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Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 21, 2026 Page 2 B. Parks and Recreation Report Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the group discussed membership size. The City Council would like to have a work session discussion about it. That will be brought to the Council on May 11 or May 24. She said in January she brought a list of peer cities and their membership. They are about half the size that we are. It is difficult to have good conversations when there are 12-13 people. Not everyone gets a chance to talk. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the Park System Plan was approved. She noted the work plan outlined that we would discuss the CIP today, however Staff requested that we have that discussion at the May meeting. The information will be more organized and be easier to digest and discuss. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the Touch A Truck event will be held on May 16. She noted that Shoreview scheduled an event for the same day so we will not have the Ramsey County Sheriff’s boat there this year. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the 75th Anniversary planning is taking a lot of her time. We have received about $20,000 from sponsorships. We expect to get another $10,000. The events and activities will be fun and there is something for all ages. Planning for the car show, band and children’s activities are coming together. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the proposals for the park improvements at Ingerson, Sampson and Perry Park will be submitted to her by Monday, May 4. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the Adopt A Park program will be discussed at a Council Work Session on April 27. She is hoping the discussion later in this meeting will provide some specific language to bring to Council. Committee Member Hilding asked if the park improvements for Ingerson, Sampson and Perry will have an RFP. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky confirmed. We will get a consultant on board to do the planning and administrative work for the bituminous/concrete work, the trail repairs and the grading work. They will organize all of those projects and help us find the right contractors for those jobs. They’ll help us create the bidding documents. She has requested they create a process for the RFP for the playgrounds. We will send the RFP to about 12 playground vendors. They’ll know they are in competition. We will give the bidders a dollar amount and they will provide a quote. We will select the contractor who provides the best playground for the best value. Council Liaison Weber said his experience in government work has always been the low bidder gets selected. Does this process conflict with that? Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said it is just a different process. Legally it can be done this way and it is the standard in other cities. Committee Member Ahmed asked how that works. Each contractor will include varying equipment. Is there a bare minimum that we request?