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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 26, 2020 Page 3 1 2 Mayor Stille explained Director Urdahl talked with the Council in their Worksession regarding 3 the history of the field and the drainage and he asked for Director Urdahl to address that again 4 because of the reason for doing this is to fix the drainage problem on the field. 5 6 Director Urdahl reviewed the history of the field and drainage problems due to sand and drain 7 tile issues. 8 9 City Manager Casey read the following emails to the City Council: 10 11 Ms. Karen Weibert, 3409 36`h Ave NE: "I would like to speak to the track/football project at the 12 high school/Central Park. I would like to see the track brought up to a competitive standard, and 13 be available for residents, and students to access. I believe this is a good investment, especially if 14 students are being transported to Spring Lake Park. I would like to know how many and how 15 often. I do not believe the 10-million-dollar investment in AstroTurf for the football field is a 16 good investment. I think a minimum number of students / residents will actually benefit from its 17 installation. I would like to see a schedule of how that field would be used, as well as where the 18 numbers of participants come from. 19 The argument of being short of land for a new school is invalid. We are not planning a new 20 school, are we? .The entire community do not support this as they do not even know about it. As 21 I talk with neighbors and friends, people who do not have children in sports, they are very 22 surprised to hear about it. Will there be a similar investments in other extra- curricular activities? 23 There is little explanation on the District website. In this time of pandemic and unknown costs, I 24 would like to have more detail, and get more community input. With the size of our community, 25 this is a major investment for a few, especially if fences reduce the availability for everyday 26 use." 27 28 Director Urdahl indicated they were extremely excited about the expanded use and availability 29 for the project. He indicated the use and accessibility will be improved with this project and in 30 the future this will be an open facility where in the past it was locked. He believed there may 31 have been a ten -million -dollar number associated with this and the actual cost of the synthetic 32 turf would be about a tenth of that. He indicated a new school is not in the plans. 33 34 Ms. Lona Doolan, 3511 Harding St NE: "I will not be able to attend tonight's meeting, and 35 would like to submit the following: 36 37 Regarding the Stadium Turf funding under consideration by City Council, I have a few questions 38 and comments: 39 40 1) I would like to know more about how the proposed reduction in leasing revenue fits into the 41 annual city budget and what expense(s) you are looking at to offset the loss in revenue? 42 43 2) How do we know this is a priority for most residents? What outreach has the city done to 44 confirm this is a priority worth cutting other services or raising taxes for? 45 46 3) Has an environmental impact been done? I have read that turf surface can get too hot to play