NRRC Minutes 05-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Hastings Natural Resources and Recreation Commission Minutes May 9, 2006 – 6:00 pm 1)Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Brown, Popp, Rohloff, Vandehoef and Parks and Recreation Director Bernstein and Superintendent Smith. Absent: Commissioners Christenson, Schommer and Vaughan. 2)Meeting minutes from April could not be approved, as there was no quorum. Hold for June meeting. 3)Director Bernstein handed out departmental updates to the NRRC members for their review. 4)Bituminous Repair: Director Bernstein explained that we have had 3 bidders for the repair work. There is one bid for about $66,000 that would take care of everything we want to accomplish in 2006 and some things for 2007. Will go before City Council on Monday. 5)Vermillion Falls Shelter Bid: The advertisement for bid will be run in the Hastings Star Gazette on thth May 18 and 25. The bids that are received will be opened at the Parks and Recreation office on th May 30. 6)Warming House Report: Director Bernstein reported that the numbers for this past season were good, even though we really only had a 6-week season due to the weather. It was actually better attendance than in some previous years. Staff feels that the hours at Isabel and Wilson should be reduced due to low attendance. Commissioner Rohloff asked about the rink at Kennedy. Director Bernstein explained that the school district won’t agree to fix it, so the financial burden would be on us if we want to make repairs. Options include fixing the rink/building or closing that location and possibly moving the rink to another area. Commissioner Brown asked about the timeframe for a decision regarding Kennedy. We would need to know by September/October when we start hiring for warming house attendants. 7)Association Agreements: Director Bernstein informed the NRRC that the Hawks Agreement is currently on their desk to sign. The major change to this agreement involves the maintenance/accessibility to the restrooms. The Agreement with the Hastings Hockey Boosters was developed with help from the City Attorney and includes language regarding responsibilities of each party, operation, etc. Commissioner Vandehoef asked if the turf storage area will still be accessible. Double doors will be installed so that the Arena staff will still be able to store the turf in the same area. 8)Bus Tour: The NRRC went on a bus tour around Hastings. Stops included Pioneer Park, Vet’s Park, South Pines Park and the Aquatic Center. 9)Lions Park Shelter: Director Bernstein advised the commissioners that we have $130,000 budgeted for the Lions Park Shelter this year. We have recently found out that with the sewer/water extension and the architect fees, the current cost estimate for this project is around $158,000. Commissioner Brown asked if we could get rid of the in-floor heat and cut costs. Director Bernstein said yes and that it would cut about $12,000. We really won’t know final cost estimates until we bid the job out. Superintendent Smith mentioned that we would like to use forced air heat instead, as it is much less expensive. Another option is to just remove the walls of the current shelter, as the beams are still good, and just use it as an open-air picnic shelter. We could rent a temporary building for the winter season. Commissioner Brown mentioned that we set a standard when we built Wallin, and that the neighborhood might have concerns with just a trailer in the winter. He also mentioned that this project won’t get cheaper if we wait, as construction costs will only go up. Director Bernstein said that costs raise about 7% each year. The commissioners in attendance felt that it would be best to let City Council make this decision – either to go ahead with the higher cost or to go back to the drawing board.