,700 and this year they sold just over 2,500. He noted that he attributes that to the cold spring we had. Ms. Wexler asked why the 9-hole patron was raised and not the non-patron. Mr. Valliere explained that two years ago the City Council did not take the Park Board’s recommendation on the greens fees and they increased the 18 hole greens fee $4.00 for the non-patron and increased the 9 hole rate $4.00. He indicated that it was disproportionate and it should have been increased $2.00. Therefore, over time he is trying to equalize that. Ms. Presthus indicated that the golf dome was available for league rentals for $700.00 in 2001 but is not available in 2002 and asked why that is. Mr. Valliere explained that there is so much competition with all of soccer facilities that have been built that the business is just not there. Mr. White asked if it would be appropriate for them to set a fee for that in case they are approached. Mr. Valliere indicated that he would say yes to that. Mr. Damman asked if that would be for after hours of the dome to which Mr. Valliere replied yes. Mr. Keprios pointed out that there is some interest out there to convert our existing golf dome into a multi-purpose dome, however the amount if would cost per hour would be out of the price range soccer is willing to pay. Mr. Keprios commented that possibly an 8 option would be to have some late night times available for rental. Ms. Presthus asked if they lowered the price and set aside certain times would it still work. Mr. Valliere indicated he would be more comfortable to refer that question to Todd Anderson, Golf Dome Manager, because he doesn’t know the market that well. He noted that he would certainly look into it. Tom Shirley, Manager of Centennial Lakes/Edinborough Park, indicated that at Centennial Lakes they are raising their Friday and Saturday night rentals $25.00 so the fee is now $700.00. He noted that they are also seeing a lot of weddings on Sundays, which are just as much work as Fridays and Saturdays so Sundays can be rented for a half-day for $200.00. Ms. Wexler asked why someone couldn’t rent the facility for a whole day on Sunday. Mr. Shirley responded that typically they are still cleaning on Sunday mornings from the night before and they try to keep Sunday evenings open, especially in the summer with all of the traffic they have. He noted that they would make exceptions depending on when and what it is. Mr. Shirley indicated that at Edinborough Park everything is basically staying the same. He noted there was a typo last year in that the 2001 numbers do not add up but the 2002 numbers are correct. Mr. Damman asked if there is a reason why things are not going up. Mr. Shirley explained that they bumped the numbers up a little bit last year as well as the year before and therefore will wait until next year to take another jump. Susan Weigle, Director of the Edina Senior Center, indicated that everything is new and she tried to keep it simple. She stated that she compared prices from some of the surrounding communities to which she found all different ranges. Therefore, she tried to keep it fairly consistent with Centennial Lakes. She noted that at least for the first year they are not going to allow alcoholic beverages. Ms. Weigle explained that all of their different leagues are co-programs with the Richfield Senior Center and noted that as far as fees for softball the members themselves decided to raise it from $25.00 to $30.00. She noted that with softball they play at VanValkenburg for the summer season and they play at Richfield for the fall season. Ms. Weigle pointed that with golf for example the membership fee is $10.00 to which $3.00 goes to the Edina Senior Center and $3.00 goes to the Richfield Senior Center and the rest goes to pay for their banquet, coffee, doughnuts, etc. She noted that they have been doing it for years and it has been very successful. Ms. Weigle commented that she was just informed that the Senior Center should be completed on January 11th. Mr. Keprios pointed out that this is a whole new year for Ms. Weigle because she has never had to collect these fees herself and submit requests for payments and therefore it’s going to be a learning experience. Ms. Weigle stated that what they learned from the survey that they sent out is a lot of communities do not charge a membership fee. She noted that for years they 9 have charged $10.00 for the Senior Activity Membership and they are now raising it to $15.00 and they may offer a couple’s fee that will be less than $30.00. She added that they certainly do get their money’s worth. Larry Thayer, Manager of Braemar Arena, indicated that basically all of the surrounding arenas are raising their fees a modest $5.00 and in some cases they are staying as is. He noted that a $5.00 increase would generate approximately $60,000, which will take care of a lot of the operating increases. Mr. Thayer pointed out that they are now funding their own capital improvements and mortgage payment. He added that their gas bill doubled last year. He indicated that they have always been looked at as a break-even facility, however, because of some of the increases they haven’t always been able to hold to that. Mr. Thayer pointed out that their fees tend to be $5.00 below some of their competitors while $5.00 above others. He noted that they are below Bloomington, Burnsville, Eden Prairie and above St. Louis Park and Richfield. He added that these are their major competitors that really help out during the seven month off-season. Ms. Presthus asked if the fees are the same in the summer to which Mr. Thayer replied yes. He noted that their prime season is really only about five months and that they really need the revenue during the seven months of the off-season which is where they rely on non-residents quite heavily. Mr. Thayer explained that during the prime months the residents get all of the prime scheduling priorities and after that it is sold to outsiders. Mr. Klus commented that when the new shelter buildings were first opened people weren’t using them because the fee was too high. Last year the fee was lowered and more people used them. Now we are getting back to the realm where we were two years ago and indicated that his concern is he doesn’t want to be here next year lowering the fees again because people aren’t renting the buildings because the fee is too high. Mr. Keprios replied that it still cheaper to rent the new buildings than it is to rent Arneson Acres. He also stated that now that the new buildings have air conditioning they are going to cost significantly more to operate. Mr. Klus noted that he is concerned that people will not rent the facilities because they are too expensive and he doesn’t want to see that happen. Mr. Keprios noted that he feels $50.00 for a half day at those beautiful air- conditioned buildings is a good buy and feels they are still going to get rentals. Ms. Presthus asked how many half day rentals there were compared to full day rentals to which Mr. Keprios replied he doesn’t have those numbers but noted that the majority of rentals are half days. Mr. Keprios commented that $100.00 per full day might be a little high and maybe that amount could be lowered to $75.00 or $90.00. Mr. Klus asked Mr. Keprios if they have ever thought about charging a deposit and lowering the fee. Mr. Keprios responded that charging a deposit is a nightmare to try to collect and keep. Mr. Klus noted that he would feel a lot more 10 comfortable if the fee would be lowered to which Mr. Keprios responded he is okay with that. Mr. White suggested $50.00 for a half day and $80.00 for a full day. Mr. Grabiel asked how do you rent a pathway to which Mr. Keprios explained that they block off Rosland Park pathway exclusively for a race. The races that are held are typically for fundraisers. It was noted that they will rent out Bredesen Park pathway. Mr. White indicated that a number of people were a little upset and talked to him about Bredesen Park being closed while America’s Most Wanted filmed an episode there on the Bank Robbery. He stated that it was his understanding that Park and Recreation was getting a fee for it and that made them happy. Therefore, he noted that he would like to add on to this that if we are going to rent out Bredesen Park again there needs to be an appropriate fee set for it. He pointed out that two years it was discussed over a long period of time that we would never rent out Bredesen Park. Mr. Keprios stated that they were not supposed to close off the walking path and he was not aware of that. He was just told they were going to be parking some vehicles in the parking lot area and that’s all. Mr. Keprios pointed out that there is a fee for commercial use of the parks, it’s $65.00 an hour and if they use lights it’s $120.00. He noted that when movies and commercials are filmed in the parks they do collect that fee. George Klus MOVED THAT WE ACCEPT THE FEE SCHEDULE RIGHT NOW. Floyd Grabiel SECONDED THE MOTION. Mr. White added a friendly amendment stating THE AQUATIC CENTER CHARGES FOR A DAILY ADMISSION WOULD BE $7.00 AND $5.00. THE ART CENTER WILL REMAIN THE SAME JUST CLARIFY THE WORDING TO HOUSEHOLD AND THE $5.00 DISCOUNT FOR RESIDENT MEMBERS OF THE ART CENTER. THE PARK CHARGES WOULD BE AMENDED FOR THE PARK SHELTER BUILDINGS FOR A FULL DAY CHARGE OF $80.00. Subject to those amendments. Ms. Presthus noted that she would correct it on the Edinborough Park that maximum seven member non-Edina individual has the wrong number. Mr. Keprios noted that he will make that correction. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11 V. COMMUNITY SURVEY SUB-COMMITTEE REPORT – TOM WHITE It was noted that the Community Survey Sub-Committee will meet for the first time on Wednesday, November 28th at 6:00 pm at City Hall. VI. OTHER A. Braemar Golf Course – Mr. Valliere indicated that each year Braemar Golf Course, as well as most other golf courses, try to do something of a gratuitous nature each year. He informed the Park Board that this year the Minnesota Golf Association’s Junior Golfers from Braemar won the state championship. He explained that it’s usually customary for the winning team to be the host team for the state championship the following year. He indicated there are no fees involved, it is a gratis situation where they will have 1 ½ days worth of tee times for holes 1-18. He noted that other parts of the course will remain open and will receive revenues. Mr. Valliere stated that the financial impact would be approximately $2,500. Mr. Fredlund asked what time of year this would occur to which Mr. Valliere replied it is a Monday and a Tuesday morning in late June. Linda Presthus MOVED TO APPROVE. Mike Damman SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. B. Edina Football Association Raffle - Mr. Klus indicated that the Edina Football Association is holding a raffle where the proceeds are going to re-sod Kuhlman Field. He noted that he is trying to understand how that fits in with the school, City and Football Association. Mr. Keprios indicated that he has not heard about this but that the Football Association does use Kuhlman Field for their championship. However, it is beyond him why they would spend all of that money on a field they use only once a year other than it’s for the good of their sport. Ms. Presthus pointed out that the Edina Football Association raises a lot of money and it doesn’t just go towards the youth program. For football they look at the overall program and try to promote the sport. She added that the school doesn’t have the money to do this and that is why the Football Association is funding it. C. The Edina Chorale - Mr. Grabiel indicated that he sings with the Edina Chorale and noted that the Chorale is having their Christmas concert Sunday, December 2nd at 4:00 pm at St. Patrick’s Church. He stated that, when the group got started, money was given to them by the Edina Foundation and he was wondering if there is any possibility that the Edina Chorale could somehow fold under the auspices of the Park Board or Art Center Board or something like that. He noted that there are a lot of Edina people who sing with the Chorale as well people from other communities. Mr. Keprios noted that he thinks that is a great question and he would like to speak with the person who is in charge of the Edina Chorale to learn a little more and see if there is some way the City can support 12 them. Mr. Keprios asked how they raise their money to which Mr. Grabiel responded that right now they charge dues, have ticket sales and run advertising in their program. He indicated that they sing all sorts of music and are very broad based. Mr. Damman asked how big of a group it is to which Mr. Grabiel replied there are approximately 55 singers. D. Aquatic Center - Mr. Keprios noted that the City Council approved the entire package for the Edina Aquatic Center for just under 1.3 million dollars. He indicated that they have met with the contractor and all of the paper work is in place. The pathway around Rosland Park is now complete with the exception of a little bit of grading of the finish work along the edges. He commented that the contractor did an excellent job. E. Arneson Acres - Mr. Keprios indicated that the City Council has approved the steel siding and roofing for Arneson Acres. F. Lewis Park – Mr. White asked what the status is with Lewis Park to which Mr. Keprios replied they have hired a professional landscape architect to produce the drawings and specifications. Braun Intertec has been hired to do some soil borings. He noted that we are hoping to begin construction this spring. VII. ADJOURNMENT George Klus MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:50 P.M. Ardis Wexler SECONDED THE MOTION. MEETING ADJOURNED.