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City of Hastings Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes City Hall Council Chambers January 11, 2011 – 6:00 pm 1) Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Smith, Miller, Garrett, Juntunen, Hedin, and Schossow, Parks & Recreation Director Bernstein, Maintenance Supervisor Likes Absent: Commissioner Schommer November Minutes: 2) Motion to approve minutes as presented by Miller. Seconded by Smith. Passed unanimously. Setting Agenda: 3) Bernstein added “Elect Vice-Chair” to the agenda under New Business. Departmental Updates: 4) Departmental Updates were reviewed with the commissioners. Bernstein explained that the Parks & Recreation was charged with raising an additional $5,000 in advertising revenue for 2011. Staff is working on a marketing program to better utilize advertising space at the HFAC, Vets Park, and the Arena. Miller asked how the new turf at the Arena is holding up. While the turf hasn’t been installed yet this year, the comments on it last year were very complimentary. Hastings Hockey Boosters Proposal Update: 5) A resolution was passed by the City Council supporting the Hastings Hockey Boosters in their efforts to raise funds to construct a training facility on City property at the Hastings Civic Arena. One of the conditions of the resolution was that the HHB explore the possibility of attaching the training facility to the front entry of the Civic Arena, thereby creating a needed vestibule to conserve energy. The HHB hired a consultant to determine fundraising capabilities for the project. The calculations by the consultant came in at $375,000, which was less than the $500,000 the HHB originally were planning for. With this figure, the Parks & Recreation Committee of Council feels that a less expensive independent building would be a better option and they support the HHB fundraising efforts for that project. Staff is exploring various energy grants for the possible construction of a vestibule for the Arena’s front entry in the future. MOTION: Miller motioned to support the Parks & Recreation Committee of Council’s recommendation to support the HHB fundraising efforts. Seconded by Garrett. Passed unanimously. Youth Commission Members: 6) The addition of one or two youth commission members was initially brought up as a Youth First initiative to do more to engage Hastings’ youth. The PRC was given examples from the City of Burnsville regarding their youth commission members and the process in place. Miller asked if staff had been in contact with Hastings High School regarding this. Staff has been discussing this with the Youth Planning Council, which is made up of youth from Hastings High School. YPC members have expressed interest in being able to have this opportunity. Smith asked if students would serve a one year term. A one year term does make sense due to possible graduations if High School Seniors are involved. Juntunen asked if staff had seen any other cities who had tied serving on a commission to maintaining a certain GPA. Bernstein hasn’t seen any tied to GPA, however this would be something that students would use to fulfill volunteer hour requirements for YPC. He envisions a simple application, possibly including a short essay regarding why students want to serve on the PRC and what things they would like to see changed. Miller recommended interviewing students in September and allowing a term consistent with the school year, about 9 months. Smith added that possibly High School Juniors could be considered in the spring so that they would have time to attend some PRC meetings and get a feel for the commission. Then as HS Seniors in the fall, they would be ready to serve on the commission. The PRC supported developing a process for including youth commission members. Staff will work on an application and will present it at the next PRC meeting. Snow Removal from Trail Update 7) : It took several weeks for our staff to remove snow from the City’s trail system. Approximately 13 miles of trail needed to be cleared. The Department has only two pieces of equipment that is capable of clearing snow with drifts as high as 5-6 feet. Routes to schools are the first priority for trail clearing. Other cities have had to close portions of their trail systems as they don’t have the resources to clear the snow. Staff appreciates everyone’s patience while they work to clear trails. The PRC thanked the Parks & Recreation staff for all of their diligence and hard work. Highway 61 Bridge Construction Update: 8) Many City staff, including Director Bernstein, are involved with the Highway 61 bridge project. Bernstein sits on the Visual Quality Team and the Pedestrian/Bike Access Group. Concepts of what the area underneath the bridge will look like were reviewed with the PRC. There will be a plaza area and more defined parking spaces. The trail on the bridge will be wide enough for two-way bike traffic, will be divided from the roadway, and will include bump outs for stopping to view the river. This trail will be a part of the Mississippi Trail Route, an effort to have ped/bike access along the Mississippi River from Itasca to New Orleans. Miller asked if any public restrooms have been included with the design plans in conjunction with the bridge construction. Bernstein