04-23-2018 Council Meeting Packet

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION April 2, 2018 DRAFT 5 of designating park dedication funds from the St. Clair Estates development. Staff is 181 looking for further direction. 182 183 Mayor Reinert remarked that nearby Shenandoah Park hasn’t been updated for many 184 years so there is a need there. He is not in favor of the funds going to the school facilities. 185 As he has mentioned previously, the school district has a huge budget for their facilities. 186 187 Council Member Manthey asked about where the park dedication funds would go if not 188 to the school? Mayor Reinert said it could go toward improvements at Shenandoah Park. 189 190 Jeremy Stimpson, area resident, told the council that many people can’t access 191 Shenandoah Park without going across Birch Street. As a parent in the area, he can state 192 that he uses the Rice Lake Elementary facilities. He doesn’t believe Shenandoah would 193 serve the St. Clair Estates development very well. He’s surprised and maybe 194 disappointed when the same voices that said a new park wasn’t needed in his 195 neighborhood (because of the school facilities) now say that the school playground 196 improvements aren’t necessary. He sees the benefit of collaboration and getting more by 197 joining resources. 198 199 Mayor Reinert remarked that the school district just spent $44 million on improvements 200 but didn’t buy a swingset for this school. 201 202 Council Member Manthey said he isn’t comfortable putting that neighborhood’s park 203 funds into Shenandoah Park because of access concerns. If there was property within the 204 developing neighborhood, that would be best, but that isn’t possible. He realizes that the 205 school has not been helpful to the city but he sees that residents of the area seem to want 206 to use the Rice Lake Elementary facilities. 207 208 Council Member Maher argued that the safety concern is real in her opinion. She 209 doesn’t see Shenandoah as a possibility. 210 211 Residents present in the audience explained that they had spoken with the school district 212 board. They heard that there is not funds for park improvements at Rice Lake 213 Elementary school. They spoke about how much the Rice Lake playground facility is 214 used and not just during the school day. They feel improvements would benefit the entire 215 Lino Lakes community. The improvements are not just swing sets but important 216 improvements for accessibility. They hoped this would be a good partnership possibility 217 along with the other partnerships they are seeking. Further the school district did not 218 reach out to them suggesting a collaboration; they actually heard about this from city 219 staff. 220 221 Council Member Stoesz noted a map he has seen that indicates what parks serve what 222 areas. He has seen that Shenandoah serves a great many houses. 223 224 Council Member Manthey remarked that since the funds would come from the St. Clair 225