06-20-22-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JUNE 20, 2022 2 Councilmember Holmes asked if the Recreation Supervisor kept detailed track of what he buys to know what was popular and what wasn't. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he buys per event but there are some prizes that can be extended out to other events. Staff hasn't broken it down to how many prizes per event. Councilmember Holmes suggested that the Recreation Supervisor should keep better track of his budget so they don't have overruns. Councilmember Holmes felt the Bark and Rec event hasn't been very successful lately. It was more successful the first time, but last time there was hardly anyone there, and it was in the middle of July. New Brighton's event was in the fall and had over 100 people there. They have police canine at the event, take a picture with your dog, and vendor booths, and it was a much more popular event then ours. Their event wasn't at a dog park like ours would be. She had previously discussed this with staff but from what she can tell Bark and Rec will be the same this year as before. Councilmember Scott said the Halloween event this year was a new format and he wouldn't expect us to make a profit the first year, but he thought it was enthusiastically received by attendees. The Egg Hunt remains popular and they are even recycling some of the plastic egg containers. He was disappointed with last year's Bark and Rec, noting there were more sponsors pre-COVID. Councilmember Holmes asked if they had thought about charging non-residents more than residents for the Egg Hunt. Councilmember Holden felt 45% wasn't good. If we could get our numbers up they could offer a lot of others things for free, like an obstacle course where we provide water and ribbons. She agreed that Bark and Rec should be changed. She would like to have a grand opening at the dog park when the new seating is put in. She would also like to see non-residents charged more than residents for the Egg Hunt. Staff should bring tissues to the event. She felt the registration lines could be changed and staff should ask for volunteers to help at the event. Mayor Grant arrived at 5:14 p.m. Councilmember Holden continued by saying she didn't like the tiny toys in the two-year old's eggs, and they didn't need to put so much inside the eggs. She would like to see staff plan a free event once a month. Mayor Grant would like to see us work with neighboring communities on events other than sports. City Administrator Perrault noted that a few years ago Council took a look at the programs and felt revenues were not covering expenditures sufficiently. Staff has been hesitant to schedule much free programming since then. If they are hitting the 95%-105% goal and could look at trying to raise the 45% number, is Council interested in offering more free programming?