HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-10-2009 NRRC 02 Aug Minutes
City of Hastings
Natural Resources and Recreation Commission Minutes
Parks & Recreation Conference Room
August 11, 2009 – 6:00 pm
1) Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Flaten, Schommer, Tessmer-Tuck and Vandehoef, Parks and Recreation Director
Bernstein.
Absent: Commissioners Miller, Rohloff, and Smith; Superintendent Smith
June Minutes:
2) Motion to approve by Tessmer-Tuck. Seconded by Vandehoef. Passed unanimously.
Setting Agenda:
3) Commissioner Schommer added Baseball Committee Update to Old Business.
4) Departmental updates were reviewed with NRRC members.
Requests for City Contributions:
5) Director Bernstein informed the NRRC that he is currently checking with other
communities to see if they have a procedure for making contributions to organizations or if it is handled more casually.
Staff would like to standardize the practice so that there are set guidelines for us to follow when a request comes in.
Data from other communities should be available to review by the September meeting.
Joint Powers Discussion:
6) Director Bernstein reviewed the information on Joint Powers that was included in the
meeting packets. These items included a review of the history, budget, and practices of the Joint Powers agreement. It
was explained that in the past, adult leagues were run by independent parties. However, now the City is operating the
softball leagues and a variety of other leagues it has initiated. The PITS (open playground) program, Senior Center,
Leisure Services, and Special Services are all covered under the Joint Powers agreement. Commissioner Schommer
stated that he feels the agreement needs to reviewed and revised to make sure it is still beneficial to both parties, as it
was written in 1973. Commissioner Vandehoef feels that the adult user fees do not reflect a joint effort by the School
District & City. The maintenance of the fields, lights, and Recreation Coordinator’s salary are all paid for by the City
alone. The annual Parks & Recreation report shows that the City is losing money running adult leagues due to the adult
user fees it pays to Joint Powers. Vandehoef feels that the Joint Powers Agreement should include items that are a
shared venture by both School and City – it should not include items that are solely run by one organization. The
general consensus by the NRRC was that they like the Joint Powers Agreement in principle, but feel it is time to make
some revisions due to the changing circumstances over the years to make sure it is still fair and equitable to both parties.
MOTION
– Tessmer-Tuck motioned to recommend having discussions with the Joint Powers Committee regarding the
Joint Powers Agreement as it currently exists. Seconded by Vandehoef. Passed unanimously.
Old Business:
7)
- Baseball Committee Update:Commissioner Schommer passed around some preliminary concept drawings that Dennis
Peine had done for Vet’s. He also shared some drawings of signs that might be posted on the storage shed. One is a
quote from Red Smith and the other signs would be tributes to our Veterans. The signs would be paid for with the
donation money received from Smead.
MOTION to adjourn.
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8th at the Parks & Recreation Office.
Adjourned at 7:04 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Kristin Behrens