08-19-25 PTRC-Cancelled -No Quorum

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Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – July 15, 2025 Page 4 Committee Member Julius noted that people can clear their cache and can respond again. Committee Member Nazir Ahmed said both her and her husband were able to respond. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the QR codes on the postcards are traceable. So if someone navigates to the survey through the QR code on the postcard, she will know. The reason is to determine if the postcards generate responses and if not, we may not use them in the future. Committee Member Olson asked if the newsletter article has a QR code. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said it is a QR code, but she isn’t sure if it tracks the number of survey respondents via that code. It is a different QR code than the one on the postcards. Casey Byers will ask his communications team. He believes they set them up so no one can “stack the deck” but understands there needs to be some flexibility. He shared some comments that they have received so far. People are thinking about dog parks and there have been comments on staffing and maintenance of the facilities. There were a quite a few comments regarding trail connections and park access. There will be another pop-up event in August. Committee Member Seemann wondered what the answers were that were covered by stickers. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the ones that were most covered were nature play areas and splash pad. Committee Member Julius said there may be biased answers because it’s July. There probably won’t be many comments regarding skating rinks. We have a short summer in Minnesota. The amount of time residents can use of a splash pad is limited. Casey Byers said they have received comments about permanent restrooms and drinking fountains. He is encouraged when people are looking for the basic needs which encourage longer uses. Residents may be willing to travel a little farther to visit a park if they know there is a restroom or a drinking fountain. He said the five most used parks in Arden Hills are Tony Schmidt Regional Park, Cummings Park, Floral Park, Hazelnut Park and Perry Park. The top five new park amenities, attractions or programs are paved trails, unpaved trails, nature plays, splash pads and trail lighting. Casey Byers said for next steps, they will continue to analyze the inventory and physical amenities of the park system. They will monitor the survey input. They will look for gaps in responses. A steering committee meeting will be scheduled in August and there will be a pop up event at the end of August. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the survey will close in mid to late August to ensure participation at the events in August. Casey Byers agreed. The plan is to shut down the survey by the end of August so they can prepare a summary of responses for the next pop-up event.