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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—APRIL 13, 2026 11 would also assist the Council with planning for parks in Rice Creek Commons. She commented it appears the City has the proper number of parks and trails per resident, but does not have enough staffing and budget. She requested comment from staff on this matter. Ms. Springer explained the budgetary component was a reflection of the City having a lot of amenities which required more funding to maintain. She reported the City had six FTE's to manage the City's parks, but noted these individuals were assigned to other tasks as well. She discussed how the comments received from the public were that the City's parks were clean and well maintained, which was a good reflection on the City and its staff members. Councilmember Holden stated the national report that was used as a comparison had data from California and Florida and in these states the parks had to be maintained for twelve months instead of six months, which may be why the City's staffing numbers appeared to be off. Ms. Springer commented this was a good consideration. She stated in general communities in Minnesota have more parks than other areas of the country. Councilmember Holden reported she was proud of the results from the study noting the City had more excellent and outstanding ratings than poor. She was proud of how the City had maintained the parks. Councilmember Rousseau stated she loved living in Minnesota because this State had high quality park systems. She appreciated walking in the City's parks. She noted she was pleased with the park system master plan that had been created and she supported the plan being adopted. She asked what the next steps for the City would be once the plan was adopted. Ms. Springer explained there were some projects that were queued up for the next several years and it would be great for the City to continue with the momentum that has been created. She reported the Council would have to consider when to bring the community back in for specific input on a specific park project for a mini master plan. She suggested the PTRC continue to review the implementation chapter going forward. Mayor Grant thanked everyone who had input on this document, which included staff, the Council, PTRC and public. He asked if the seasonal employees were included in the 6.3 number. Ms. Springer stated this does include the seasonal employees. Mayor Grant questioned how many of the City's public works employees were included in the 6.3 number. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen reported every employee that works at the City that has time dedicated to parks was included in this number. Mayor Grant inquired if the ICWC crew was included in the number. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen explained the ICWC crew was not included in this number.