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<br />communities will have one in order to keep up. <br />The PRC would like to discuss the matter more and have the entire financial picture as to the impact it will have on the <br />City’s budget. Rohloff would still like to look at putting the facility at the south end of the rink. Staff will review the <br />location and will be in contact with HHB regarding this. Director Bernstein asked if he should bring this forward to the <br />Parks & Recreation Committee in June. <br />MOTION: <br /> Commissioner Smith motioned to endorse the concept of this proposal and send it to the Parks & Recreation <br />Committee of Council for further review. Seconded by Commissioner Rohloff. Passed unanimously. <br />Departmental Updates: <br />6) Department updates were passed out to the commissioners and reviewed. The department is <br />down 2 full-time staff and 3 seasonal employees currently, so we are doing our best to keep up with high-priority <br />maintenance. <br />New Business: <br />7) <br /> <br />Site of Meeting: <br /> Commissioner Rohloff stated concern that the public isn’t aware of the PRC meetings and <br />wondered if there was a better way to get the word out. Currently, staff posts the meeting times on the electronic <br />message board, Facebook, City website, and the PRC listserv. The suggestion was made to hold our meetings in <br />the Council Chambers and have it televised on the local cable channel. <br />Commissioner Miller mentioned we should make sure our meeting procedures are correct before we televise. <br />Director Bernstein stated that since the PRC meetings are public, all members of the public and presenters have <br />the right to be present at the entire meeting. However, by changing the meeting to the Council Chambers where <br />the public and any presenters will be in the audience instead of sitting around the table, it might make <br />commissioner discussions more comfortable. The PRC needs to be very careful about closed meeting laws – <br />this is a public meeting. Commissioner Garrett commented that switching to Council Chambers may cause <br />presenters to be more formal in their presentations. We will also have a recording of the meeting in case any <br />questions come up at a later date. Bernstein will bring the request forward to the Parks & Recreation Committee <br />of Council. <br />MOTION: <br /> Commissioner Rohloff motioned to move the PRC meetings to the City Hall Council Chambers and <br />have them televised. Seconded by Commissioner Smith. Passed unanimously. <br />Old Business: <br />8) <br /> <br />Alcohol Sales at Veterans Park: <br /> Director Bernstein needs to meet with the Assistant City Administrator about <br />the ordinance changes for the vendor and alcohol permits. The Parks & Recreation Committee of Council asked <br />why the proposal only stated two businesses and it was explained that this is being addressed through a bid <br />process. Staff needs to get insurance requirements from the City Attorney as well. The Parks & Recreation <br />Committee was glad to see that the proposal was for 3.2 beer in accord with the current ordinance. <br /> <br />Neighborhood Meeting Schedule: <br /> The Parks & Recreation Committee agreed with the PRC’s <br />recommendation to hold neighborhood meetings about the proposed improvements to Lions and Wallin by the <br />youth baseball organizations. The meetings will be held on June 16 and 23 at Wallin and Lions Parks, <br />respectively, at 6:30 PM. An email invitation will go out to the PRC and the P&R Committee of Council <br />regarding these meetings. <br /> <br />Vets Park Youth Complex <br /> : Commissioner Rohloff has been seeing some grants available and also has been <br />checking on sponsorships for the proposed youth complex. Director Bernstein mentioned that the importance of <br />getting the design plan done was to be able to seek grants. Many of the grants out there are for urban rather than <br />suburban areas. Our median income is lower than some of our neighbors, which will help. Unfortunately, we <br />don’t have the funding to start the complex right now, but if any want to help raise funding, we are open to that. <br />There will have to be a significant contribution by the City of Hastings. The School District most likely <br />wouldn’t be interested in this based on the intended age range of use (9-12 year olds.) Rohloff asked if park <br />dedication money could be used for this. Although Council can authorize the use of funding from all wards for <br />community type projects, Bernstein cautioned that we have about 26 play structures in town that will need <br />replacement in the next 5-10 years. Play structures cost approximately $50,000 each. There is about $1 million <br />in park dedication right now. So, that isn’t a lot of money when we have to replace play structures after 20 years <br />(due to safety concerns). Until the City determines what they can contribute toward the project, it may be <br />difficult to seek sponsorships. Commissioner Schommer thought the PRC should develop a presentation for the <br /> <br />