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<br />Item No: 5 <br />Meeting Date: September 8, 2015 <br />Type of Business: Work Session <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From: James Ericson, City Administrator <br />Item Title/Subject: Discuss Community Events and Public Engagement <br /> <br />Introduction: <br /> <br />At a previous Council meeting, the mayor suggested the Council discuss the topic of <br />community events and public engagement. With the exception of newer events like <br />“Movies in the Park” and “Music in the Park”, the only city-wide community event has been <br />“Festival in the Park”. The question is, are there other opportunities to engage the public in <br />a similarly broad scale? <br /> <br />Discussion: <br /> <br />The “Festival in the Park” has been a regular Mounds View event for decades. In previous <br />years, the Festival has spanned multiple days, but in recent years it has been held on one <br />day, primarily due to the expense and additional logistics of planning a multiple-day event. <br />The Festival is organized and coordinated by a non-profit entity which is run by a <br />dedicated, yet small, core group of volunteers. Additional volunteers are always sought to <br />assist with Festival related activities. <br /> <br />The movies and music in the park events are relatively new and reasonably well attended, <br />but will take some time to grow and appeal to wider, larger audiences. Both of these <br />functions are coordinated by the MVCC staff with funding partially subsidized by Bethlehem <br />Baptist Church. <br /> <br />There was discussion at the Council meeting about hosting a “pre” National Night Out party <br />at City Hall, or perhaps an ice cream social, or maybe a public works open house where <br />vehicles could be parked outside on display. There are likely other ideas that could be <br />considered to engage the public, such as what is referenced in the attached report <br />provided by Assistant Administrator Desaree Crane. With any additional events however, <br />the Council will need to account for the additional staff time and expense required to <br />organize and coordinate such activities. <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />Discuss and provide direction to staff. <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />________________________ <br />James Ericson <br />City Administrator