HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-02-13 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD
7:30 p.m.
February 13, 1996
MEMBERS PRESENT: Jean Rydell, Beth Hall, Mike Burley, Andrew Montgomery, Dave
Crowther, Andy Herring, Becky Bennett, Bill Jenkins
MEMBERS ABSENT: Frank Bennett, Jim Fee, John Dovolis
STAFF PRESENT: John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, Janet Canton, Todd Anderson
OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor Fred Richards, Tass VonSchmidt-Pauli, Betty Johnson,
Lloyd Meyer, Ron Anderson
I. APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 9. 1996 MINUTES
Jean Rydell MOVED TO APPROVE THE JANUARY 9, 1996 MINUTES. Beth Hall
SECONDED THE MOTION. MINUTES APPROVED.
II. EDINA GIRLS FAST PITCH SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION PROPOSAL - MR. RON ANDERSON
Mr. Jenkins indicated that Ron Anderson, representative from the Edina
Girls Fastpitch Association, wants to discuss with the Park Board the
fee structure at Van Valkenburg Park. Mr. Keprios stated that Mr.
Anderson submitted a request in writing, as well as, the results of a
brief survey that he conducted. He explained that Mr. Anderson thought
it might help if he canvased other communities. Mr. Keprios indicated
that there are approximately 70 to 75 kids participating in the program.
He also pointed out that the Girls Fastpitch Association likes to run
their tournaments as a fundraiser and therefore are requesting a fee
reduction for the rental of Van Valkenburg. Mr. Jenkins asked Mr.
Keprios if those fees have been raised and Mr. Keprios replied that it
has been raised to $150.00 a day.
Mr. Anderson stated that he brought a copy of the operating results for
1995 and stated that he doesn't want to come hat in hand. However, he
wants to explain that as an organization there are approximately 70 to
100 kids participating in the program and overall what the association
has tried to do is contribute back in capital improvements to the park
system. It is their intention to continue to do that in the areas of
specific improvements especially around Pamela Park as they are going
through the transition of moving girls softball to that park. Mr.
Jenkins asked what the entry fee is for fastpitch and Mr. Anderson
replied last year it was $140.00 and this year it may go up to $150.00.
Mr. Anderson explained that currently their bank account is at
approximately $1,500. Last year, $1,200 was generated through four
tournaments. He stated that in the past Mr. Keprios was kind enough to
waive some fees at Van Valkenburg, however, that is very difficult to
continue to electively waive and therefore he would like to suggest a
fee structure at Van Valkenburg that would be in line with what other
communities are doing with youth athletic organizations.
Mr. Burley asked if most of the profits are generated from the
admissions or concessions. Mr. Anderson replied he would like to think
they are from concessions, however, it really depends on the tournament
and weather. He explained that a typical tournament has ten teams;
umpires are paid $25.00 a game over 7 games which is approximately
$750.00, $300.00 for medals and trophies and $600 for field use.
Therefore, $1,650.00 essentially represents the investment to start.
Mr. Jenkins commented that basically concessions is what is left for a
profit center. Mr. Anderson noted that is correct depending on how the
concessions operate and how well they do. Mr. Burley asked if the fees
could be raised for tournaments and Mr. Anderson replied that could be a
possibility.
He indicated that they didn't necessarily waive the fees, there was an
agreement to find a way to finance the batting cage, which was a
response to a request from the fastpitch association. There were no
funds at the current time and therefore instead of paying a maintenance
fee, it went towards the construction of a batting cage at Pamela Park.
Mr. Keprios stated that in essence fastpitch did pay a fee, however, Mr.
Keprios stated that he later learned that he does not have the authority
to do that. Mr. Anderson indicated that the Girls Fastpitch Association
contributed $3,800.00 towards the $10,000 project.
Mr. Montgomery pointed out that Edina's fee is $100 per field per day
and the City of Plymouth is $275.00 for four fields per day. He noted
that it seems like Edina is on the high side. Mr. Montgomery asked if
the rate is the same if some other organization wants to run a sponsored
tournament. Mr. Keprios replied yes. He also noted the difference
between Edina and Plymouth is we provide the staff, we control the
facility, the use of the equipment, the amount of agri-lime, and we drag
and maintain the fields. Therefore, we have better control of what
happens there. He noted that obviously incurs some expense which can
fluctuate depending on the weather. On some tournament weekends we will
break even others we will make money and others we will end up losing
money. Therefore, in the long run it's a break even proposition for the
city the way it's been cost out. Mr. Montgomery indicated that it
bothers him that they ask the participants to pay a $6.00 participation
fee and then pay additional for tournaments. Mr. Keprios explained the
participation fee is for their general program offering, playoffs and
in-house tournaments. However, when they run a whole weekend tournament
they are using public facilities to bring in non-resident teams from all
around the Twin Cities to raise money. That's looked upon as a rental
situation. Mr. Montgomery noted that the problem he has isn't the fee,
it's the same for what he would consider an outside group plus being
sponsored by our own athletic groups who have in fact contributed other
dollars that are in addition to the $100.00 a field.
Mr. Jenkins asked Mr. Anderson where does the profit money go from the
association. Mr. Anderson replied they really don't have any right now,
there is an operating balance of $1,500. Mr. Jenkins noted that the
association put $3,800.00 toward the batting cage. Mr. Anderson
2
indicated that's correct and the year before that they put $600.00 worth
of fences at Braemar which were co -installed with EBA. Mr. Anderson
pointed out that 100% of the dollars coming from the organization are
going the right way, they are going to the kids and they are going to
increase equipment as well as providing paid coaches.
Mr. Jenkins asked Mr. Keprios if there is a reason we raised the fee
$50.00 per field per day over last year. Mr. Keprios explained that is
a little misleading because there used to be a charge of $100.00 per
field per day plus $100.00 for the use of the building, if they wanted
to use the restrooms, concession stand, etc. However, we have now just
put everything all together and the building is now included in the
total price. Therefore it is really only a $50 per day increase for use
of the complex. Mr. Montgomery indicated that it seems to him that we
are the highest of anyone on the survey. Mr. Keprios stated that we are
the highest but we also provide the most service.
Mr. Burley asked Mr. Keprios if he feels the fee is right and he noted
yes. Mr. Crowther asked Mr. Anderson if the request is just to reduce
the fee for the girls softball tournaments or is it a request to reduce
the fee in general for all activities. Mr. Anderson noted that his
specific area of interest is the fastpitch tournaments and that youth
athletic organizations should get some consideration along these lines.
Mr. Anderson again pointed out that they do put money back into the park
system. Mr. Montgomery indicated that baseball is also asking for the
same concession. Mr. Keprios explained that the Park Board would need
to make a recommendation to the City Council to reduce the fee structure
if that is what they would like to do.
Mr. Herring indicated that Mr. Keprios is saying we are appropriately
covering our costs. He noted that he is not interested in not covering
our costs. Mr. Herring also indicated that we are providing the best
services and we have superior fields, therefore, it seems like an
appropriate cost structure to him. Mr. Herring stated that he is not
troubled by the additional $6.00 per person participant fee because of
the additional administration staff does. Mr. Montgomery pointed out
that the softball and baseball associations put dollars right back into
the program and it's not that they have a lot of money. He noted that
it seems to him there are concessions on other rentals where it is an
in-house versus an out -house event. He also stated that it seems to him
there should be a concession for an Edina sponsored athletic
association. Mr. Herring indicated to Mr. Keprios that if he wants to
go back and look at the cost structure again to see if there is a better
way to get closer to what the actual cost is, he would be okay with
that, however, he would not support going below the estimated cost. Mr.
Crowther asked if we actually do give concessions to other associations.
Mr. Keprios explained that in the summer months we do hand over the
Courtney Field concessions complex to the Baseball Association and they
essentially keep all the proceeds. He noted that they have an incentive
program for their staff person that they hire, they pay liability
insurance and the money basically does come back to the city. The
Baseball Association has funded a lot of improvements. Mr. Jenkins
asked if that is any different from what fastpitch would be doing but in
a smaller fashion because they have fewer numbers. Mr. Keprios noted
3
that if they wanted to run the concession stand at Van Valkenburg they
would be open to that. However, he doesn't think they would receive
anywhere near the volume that baseball does.
Mr. Jenkins stated that he is in no way encouraging us to bite the
bullet more than we should and also feels we should be covering our
expenses. Mr. Burley pointed out that Mr. Anderson has a money problem
and that is why he is coming to us, however, we cannot exactly support
this because we can't go below our costs. Mr. Burley then suggested
that we could possibly bring new ideas and be creative. Maybe we can
offer the concession stand for the utilization of the different times.
Mr. Burley indicated that he does feel we need to be consistent and
charge everyone the same fee.
Mr. Anderson noted that his primary concern is to be able to improve the
infrastructure in a sports specific way. He stated that if we shift all
of girls softball to Pamela and away from Braemar you can see that
Pamela Park does not have a concessions area, restrooms, and there is no
equipment at Pamela. Therefore, the Fastpitch Association would be more
than willing to jump in there and say lets improve it and make a
contribution to do whatever is necessary and that is the direction they
want to go. Therefore, if there is a possibility of doing that without
increasing revenues from tournament play then he is wide open to making
it a better environment for the players. Mr. Crowther stated that he
doesn't think the Park Board is in a position to be cutting costs on
anything because the Park Department is strapped and they are right now
going through a bond referendum. He noted that he understands where Mr.
Anderson is coming from, however, it's hard to do because if we say yes
here there's no question we will have other associations looking for the
same thing and we cannot afford to do that. Mr. Anderson noted that he
understands the position but what he would like to see is an improved
facility for girls softball and if there is any way that they can help
to accomplish it that is great. He noted that they are just willing to
do their part and he also wants to say that any increased revenues that
they acquire go right back into the infrastructure. Therefore, they are
not necessarily gaining concessions but are just redirecting those
dollars to improve the facilities.
Mr. Jenkins asked if there is a plan for Pamela and Mr. Keprios replied
that this year the entire softball program will be played at Pamela and
Courtney Fields will be used strictly for baseball. However,
tournaments will be held at Van Valkenburg Park.
Mr. Jenkins noted that if the bond goes through as the City Council has
presented, Pamela Park will be regraded as well as other fields and that
will be a good start. He then noted that it appears the Park Board is
going to stick with the current fee structure and we will work with the
Fastpitch Association on Pamela Park's field and the transition of going
from Braemar to Pamela.
4
III. FINANCING HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY - MAYOR FRED RICHARDS
Mr. Jenkins indicated that the Honorable Fred Richards has agreed to
join us and discuss some of the questions the Park Board has had on how
we finance things and why they are done they way they are.
Mayor Richards started by saying a word of caution that he will be
explaining his views which reflect the current thinking of the City
Council as a whole, however, you always have to be a little bit careful
when you are hearing only one of five.
Mayor Richards gave the Park Board an update on where they are with the
bond referendum. He noted there was a rather lengthy discussion and
some different views were expressed on the dollar amount of the bond
issue for the general park referendum. It ultimately ended up that the
City Council authorized a bond issue of 5.5 million dollars for the
general park improvements. The second component was to authorize a bond
referendum of 2.5 million dollars for a third ice of sheet to be put out
at the Braemar complex. These two issues will be put before the
citizens to vote on May 7th. Mayor Richards indicated that he thinks
everyone has been instructed in their representative capacity that we as
a city are not necessarily to go out and advocate a position for a yes
or no vote. It is our charge to put all the facts in front of the
voters so that they can make an intelligent decision on how to vote.
Mayor Richards noted that he thinks staff, the referendum team, and
other various organizations are doing a good job of getting the
information out. Mayor Richards stated that he happens to be putting on
his personal hat to support the two referendum items and he thinks that
it's needed and necessary and it would be a wise decision for people to
vote yes.
Mayor Richards brought up the topic of why we are having a bond issue in
the first place and that it is the one question he has heard more than
any other question from people. He indicated that people have asked him
why don't you just take money out of the general fund. Mayor Richards
explained that he personally would be willing to stand up and take the
heat as to whether or not it should or should not be funded out of the
general fund or general taxes. He pointed out that number one, he
doesn't think we can do that for some of the improvements that are being
talked about. Secondly, when he thinks about the philosophy behind the
bond issue it makes sense, there has not been a bond issue for 20 years.
Mayor Richards pointed out that the financing of local government has
become very difficult over the last several years and he explained the
problem they are running into. They feel a tremendous amount of
pressure to keep the general fund close to what, he would call inflation
or normal cost of living adjustments. When you look over the last six
years, taxes have been raised somewhere between 2% and 5% every year.
Mayor Richards noted that the City of Edina receives no
intergovernmental funds from other governmental bodies with the
exception of the homestead exemption credits. Edina does not get any
local government aids in which some cities around the State of Minnesota
profit very handsomely by. Mayor Richards indicated that whatever Edina
has done they have had to do with their own resources. Therefore, Edina
hasn't been on the roller coaster of some years receiving money and
5
other years not, which has made Edina fiscally responsible. Mayor
Richards stated that some people will call Edina cheap, however, in his
judgment what has been done is they have not kept pace with maintaining
the infrastructure. This applies not only to the parks but also applies
to all phases of the operations in the city, however, the Park
Department could possibly have been addressed differently. Mayor
Richards noted that in trying to anticipate the day when they are going
to run into a problem with the sewer and water type of infrastructure
they have gone to a utility fund. Therefore, they have now budgeted and
raised money out of the utility fund each and every year by putting
dollars away for when the infrastructure wears out in the future.
Mayor Richards indicated that historically they have set aside $80,000 a
year for capital improvements and they simply have not kept pace with
the infrastructure that had been built up. Mayor Richards noted that he
thinks how this happened is in part they had what is called extraction,
when someone comes in to develop raw land and we take an extraction from
those people that develop the land. He feels the philosophy has been
right in that you are buying into an existing park system. Therefore,
if you add a home or some other development of the property and create
users for the park system you should buy into that system. Mayor
Richards explained this has been done one of two ways. Either through
land, we've built up the park system of approximately 1600 acres and 40
to 50 different facilities, or we've taken 8% of the value of the land
for a buy into the park system. Mayor Richards noted that what he
thinks has happened is our infrastructure has run ahead of our ability
to maintain that with the meager dollars that the City Council has set
aside. He indicated that some people will say that maybe we should have
put more in and that might well be, however, that is being said from
their perspective. However, the City Council is looking at all phases
of the budget and are trying to respond to what the residents will want
to bear relative to the increases in taxes which relate to the real
estate tax dollars that we finance ourselves except for the user fees.
The City has always had a very strong belief in user fees. Therefore,
we have a very strong reserve fund in the City of Edina which does
approximate at times up to 5 million dollars. Mayor Richards indicated
that when people hear this they ask why don't we spend some of that
money. He noted the reason they don't is because for the last five
years they have been trying to budget out of the general fund in trying
to create an increase in the general reserves by $100,000 a year for a
total of $500,000. The reason for this is because when they go out into
the market place to sell the bonds whether they are GO bonds, special
assessment bonds or tax increment bonds, the interest rates by the two
services look to see what your reserves are so they can rate the bonds.
Mayor Richards indicated that they recently refinanced some GO bonds
that were outstanding. He stated that they received a double A rating
and the two services indicated that they were almost ready to give a
triple A rating. However, they decided not to because we don't have any
development in the southern third portion of Centennial Lakes.
Therefore, we received a double A rating and we have projected a savings
of approximately a million one on interest costs for this last series of
refunding and the numbers came in at one million seven. We are going to
save 1.7 million dollars over the life of those bonds. Therefore, it is
M
important that we look at those reserves which enter into all of those
issues about why we don't spend some of our reserves.
Mayor Richards explained that the number at one time in the reserve
funds for park improvements was somewhere between $750,00 and
$1,000,000. The Developer's Fund is to be used for development,
however, that fund has been dissipated and is now down to somewhere
between $250,000 and $400,000. The money has been used for capitalized
costs for the park improvements. Therefore, the long and the short of
it is we have spent money all along and have not replenished it out of
the general fund to keep up with maintenance, etc.
Mayor Richards stated that getting back to the question of why don't we
set aside some money each year so that we don't have to go through these
bond referendums. Again, he noted that these are his own personal
beliefs but he thinks that is the wrong way to finance things because he
thinks it penalizes too much the people who are here today to improve
the parks that will be used by those who are going to be here tomorrow.
Therefore, he would rather see us sell a bond issue today because no one
pays for that bond issue today. As you can see the average amount of
money each home pays is .06/day or .03/day and his belief is that you
are going to pay as long as you reside in Edina because the residents
are presumably using the park system. Therefore, if you use it tomorrow
you are going to pay for it tomorrow. Mayor Richards noted that it
seems to him that if you are charging the people today for doing the
improvements tomorrow and those people may or may not be here tomorrow
than those people who come in tomorrow will be the benefactors of the
improvements done today paid by the people today and they in effect get
a free ride. He believes in the concept of financing through a bond
issue because it defers the payments over the future and that is more
fair and equitable to ask those people who are going to be the users to
pay for it.
Mayor Richards brought up the point that he doesn't think there is
anything more expensive than deferred maintenance. He feels the best
time to improve to repair something is right at the critical point when
it really needs it, and we have not done that. Mayor Richards explained
that the way we finance local government today through the real estate
tax dollars the system is totally broke. He stated that he doesn't know
what the answer is but he feels there is no correlation anymore between
value and what we pay into the system. He feels they are driving people
to the point where they cannot afford to stay. He noted that they get
beat upon all the time. However, he doesn't know what the answer is but
for these ever increasing escalating costs that we finance ourselves
through real estate tax dollars it makes it doubly difficult to do
things. Often times they make a political decision to not raise taxes
when they think they should be raised 8%, 10% or 12%.
Mayor Richards pointed out that a lot of people
and they no longer use the parks, however, the
have is our home. He expressed that if people
preserve the value in their home they are going
depreciate greatly that will be far more costly
are asking to finance the improvements for some
7
say their kids are gone
single biggest asset we
don't do everything to
to see an asset
than the dollars they
deferred maintenance.
Mr. Jenkins pointed out that there are some revenue generating
facilities and asked why don't we put some away every year. Mayor
Richards commented that people ask him if the ice arena makes money lets
put that money in a pot for the ice arena and money made at the golf
course put in a pot for the golf course. Mayor Richards indicated that
he thinks that is a very parochial attitude and he hopes it's one he
never sees in Edina. The reason he feels this way is because the bottom
line is that things change and he can remember when Braemar ice arena
made a lot of money because there were no other ice arenas in the
metropolitan area. He can also remember the day when so much money was
made at the swimming pool that someone said we should cut the fees in
half. However, times change when you get into competition and it's the
city who picks up the tab and therefore, he doesn't put much stock in
the argument that it's our money and lets keep it and use it the way we
want to. It is the City's and we have to stay flexible to make sure we
meet all of these various enterprise funds because some years the pool
is going to need help and others the ice arena, art center, etc.
Mr. Burley noted to the Mayor that he doesn't disagree with anything
that has been said. However, if there could be a larger fund generated
from these revenue income facilities to have things fixed then he can
rationalize to himself and others in saying that these facilities are
self-perpetuating the rest of the park system. It is helping the
walkways, baseball backstops, etc., things that don't have funds except
for tax dollars or bonds to pay for them.
Mr. Burley noted that the argument comes up where we want to build a
third ice arena and the counter argument is that girls are now playing
hockey. He thinks that is pretty simple for people to understand,
however, part of the funds from the major fund is to fix up Braemar and
he thinks a lot of people question why haven't we just continued to take
a portion of the fees. We could take $1.00 or $2.00 more for 18 holes
of golf that could help to generate more money to keep Braemar up to
speed on an annual basis and pay for itself.
Mayor Richards indicated that he would challenge anyone to tell him
where they have ever shortchanged anyone in doing something that they
wanted to do. He noted that the City Council reserves the right to
disagree, however, a great deal of a reliance is put upon the boards and
commissions and the recommendations that are made to them. Secondly,
Mayor Richards pointed out that the philosophy in Edina, which he thinks
has served us well, is we have never built the cadillac of the industry.
We have always built a middle of the road, modest facility as compared
to what other communities have done. This has allowed Edina to be user
friendly for people of all economic stations in life to be able to go
out and use and enjoy the facilities.
Mr. Burley indicated that he is saying in a revenue producing facility
if he were to own say Braemar every year he would have to put some money
aside because at some point they are going to have to fix the parking
lot, etc. The only feedback the Park Board receives on the fees is how
they compare to other communities.
T
Mr. Herring indicated that he disagrees with some of the things that
Mayor Richards has said. He noted that Braemar ice arena is going to
need to replace the mats and it's the people who have used the Braemar
facility for ten years that have caused that matting to become run down.
However, you are asking for those people moving into the city to pay for
the replacement matting through taxes. He would argue that the people
who have historically used and given the ordinary wear and tear are the
ones who should be paying as they go. Mr. Herring noted that he thinks
what Mr. Burley is trying to say is if the mats or parking lot or
whatever needs to be replaced then we should include the replacement
cost in coming up with what we are going to charge on a per hour basis.
He indicated that Park Board really doesn't have a good sense of what
the true cost accounting would include for wear and tear replacement.
Mr. Herring stated that Mr. Keprios can tell us how much money we are
going to spend this year but that doesn't have replacement costs or
items you would otherwise save for. His point is he never has a good
sense of what the true costs are because the only things we preach here
are the users should pay through the user fee. We have said that many,
many times and he doesn't think they are truly paying because we are
going to ask all of the taxpayers in Edina to pay to upgrade the Braemar
facility, etc. and he feels that the people who use the facilities
should be paying for them. He feels the users should pay for all of the
costs and he's not sure that we are including all costs.
Mr. Burley indicated that as a Park and Recreation person he is asked on
a monthly basis to make some judgmental decisions of which Mr.
Anderson's is a classic example. He noted that he can't get any feel
for this because he doesn't understand how the government is working
regarding how the money is filtered down. Mr. Burley stated that he
understands we have a budget of about $180,000 this year and that they
evaluated the repair of ten tennis courts, that was it and the budget is
closed. Mr. Burley stated that he can see where we could charge a
little bit more if we understand what the true cost is. He noted he
wants to keep it as economical as possible. He expressed that he also
does not want to charge $30.00 or $40,00 to play golf at Braemar, he is
just suggesting that the fee be raised $1.00 or $2.00. He added that if
40,000 rounds of golf are played, then $80,000 is generated for Braemar
Golf Course to help keep the golf course up to speed.
Mr. Montgomery asked why can't the revenues be raised at the pool since
they have not been raised in the last three years. It seems like
whatever they raise for the pool goes to the pool. Why can't whatever
we raise at the pool go and finance pathways or something else that has
no revenue. The tennis facilities do not receive a user fee and we
haven't devised a way to effectively do that so why can't some of the
revenue generating facilities provide for some of the other sport
facilities. Mr. Montgomery added that if we raise revenues at the
facilities and raise $80,000 he indicated that he has the feeling that
does not come back to the Park Department but goes to some other place.
Therefore, we give you $80,000 but only have a $180,000 budget.
Mayor Richards replied that is correct and in his opinion it would be
wrong if it did. He explained that if you look at everyone of the
enterprise funds throughout the years, what is going to happen when
W
there is a shortfall, who's is going to pick up the tab. He pointed out
that we would have lost the ice arena and the swimming pool a long time
ago and there was a day when we had to go out begging to make enough
money to service the bonds to purchase the property for the Braemar Golf
Course, so who's going to pay the tab. Every time there has been a
price increase for the swimming pool the attendance has dropped off
because there is a price point by which people will not use a public
facility. He pointed out that Braemar is not Interlachen, Edina,
Olympic Hills or Minikanda, but a public facility for the benefit of the
public. He noted that right or wrong there is a perception of how much
the public will pay.
Mr. Burley noted that he is just trying to understand how the government
is run so that as Park Board members they can make better decisions. He
noted that this discussion has helped him out a lot. Mr. Burley again
pointed out if we could charge $2.00 more at Braemar we could make at
least $80,000. He indicated that he's not necessarily saying keep it at
Braemar but put it into the fund. Mayor Richards replied that if the
Park Board wants to make that recommendation they should because it will
stimulate discussion at the City Council meeting as to what the Park
Board's philosophy is relative to running those types of operations.
Mayor Richards commented that for years he has felt there should be no
charge whatsoever for the summer kids programs because that is a basic
recreation program offering. He noted they have spent more time arguing
whether they should charge $3.00 or $4.00 for the summer. He noted this
triggers public debate because if Braemar is $17.50 to play 18 rounds of
golf and most other places charge $45.00 to $50.00, will the market bear
more. He noted of course it will and that money helps to defray the
costs of doing other things. However, he feels it's going to come back
full circle and we will need to discuss what are we trying to
accomplish; what is the objective. Should we keep it right at the brink
of what the market will bear, there are all kinds of discussions.
Ms. Bennett asked if there is a period of time in which the money has to
be spent for the bond issue. Ms. Bennett asked if they have to zero
that or can we put money from the bond into a reserve for future
improvements or maintenance. Mr. Keprios answered that the City
Attorney, Jerry Gilligan, indicated that we have to use due diligence.
Mayor Richards explained that basically means we have to spend the money
in that bond pool within a reasonable period of time. Mayor Richards
stated that the City Council looked at the numbers when trying to decide
whether or not there should be a bond issue and whether it should be
raised from 4.9 million to 5.5 million. He stated that when looking at
those numbers they think they will need to increase the maintenance
costs on a yearly basis. At the 4.9 level it would approximately
$32,000 and at the 5.5 level it would increase to $50,000. Therefore,
if the bond issue passes and when the time comes to approve the 1997
budget they will increase the moneys allocated to the Park Department
relative to maintenance issues by a minimum of $50,000. That is what
representation was made by the fact that by voting in the affirmative
for having a bond issue we are going to increase the budget
automatically by at least $50,000 with inflation set aside.
10
Ms. Rydell asked what is the status at this point on the free standing
senior center. Mayor Richards indicated that currently there is a study
going on with the Southdale YMCA in which they are currently looking at
the possibility of adding physical improvements to their facility. We
would possibly be willing to give them some park property. He indicated
that the YMCA has been asked to come back in a time frame sometime
between June and August of this year to see whether or not it makes
sense to have a possible joint venture.
Ms. Hall indicated that Park Board members will be needed for making
phone calls on April 29th and May 6th. She noted that she will have
more information at the March Park Board meeting.
IV. PARK REFERENDA UPDATE
Mr. Keprios indicated that the dollar figure is now 5.5 million and the
voting date is set for May 7th. He indicated there have been a lot of
meetings set up and he feels they are doing a good job of getting the
word out.
Mr. Herring asked what's the difference in the 4.9 million compared to
the 5.5 million. Mr. Keprios indicated that the City Council felt that
there were items that were important enough to put back on the table.
These items include having a permanent shelter building at Todd Park as
well as a hockey rink and grading of various ballfields that are in need
of it. He noted to do these items will cost $500,000 to $600,000, which
is the amount that has been put back into the plan.
Mr. Herring questioned why an increase in the maintenance operations and
Mr. Keprios answered because of the added dollars needed to maintain new
additional park amenities. There are going to be a over a million
dollars of new park amenities as part of this plan. He noted that the
majority of the increased costs will be to pay for heat, lights and
general maintenance associated with the new shelter buildings. There
will likely not, however, be a need to fill the last remaining full-time
maintenance position that was not reinstated.
V. MEMORIAL POLICY
Mr. Keprios indicated that upon the Park Board's request this item is
back on the agenda to be discussed after having time to think about it
for a month. He expressed that he is now looking for a recommendation
to take to his boss. He pointed out that it is a staff level decision,
however, he knows that the City Manager would like to know what the Park
Board's recommendation is.
Mr. Jenkins indicated that he likes Ms. Rydell's idea of having a
permanent memorial at Arneson Acres and without being crass some type of
an amount could be set. He noted that he feels the site at Arneson
Acres would be a very quiet, reflective place.
11
VI.
VII.
Mr. Herring explained that his understanding is that the City of
Minneapolis has a program where you can have a tree or shrub planted
without a plaque as a memorial. He noted that he also likes the idea of
having memorials all at one place.
Mr. Keprios indicated that he is trying to get a sense from the Park
Board as to whether they want a plaque in the ground, trees planted,
items on park benches or flag poles, etc. He noted that the more people
see these items, the more people like the idea and he can really begin
to see it becoming a problem. He explained that recently a plaque that
is 28 years old was vandalized and they wanted the city to replace it,
which can also start to be a problem.
Mr. Jenkins asked Mr. Keprios if he views Arneson Acres as being an
appropriate place for such a memorial. Mr. Keprios indicated he thinks
it would be a good place it's just a question if we want to put plaques
in front of different items. Mr. Herring indicated that he thinks the
Park Board is talking about having a central area where memorials are
placed on some type of a pedestal. Mr. Jenkins suggested possibly
having a roof and lights.
Mr. Keprios indicated that he will take the Park Board's comments and
come up with a specific recommendation and dollar figures to see how it
fits. Mr. Keprios also suggested once a year recognizing people in the
back of the Activities Directory or About Town.
OTHER
A. Braemar Arena - Mr. Jenkins asked Mr. Keprios the status at
Braemar Arena in regards to last months meeting. Mr. Keprios replied
that he met with Mr. Thayer and has been out there on three separate
occasions to walk through the arena. He noted that everything appeared
to be very well maintained. He suggested that the Park Board's previous
concern was possibly just an isolated incident at one particular hockey
tournament. Mr. Jenkins replied that overall he doesn't feel there is a
problem. Mr. Keprios indicated that Mr. Thayer has always prided
himself on keeping a clean facility and that's what Mr. Keprios finds
every time he goes there. However, that is not always going to be case
when the building is filled with people during tournament times. Mr.
Keprios also pointed out that Mr. Thayer and his staff work very hard
and do their very best.
Ms. Bennett explained that her and Mr. Fee's comments were directed more
specifically to one tournament and not the structure itself. She
indicated that she did discuss the situation with Mr. Thayer and he was
very open to the criticism and feedback. He did say that someone should
have brought it to his attention and he would have had someone on it
right away because he was unaware of it.
ADJOURNMENT
Dave Crowther MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 9:00 P.M. Jean Rydell
SECONDED THE MOTION. MEETING ADJOURNED.
12