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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2.12.07Minutes ______________________________ City of Falcon Heights, Park and Recreation Commission Meeting February 12, 2006 6:30PM _____________________________ Meeting Chair: Gene Ozasky Minutes By: Lisa Abernathy Present: Eric Maronde, Pam Harris, Tim Pittman, Paula Mielke Absent: Annie Green, Michael Thomas Meeting called to order 6:32 PM Approval of agenda Motion made by Maronde and seconded by Mielke Commission members discussed eliminating the “approve agenda” item from the beginning of the agenda and moving it to the end and renaming it New Business. Motion was first made by Harris and seconded by Maronde. Approval of minutes January 8, 2006 Meeting Motion made by Mielke and seconded by Maronde. Staff Report Recreation Update- Abernathy reported that the spring/summer activity brochures are almost ready to be printed. The printing would be done in-house this year with the City’s new copier machine. New classes coming this summer will be Tae Kwon Do, golf programs, and nature camps for ages 3-9. Abernathy reported that she has decided to offer two nature camps this summer in place of the Soccer Camp. Enrollment for the soccer camp was very low the past two years. The nature camp will be programmed to expose youth ages 3-9 to the outdoors, animals, and insects. The camp will be broken into two groups: Lil’ Explorers for ages 3-5 and Discovery Camp for ages 6-9. Abernathy has two staff members who are currently perusing their education degree at the U of MN so will be planning all the activities for this program. Abernathy has also set up visits from the U of M Raptor Center and the U of M Monarch Butterfly lab to come out and present to the two camps. Coming up this spring will be another Babysitting Training Course set for the beginning of April. Abernathy also reported on the 2007 Dead of Winter. The turn out was good, it was estimated there was over 100 people there. There was about 85 people who enjoyed the hay rides and the s’more kits were a big hit this year. Abernathy thanked the Commission members who volunteered their time at the event. Vote on Name ideas for Dead of Winter- After looking at the list of potential names that were submitted by attendees of the Dead of Winter, the Commission decided to rename the event: Winterfest or the full title as Falcon Heights Winterfest. Park Comprehensive Plan- Deadline, Outline, Best Practices Commission members decided to use March’s meeting to be a workshop session to begin drafting an outline for the new Parks Comprehensive Plan. Abernathy will be sending out a Track Change version of the current version of the plan with notes, comments and ideas that were noted in a copy of the plan. 6. Community Park Bathroom Abernathy brought up a concern from a resident about the availability of the bathrooms at Community Park. The resident has some health issues or limitations that prevent her from being able to use the satellite bathrooms that are currently in the park. Pittman did a cost estimate on a handicap size satellite and found that our monthly payment would increase from our current fee of $60.00 to $155.00 a month. All Commission members agreed that we should not issue a key to anyone in particular due to liability issues. Pittman would be contacting this resident to explain the cities decision not issue her a key but to explore other options with the current size satellite facilities. Neighborhood Spring Clean Up Day Abernathy reported that she has heard no news from the Neighborhood Commission or the Environment Commission at the present time. Mielke suggested contacting the Cub Scouts that use Community Park for meetings; they may be looking for a spring project. Review Summer Recreation Fees Abernathy reported that just like last year we are pretty much in the same ball park for program fees as surrounding cities. As decided last year, the program fees would be increased 3% for cost of living each year instead of a big jump every few years. Abernathy is recommending increasing program fees for this year by $1.00. Communities on the Move Abernathy reported that Mayor Gehrz has sent us information on a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield for Cities that can be used to formulate programs that get people in their community walking and being mobile. Abernathy reported one of Mayor Gehrz’s ideas was to have a walking competition with Lauderdale on who could as a City walk the farthest distance. Abernathy asked the Commission for their ideas for walking type programs. Mielke suggested providing different types of literature with walking routes or distance routes. Other suggestions were: hiring a walking trainer, hold a workshop for information on proper walking techniques, apparel or shoes, a family 5K or fitness event of some type. Abernathy made note of these and will be informing her on these ideas. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Maronde and seconded Mielke. 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.