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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 25, 2024 10 Councilmember Holden said it is relevant. The trails parts are there. Mayor Grant said in 2002 there was either a trail there, or there was not a trail there. The segments that needed to be added were identified. Today they are either completed or not completed. PTRC Chair Anderson said they can bring that to the PTRC. She thinks the Master Plan was a piece of it. She thought a new Master Plan would allow more forward thinking. It would help them know what is relevant as opposed to coming up with one -offs that they bring to Council because it sounds like a good idea but then they find out there's no budget for it or there is no staff available to help implement those things. She said, of course, they can move forward without a Master Parks Plan, but she believes they will be more effective and their recommendations will be more helpful to Council. Mayor Grant asked what her definition of effective is. PTRC Chair Anderson thinks the biggest issue is when new members come in. Things that inspire people to join this group are usually specific. It would be helpful to keep the group focused and be more effective in making recommendations to Council. There would be a road map and they would know what's up ahead for Council and things they are going to be addressing. She said PTRC could have been more proactive in regard to Arden Oaks and Freeway Parks. They can come up with a wish list but it's probably not very realistic. Mayor Grant said he is hearing her say that it helps PTRC be more focused. PTRC Chair Anderson agreed. Committee Member Olson said PTRC are all volunteers who live in Arden Hills and are looking for ways to give back. They come with some good ideas but they aren't educated about how to implement them. They can give recommendations and opinions, but having a Master Plan that we can all work towards feels like it would be much more effective. Councilmember Holden thinks a piece that is getting missed is the recreational part. She would like PTRC to look at some of the programs. She thought a Father/Daughter or Mother/Son dance. The recreational components never get looked at. PTRC Chair Anderson said the two things with the recreation piece are staff and funding. There are PTRC members that want to focus on community events. They are passionate about increasing community involvement. It's hard to plan those things when we don't have a sense of what's reasonable from a budget or staffing standpoint. Committee Member Olson said there isn't a large public place to have a big group of people due to parking deficits. It is a design of the parks from a long time ago. As a resident of Arden Hills she gets brochures from surrounding cities. PTRC are evaluating what the surrounding communities have and trying to build those types of programs here, but there is zero budget. They are hoping to involve businesses in the Parks Passport program to supply prizes. It would bring different people to look around the neighborhoods and discover something new and different.