HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/03/2006 Park Board OtherLino Lakes Parks and Recreation Department
600 Town Center Parkway
Lino Lakes, MN 55014
(651) 982 -2440 Fax (651) 982 -2439
www.ci.lino - lakes.mn.us
April 4, 2006
TO: Park Board Members
FROM: Mike Hoffman, Parks Supervisor
SUBJECT: March Park Maintenance Update
Well, it happened again this year, just like it does every March. What you ask? A March
snowstorm, springs arrival, the herons returning, the Gophers Men's basketball team advancing
to the Final Four? Well three out of four ain't bad, but what I'm really talking about is the tunnel
at Rice Lake Elementary flooding.
Every March it happens as the snow on the south facing side of Birch Street melts it runs off into
the tunnel flowing to the north. But, once inside the tunnel (out of the sun) it begins to refreeze.
After a week or two of this we have 4 " -6" of ice buildup in the north half of the tunnel. During
this period we salt/sand daily as needed.
Next comes the rapid thaw stage when temperatures climb into the forties for several days in a
row. Now the ice in the tunnel begins to turn to slush. Once the ice softens enough we bring our
skid steer through, scraping the ice out of the north end. And so it goes every March. We plan
on addressing this problem in conjunction with the Birch Street Trail Project.
Other maintenance highlights during the month of March:
❖ Cleared approximately 2000 lineal feet of trail behind Town Center (tree and brush
removal) for future bituminous trail.
•3 Picnic table inventory.
❖ Picked up and stored hockey goals.
• Painted and water sealed park signs.
• Completed playground inspections.
❖ Athletic field inspections.
❖ Tree clearing at Behm's Park
o Cleared area where new gazebo will be located. Also removed trees
and underbrush growing around Red Oaks near south property line
(to release Red oaks).
❖ Assisted Public Works with snow removal of parking lots, sidewalks, trails, streets and
cul -de -sacs.
••• Pruned boulevard trees.
❖ High risk Red Oak inspections.
❖ Received Bobcat Toolcat and attachments (62" dirt bucket, 72" snowblower, 84" snow v-
blade, 68" angle broom).
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❖ Inspected, cleaned and painted ball field bases.
❖ Equipment maintenance.
❖ Attended Shade Tree Short Course (three staff members).
❖ Attended MN Erosion Control Association Conference (one staff member).
Those are March's Highlights. Much, much more to come in April.
sw /parkbrd/Mike Hoffman/March 06 Park Update.doc
Preschool D
Lino Lakes Parks & Recreation
Department
Program Highlights
March Park Board Update
YOUTH
Instructional Programs: Winter session of our youth
instructional programs is now over. Spring session will begin
the first or second week of April after Spring Break is over.
Participation numbers are higher than last season for many
programs such as dance and Tae Kwon Do. This could be a
result of the brochure coming out earlier and people having more time to review the choices. In any case, it's a
positive sign that our instructional programs are still popular.
School's Out Camps: Our Spring Break School's Out Camps did not do well this year - all four days were
cancelled. This could be due to the fact that Kids Club is very popular and in turn many families simply keep their
kids in Kids Club during breaks as they have special activities during this time. We hope that summer will be a
different story and that we will be able to make our trips go, as we have a great lineup of trips planned.
ADULT
ftness: Fitness classes are on their Spring Break now and the next session of classes are scheduled to begin
first week of April. Pre - registration numbers are doing better this session than last and we hope this trend
continues.
BROCHURE & SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
Brochure: We are currently working on the Summer 2006 Recreation Review. It is scheduled to be out in
homes the last week of April. New this summer - a collaborative offering of sport camps with Centennial
Community Services. We hope the
collaboration will increase registrations for
all camps and avoid duplication of services
between the two agencies. For a current
listing of programs available, visit
www.ci.Iino- Iakes.mn.us.
Summer Employment: Interviews are
now taking place for summer employment.
We've received over 57 applications just for
playground program positions. It's going to
be tough making the final decisions, but it's
better to have too many qualified applicants
than not enough. Our goal is to have all
•itions offered by early to mid - April.
Questions? Please call Liz Benoit or Brian
Hronski at 651- 982 -2440.
Express Complete Fitness