01-20-26 - PTRC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – January 20, 2026 Page 3 invasive species”. What do we want to do? How will we do it? How much? Where? Her suggestion is to decide on 1-5 yearly projects. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky provided a template of what the 2026 annual calendar for the work plan could look like. Committee Members can chose any format they like and this is just an example. Chair Julius said we can just do the core elements and we have satisfied our responsibility as Committee Members. We don’t have to stop there. We can sign up for projects that we can hold ourselves accountable for. She opened the floor for conversation. The goal is to get a great working draft out of this meeting that can be finalized in February. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said once it’s approved by the City Council, she will provide it to Public Works to include it in the Parks Maintenance Plan, for the year. Committee Member Olson wanted clarification that it is not too late, at this point. They were told previously that this needed to be approved by October to be included. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said it is not too late. Committee Member Johnson said the Trails Committee has been learning about the trails that are planned for construction through 2030. She knows there are plans to develop a lot of trails in the coming years and she wants to make sure PTRC has input on those. She thinks it’s important to have a committee and a line item committed to that. We should be working with Ramsey County and the neighboring cities. She said we also have some volunteer coordinators with the Lion’s Club and Rotary. She thinks that partnership is very important for the work the PTRC is doing and that needs to continue to be prioritized. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said as Staff and Council are informed of new trails, she will bring it to the PTRC. She asked what the trails group would be doing in addition to giving their feedback. Committee Member Johnson had an example. She said if the Hamline Trail could connect to Crepeau, that would mean that bikes could go from Hamline, up to County Road E, through the existing Bethel system. There is currently no plan to connect those areas. She said it is necessary for someone to illuminate the opportunity. She provided a handout how it could work. We will miss these kinds of opportunities, if we don’t get ahead of them. The Trails team will be looking at future projects and identify how they may be improved. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky asked what project would be included in the work plan. Committee Member Johnson said the Trails team would want to be one step ahead of development so we can inform all entities of certain connections that would benefit the greater good. Chair Julius said it sounds like this is a trails advocacy group. We want to know how we can use this platform to advocate for the trails.