03-10-25 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 10, 2025 4 Councilmember Monson said she thinks the cost of $3,500 is worth doing this right and getting as much engagement as possible. She reminded it has been 22 years since the City had a Parks Plan. She thinks it's worthwhile to do the Enhanced Survey and Project Marketing. In the meantime, if we get a Communications Coordinator, she would be fine splitting this piece off and returning it to Staff but she is okay with adding that enhanced feature to the plan. She thinks it's going to be either or but not both; the Enhanced Survey/Project Marketing and the Youth Engagement. She would rather hit the broader community. Councilmember Weber agrees. He thinks the Youth Engagement is valuable but believes it may be an inefficient use of funds for this project, based on the large independent school district. Mayor Grant asked how soon a decision has to be made on which enhanced features are included. He said the Communications Coordinator position is just being posted. Bryce Shearen understood. He said they would be happy to work with the City. If they start it and a Communications Coordinator is hired, maybe this is their first project. No decision has to be made today. Mayor Grant summarized that of the three alternative tasks proposed, there is a consensus that Task 2.3: Enhanced Survey and Project Marketing. He agreed it would be an interesting project for the Communications position. Councilmember Monson asked what is happening with the Park and Recreation Manager position. City Administrator Jagoe said the posting closed last Friday, March 7. The applications are under review and we should be interviewing within two weeks. Councilmember Monson said it will be nice if they can step in and help support this project. Mayor Grant said the City of Mounds View has done some extensive work on their park system and their plan came back at just over $20 million. He asked the consultants what they think the final amount might be. Casey Byers said we really need to go through the process outlined in the proposal. He has seen 10-year plans that have a $5 million Capital Improvement Plan. He's also done ones that are $25- $30 million. It entirely depends on the community and the status of your existing park system. At the previous meeting he discussed aligning community values with projects and expectations. Some communities are in the state of trying to build back 20-years of deferred maintenance. Other communities don't need to do that and they are looking at big projects. It will depend on the input received from residents, Staff direction and the status of the current Park System. Mayor Grant said we are an interesting community. We have a number of parks among a number of communities. The City is kind of divided up in sections. Being a small community a proposal like this can come back with many multiples of our annual levy. He's trying to set the stage for Staff. He doesn't want the consultants to feel restrained. He hopes they will bring the best plan forward. He's also trying to prepare Council for potential sticker shock.