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try to put maintenance items on a schedule and also plan for major items through the City’s Equipment Revolving Fund which is similar to a savings account. Staff has a separate schedule that keeps track of the age and condition of playground equipment. Park shelters are included with the annual Capital Improvement Plan. Vandehoef recommended sending out short surveys to the community with the city’s utility billing. A possible question for the survey could be about funding for parks, trails, and open spaces and how willing the community would be to pass a referendum. 7) Facility Priority Use: Jared Flewellen passed out some information on the field rentals that have occurred so far this year. A few highlights of the report that he shared with the NRRC are that Wilson Park had the most rentals through the month of June, and that Conzemius Park had the most rentals total due to the fact that both softball and soccer can be played there. 50% of our field use is taken up by the HYAA traveling baseball and soccer – this figure includes both practices and games. In this report, Jared defined a “rental” as a reserved use of a field. (The amount of time per reservation could vary.) 67% of total reservations came from HYAA; 11% were from the Hastings Parks & Recreation Dept. As the population grows, organizations such as the HYAA and the YMCA will be requesting more field time, and the available hours we have to reserve fields is not getting any larger. Some groups are using fields, but not making a reservation first. The high school is one group that has done this. When Jared hears of a group using a field, he marks it down under “individual rentals.” Bernstein commented that one thing we could do to control that better is have the new soccer lights be on satellite control. That way lights would only be on if the group had made a reservation. Smith mentioned that we also have a problem sometimes with groups reserving the fields and then not actually using them. Jared also explained that groups request specific fields based on their individual needs. This is helpful for our maintenance staff as it lessens the time spent moving bases for different uses, etc. Use in August is low due to the fact that the summer season is ending, but the fall season hasn’t really started. This report just focuses on athletic use of fields. Other programs like PITS were not included. Conzemius has very high use due to the ability to have both baseball and soccer running simultaneously. It is also the area where we receive the most complaints from the neighborhood, mostly due to parking issues. Due to the parking limitations, staff decided not to run soccer and baseball at the same time there, and this has reduced the amount of complaints received. HYAA does a nice job of trying to vary the fields they use as well. The report shows a dramatic increase in field reservations this year. In 2005, there were 1,418, 2006 had 1,455, and in 2007, the estimated amount is currently at 2,105. Bernstein said that this increase could partly be due to the fact that we have been able to track reservations better this year. Another contributing factor could be the fact that the middle school facilities have been closed for maintenance. However, he doesn’t feel that we will be seeing a decrease in field use in the future. Vaughan asked if we were resting fields. Smith explained that last year, we were able to rest one of the soccer fields, but this year we haven’t been able to due to high use. Vaughan asked the NRRC to think about revising our field priority use policy due to the high demands being placed on our facilities, and the expectation that these demands will remain high. This issue will be tabled until the next NRRC meeting. 8) New Business - Levee Park Construction: Bernstein has a meeting with Council, HRA, and the EDC to discuss downtown development. He is planning to ask how viable the Levee Park master plan is now that blocks 1 & 2 aren’t selling. For example, does the promenade need to go all the way down to Tyler St.? If we eliminate the performance area, does the trail need to be moved as the plan indicates? Finally, should more attention be given to park entrances to ndth really try to draw people from 2 and even 4 Streets? Miller asked if this park is still a priority – Maybe we need to devote more attention to our athletic facilities? Bernstein said that this is a gateway park and affects visitors’ first impressions of Hastings. Commissioner Vaughan recommended asking if the plans for Levee Park could be put into the NRRC’s hands so that it can be prioritized with other park requests and the system as a whole. - Trail Request: Diana Anderson, a resident who lives near Sunny Acres Park, emailed a request to staff for a trail extension through the park. She requested that the current trail be extended from Malcolm Ave. to Cory Ln. to provide handicapped accessibility to the park. Smith believes the department can target this request next year when we plan to make the playground ADA compliant as well by adding new curbing and playground fall protection. Vaughan asked if there are any grade issues and was told that the area is fairly flat. Nelson questioned the wisdom of adding many short trails to the city’s system, although he added that this trail does have a destination and seems to make sense. Smith mentioned that we have already requested budget dollars next year to make more of our parks ADA compliant, and that this trail could possibly be done in-house to minimize cost. The NRRC decided to revisit this topic in November where the request will be prioritized using the NRRC’s evaluation form. 9) Old Business - Eagle Bluff: Bernstein reviewed the actions taken regarding the Eagle Bluff neighborhood’s request for a basketball court. The NRRC agreed to not move forward until the association completes the Park Improvement Request form and evidence is submitted that this is a project that is supported by the majority of the neighborhood. Staff will attempt to verify this request and will bring it forward again when a response is received. - Construction Updates: Bernstein mentioned that the City received a Supplemental Environmental Program grant of $50,000 to remove the old fueling dock station on the Mississippi River and replace it with an overlook. The paint is currently being tested to see if it contains lead and structural engineers have been consulted. We have a preliminary drawing of the project which was done by Hoisington Koegler Group a few years ago. Before the project moves forward, the architect and engineer would meet with the NRRC. - Trail Lights: The trail lights along the Levee trail are being replaced by Public Works. Initially, we thought that the poles were going to be made out of wood. But staff has found a better alternative – a steel pole with a marine-type