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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016/09/07 - ADMIN - Minutes - Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission September 7, 2016, 6:30 p.m. Meeting Rec Center 1. Call to Order Ms. Foulkes, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Commission members present: Rich Bluma, George Foulkes, Sarah Foulkes, Elizabeth Griffin, George Hagemann, Edward Halvorson, Tiffany Hoffmann and Peter May. Ms. Walsh and members welcomed Mr. Bluma to the Commission. She indicated Commissioners may also be part of other task forces or subcommittees set up in the city. Commission members absent: None. Staff present: Jason Eisold, Rec Center Manager, Jacqueline Larson, Communications and Marketing Manager, Stacy Voelker, Recording Secretary, Cindy Walsh, Director of Operations and Recreation and Jason West, Recreation Superintendent. Guests present: J. Marie Fieger, Nemer Fieger, Les Hazelton, Nemer Fieger, Lisa Greene, St. Louis Park Community Education, Michael Gilbert, community member and St. Louis Park School employee and Bob Ramsey, community member. 2. Presentations None. 3. Approval of Minutes a. April 20, 2016 Commissioner Hagemann requested a spelling correction to his name on page two, fifth paragraph, first sentence in paragraph. It was moved by Commission member G. Foulkes, seconded by Commission member Griffin to approve the April 20, 2016 meeting minutes as amended. The motion passed 8 – 0. 4. New Business a. Tour of Outdoor Facility (Jason Eisold) Mr. Eisold distributed the latest rendering of the outdoor facility while touring the site. Some of the amenities that will be included are locker rooms, fire pit, parking lot and a glulam fabric as roof. The facility will have an ice rink in the winter, turf field in the spring and dry floor for summer use. The ice rink will be a full NHL rink and include a 2 scoreboard and public announcing system. Mr. Eisold explained there will be fencing and sod added between the outdoor facility and the Aquatic Park. There are cameras installed which take time-lapse photos documenting progress of the project from the date the first dirt was moved and will continue to project end. Mr. Eisold then moved the tour inside the Rec Center to view the new refrigeration room, which supplies power to all three arenas, the west arena, which is complete, and the current reconstruction of the east arena. In the west arena, the cooling, ice, boards and lights were replaced. The arena was also painted during the project. The same replacements are currently occurring in the east arena and the east arena is scheduled to be open October 31. There are nine miles of refrigeration tubing in each of the arenas inside the Rec Center and 10 miles of refrigeration tubing in the outdoor rink. The lights were replaced with LED lights for an expense of approximately $44,000. Along with the cost savings LED lighting provides, the city will also receive a rebate from Xcel Energy for approximately $24,000. Both projects are on schedule and on budget. b. Outdoor Facility Naming (Nemer Fieger and Task Force) Ms. J. Marie Fieger from Nemer Fieger introduced herself and her presenter, Les Hazelton. Mr. Hazelton explained Nemer Fieger was the firm chosen through a Request for Proposal process initiated by the City. Three meetings were spent with staff to understand new facility and then began research. A task force / focus group was created from various stakeholders in the city to discuss potential names and reasons for suggested names. The question proposed was “what name would fit a multi-purpose facility next to the Rec Center in St. Louis Park?” Nemer Fieger recorded input, opinions and discussions from the task force. The organization brought the results of the input back to the task force for discussion. With the aid of a visual of the completed facility, they discussed how to accomplish the goals of the city as an innovative destination, what the facility will be used for and the perception of the facility. Anything that would fit into the venue was taken into consideration, Mr. Hazelton explained. The names that rose to the top of the list through the discussions include Arches Pavilion (used modifier with name of facility), Canopy Park or Canopy Pavilion, The 3 – 6 Center (used its location), The Crown / Crown Rec (shape and jewel of St. Louis Park), The East End (Rec Center and facility as destination on the carved notch on the east side of the city), The ARCHES (acronym: Athletic / Recreation / Community / Health / Education / Skating) and The ROC (Recreation Outdoor Center). The focus group review the names, shared their ideas, and then voted on the proposed names. The results, in the order of most votes received, were: The ARCHES, The ROC and The Canopy. Mr. Hazelton opened for comments or questions. Ms. Lisa Greene advised she was part of the task force and felt the process was well facilitated and acquired feedback from every person in the room. Mr. Hagemann noted during the discussions, people changed their opinion on their perspective and migrated to the final results. Ms. Griffin commented the young kids (ages 20-21) loved the ROC and are currently using that amongst their age 3 group. Ms. Walsh mentioned the difficulty with the name association of ROC as there’s no quarry nor place marker associated with the name. The stone arch bridge and the Arch in Missouri were all discussed in the task force, Mr. Hazelton mentioned. They originally had 157 potential names in the beginning. Feels there must be a story around the name to build the marketing for the facility. Mr. Hazelton indicated that regardless of what name is chosen, once it’s initiated, it would cultivate to the structure. Ms. Griffin indicated her kids and friends (ages 20-21) loved the ROC. She personally likes the Arches but does not like the Canopy. Ms. Foulkes feels we need to decide what crowd is the focus for the facility. The High School crowd would like ROC, she likes the Arches as she feels it appeals to the older crowd, but does not like Canopy. Ms. Hoffman advised it was fun being a part of the task force. She personally prefers the Arches or ROC but feels the Arches could be more inclusive. Mr. Bluma likes the simplicity of the ARCHES. He’s still thinking about the ROC at the Rec. There is a lot of concrete so is a big rock… it makes sense. Mr. May likes the Arches and ROC in that order. He suggested setting a big rock in the area if ROC is selected. He also likes the ARCHES. Mr. Foulkes prefers Arches Pavilion or ARCHES. ROC is okay and Canopy is undesirable. Mr. Gilbert is drawn to ROC as it is short, smooth and appeals to the younger crowd. Mr. Ramsey feels the name is very important as it is the perception of the building. He feels there is an important link between the visual aspect of the facility and the ARCHES. But, ROC also has a ring to it. Mr. Hagemann feels the ARCHES lends more to a multi facility. He likes ROC better as fun name but balancing it with a more mature, wider audience may be challenging. Ms. Greene has a preference for the ARCHES but likes ROC’s appeal to the younger crowd. The city needs to determine who their main target is. Mr. Halvorson prefers the ROC, Canopy, and ARCHES, in that order. He feels young people will call it the ROC regardless. Members discussed how to appeal to adult reservations / usage if called the ROC. Hopefully the name will not deter rentals of any age. Ms. Walsh thanked all for the great feedback. Ms. Walsh advised the feedback received from the Commission, along with the results from the task force, will be presented to the City Council. The City Council will make the final decision on the name of the facility. Once the name is chosen, work will begin on creating a logo. Ms. Walsh thanked all for their involvement in this process. Members thanked Nemer Fieger and the task force for their work. c. Commission Sponsored Appreciation Luncheon (Sept. 14) Discussion Ms. Griffin provided a brief description of the luncheon for the members. The annual luncheon is hosted by the Commission for the employees of Parks and Recreation to show their appreciation for all they do. The Commission provides and prepares grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, etc. 4 Mr. Foulkes inquired if the police department should be invited to the luncheon for their service. Members agreed to discuss after this year’s event. It was suggested to invite the bike patrol, which was approved by the members. Ms. Walsh will invite. Ms. Foulkes, Mr. Foulkes and Mr. May are unable to attend the luncheon on September 14. Members discussed and decided to hold it on Tuesday, September 20 as most members are available that date. The discussion focused on items to bring and what each person will provide. Ms. Voelker will email the last of past items provided and members will indicate what they will provide at the luncheon. This list will be continually shared with all members. 5. Old Business a. Skate Park Relocation Update (Jason West) Mr. West advised in 2015 staff interviewed at least 25 skate park users and received great feedback. Two potential sites were toured for the relocation of the skate park (formerly located on the west side of The Rec Center), Melrose Institute and Carpenter Park. The group preferred Carpenter Park as the location of the skate park. The skate park is temporarily located at Nelson Park. Mr. West indicated the skate park will have a new design from what was located near The Rec Center and will encompass approximately 12,000 square feet. Staff also learned from the users what equipment is preferred. Jason West and Rick Beane (City Staff), teamed up with Rich Bluma (PRAC member), Mark Rodriguez (Third Lair Skate Park), and Scott Oreschnick (Cal-Surf) to create a sub-committee that are currently reviewing a Request for Proposal (RFP), help choose the vendor, and work with the users to research the equipment to include in the skate park. Once the RFP is approved by the sub- committee, it will be sent to vendors, the proposals will be reviewed, selected vendors may be interviewed, and a vendor will be chosen. Ms. Walsh advised that separate from this project, but on a parallel track, the Engineering Department needs to create a storm water retention pond on the Carpenter Park site. An engineer will be invited to a future Commission meeting to discuss retention needs and potential for the site. Mr. West showed various ideas of a plaza-style skate park, which will be very different from what the city had in the past. Mr. May inquired if the new skate park could be utilized by skate boards, roller blades and bicycles. Mr. West will discuss with the vendor to find out if the ramp transition is adequate. 6. Staff Communication a. Blackstone Park Playground Update Ms. Walsh advised members Paul Bierhaus from Kids Around The World reviews the city’s old playground equipment that is being replaced, to determine if it can be used in third world countries. The organization evaluates and chooses one or two annually, they 5 help with removal of the old equipment, work with the manufacturer to fix the equipment then they ship it to other countries for use. Ms. Walsh spoke with Mr. Bierhaus and most individuals from Kids Around the World that work on the playgrounds are from varying aspects of process and always looking to recruit members to assist. Not many cities work with this organization. It takes additional time to replace playgrounds as staff schedules the dismantling of the playground with Kids Around The World. They have great people that love the program making it successful. b. Conflict of Interest Ms. Walsh reminded members to abstain from voting and commenting on items that may have an impact on their private business, professional business or volunteer life. The city is reminding all commissions. Staff can inquire with the City Attorney any areas that are gray. 7. Member Communication Mr. Foulkes suggested members and staff view the Foundry Dance on You Tube. It is individual images put together with music, in the creation of a bronze sculpture. The city could create something similar to present the Outdoor Facility on their webpage. Staff will mention to Jacqueline Larson, Communications Manager. Mr. Hagemann advised of a new development in the West End / Central Park area. The development will include commercial businesses on the first floor, bike facilities, parking for commuters and restaurant / coffee facility. The landscape plan includes a walkway, benches, lighting and sculpture / water feature in middle. A committee, including Friends of the Arts, will view proposals from artists and discuss with developer. The annual Arts and Culture Grant process will be ending soon and a great number of applicants have been received. The Arts and Culture Grant committee will review and award the applicants in October. 8. Other / Future Agenda Items The next regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. 9. Adjournment It was moved by Commission member Hagemann and seconded by Commission member G. Foulkes to adjourn at 8:08 p.m. The motion passed 8 - 0. Respectfully submitted, Stacy Voelker Stacy Voelker Recording Secretary