The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About 11-3-25 PARC Agenda Packet - AmendedCITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS Parks & Recreation Commission City Hall 2077 West Larpenteur Avenue AGEIIDA - AMENDED November 3,2025 at 6:30 P.M. B A. CALLTOORDER: ROLL CALL: Joe Morseth-\- Eric Brenton T Tom Faust X eob HuiehtJL-w"rley Goldb-erg-g- Erin wiiiiams t\D Jerry Buckridge X COUNCIL LIAISON: ,/ James Wassenberg X STAFF PRESENT: Kelly Nelson_)L PRESENTATION: G37 1 "51 $o\o.. \- BQ!ruv<- b,5 ?asseA. c - o C. D. E. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:l. October 6,2025- Parks and Recreation Regular Meeting Minutes AGENDA:l. Recap Fall Fest 2. Begin Commission Goal-Setting for 2026 3. Community Park Restroom/Concessions Building Siding Discussion F. INFORMATION/ANNOUNCEMENT G. ADJOURNMENT: 4.r KF 1 6 c a\\U I N ( BLANK PAGE 2 1 | Page CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS Regular Meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission City Hall 2077 West Larpenteur Avenue MINUTES October 6, 2025 A. CALL TO ORDER: 6:36 PM B. ROLL CALL: Joe Morseth_____ Eric Brenton__X___Tom Faust____ Bob Haight__X___ Wesley Goldberg__X___ Erin Williams__X___ Jerry Buckridge__X__ COUNCIL LIAISON: James Wassenberg _X___ STAFF PRESENT: Kelly Nelson__X__ C. PRESENTATION: N/A D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 1. August 4, 2025 – Parks and Recreation Regular Meeting Minutes Haight motions to approve the Park minutes; approved 4-0 Williams arrived just after the vote E. AGENDA: 1. Fall/Winter Programming Update Commissioners establish a date and time for a board/card game night at City Hall. It will be on Friday, November 7, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Nelson will create a flyer that can be handed out/displayed at the Fall Fest this coming weekend to help start promoting the event. The event will also be included in the fall newsletter to be mailed to all residents soon. 2. Community Garden Discussion Haight looked at the current Community Garden rules, which have been in place since at least 2017, and compared them to St. Anthony Park. While most rules remain the same, Haight shares that one proposed change is to create a Steering Committee, which would include two gardeners and a staff member. Another change would be to move away from a wait list and to utilize a lottery system. Nelson says that the current wait list system has its challenges because it sometimes takes years for someone’s turn for a plot to come up, and by then, they may have moved, or they no longer have interest. It takes considerable staff time to assign new gardeners. 3 2 | Page Haight believes that holding an annual meeting with gardeners will increase the community aspect. Williams suggests raising the plot fee to $30 in 2026 and fellow commissioners support this. Wassenberg says that the goal is not to make money, but to cover expenses, and it’s reasonable that expenses have increased over the last several years. Nelson asks the commissioners for direction on how to handle second garden plot requests from current gardeners and requests from non-Falcon Heights residents under the new proposed lottery system. Brenton thinks it would also be reasonable to restrict garden plots to Falcon Heights residents only moving forward since the demand exceeds the supply. Current non-Falcon Heights residents who have a Community Garden plot can continue gardening it. Nelson believes approximately 12 plots out of 38 are currently gardened by non-Falcon Heights residents (after the meeting, Nelson looks at the roster and it is 15 plots out of 38). Williams asks if non-Falcon Heights residents should be allowed to be on the Steering Committee, and commissioners are supportive of this since we currently have many non-Falcon Heights residents gardening. Goldberg thinks gardeners should only be allowed one garden plot moving forward to allow more residents to enjoy gardening. Commissioners then discuss the Steering Committee’s role and abilities. Goldberg sees the Steering Committee as advisory but not disciplinary and Wassenberg adds that, aside from the Planning Commission, the City’s other commissions and committees are all advisory. Nelson and Haight will work together to better define the role and responsibility of the Steering Committee. They will also add language to a gardening rule which mentions “untended plots will be reassigned,” so that it is made clear that gardeners should communicate if unable to tend their plot(s) for any reason. Commissioners support the updates to the Community Garden Rules. 3. Summer Music in the Park Discussion Nelson says that Buckridge helped bring this agenda item forward by mentioning a nearby event that could serve as inspiration for future summer programming at Community Park. Music on the Front Lawn currently takes place on a residential lawn in Saint Anthony Park. The concerts may end after this year due to the loss of support from one neighbor to close the city streets in order to host the shows. Essentially, bands who perform at Music on the Front Lawn are not paid but typically receive more in tips than they would playing at another venue. Buckridge thought the organizer of Music on the Front Lawn would be willing to share the band’s contact information. Wassenberg wonders if the bands involved in Music on the Front Lawn are tipped more than elsewhere because of the community aspect of the shows and the neighbors having a strong interest and support for events. 4 3 | Page Goldberg thinks a minimum guarantee to the musician would be good. Brenton says that a PA system will be needed and some bands may not have their own. Commissioners show support for holding live music from the new picnic pavilion at Community Park next summer, but much is still unknown at this point in terms of the completion date and being ready to hold events. Commissioners discuss how many live music nights to try and suggest maybe holding the first event in June, if ready, or in early August. Information/Announcement G. ADJOURNMENT: 8:25 P.M. Haight motions to adjourn the meeting; Approved 5-0 5 BLANK PAGE 6 REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION City of Falcon Heights, Minnesota __________________________ Item Fall Event Recap Description The City held its second annual fall event on Saturday, October 11, 2025 from a new location at Falcon Heights Elementary School. Staff would like to discuss the event with the commission to better understand areas that went well and those that could be made better before next year’s event. And, to share the total expenses of holding the event. Budget Impact Approx. $2,500 Attachment(s) Action(s) Requested Staff recommends that commissioners share any ideas they have for improving the event. Meeting Date November 3, 2025, Agenda Item E1 Attachment Submitted By Kelly Nelson, Administrative Services Director/Deputy Clerk 7 BLANK PAGE 8 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION City of Falcon Heights, Minnesota __________________________ Item 2026 PARC Goals/Priorities Description Using the 2025 goals as a starting point, the Parks Commission should now discuss which goals were accomplished during the year, which goals remain a focus, and begin forming their 2026 goals. Budget Impact N/A Attachment(s) 2025 Parks and Recreation Goals Action(s) Requested Staff recommends reviewing the goals established in 2025 to then determine their goals and priorities for 2026. Meeting Date November 3, 2025 Agenda Item E2 Attachment 2026 PARC Goals Submitted By Kelly Nelson, Administrative Services Director/Deputy Clerk 9 1. Hold three annual events (Spring Together, Ice Cream Social and Fall Fest) and grow their attendance. 2. Share annual goals with other commissions to foster collaboration and support common goals. 3. Assess the current ice-skating season and finalize a plan for 2025-2026 ice skating facilities for all three parks in April. 4. Identify partners for outsourcing programming and track participation. 5. Make recommendations for amenities and improvements of all parks through annual park audits. 6. Support the completion of a new picnic shelter with concessions and outdoor restrooms and a playground area at Community Park. 7. Conduct feasibility study for Community Garden expansion. 2025 Parks and Rec Commission GOALS (Final) 10 BLANK PAGE 11 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION City of Falcon Heights, Minnesota __________________________ Item Community Park Restroom/Concessions Building Siding Discussion Description The Parks and Recreation Commission previously made materials selections for a proposed new park building at Community Park before bid estimates revealed the building would far exceed the City’s renovation budget. The City then pivoted towards a prefabricated picnic pavilion and restrooms/concessions building. Initially, two manufacturers were identified, Green Flush and Cedar Forest. Green Flush offered more customization options than Cedar Forest, but at a higher cost. City Council voted to approve Cedar Forest as the manufacturer of both the picnic pavilion and restrooms/concessions building due to the cost savings. But, because an exterior color had already been selected for the initial building and because a prefabricated building from Green Flush would have allowed for a customization of this kind, the City did instruct Cedar Forest to side the restroom building in a siding similar to the original park building’s siding. Cedar Forest finished the restroom/concessions building in cedar siding, although the City ordered Hardie board-like siding (LP siding). Cedar Forest has offered the City the following options now to consider. If we do the LP siding on the restroom portion and don't stain it or the picnic structure, there is no change in price. Materials and installation have already been factored in for LP siding. If we want LP siding on the restroom but want to inquire about the cost to stain the picnic shelter, that cost would still need to be determined. If we keep the restroom building cedar-sided, have it and the picnic structure sealed with Sikkens stain, then there is actually an increase of $5K in expense. There are no savings or not enough savings from not doing the LP siding to avoid having additional costs. The Commission is asked to consider the options and make a recommendation. Meeting Date November 3, 2025 Agenda Item E3 Attachment Mockups Submitted By Kelly Nelson, Administrative Services Director/Deputy Clerk 12 Budget Impact TBD Attachment(s) Renderings (ChatGPT examples) Action(s) Requested Staff recommend reviewing the renderings to make a recommendation for the exterior finishes of the restroom/concessions building and picnic pavilion at Community Park. 13 This is the building and picnic pavilion unfinished, as it currently is. 14 Renderings using ChatGPT 15 •Renderings using ChatGPT 16