09-09-2015 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 McGinnity pointed out the Farmers Market that was started a few years ago and indicated that it has its own Facebook page. Bowman reported that lacrosse is a sport that people have an interest in, but noted that many people prefer traveling sports which require higher numbers and have higher costs. Bowman noted that many children, his own included, start in the recreation level program and then go on to traveling sports which compete at a higher level. McGraw asked how much the Parks & Recreation Commission gets involved in discussing new recreation programming ideas. Miller replied that the Commission gets the information on the numbers. He indicated that he has not heard about the new volleyball offering. Miller felt that the commission should be more engaged in what is going on to help promote these activities. Miller stated that his children participated in in-house sports and felt these programs were important for the community. Darling stated that as a member of the Commission she is not sure how the Commission works together with the City Council. Keis noted that the Commission is an advisory board that provides input to the Council on issues of parks and recreations. Maida indicated that the Commission spends time on parks, but not much on recreation. While the Commission reviews participation numbers for recreation programs, it does not compare these numbers from year to year. Maida asked about changing demographics for both the City and MN in general. The Director indicated that the MN Parks & Recreation Association should have demographic information. Torkelson noted that the participation numbers are up and down, but noted that participation nearly doubled from 2005 to 2008 and asked what happened. McGinnity reported that that was the time that she was hired as a Program Assistant. Horwath reported that he worked for 17 years in Maplewood's Parks & Recreation Division. He indicated that Maplewood has done a broad study on a number of recreation issues. Horwath suggested that the City could do a community survey to determine both changing demographics as well as where people's interests lie. Horwath felt it unrealistic to think that the City would make money from its recreation program offerings, noting that these offerings create quality of life in a community. Miller agreed that making money from recreation offerings should not be the goal. The goal should be to keep kids active and out of trouble. The City Administrator agreed that the goal was not to make money, but pointed out that even though participation is decreasing, the administrative overhead support is not. 3