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Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 2 Committee Member Loosbrock noted that these plans should be updated every 10 years. She asked when the last update happened in Arden Hills. Bryce Shearen said the current plan was updated in 2002. There is no statute that requires it to be updated every 10 years. Bryce Shearen said they gather information regarding demographics and trends. They get PTRC input and use national metrics, City Council, Staff, the public and steering committee input. All of that information is synthesized into these plan recommendations and priorities. The goal is to have a plan that will help the City plan and prepare for Capital Improvement Plans (CIP) park projects. It will serve as a guiding document. It will look at upcoming park and trail improvement projects. The plan can potentially be used as a tool for funding sources. When you apply for grants, sometimes they ask if there has been community engagement. They ask for proof that the City has taken the time to hear what the residents want. This is the document that outlines what the community wants. When this process is complete, the plan can plug into the 2050 Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Jacobson asked what the definition of a CIP is. Bryce Shearen said CIP stands for Capital Improvement Plan. All major park projects will be programmed through the Capital Improvement Plan. This Master Park Plan will help guide that process. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said the City has a 5-year CIP. Bryce Shearen said this process starts with information gathering. This includes getting an inventory of what we have, getting all of the assets, getting all the program locations, providers and a level of service comparison. The Community Profile will tell us what the make-up of Arden Hills is today and what the projected make-up is for the future. They will look at local and national trends. They will look at National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) metrics and trends analysis. The biggest one is the community and public engagement. That will have a City-wide survey, pop up meetings and open house. They start with that information gathering. Bryce Shearen said once they have gathered the information, the process moves into the Findings and Visions. They will talk to Staff, stakeholders, the steering committee, the PTRC, the City Council. They ask what needs are missing. That’s not always a community center or something big. Sometimes it’s just that we want to maintain what we have and make it better. They will look for themes and analysis that they are hearing. They will talk about opportunities and limitations. Funding is always a limitation. Bryce Shearen said the next phase is draft recommendations. They will summarize their findings and make recommendations. They will outline what it will cost in today’s dollars and place an inflationary value on that. That will help build out that CIP. Then they will make revisions to the draft that will lead to the final plan. Bryce Shearen said the final plan will be reviewed by Staff, public, PTRC, steering committee and City Council. The ultimate goal is to have the PTRC make a recommendation to the City Council that they adopt the Master Park Plan. This guiding document will help with what the PTRC is doing.