01/23/2012 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 City resident Williams Combs was in the audience and noted that he is a member of the 102 city's Economic Development Advisory Committee as well as Centennial Little League. 103 He knows that the league teams are often forced to play outside of the city and that comes 104 at an added cost. He can verify that the need is there for more baseball fields. He 105 believes that Centennial Little League Association is interested in fundraising and he 106 encourages the city to move forward on using the land for recreation. 107 108 The mayor noted that he likes the idea of getting something going at the site just to get 109 people interested. Mr. DeGardner noted that an estimate for one youth baseball field and 110 a 40 spot parking lot is $180,000 to $205,000. 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 Anoka County Commissioner and Board Chair Rhonda Sivarajah added that she's been 123 working with the Anoka County Parks and Recreation Director on grant opportunities and 124 so she understands that while it can be difficult to qualify for some funds such as Legacy, 125 there are other sources and she believes the County would be happy to assist the city in 126 efforts to access grant funds. 127 128 Mr. DeGardner suggested that, if the city is on the road to committing funds, he 129 recommends that the plans from the past be reviewed to ensure they are still fully 130 pertinent. The Mayor suggested that staff take a look at the plans in light of the council's 131 discussion and for other possibilities. He is hearing some funding commitment on the 132 part of the council, for something initially such as a couple of ball fields, a couple of CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 3, 2012 DRAFT park dedication funds but, until something like that pans out it is difficult to find funding. The mayor recalled some positive ideas about volunteers and stretching grant funds. Mr. DeGardner recalled past discussions about phasing the development of the park land. The report before the council includes phases and it appears that a phase one would cost in the area of $600,000. Again, it would be difficult for him to see any movement at all without the commitment of some city funds. The mayor suggested that he likes the idea of matching funds, where the city has some ownership but brings in other money. He realizes that it is hard to get started but the project would have to start somewhere. The city budget is already set for 2012 but he wonders if there are any possibilities this year? The council discussed how the park complex could be started, even this year. They discussed the concept of budgeting some money in 2013 or utilizing some fund reserves in 2012. Administrator Karlson noted that the first step should be to consider what would be the best first phase — what would best meet the needs of the city. Mr. DeGardner confirmed that the need for additional recreation facilities absolutely exists. Expanding facilities has been a balancing act. He noted that a soccer field has been found to give the biggest bang for the buck since it is multi -use. A council member suggested that the city put up signs at the land just to let people know that it's public property and the intended use. 133 soccer fields and parking. 134 3 P19