09-09-25 City Council Workshop Packet

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STAFF REPORT DATE: 09/09/2025 Discussion TO: CITY COUNCIL FROM: Assistant Public Works Director – Adam Swanepoel AGENDA ITEM: Park Amenities and Replacements CORE STRATEGIES: ☒ Vibrant, inclusive, connected community ☐ Efficient, reliable, innovative services ☐ Responsive, transparent, adaptive governance ☐ Balanced Finances now and future ☒ Managed Growth ☐ Resilient Infrastructure BACKGROUND: At the September 2nd, City Council meeting, Council tabled the replacement of the Lions Park playground to discuss the future of Lions Park and the future of playground replacement around the city. The extended CIP for the parks department has numerous playground sets, pavilions and additional amenities to add to the park system. With the continued increase in the cost of construction is funding sustainable to hold up to the continued additions. Are there options to combined amenities or seek more destination parks within the community to stay fiscally responsible. ISSUE BEFORE CITY COUNCIL: Does the City Council support the need to continue replacing park amenities, including neighborhood playground sets as scheduled by the Parks Commission? PROPOSAL DETAILS/ANALYSIS: The City of Lake Elmo has 14 playground sets within the community. In the past two years the city has replaced three of them and is currently scheduled to replace several more in the next year. Each playground set is put in the CIP for a replacement every 25 years and averages around $150,000 per replacement. The National Parks and Recreation standard for playground replacement is 20-25 years. Lions Park is settled near downtown and was listed as the number one park used by those surveyed in the most recent Parks Master Plan. With its central location, four other parks (Reid, Pilot, Tanna Ridge and Firefly) are all less than a half mile from this location. Reid and Tanna Ridge Park are both scheduled for replacement in the next 8 years.