HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-12-09 Park Board Minutes1
MINUTES
OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
EDINA PARK BOARD
BRAEMAR ARENA
December 9, 2014
7 p.m.
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Gieseke called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Answering roll call were Members Cella, Downing, Gieseke, McCormick, Jacobson, Greene, Segreto
Member Jones arrived at 7:06 p.m.
Absent: Members Deeds and Steel
Student Members present: Chowdhury, Colwell
III. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA
Member Cella made a motion, seconded by Member Downing, to approve the meeting
agenda.
Ayes: Members Cella, Downing, Gieseke, McCormick, Jacobson, Greene, Segreto
Motion carried.
IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT AGENDA
Member Cella made a motion, seconded by Member Downing, to approve the consent
agenda as follows:
IV.A. Approval of Minutes – Regular Park Board Meeting of November 10, 2014
Ayes: Members Cella, Downing, Gieseke, McCormick, Jacobson, Greene, Segreto
Motion carried.
V. COMMUNITY COMMENT
None
VI. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS
VI.A. Braemar Golf Course Driving Range and Executive Course Plan
Ms. Kattreh introduced Kevin Norby from Herfort Norby Golf Course Architects. Mr. Norby went
through the plans for the Braemar Golf Course Driving Range and Executive Golf Course. He noted
their hope is to have the driving range and executive course open for play in the spring of 2016.
Member Greene asked what they hope to have the bids come in at to which Mr. Norby replied they
have a proposed budget of 1.8 million dollars. Mr. Norby commented they did make a couple of
changes and originally they were budgeted around 1.3 to 1.4 million but, after having some
conversations, they decided they should make sure all of the irrigation work is done and make sure all of
the greens are rebuilt so that they are large enough to accommodate two flags and make the course a
little more like the experience people had when playing at the Fred.
Member Cella asked if they have looked at and do they know how changing the wetlands may affect the
road, will it flood more or less to which Mr. Norby replied this project is too small to have a significant
impact on the road.
Member Segreto commented there are some large oak trees near the vicinity of hole #3 that she hopes
they are able to save. She stated if this is something the City Council passes she would hope that this
hole would be reviewed in the context of the report that is being done by the Urban Forest Task Force.
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Ms. Kattreh asked Mr. Norby if he knows specifically in terms of trees what the recommendation would
be. Mr. Norby replied they have walked the course with their topographic maps and they have a pretty
good idea which trees are in jeopardy and there are some trees that will have to go if they are going to
build it as it is being shown right now. He noted that they did shift the green over a little bit because
there is a nice big oak tree there. He pointed out that the nice thing about golf course architecture is
when they get out there they can make little changes; however, he did point out where they will
probably lose one oak tree. He stated that most of the area back there is pretty sparsely populated
with oaks, most of it is buckthorn. Member Segreto commented it would be really nice to have a zero
net loss of oaks but if they do need to cut one down it would be nice to be able to replace it.
Member Segreto asked if the people who live in the homes whose views will be affected by the redesign
of holes #3 and #4 have seen this redesign. Mr. Norby replied he doesn’t think it has come before the
public other than the golf advisory committee. Member Segreto asked if the holes are coming closer to
the property lines. Mr. Norby replied they are closer to the property lines but there is still a large area
that buffers it. He noted they will see more people than they did before but they are not cutting down
the trees between their houses and the golf course; it’s actually pretty well buffered.
Member Downing asked about the upgraded clubhouse and asked if it has a secondary use during the
winter. Joe Abood, Braemar Golf Course General Manager, indicated that they talked a little bit about
upgrading the surroundings of the clubhouse, it’s more of the asphalt going up to the building itself. He
noted it’s not necessarily an upgrade to the building itself; however, they are going to look at the capital
items a little bit later in the year once they close it for renovations.
Member Jacobson asked Mr. Norby to speak a little bit about the cart paths. Mr. Norby replied they do
have cart paths proposed and one of the deduct alternates will be to remove cart paths. He noted
there are not a lot of cart paths and the ones that are there are not in very good shape. Member
Jacobson asked if they are over budget can they be taken out. Mr. Norby replied that they may take
some of them out, but not all of them.
Chair Gieseke asked if the lack of having too many hazards was by request. Mr. Norby replied it’s
certainly by design because they are trying to make golf fun. If people want a more challenging golf
course, the Clunie will challenge you. With this course they want people to have fun and come back.
Mr. Abood pointed out that a lot of these enhancements are going to help them out in the long run
because they had 20,000 rounds at Fred Richards so at a minimum at least half of that we hope will
come to Braemar. Therefore, it needs to be playable and fast. They should easily be able to
accommodate 30,000 rounds and hopefully more.
Member Jacobson asked if the pricing is going to be the same as Fred Richards to which Mr. Abood
replied the pricing on the new par 3 course will be the same as the executive course.
Member Downing asked what is their goal, is there a number they need to get to with regards to
number of rounds per year. Mr. Abood replied from his perspective they need to be profitable to which
Member Downing asked when that will become profitable. Mr. Abood replied it will become profitable
right away because the whole theory behind what they are doing is taking two marginal courses and
making one great golf facility. Member Downing asked when we can say we’ve been able to compensate
for all of this in a period of so many years is there a measurement that we are using that sort of says we
are at a breakeven point. Mr. Norby suggested this isn’t so much a matter of looking at whether this was
a good investment and whether it’s self-sustaining or profitable, but rather looking at the entire golf
operation including the 27 holes of golf and the driving range, which is a huge profit center for Braemar.
He added that demographics and location tells them that this is a perfect place to have the best driving
range facility in the Twin Cities. So to him when you look at this four or five years down the road and
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the right improvements have been made, the goal is to be self-sustaining and profitable. He also noted
that a good way to phrase it would be this is the first step in making Braemar the best, a well-rounded
golf facility with good practice facilities, good entry level opportunities and good championship level
opportunities. He noted he cannot think of another par 3 course that has been built the way it should
have been built that is set up for the public. This is going to be a really good golf course.
Ms. Kattreh informed the Park Board they have learned a lot about golf in the last couple of years, both
from studying golf nationally and from studying golf locally. They have listened to a lot of their golfers as
well as the Park Board to get feedback as to the asset they are giving up at the Fred and what they want
to try to replicate at Braemar. That is why they have made some significant changes to the plan. She
noted Mr. Norby has done a really good job of adapting as they have been listening to the residents over
the past few months. They want to create a community asset in Braemar, a year-around community
asset and that is also why they are bringing in Tin Fish so they can be a year-around destination for
people to go. Possibly, the next step at Braemar is a master plan of Braemar Park to try to figure out
what else they could do on that 500 acres to continue to improve on the community asset. She noted
that she wishes she could give an exact answer of what success looks like for us but she thinks that view
of success is going to continue to change.
Member Jones stated with regards to safety in the past they have had problems with the driving range
and its proximity to par 3 executive course and asked if there is going to be netting placed between the
first tee and the driving range. Mr. Norby replied there is going to be netting and showed on the
illustration where it will be.
Member Jones asked if there is going to be a name for this course to which Mr. Abood noted that it will
be renamed.
Ms. Kattreh asked Mr. Abood to talk about what they are planning to do to accommodate the golfers
during the down time. Mr. Abood explained to the Park Board that after July 7 they are going to be
shutting down the executive course and they are going to use the Clunie Nine. They have actually
created a shorter course for the Clunie Nine so that they will still be able to accommodate all of the
different leagues on the executive course to the Clunie Nine. He noted there is going to be a greater
green to tee walk so they are going to do a lot of cart promotions next year to accommodate the
golfers who don’t want to do the long green to tee walks.
Member Jones stated she agrees with Ms. Kattreh that they should have a master plan for this whole
facility because it seems like they are taking one big chunk and doing the best they can with it but she
agrees they need to look at the whole facility.
Member Downing indicated that everything is super exciting but would like to make sure that they have
a way of getting that out to the public so that not only have they become profitable or some type of
goal, but have also created something that is really special. He noted there are a number of ways they
can get that communication out there through the websites or whatever, but they need to make sure
that people are aware of it. He noted it strikes him there has been a lot of misinformation out there
with how this all works and we drive how the public is going to perceive everything that takes place
with this going forward. Ms. Kattreh replied they will work very hard on that.
Mr. Norby commented that it would be a great opportunity if someone at the city could be responsible
for writing a blog during construction and sending out email blasts, and posting information on the
website. They need to make sure that it gets out there, that it’s not the same old Braemar Executive
Golf Course; it’s going to be a really good golf course in great condition with state of the art irrigation,
larger greens, new turf grass as well as be environmentally sustainable. All of these are great messages
to show. Mr. Abood responded he agrees and he thinks their goal is to tell the story because he truly
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thinks financially they are going to see an immediate impact. Chair Gieseke indicated that there is some
healing that needs to be done and as long as they are proactive and they frame the conversations
themselves they will be just fine.
Member McCormick made a motion, seconded by Member Jacobson, to change Item VII.A. from a
discussion item to an action item.
Ayes: Members Cella, Downing, Gieseke, McCormick, Jacobson, Greene, Segreto, Jones
Motion carried.
Member Downing made a motion, seconded by Member Cella to approve Item VII.A. as is.
Ayes: Members Cella, Downing, Gieseke, McCormick, Jacobson, Greene, Segreto, Jones
Motion carried.
VI.B. Park System Strategic Plan Focus Group
Ms. Kattreh introduced Terry Minarik from Confluence and Jeff Bransford and Nick Deardorf from Pros
Consulting. She informed the Park Board that they met with six focus groups today regarding the
strategic plan and tonight is the Park Board’s first opportunity as a group to participate in a focus group.
Mr. Minarik gave some background to the Park Board and brought them up-to-date of where they are
at. Mr. Bransford gave an overview of their findings from the six focus groups they met with today. He
pointed out that one of the things that each group mentioned early on in the focus groups, was sort of
inner admiration and compliments for the leadership of the department and their willingness to take on
tough issues and their willingness to engage everyone as a part of this in an ongoing basis.
Mr. Bransford started out by asking the Park Board members what they think are the strengths of the
Parks & Recreation system. What it is they are doing well and what do they want to make sure they are
continuing to do well in the next 20 years?
Member Downing stated Edina is very diligent about trying to include resident’s opinions more so than
anywhere he has ever lived. There is constantly stuff coming out from the city, such as these focus
groups, and it seems like as a community we do an outstanding job of trying to collect information.
Member Jones stated that they are lucky to have a lot of public land; both open land and park land and
it’s really important to keep that public land.
Member Greene stated what he thinks what separates Edina apart from all of the other soccer fields and
ice rinks in other places is we put the money into preventive maintenance such as replacing the
windows, painting the floor, the cleaning crew, etc. He stated there has been a change over the last few
years where they don’t actually wait until something breaks. They keep it looking as good as they can as
long as they can and if they need to replace it, it’s done right.
Member Gieseke noted that Edina has a tradition of excellence in everything they do; city government,
school system, the park system, whatever it might be. There is an expectation and a demand that we
are on the cutting edge and that we have a competitive advantage to our neighboring communities. The
new dome next door speaks to that. He noted that sometimes it maybe gets in their way but he
considers it a strength that they are always looking to be innovative and to be on top.
Member Cella commented that she thinks Edina has a lot of entry points for youth and families and not
just for the programming but for the space and the parks so it’s very hard to come here as a family in
Edina and not be sucked in but you very quickly are a part of either the activities, the programming, or
just using the space. People very quickly become part of it and Edina does a good job of that.
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Member Jones indicated that Edina does not have one community center that is located in one part of
town but have what she would call a network of community facilities that are scattered and serves those
neighborhoods in different ways. She noted it’s a way of decentralizing and creating a different kind of
community with a different feel to it. She noted it’s almost like creating different neighborhoods
through their public facilities. Mr. Bransford pointed out that it came up today in a focus group that the
neighborhoods within the city are getting more identity and neighborhood associations are starting to
come online and it’s an opportunity for those neighborhood associations to take ownership of the parks
within their neighborhoods and communicate to the Parks & Recreation their needs and services to
provide for those neighborhoods, which is all great. However, it can work both ways; the more identity
and ownership you give a neighborhood about the parks within that neighborhood, the more it creates
an “us” versus “them” sort of mentality where a neighborhood has ownership of a park and then
suddenly they don’t want any other neighborhoods coming into their parks. He noted it’s a fine line and
we need to keep it in mind as we give them ownership.
Member Cella stated another strength they have is there is a good partnership between the school
district and the city and private groups who all work together and share facilities which is something you
don’t always find in other cities.
Member Segreto stated one of their strengths is their professional parks employees and as part of the
planning process they need to make sure that they continue to have those kinds of professionals. She
noted they have a legacy of being excellent. She noted that she thinks just by virtue of being an older
suburb we are having a hard time saying we are cutting edge, but we are cutting edge when we do a
project like we just did with the new Sports Dome but we are certainly not cutting edge on any of the
other things we have in the parks system in comparison to some surrounding communities. Chair
Gieseke responded they are trying to get there and the survey that was recently done did indicate that
we did a lot of things well; however, we really want to take that next step and really be world class and
that is how we are trying to position ourselves in the next 20 years. He stated that as a community we
have such a high participation rate in everything as well as a very strong educational base and leadership
base and a resource that we can refer back to that can really give us some good ideas. We have a lot of
professionals here and a lot of good minds and that is definitely a strength.
Member Downing commented that we are one of the few park systems within the communities around
the Twin Cities where we still have things like basketball courts that are open and well maintained
because people do come from all around to utilize those parks. A lot of surrounding suburbs parks are
just not as well kept so people do come to Edina to utilize Edina’s parks and each park does sort of have
a different flavor because they are so spread out, but they are attracting people from neighborhoods
outside of Edina.
Member McCormick pointed out the proximity in her neighborhood probably has five different parks
she can walk to and they are all very different but each one has sort of a reason why you would go
there. There is a lot of diversity in the parks.
Student Member Colwell stated that in each part of Edina there is something to connect with. He
indicated his friends and he during the past summer liked to go to Centennial Lakes on Thursday nights
to watch the movies at the amphitheater. He indicated that he likes the feeling of tradition where he
goes with friends to certain parks to play basketball and certain parks to play tennis and he attaches
certain memories to certain parks.
Student Member Chowdhury agrees. When he first moved here there was a feeling he didn’t know
where everything was and now that’s not so and things are close by. He likes to take his little brother
to Chuckie Cheese and Centennial Lakes and likes to go to Pamela Park with friends and he agrees you
do start to attach memories to certain places.
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Member Jones indicated she was at one of the Vision Edina meetings where the question was asked
what is it that you value most and feel must be preserved. She stated it was remarkable that the first
thing people said was the public school system, that was a given; the second was very close to that and
was the parks and public amenities that Edina has. She commented that to hear people are feeling that
they value it and will put money towards it is remarkable because she doesn’t think every community
feels that way.
Mr. Bransford asked the Park Board members what are some of the opportunities for the Parks &
Recreation system and maybe short-term things to maybe look at accomplishing over the next year or
two or it could be long-term. He added that they don’t have to be related to parks; they could be
services as well.
Member Downing stated that he has heard from the neighborhood associations as well as the local
perspective that the structures that are in the parks themselves and maybe there is an opportunity for
them to be more democratic as to how they all get managed and make it more equitable. He noted that
he thinks right now they are prioritized based more on things that are outside of the average citizen’s
control. He pointed out that some are in more disrepair than others and he thinks there is a feeling out
there that quite a bit of money can be spent in one particular area and maybe not as much in some of
the other parks. Therefore, he thinks there is an opportunity for them to level the playing field and
make it more equitable.
Member Segreto stated she thinks they should be open to trying more pilot projects like what they have
done in the past with the community gardens and the off-leash dog park. She noted some people will
ask the Park Board to look at a plan and she feels they should embrace it and not be so worried because
a pilot project doesn’t mean you have to have it in the next park. Therefore, in some of their
community parks maybe they should have more pilot projects. Chair Gieseke replied he agrees with
that and to tie into it there are always changing demographics and maybe they can address it in this
fashion and see if it works.
Member Cella stated another opportunity as they do go through the individual parks and are looking at
the buildings to see which ones should be upgraded, changed, remodeled, etc., is to keep in mind the
flexible use of those spaces. She noted that how they have been used the past 20 years probably isn’t
the way they are using them today and is not the way they will be used in the next five or ten years
from now, for the same programs or in the same way. She indicated they need to be careful not to just
build for what they think they are doing today, but have a more flexible view of how we are using the
space and what it is we would like to do.
Member Jones stated that programming towards seniors is going to be very important as the average
age of life expectancy continues to rise and people want to stay in the community. We need to be
aware of their different needs and how we can cater this older population.
Member McCormick stated she likes how at the Braemar facility they are connecting it more, such as
she thinks it will be a great opportunity for kids to go and skate and then stop and eat at the Tin Fish.
Chair Gieseke indicated that they need to look at the potential user groups because they want to keep
the seniors that want to stay and they want to keep the families but they need to look at who wants to
come here such as the executives. We need to figure out how we can make Edina the most attractive
because it’s a competitive situation to make it attractive to people.
Member Jones pointed out she thinks seniors like multigenerational facilities so that would be something
to look into because we currently only have the Senior Center.
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Member McCormick stated that she thinks some of the fields need to be upgraded such as the Creek
Valley soccer field which the school district owns and the city maintains.
Mr. Bransford informed the Park Board that they did hear the comment in their focus group sessions
that the good stuff is really good and the bad stuff is really bad.
Member Downing commented that the one standout is we have done so well in certain areas with
beautiful facilities and then you see the ones that aren’t. Mr. Minarik replied the issue is the good ones
raise the bar for the bad ones. Member Jacobson added she feels there are two tiers of park pillars, the
fancy ones and the cruddy ones and there is really no goal for the cruddy ones and there should be.
Member Downing asked is there a way or an opportunity for the non-signature parks, or the
neighborhoods that don’t feel like they are up-to-par with other neighborhoods, to allow them to get
involved in a way that if they have ideas or they want to participate or help build their own park and do
things that they could. Member Jacobson added they have a small neighborhood park and she doesn’t
think their neighborhood even has considered the fact that maybe if they called the city and said I really
want to see a water fountain or something in their neighborhood park.
Member Jones noted that she thinks there has been a whole lot of money directed towards sports at
the expense of the general population and now she thinks is the time to start looking at the greater
population. Mr. Minarik responded that Edina has a very strong identity with sports whether it’s football
or hockey, etc., and that kind of sets the precedent for what happens to the open spaces. Member
Jones added that the average age of the population in Edina is older.
Mr. Bransford pointed out that it’s all about opportunities in terms of marketing and communication and
making residents aware of all offerings.
Member Downing indicated he has lived in Edina for two years and once you know where to go there is
a ton of information; you are able to get it online, newsletters, magazines, etc. The hard part is finding it
because you have to actively look for it; however, he doesn’t know what the solution is to get it out
there faster and better. Mr. Bransford informed the Park Board that what some of the focus groups
said is there is really a lot of great information out there and they couldn’t ask for anything more. He
noted the other 50% said there is a program guide and the website is terrible. It’s like they haven’t
crossed that threshold yet to buy into it, how to get that information out. He stated that people do
access information in different ways and they have their preferences but his point is there is a lot
polarization on that answer and your point certainly addresses that a little better. They need to find a
way to reduce that area where people don’t know where to look.
Member Segreto suggested that with all of the new technology why they don’t put up some type of
programming screen of sorts by the sculptures or other places that shows what is going on in the
different parks throughout the city and keep it constantly updated. Maybe something such as the kiosk
that is outside of City Hall.
Member Jacobson stated she doesn’t think the city takes enough advantage of their television channel.
Maybe there should be more of this is what is happening at these parks and this is what is happening at
the new Braemar hockey rink, etc.
Mr. Bransford asked the Park Board as the Parks & Recreation system changes to meet your demands,
changing trends over the next few years, how should these changes in view of financial requirements be
funded?
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Member Greene suggested selling the three liquor stores because they could get a lot of money for
them.
Member Downing commented that one of the challenges he thinks they have from a financial standpoint
is when they have situations where a warming house or a playground or a facility needs maintenance
where does that money come from. Do we have a budget set perpetually for the lifetime of how long
we think that structure is going to be there so that it is always going to have a budget for maintenance
or do we have to find the money every two years which is a challenge to do it that way. He noted that
it strikes him as being one of their biggest financial goals from a park perspective. They need to come
up with ideas on how to fund these new projects in a way that’s going to keep it useful and beautiful for
the next 15 to 20 years.
Mr. Bransford informed the Park Board he really hasn’t gone into the financial analysis yet and asked if
that is something the board would be interested in. Chair Gieseke suggested they take a hard look at
having a parks endowment. It would be a well for the community, high participation rate, a creative
vision and, if we have the right communications, it could be a homerun. He noted there are a lot of
folks in Edina who would write a million dollar check.
Member Greene noted that the financial attribute is extremely high and he doesn’t think they take
advantage of as many grants and opportunities as they can. There are grants all around that they could
be looking into.
Mr. Bransford asked the Park Board what is one thing they would like to see come out of the strategic
plan.
Member Jacobson stated she hopes it will help prioritize what it is we need to buy, fix and where we
need to add certain things such as maybe a certain park doesn’t have a tennis court, etc.
Member McCormick stated that she would like to know what each park should be, such as where
should the community garden be or where different activities should be, etc.
Chair Gieseke stated for him it’s to serve and satisfy the needs and expectations of our citizens. He
wants to move from good to great.
Member Downing indicated he would like the strategic plan to have an element to it that shows there
are milestones that are tangible. There can be several elements such as the number of rounds of golf, it
could be certain measurements, it could be from a public opinion perspective on how we are doing, but
just looking at what a benchmark would look like for other Parks & Recreation departments around the
country who have done very well and state that we are hitting the goals that we are trying to get to and
we have a roadmap to get there.
Member Cella noted that she would like to get the bigger vision out of it and have maybe two, three or
four statements of these overall strategic goals and these are the overall plans for where we want to be.
She noted that we need more strategic statements that will serve as a guide for when they are making
those priority decisions. She stated that if they come out with a plan that prioritizes what they are
doing now, it’s useful for 18 months and then toss it out because they will have completely different
issues. She is hoping it’s going to be more of a vision statement for what their priorities are.
Mr. Bransford explained that what they are really talking about is the kind of like the last chapter of the
strategic plan which is the implementation action plan. He noted one approach is they could take the
Parks & Recreation mission vision statement and validate those, or reaffirm them or change them if you
want to and then we create a vision statement for parks and a vision statement for recreation programs
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and a vision statement for recreation facilities and maybe a vision statement for financial sustainability.
So now they have those lofty things that are going to form decisions five or ten or fifteen years from
now.
Member Segreto stated that she has read the Three Rivers Park Strategic Plan and it’s one of the few
strategic plans that she finds very easy to read. It will be around for quite a while and several
leaderships. That plan can be picked up by anyone and you can check the boxes; it combines both of
what you are talking about, long-term planning and some solid check boxes.
Member Jones stated she likes what she has been hearing, but would also like something that is doable
and not something that’s just a vision, but something they could use, a process that they can say is broad
enough that it can be flexible enough to last a long time.
Student Member Colwell stated that one thing that he likes is more development of a multi-generational
bond in Edina. He noted hockey has been the strongest thing that brings the community together as
well as Braemar Golf Course but we should try to find more activities to bring future generations
together.
Student Member Chowhury indicated that he thinks it would be helpful to incorporate different
interests and different ethnicities. There are several locations where kids can’t really go to the park
because of proximity issues and they have to play in their backyard which really isn’t as satisfactory as
being able to actually go to the park and play basketball with somebody. He added that different people
like different sports; for example, some like basketball more than hockey so we need to try to include
preferences with different groups and to envision what are some of the needs of certain parks because
he thinks it would integrate the community more and bring them more together. Society is changing
and Edina is becoming more of a diverse society so that can also help them determine how they should
start and how they should allocate their resources.
Member Greene stated they do everything great in Edina and wants to make sure that they don’t slip
back, it’s very competitive and certain things have to be done. Edina has some of the best programs and
facilities in the Twin Cities and he doesn’t want to see it slip back. He noted that everything costs a lot
of money, but somehow it all gets funded and the bottom line is if there is a will there is a way to get it
done in Edina. The property values are not going down, so don’t let it slip back.
Ms. Kattreh asked the Park Board as part of the strategic plan with regards to cost recovery of
enterprise facilities and cost recovery of the park system as a whole and how user fees play into that is
that something the board would like to see explored as part of this plan. Chair Gieseke replied he
thinks it would be irresponsible not to. Mr. Bransford pointed out that they are planning on doing a
financial analysis that will include looking at where you are at in terms of cost recovery now and giving
an assessment of that as well as give you recommendations or best practices.
Member Cella pointed out, for planning purposes, they may want to check with the school district in the
beginning of January when they finalize what their recommendations for the referendum will be because
it may include turf fields, etc. and that could make a difference.
VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS
None
VIII. CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
Student Member Colwell indicated that one of his friends asked him to mention that the tennis court
nets are getting damaged because they are not taken down in the winter. Ms. Kattreh replied many
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years ago the decision was made to keep the tennis nets up all year because they do get people playing
on them during late fall, early spring and sometimes in the winter. They did do a study on the cost to
put them up and take them down and they studied the effects of the weather and it was determined that
it was more cost effective to leave the nets up than to take them down every year. She stated that the
nets have held up really well.
IX. STAFF COMMENTS
Ms. Kattreh thanked everyone for attending the grand opening of the sports dome and noted it was a
phenomenal success. There were 400 to 500 people there throughout the entire evening. Ms. Kattreh
noted there will be an open house at Braemar on Dec. 19 at 5 p.m. for the architect to show plans he
has regarding the interior renovations of the clubhouse and he is looking for some feedback. Ms.
Kattreh noted they are also having an open house on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. for the strategic plan because
they are starting to do a public campaign to let people know about it.
X. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Gieseke made a motion, seconded by Member Segreto, to adjourn the meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 9:21 p.m.