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EN HILLS <br />............ <br />............ <br />........ .... <br />MEMORANDUM <br />DATE: October 26, 2009 <br />TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members <br />Ron Moorse, City Administrator <br />FROM: Michelle Olson, Parks and Recreation Manager <br />SUBJECT: Memorial Park Bench Program Policy <br />Backiround <br />Earlier this year, the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee (PTRC) asked for staff to <br />research the possibility of the City of Arden Hills adopting a Memorial Park Bench <br />Program. Since that time, staff has been researching various programs throughout the <br />metro area. This type of program is often offered by Parks and Recreation Departments <br />and can be found in cities such as Chanhassen, Cottage Grove, Hibbing, Hopkins, New <br />Prague, Prior Lake, South St. Paul and St. Louis Park. After extensive research, staff <br />presented a draft of the Memorial Park Bench Program Policy for the City of Arden Hills to <br />the PTRC at their September 22, 2009 meeting for review. Staff received comments and <br />suggestions and brought back a revised policy to their October 20, 2009 meeting for <br />review. <br />Staff researched various bench styles and is proposing to utilize a Royale style bench, <br />which is 6 feet in length, crafted from robust and recycled HDPE composite materials and <br />is cedar in color. The recycled materials used for this bench provide low maintenance and <br />UV protection. The benches would be installed by our Public Works Staff by utilizing <br />concrete footings versus a concrete slab. This method is much more cost effective. The <br />bronze plaque proposed is a 10" x 3" plaque that can have up to 4 lines of text, 24 <br />characters per line. Included for Council review is an informational flyer on the selected <br />bench and plaque (attachment Q. The fees chosen for the bench and plaque are intended to <br />cover the cost of the materials but do not include the installation. This would be a cost that <br />is covered by the City. The policy document (attachment A) was reviewed by the City <br />Attorney with no legal objections. A brochure was created (attachment B) to promote the <br />program to interested residents. This information would be posted on our website and <br />would also be available at City Hall. <br />Recommendation <br />The PTRC at their October 20, 2009 meeting made a motion to recommend the adoption of <br />the proposed Memorial Park Bench Program Policy. The motion passed unanimously. <br />Therefore, staff recommends adoption of the attached Memorial Park Bench Program <br />Policy as presented. <br />IlMetro-inet.uslardenhillslPR&PWIParksMemos l Council Memos 1102609 Memorial Park Bench Program <br />Policy.doc <br />