05-23-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 DRAFT 1A. Rookery Update — Rookery Activity Center Manager Lamey provided an update on the Rookery facility and activities moving forward toward opening. Ms. Lamey reported on the following elements of the project: • men's and women's locker rooms are being assembled and possibly will be ready for cleaning by Friday; • the gymnasium floor has been completed and is being allowed to dry (new base tile was added); • interior signage project planning is underway; • parking lot renovation was approved by the council recently and planning is underway; • landscaping is under review and, with a proposal coming in over budget, they are awaiting a lower proposal; • emblems and murals are being created throughout the building, with some being postponed due to budget considerations; • an interpretive display telling the tale of a rookery is being explored with a contractor and the project will be proposed to the council; • a grant was received from SPAR of $1,000 (thanks to a referral by Councilmember Stoesz); • furniture has been planned with the help of a consultant; • Anoka County has approved licensing for the pool so it is open but not to the public just yet; there will be a slide improvement project that will close down the pool for a couple days. 64 Councilmember Stoesz noted the IT element of the facility and asked for an update. Ms. 65 Laney explained that a software program was purchased and is in place. The link hasn't 66 been published yet because opening day for the center hasn't been announced. The 67 council discussed the conversion of memberships from Endurance to The Rookery. 68 There are 367 members (200 paying accounts) currently moving from Endurance. 69 70 On the matter of membership, Councilmember Lyden suggested utilizing the electronic 71 sign to communicate the opening and promote membership. Mayor Rafferty asked about 72 goals for membership by the end of the year and Ms. Lamey suggested 700 or 750 by the 73 end of the year and 1,000 beginning of next year. Communications Specialist Turner 74 explained that there have many requests for information through the City's social media 75 accounts. 76 77 Ms. Lamey continued her review: 78 • The job fair brought in people so that was a success. Was neat to see the 79 diversity of people interested and City staff is working very hard on hiring and 80 training. At present she believes they are at about 50% staffed. They will be 81 attending job fairs in the coming days. Full time staff is covering the front desk 82 (5 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and weekends) and that will continue until other staff is in 83 place. K