HomeMy WebLinkAboutNRRC Minutes 07-2006
City of Hastings
Natural Resources and Recreation Commission Minutes
July 10, 2006 – 6:00 pm
1)Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Brown, Christenson, Popp, Rohloff, Schommer, Vandehoef, and
Vaughan, Parks and Recreation Director Bernstein, Superintendent Smith and Council Members
Alongi, Hazlet and Schultz.
2)Approved June meeting minutes. Motion by Brown. Seconded by Vandehoef. Passed unanimously.
3)2007 Capital Improvement Proposals: Director Bernstein reviewed the Capital Improvement
Proposals for the Parks & Recreation Department for the 2007 Budget Cycle. Proposals were made
and explained for the Civic Arena, the Hastings Family Aquatic Center, the City Parks and the Parks
& Recreation Department. At the end of the proposal list, Director Bernstein asked if there were any
improvements that he neglected to add to the list. Commissioner Brown asked about the Lions Park
Shelter. That shelter is actually budgeted for 2006, and Director Bernstein is discussion options with
the Public Works department before coming back to the NRRC on that topic.
4)Discussion of Park Improvement Requests: Council Member Schultz stated that we have about $1
million in park dedication funds available. She cautioned the NRRC that if we don’t start spending
that money, we may run into difficulties getting park dedication from developers who question the
need when we have such a large sum. She feels that if we receive park requests that are under
$20,000, we should be able to just go ahead and facilitate the request. She mentioned that the request
from Greten Park came in last fall, and that by the time it gets approved, ordered, and installed, it will
have taken 2 years from the time the request came in. Council Member Alongi thought it would be a
good idea to set up levels of some sort, where we have certain caps on dollar amounts for requests and
timeframes for those requests. The larger the requested amount, the longer the
planning/implementation should be. Director Bernstein asked what should be done if the same
neighborhood continuously asks for new park equipment, receiving new things each year – Where is
the cut-off? Council Member Alongi recommended that the NRRC develop criteria for responding to
requests – Cost, Appropriateness to the park, and the Number of Requests made for the park in a
specified timeframe. Commissioner Vandehoef expressed that the NRRC agrees that a plan is needed
that develops criteria/priorities so that the NRRC can respond to these requests in a consistent manner.
Commissioner Vaughan agreed that it isn’t so much a matter of spending the park dedication funds, as
it is a need to have a plan in place first, which is the main concern of the NRRC. Council Member
Hazlet stated that while we want to keep some park dedication in reserve, we need to start spending
more of the money. Council Member Schultz brought out that if we would start to use Park
Dedication funds for allowable expenses/improvements, the wards with less money in them wouldn’t
be competing with the wards that have more park dedication money for the General Fund dollars at
budget time. Council Member Hazlet asked the NRRC to come up with a recommendation for City
Council on what to use Park Dedication Funds for. Superintendent Smith mentioned that the
additional new park signs that are to be installed could possibly be purchased with park dedication
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funds. The NRRC agreed to have a special meeting on Tuesday, July 18 at 5:30 p.m. to develop
criteria/priorities for responding to park requests.
5)Department Updates were passed out to the members of the NRRC.
6) Old Business
- Vet’s Park: Commissioner Schommer mentioned that 4 more golf balls were found at Vet’s Park
and that the scoreboard seems to have acquired some new dents.
- Eagle Bluff Neighborhood Meeting: Commissioner Christenson gave the NRRC the highlights
of the neighborhood meeting. The association had some concerns and misconceptions, thinking
that there was a large amount of money sitting in a fund specifically for Eagle Bluff Park. It was
explained to them that the park dedication money is for the entire ward, not just a specific park.
They wondered about the ½ court basketball court that was initially promised, but after some
discussion, the neighborhood was not sure that was still a desired improvement. Director
Bernstein did agree to add one picnic table to the park sometime this year. Another request was
to put a fence up along the river. The residents also mentioned that they might be willing to
donate money in order to either put up a picnic shelter or create stairs to the river. The
neighborhood is going to hold a meeting to discuss the options and then present the Parks &
Recreation Department with a formal request.
- National Night Out: Commissioner Christenson mentioned that it would be a good idea to have
a representative or two from the NRRC join the Fire Chief and Police Chief in visiting the
various block parties on National Night Out. The NRRC agreed that this would be a nice thing
to do and Commissioners Rohloff and Schommer were interested in volunteering.
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- Lake Isabel 4 of July Celebration: Commissioner Christenson told the NRRC that the
celebration was a big success again this year with over 1,000 people attending. The party wagon
was also a hit!
- LeDuc Mansion: Commissioner Christenson encouraged everyone to go to the LeDuc Mansion
and take the tour, because it is fantastic. The picnic area is open to the public and is a nice place
to have a family outing. Director Bernstein explained that the LeDuc Mansion is funded through
a private foundation that the family set up.
MOTION to Adjourn.
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Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, 2006.
Adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
Minutes submitted by: Kristin Behrens