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MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: Bryce Shearen, CPRE, Parks & Recreation Strategic Development Director DATE: 28 May, 2024 RE: Engagement, Analysis, and Cost Estimates for Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park Enhancements BACKGROUND: The city has identified funds for park improvements at Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park in 2025. Those improvements were generally for the replacement of the playgrounds, playground surfacing, playground container, and basketball court rehabilitation. Improvement desires from City Council members, Parks, Trails & Recreation (PTRC) members, and city staff were discussed and direction from City Council was to create an equitable process and engage with the community on what they would like to see in their park improvements. Utilizing the engagement of the residents of Arden Hills and updated cost estimates, Council, PTRC, and staff can make better informed decisions on what types of improvements should be made at each park. PROJECT START-UP: Immediately after the authorization to proceed from the city on engagement, analysis, and cost estimates for Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park, the Bolton & Menk Team met with the city for a project kick-off meeting and reviewed the project and scope. This led to creating an online survey and postcard, conducting a site visit to each park, and beginning the engagement process for the park enhancements. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: The online survey was available from April 22-May 10, 2024. Direct postcards were mailed to both neighborhoods that the parks serve and to all City Council members and PTRC members. Arden Oaks Park received 68 survey responses and Freeway Park received 83 responses with 96% of the responses coming from Arden Hills residents. Bolton & Menk staff also talked with a few individuals over the phone about the proposed improvements. The comments that were received in the phone conversations were in support of adding amenities to the park with shade, more playground options, and paved trail at Arden Oaks Park as top priorities. The residents appreciated the opportunity to give feedback and appreciated the city involving them in the process. It should be noted that Bolton & Menk staff did talk on the phone with one resident that had concerns that northern portion of Freeway Park (hockey rink area) was underutilized and would be in the city’s best interest to sell the land to a developer and use the funds to purchase additional parkland or fund park improvements. This may be an issue if Arden Hills has a ‘no net loss’ of park land policy identified, but reviewing survey responses, the park does receive a lot of visits and the hockey rink was one of the top five amenities that the survey indicated should be improved. At this time, staff wanted the Council to be aware of the opinion that was expressed. Attached are the survey responses and a survey summary. Attachment A