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Parks and Environmental Commission Regular Meeting Minutes December 4, 2023 Page 2 1 at Mississippi Gateway Regional Park. The focus was to look at facilities outside of suburban 2 Hennepin County. There are four in the system – Silverwood, Carver Park Reserve, the 3 Landing in Shakopee, and Bebe Lake in Wright County. Silverwood Park got the most 4 attention. The users of the park are from Anoka and Hennepin County mostly. Commissioner 5 Guest asked what percentage of the budget comes from State of Minnesota. Mr. Carlson 6 stated it is 40% in the law but they have only received a fraction of that percentage. 7 8 Commissioner Holliday asked how attendance is tracked at Silverwood. Mr. Carlson stated 9 park user studies are done. Visitor counts are done for the Met Council. They are attempting 10 to level the playing field when comparing agency to agency. Commissioner Holliday asked 11 what is being done to address the concerns voiced in the newspaper articles. Mr. Carlson 12 stated there are no changes for Silverwood in the 2024 budget. Commissioner Holliday stated 13 this is starting conversations and it shows intention. What opportunities does the public have 14 to voice their opinions. Mr. Carlson stated all meetings are open to the public and the board 15 can be addressed during Open Forum. 16 17 Commissioner Doolan stated she listened to the meeting and both counties programs are taken 18 advantage of. She thanked Mr. Carlson for coming to the Commission meeting. She asked 19 when a survey was last done. Mr. Carlson stated the summer of 2023 a survey was done. A 20 general count is done every year. The general fund budget is $45M. Silverwood is $1.8M 21 from a budgetary perspective. She asked how much of Hennepin County tax is allocated to 22 Silverwood. Mr. Carlson stated on the tax statement they are included in “other”. 23 Commissioner Doolan asked if St. Anthony is considered suburban Hennepin County and Mr. 24 Carlson stated a portion is within suburban Hennepin County. The next Board Meeting is 25 December 21 and this is not an agenda item but can be brought up in Open Forum. The 26 Commissioner that represents St. Anthony is Erin Kolb in District 3. Commissioner Doolan 27 asked creative ways for funding has been discussed and Mr. Carlson stated the legislators 28 need to be engaged. This is a region-wide issue. The Board requested seeing options first 29 before reaching out. Silverwood Park is a great asset to the community. The Salvation Army 30 Camp is part of that. Commissioner Doolan stated the Park Commission would be happy to 31 reach out to obtain partnerships with other agencies. 32 33 Ms. Baguss reviewed the mission of Three Rivers Park District is to promote environmental 34 stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system. It 35 encompasses over 27,000 acres of parks and trails and serves millions of visitors annually. 36 The Art on Foot Sculpture Trail includes 16 public art works on a 1.1 mile trail. The 37 Silverwood Poetry Audio Tour features six poets. The Gallery Exhibition to be held January 38 11 – February 29, 2024 was described. Silverwood’s ANFT-certified Forest Bathing Trail was 39 featured in National Geographic. The Winter Artist Market will be held Thursday, December 40 7, 2023 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. featuring 15 local artists, drop-in artmaking, free hot chocolate, 41 food truck onsite and they will be accepting warm clothing donations. The Silverwood Sales 42 Gallery is open daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Ms. Baguss stated the Silverwood Park Café 43 features local and organic coffee drinks, kombucha on tap, and baked goods. A 50% student 44 discount is offered between 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. 112 large scale events were hosted in 2023 and 45 there are 78 events already booked for 2024. For up-to-date calendars and rental information 46 contact silverwoodevents@threeriversparks.org.