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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - JULY 12, 1999 11 . Councilmember Aplikowski asked if the City had the proposed summer schedule for this park. Mr. Fritsinger stated that the City was provided with a schedule for both the City and Bethel College. Mr. Fritsinger stated that one issue with the soccer fields was that there would not be much usage for the City in the fall during the week. The City would have full use of the soccer fields on the weekends during the fall. Councilmember Rem stated that what the Parks and Recreation Committee did not approve of was the fact that the City would be allowed use of the soccer fields at night, after the College is done using them. The problem with this was that, in the fall, it gets dark quite early at night and the Committee did not feel that the City would be able to work with this schedule. Mr. Fritsinger noted that it would cost the City a lot more to build fields on its own and they would most likely get the same amount of use as the field at the proposed Bethel College park. . Mayor Probst stated that Arden Hills is not a park-rich community and there would be advantages to the park proposal in terms of summer use. There would be a class-A softball field and soccer fields for summer leagues. He indicted that, other than the use of the soccer fields in fall, he did not understand the total opposition to the project. He felt that it would be valuable to discuss this project with Bethel College and ask the College what their bottom line is. Councilmember Larson noted that, if the City asks Bethel College what their bottom line is, the College will most likely ask the City what it specifically wants and he was not sure that the City has a position as far as what the City must have in order to participate. Mayor Probst stated that the City has not taken an offIcial position. He presumed that part of the interest for the City to participate was that the park would become a City park. The other issue was the extent to which this project would or could be a partnership in terms of how the park is developed. The neighborhood has some significant concerns and interest in the proposed park and, as a partner, the City would have the ability to influence how the park is laid out. The City must determine what Bethel College expects in terms offinancial participation. He was not sure what the threshold number should be, however, he would think that if it was less than $100,000 it may be reasonable. If the College were looking for as much as one-half of a million dollars, it would be an easy decision to not participate. Councilmember Rem stated that the Parks and Recreation Committee saw this proposal as Bethel College's plan and park and that it would be the College's ball fields. The Committee did not get the impression that this park would be a City park at alL . Mr. Fritsinger stated that when this proposal first came up, Bethel College had looked at this issue differently. Bethel College had wanted to be responsible for all maintenance, as there will be a special design and materials being used. He stated that the proposal had been presented as a Bethel College complex. Councilmember Rem noted that Mr. Kunkel had never mentioned the City owning the park. Mr. Fritsinger stated that this had not been discussed and was to have been worked out at the end of the process.