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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-07-08 Park Board MinutesEDINA PARK BOARD 7:30 P.M. July 8, 1986 Edina City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Joan Lonsbury, Don Wineberg, Andy Montgomery, Jean Rydell, Marilyn Wooldridge, Mack Thayer, Jim Fee, Bill Lord, George Warner STAFF PRESENT: Bob Kojetin, John Keprios, Ed MacHolda, Pat Greer, Diana Hedges, Madelyn Krinke ------------------------------ I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 10, 1986 MEETING George Warner made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 10, 1986 meeting. Jean Rydell seconded. Motion carried. II. ART CENTER Bob Kojetin introduced the new Art Center Director, Diana Hedges to the Park Board. Pat Greer thanked the Park Board for the confidence that they have placed in her and Marion Ward as directors of the Art Center over the past few years. Pat stated she feels good about the growth of the Art Center in the past few years. She shared the following statistics: 7 children's classes were added this year, number of students taking classes has surpassed 1800 this year, 516 students are taking classes this summer. Pat indicated that there has been discussion about promoting the memberships at the Art Center to draw new members, with one possibility being that Edina residents may get some special benefits. Pat stated that it has not been possible to raise enough revenue from the facility to take care of the upkeep of the building, but they have received enough revenue to pay for teachers and other expenses through their fees. The staff has been considering ways of adding additional students or classes, however, room sizes limit the number of students that can be in a class. A grant has been applied for to subsidize printing costs and Pat stated that they are looking into other grant possibilities. Joan Lonsbury thanked Pat Greer on behalf of the Park Board for the excellent job she has done at the Art Center. Diana Hedges shared some of her plans for the Art Center to make it more financially sound. Some methods to be tried are applying for more grants, staying open in August next year, increasing memberships, adding classes on Saturdays. Diana said she was proud to be on the staff. III. LONG RANGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT AND OPERATING BUDGET Bob Kojetin handed out a copy of a tentative long range capital improvement plan and asked that the Park Board look at it as a guideline and give suggestions on anything that they feel should be done differently. The one area of the budget which Mr. Kojetin said needs more immediate attention is the playground equipment. Most of the playground equipment which has not been replaced in the last few years is in very bad shape and should be replaced immediately. A lot of the equipment is 25 years old. V. John Keprios described some of the playground equipment as a great liability risk because of its poor condition. John will have a slide presentation of the playground equipment ready to show the Park Board soon. Jim Fee said it would be a good idea to have a representative of the City's insurance company come out to look at the equipment to evaluate and give recommendations on what type of equipment would be safe to use. John Keprios indicated that he has had a representative of the insurance company out to see the equipment and he did make recommendations to have some unsafe equipment removed immediately. Bob Kojetin reported that vandalism at Bredesen Park was the worst destruction of property the parks have experienced since the pool vandalism in the 1960's. The fixtures in the new toilet facilities were completely smashed. Mr. Kojetin stated that there is a $1,000 reward. IV. OTHER Marilyn Wooldridge asked for clarification regarding the furnishings for the lounges at Braemar. Don Wineberg indicated that they have asked for donations and are now accepting funds and will wait until everything is completed at the Club House before actually purchasing anything. Joan Lonsbury stated that she felt there should be discussion about the Park Board philosophy on closing rinks. Several of the Park Board members stated they felt that the sentiment would be the same, no matter which rink you were going to close, people in the community want to keep the rinks open in their neighborhood park and that they should be left alone as long as the tax payers are willing to pay to keep them. Bill Lord said that until it comes to a monetary issue - the Park Board should make no recommendations. RECREATION REPORT Bob Kojetin stated that the Braemar Sports Complex Committee still hopes to be able to go ahead with the total program, but are struggling with the funding issue. John Keprios reported on the ongoing activities. Soccer and baseball are nearly finished. There will be two teen trips - one to Wild Mountain and one to Valley Fair. The softball season is completed and Andy Montgomery's team won the championship in his league. John further reported that he had attended the Human Rights Commission meeting and he requested and received funding for an interpreter for deaf child who wanted to attend the playground activities. John indicated that there will be some parents coming to the Park Board next month to talk about programming for special needs. Bob Kojetin stated that he thinks the request will be for programming activities here in Edina. Andy Montgomery commented that the July 4th fireworks were very good. Jim Fee moved to adjourn the meeting. Don Wineberg seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.