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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-09 Parks & Rec Comm MinutesDraft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 3/9/2021 Minutes City of Edina, Minnesota Edina Parks & Recreation Commission VIRTUAL MEETING Feb. 9, 2021 7 p.m. I. Call to Order Chair Ites called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. II. Roll Call Answering roll call were Commissioners McAwley, Dahlien, Doscotch, Good, Nelson, Strother, Willette, Ites and Student Commissioner Nahlovsky Student Commissioner Sorem arrived at 7:09 p.m. Absent: Commissioner Miller and Student Commissioner Mork Staff present: Staff Liaison Perry Vetter, Assistant Director Parks & Natural Resources Tom Swenson, Assistant Director Recreation & Facilities Tracy Petersen, Administrative Coordinator Janet Canton, Recreation Supervisor Nicole Gorman, Water Resource Coordinator Jessica Wilson, Engineering Services Manager Ross Bintner III. Approval of Meeting Agenda Motion made by Good to approve the meeting agenda. Motion seconded by McAwley. Roll call vote. Motion carried. IV. Approval of Meeting Minutes Motion made by McAwley to approve the Jan. 12, 2021 minutes. Motion seconded by Good. Roll call vote. Motion carried. V. Reports/Recommendations A. Senior Center Update Recreation supervisor Gorman informed the commission the Senior Center has been closed since March 13, 2020. Since then, they have offered alternative programming for their participants including virtual offerings. She went over all the programs and offerings the Senior Center has done during the past year. Recreation Supervisor Gorman pointed out the Senior Center is going to start to phase in limited in-person programming which will start in March. They are following the executive orders so there will be capacity limits. She is hopeful they will be able to have more offerings in April and May and will continue to do virtual offerings. Recreation Supervisor Gorman went over the facility improvements that have taken place since the shutdown of the Senior Center. Commissioners asked questions. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 3/9/2021 Staff Liaison Vetter thanked Recreation Supervisor Gorman for all her help during the closure and pointed out that she has also helped with a variety of other programs within the city. Staff Liaison Vetter went over those programs. B. Storm Water and Water Management Plan Update Staff Liaison Vetter introduced Jessica Wilson, Water Resources Coordinator from Edina’s Engineering Department. He informed the commission she will be giving an update on the intersection of water resources with parks resources. Water Resource Coordinator Wilson introduced Ross Bintner, Engineering Services Manager from the Engineering Department. She then gave a presentation on how the Engineering Department and the Parks & Recreation Department work together to layering services for the community. She added they are very proud of what they have been able to accomplish in parks spaces for water resources and natural resources as all recreation opportunities. She noted within the Parks & Recreation strategic plan as it relates to natural resources within the plan it identifies opportunities to protect, enhance and restore the city’s natural resources and natural areas. It creates more resilient and sustainable park facilities and landscapes and protects and restores Edina’s water resources. Commissioners asked questions and thanked Water Resource Coordinator Wilson and Engineering Services Manager Bintner. C. Annual Election of Officers Chair Ites opened the floor for nominations for chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission. Motion made by McAwley to nominate Commissioner Ites as chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission seconded by Good. Roll call vote. Motion carried. Chair Ites opened the floor for nominations for vice-chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission. Motion made by Ites to nominate Commission McAwley as vice-chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission seconded by Willette. Roll call vote. Motion carried. VI. Chair and Member Comments A. 2021 Work Plan Updates 2020 Work Plan Initiative #7, study and report on the strategic goal of 15% of Edina land dedicated to parks and green spaces. Commissioner Good informed the commission he recently met with Commissioner Miller, Staff Liaison Vetter and Assistant Director Swenson to wrap up some inputs from last year. He noted they checked their current progress against the initiative and they are at 15.5% with parks and natural resources areas included. He noted they talked about some ideas of additional strategic and operational goals that would be worthwhile and would apply to both the strategic plan and comprehensive plan in working with Initiative #5 in the 2021 Work Plan. 2020 Commissioner Comments Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 3/9/2021  Commissioner Strother stated regarding the RECtivity boxes she really appreciated the creativity and thought that went into planning those. It was well done and they had fun.  Commissioner Nelson stated her kids and she did the Hunt for the Yeti and it was really a fun activity for all of them. There have been a lot of very creative things that have come out of the Parks & Recreation Department in the past year.  Commissioner McAwley thanked everyone on staff and the commission for coming through a very difficult year. Everyone did everything they could to keep everyone in the city having a positive attitude about the parks and they did the best they could with the remote meetings in trying to move things forward. She stated Staff Liaison Vetter and his staff have done a great job.  Commissioner Doscotch stated he appreciates staff for keeping paths open almost immediately so people could continue to use them.  Chair Ites stated he would like to thank the person that keeps the ice very nice at Lewis Park.  Chair Ites informed the commission on Saturday night there were 28 cars using the on- street parking in addition to the lot being full at the golf dome. Staff has been doing a very good job of keeping everything safe and clean and it is nice to see it open.  Chair Ites pointed out in their packet it is noted that Edina has the number one 2020 Toptracer of all their locations. He noted 52,000 people have played at the dome in 2020 and staff has done a great job.  Staff Liaison Vetter commented that Assistant Director Swenson and his staff put in extraordinary efforts for the rinks and trails in Edina. There is no other city that puts in an effort like Edina does for the hockey rinks, open skating rinks and trails. It is an extraordinary effort. Commissioner Good added one of the metrics they identified in in 2020 Work Plan Initiative #7 is there is an outdoor sheet of ice for every 4.400 residents in Edina. Staff Liaison Vetter also noted they have added two locations for general skating rinks this year due to COVID; one is at Yancey Park and the other is at Wooddale Park which are both being heavily used.  Chair Ites asked about plans for the Aquatic Center due to the COVID restrictions. Staff Liaison Vetter replied their plan for this summer is to re-open. They have gained experience from other entities in Minnesota as well as groups across the nation who have shared some of their prevention and plans. He noted the restrictions around the pandemic will dictate what it will look like and expects there to be occupancy limits and social distancing guidelines as well as mask requirements in the common areas but not in the pool. VII. Staff Comments A. Informational Items Staff Liaison Vetter gave the commissioners the following updates:  The live stream option is now up and running at Braemar Arena.  The golf dome has been very busy and they have also added additional programming at the golf course. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 3/9/2021  There have been a few full moon snowshoe events at Braemar Golf Course; you can either rent snowshoes at the golf course or you can take them to a nearby park.  They are having a Best in Snow contest.  They are recruiting for summer employment so if people are looking for jobs for the summer they can go to the city’s website EdinaMN.gov /summerjobs.  The local option sales tax proposal they talked about last year as one of the methods with alternative funding the City Council did update a revised resolution and that request is with the state legislature. That is just the first step of a multi-long process but it is active again for the 2021 legislative session.  Starting at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 17 registration for Edina residents will open for the spring/summer activities.  Tonight is Commissioner Dahlien’s last meeting as a Parks & Recreation Commissioner. He thanked Commissioner Dahlien on behalf of staff and himself for all his work over the years. He went over a list of things Commissioner Dahlien was a part of during his tenure. Commissioner Dahlien commented it is an honor to serve the community. He noted parks are a passion for him and he will be supportive as well as a resource if anyone has questions. He thanked everyone for the opportunity. He noted that two things that most people think about when thinking about Edina are schools and parks. The parks are so valuable to every single community person regardless of what your interests may be. He hopes the commission can get the funding they desperately need in 2021 and beyond to make an impact on things wanting to get done. He noted they really have an opportunity to really change things for the better and to respond to the things that people are asking the commission to do. The commission thanked Commissioner Dahlien for all his work. B. Upcoming Meetings and Events  Staff Liaison Vetter informed the commission their next meeting is on Tuesday, March 9. VIII. Adjournment Motion made by McAwley to adjourn the Feb. 9, 2021 meeting at 8:33 p.m. Motion seconded by Strother. Roll call vote. Motion carried.