HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 6.8.09Minutes
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City of Falcon Heights, Park and Recreation Commission Meeting
June 8, 2009
6:30PM
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Meeting Chair: Annie Green
Minutes By: Lisa Abernathy
Present: Gary Kwong and Melissa Weber-Sanders, Tim Pittman, Chuck Long and Paul Faust
Absent: Michael Thomas
Meeting called to order 6:30 PM
Approval of minutes May 11, 2009 Meeting.
Staff Report
Recreation Update- Abernathy reported that summer staff will be going through training at the end of the week and summer programs will begin next week. A few programs have been canceled
due to low enrollment but overall the numbers are good. Abernathy also reported that the Family 5K event with the City of Lauderdale is ready to be promoted. Mark Krug, race director
and Lions club member is still trying to coordinate parking at Rose Alliance Church but is hopeful that they will comply with our request to use their parking lot. Registration for the
run/walk should be available soon.
Public Works Update- Pittman reported that the signs for the dogs in the park trial have been posted and has not received any calls or feed back on this trial so far. Due to some
recent events of the park shelter at Curtiss Field being opened by an unknown individual, the City will be re-keying all the park shelters. This will help the City maintain control of
each facility’s keys and who has them. There was no key check out system in the past so this will hopefully eliminate any chances of the shelter being left open or opened for something
other than a rental or for a program.
Ice Cream Social
Abernathy reported to the Commission that the raptor center will be charging us this year if we want them to do a meet and greet at the event. Abernathy is waiting to hear back from
their educational coordinator regarding what that fee might be. Weber-Sanders recommended that the tickets be bundled before hand to create a more organized way of distributing tickets,
especially when
there are long lines. Abernathy agreed and will be bundle tickets into different increments to speed up the ticket selling process. A ticket table outside of the park shelter will also
be added to alleviate the long lines inside the shelter.
Budget
Abernathy reported budget time is upon the City and asked the Commission if there were any programs, events or needs they felt were in need of looking at when preparing the budget. Abernathy
recommended looking at the open gym program as well as the parent child craft classes. She will be talking to the instructor of the craft classes regarding offering it at an alternate
time as Friday afternoons did not bring in effective numbers. Abernathy also noted she is looking into using the City of Lauderdale’s city hall’s multipurpose room for additional space
for programs. Abernathy will also be looking into the Open Gym program and if the timing of the program should remain the same and see what the school district can accommodate this year.
Abernathy and Pittman will also look at possibly eliminating warming a house shelter for the rink season due to budget cuts and low attendance at some of the outdoor rink sites.
Fall Programming/Events
Abernathy reported the following programs are in the line for this fall and winter: Fall Soccer, Yoga, Tae Kwon Do, Watercolor painting classes and the Touch-A-Truck and Winterfest events.
Weber-Sanders recommended in planning for spring events we look at the Minnesota Recreation and Park Foundation’s New Initiative Grant opportunities for possible help with funding for
the event. Abernathy also informed the Commission about possible opportunities in utilizing recreation students from the University of Minnesota in developing this event. As part of
their recreation class curriculum, students develop programs or events and then implement them the best to their abilities depending on the type of event. Abernathy is in touch with
a professor from the University and will know more this fall after school is back in session. And at the Touch-A-Truck event this year the Commission had decided to charge a small fee
for popcorn and juice this year. This will help with the cost of the popcorn machine and beverages. A small fee of a dollar for a glass of juice and a bag of popcorn was discussed.
7. New Business
Ethnic Dancing- For future programming Kwong suggested tapping into residents at Commonwealth Terrace regarding anyone who might be interested in teaching any sort of ethnic dance classes
or workshops.
Next Park Commission meeting will be Monday, July 13 at Falcon Heights City Hall.
Adjournment
Meeting ended at 8:00pm
Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa Abernathy. If there are any corrections or additions, please contact Lisa Abernathy by phone at 651-792-7616 or by email at lisa.abernathy@falconheights.org.