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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-18-25 - PTRC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025, 6:30 PM ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL MEETING TO ORDER Committee Chair Dan Dietz called the March 18, 2025 meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dan Dietz, Eva Acosta, Kate Olson, Liz Johnson, Kerri Seemann, Derek Hilding OTHERS PRESENT: Recreation Supervisor Matt Johnson and Council Liaison Emily Rousseau ABSENT: Lacy Loosbrock, Nancy Jacobson and Amelia Rogers. New Committee Member Derek Hilding introduced himself and took the New Member Oath. 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Committee Member Olson moved, and Committee Member Seemann seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda. The motion carried unanimously among members present. Council Liaison Emily Rousseau said she would like to push her time during item 4A-Council Liaison Update for Recreation Supervisor Johnson to discuss the Park Master Plan and the Mobile Unit update. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. February 18, 2025 PTRC Minutes MOTION: Committee Chair Dietz moved and Committee Member Olson seconded a motion to approve the meeting minutes as written. The motion carried unanimously among members present. 3. NEW BUSINESS A. Anne Hall/Tree Trust Anne Hall from Tree Trust was invited to speak to the Committee. She is an Arden Hills resident. She thinks the parks, trails and urban forests are one of the things that makes our community unique. She uses the parks and trails regularly, so she notices the invasive species and emerald ash Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 2 borer. She was concerned when she saw trees being removed. She started looking into tree sales. She contacted Shoreview to see if we could join their event. Shoreview declined but referred her to Tree Trust. She reached out to them to see what she needed to do to make a tree sale happen in Arden Hills. She asked if the Tree Trust could help find funding to have a pilot event, as there was nothing in the budget from the City for this type of program. Assuming the pilot event goes well, it is possible the City could budget to subsidize the event next year or try partnering with a business to sponsor the event on a continuing basis. Many employees benefit from the parks and trails so a commercial business sponsorship may be a possibility. Anne Hall said Tree Trust agreed to subsidize $5,000 for the tree sale event. This is a donation to our City’s residents. The event will have 50 trees available for purchase at a discount. They will provide a web page with a simple link to make a payment. The trees have been ordered. She is hoping to use the City’s website and social media to promote the event. The payment link will go live and trees will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. It will be limited to one tree per household but if they aren’t sold out, interested residents will be able to purchase a second tree. The cost is $45 per tree. These trees typically retail for $130-$160. Anne Hall said there will be a pickup event scheduled on June 7th from 1:00-3:00 pm. Tree Trust will have staff there available to help load the trees into vehicles. They say they can get a tree in any car. She said the current plan is to organize the pickup event at City Hall. She said the Tree Trust staff have been great to work with. Their organization has a business development arm that does outreach to companies and donors. She hasn’t talked to them yet, but they will be a good resource when planning the event next year. She said Committee Member Seemann will be at the event and she is looking for an additional 4-5 volunteers who can help with planting and care guidance. Anne Hall provided a list of tree types that will be available. Four of the types are Ash replacements in response to the Emerald Ash Borer. Residents will be able to select from Autumn Splendor Buckey, True North Kentucky Coffeetree, Hackberry, Swamp White Oak, White Pine and Serviceberry. She is very excited to be partnering with Tree Trust. She really hopes this event will be a success and continue on an annual basis. She said this event is for residents to purchase trees that they will plant in their own yard. However, Tree Trust also works with Cities to plant in public spaces. Council Liaison Rousseau asked what Anne Hall needs from City Council to move this forward for next year. Anne Hall said she is not sure exactly what is needed and would like some guidance on how to move such an event forward. She will try to track demand for folks who don’t get a tree this year. She will need guidance from the Committee on when to be discussing budget. Council Liaison Rousseau said Council typically starts the budget conversation in June. She will add a placeholder to have that conversation when we get closer. Anne Hall said she would love to see this event continue and expand. Chair Dietz thanked her for presenting. He is excited about this event. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 3 4. REPORT A. Council Liaison Update/Parks Master Plan Update Recreation Supervisor Johnson provided an update on the Parks Master Plan. He said the Council met on March 10th for a regular Work Session. Bolton and Menk proposed the plan and outlined what could be done within the $75,000 budget. There is a lot of information. It breaks down the work plans and how public engagement will be conducted. They will be taking an inventory of what we have and what needs to be improved. Recreation Supervisor Johnson noted the basic proposal came in at budget. There are some enhanced features. The Council raised the question why the marketing and outreach weren’t included with the base fee amount. Getting as much resident feedback as possible will be the biggest part of this project. He outlined the enhanced features in the proposal to include Enhanced Survey and Project Marketing, Interactive Community Map and Youth Engagement. Council wanted to move forward with the base plan and are leaning toward including the Enhanced Survey and Project Marketing. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said the PTRC’s role will be to get involved in those initial conversations, get a first look at the plan and some of the community feedback. Council Liaison Rousseau said the Planning Team will present the findings the from the existing conditions inventory and analysis to the PTRC and gather feedback on the findings. The Planning Team will develop meeting materials including agenda, content and meeting minutes. After the public engagement phase and implementation planning, there would be a second PTRC meeting presentation to present a draft of the recommendations and implementation plan strategies. During the final plan preparation and adoption Bolton and Menk will prepare a presentation reviewing the process, highlighting Master Plan findings and listing identified priorities for consideration. The PTRC will approve and recommend the City Council approve the Master Plan. Committee Member Hilding wondered what the budgeted amount includes. Council Liaison Rousseau said the $75,000 was just to create the Master Plan. It doesn’t include any implementation. It will take about a year to complete the plan. Then the different needs identified by the Master Plan will be budgeted for and completed based on the recommendations in the plan. This will be a blueprint for what the City needs. Council will use the plan to determine which projects to prioritize and how to find funding. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said he has been working with the City of Mounds View to start a Mobile Rec On The Go program. This would be a free program for kids ages 3-12. The program would rotate between parks in Arden Hills and Mounds View. The program will run 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday. The mobile unit would spend 1-1/2 hours at a park in the morning and then 1-1/2 hours at another park in the afternoon. Each child will have to register once, and they can attend the activities at the specified park for free. Children 3-5 will need to be accompanied by an adult. Staff will lead activities including arts and crafts, sports and other physical activities. Committee Member Olson asked if there was already a parks program at Hazelnut Park. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 4 Recreation Supervisor Johnson confirmed. That programming will continue. This is an additional offering. Committee Member Olson asked if there would be City Staff at each park. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said it will be staffed by Arden Hills and Mounds View employees. We have budgeted for two seasonal recreation assistants this year. This will allow us to give our regular activities and this program the attention they deserve. The Rec Assistants will help with the sports programs and scheduling activities. Council Liaison Rousseau said there can be some challenges with equity and a program like this allows all kids to participate, regardless of household income. She thinks this is a great opportunity for Arden Hills families. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said he is hoping to expand the program to include a couple of Saturdays in case some families have a barrier getting to the specified park during the week. He thinks there will be different themes and activities weekly. There may be some overlap with the same programming at different parks in a week, but it will be something new every week. Some kids don’t get that kind of structured play. Committee Member Johnson asked if this is only for summer. Recreation Supervisor Johnson confirmed. He said Mounds View has the truck and trailer so their investment is bigger. He said Staff will look for future grant opportunities that may allow Arden Hills to purchase a van. Committee Member Olson asked if there will be signs notifying residents of the program. Recreation Supervisor Johnson confirmed. There is a design for ground signs that include a QR code. The program will be promoted during other spring events to make parents and kids aware that it is happening. Committee Member Olson asked how the program is being funded. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said Staff wages and the general pot of money budgeted for Recreation programming. He said we don’t make a profit on many of our programs but there is room in the budget for a program like this. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Trail and Parks Projects Update Recreation Supervisor Johnson provided an update. There are several trail connections slated for 2026. Many of these are County or MNDOT projects that Staff are coordinating with and they have been funded either by budgeting, cost sharing or grants. More details will be provided as they are available. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 5 Recreation Supervisor Johnson said the Open House for the trail connection with Roseville at Lake Josephine will be held on May 1st from 6-7:30 pm at Autumn Grove Park in Roseville. Recreation Supervisor Johnson shared most of his information regarding the Park Master Plan but wanted to note that the contract will be brought to City Council on April 14th for approval. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said the bid opening for the Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park improvements were received on March 5th. The selected bid will be brought to City Council on April 14th for approval. The playground equipment that residents selected has been ordered. The bid will be awarded in April, after Council approval. Recreation Supervisor Johnson provided a draft of the Park Maintenance Plan for this summer. The plan includes a priority list. Committee Member Olson asked if any of these projects need volunteers. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said this is a list of projects. If someone reaches out to volunteer, we can show them the list. These are items that have been identified as tasks volunteers can do. Council Liaison Rousseau asked if there was a count on how many volunteers are working with the Great River Greening project. Recreation Supervisor Johnson did not know the number of volunteers or if there is a need to recruit more. He will find out and report back. Committee Member Hilding pointed out the information states Great River Greening is a contracted project. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said Floral Park was adopted by the Rotary. Staff is currently exploring options for a sign to recognize the Rotary has adopted the park. Discussion ensued regarding when newsletter issues come out and newsletter topics that could be submitted to support the PTRC events. Council Liaison Rousseau will provide a list of article topics with the months the PTRC thinks they should run. Discussion ensued regarding park and recreation part time positions and how Arden Hills compares with surrounding communities for pay. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said he is receiving applications already. He opened registration for some of the larger programs. He said the recreation software doesn’t offer an option to email past participants easily. Marketing can be an issue. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 6 Committee Member Olson said she is excited about all the new offerings from the recreation program this summer. Committee Member Seemann wanted to discuss page 7 of the maintenance plan. She is concerned about the way the trees are mulched along Highway 96. There shouldn't be any mulch within 6 inches of the trunk. Recreation Supervisor Johnson will make Public Works aware. Committee Member Seemann noted that on page 9 it talks about buckthorn and invasive species removals. She wonders if volunteers can develop a plan for Chatham Park for the follow up spraying and replanting. Chair Deitz agrees. He likes more visibility of what is happening at Floral Park with Great River Greening. It would be nice to learn what the plans are in advance to determine if volunteers are needed. Council Liaison Rousseau said there is a web page dedicated to this project and they post regular updates. Committee Member Seemann asked if there are signs indicating where the sledding hill is at Hazelnut Park. Her daughter wasn’t aware of where the designated sledding hill is because everyone uses the hill to the ice rink. Recreation Supervisor Johonson thought Public Works removed some debris from the bottom of the hill. Committee members thought having signage for the designated sledding hill would be helpful for residents. Chair Dietz noted there is a good sledding hill at Floral Park and that isn’t indicated in the park guide. Committee Member Olson asked if volunteers are needed for the egg hunt or Touch a Truck. Recreation Supervisor Johonson said he is set for the Touch a Truck event but he could use some volunteers for the Spring Egg Hunt. Committee Member Seemann asked if they would be collecting the empty eggs again. She thinks it’s a great idea to save money. She thought that could reduce the price a little for participants. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said the eggs aren’t the only considerations for event pricing. The cost of everything is going up. He thinks the price point is okay. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 7 Committee Member Seemann would like to see the cost at $5. They invite friends. She thought it was great to recycle the eggs, for less waste in general, but also parents tend to accumulate them and then end up tossing them or giving them away on a buy nothing site. B. Work Group Updates Chair Dietz stated Floral Park looks amazing after the buckthorn removal. The Rotary Club has adopted the park. He will be presenting in April regarding that work. He can forward his presentation to any members who are interested. Committee Member Olson said the Discover Your Park Passport program was included in the activity guide that was mailed to residents. She said the QR code brings you to the landing page. Bethel donated 100 water bottles. Committee Member Rogers was hoping to have a variety of prizes. It will be advertised that you can get a prize from a local business. The hope is that residents who complete the passport will have a few options to choose from. Committee Member Rogers is also working to secure some larger door prizes. Everyone will be entered to win the larger prizes. Committee Member Olson provided an update from Committee Member Jacobson regarding the Lindy’s Roundabout. She received a response from Ramsey County regarding weeding and cleaning up the roundabout. The County suggested that Arden Hills apply for a permit, at no charge, to do the work. The understanding is that Arden Hills would provide traffic control during the event. The work will consist of weeding the roundabout. The permit must be submitted by the City. There will be no fee for the permit, and we would just have to pick a date, most likely in June. Council Liaison Rousseau asked for confirmation that we need this permit to maintain the grass they planted and pull the weeds that have come in. She wondered about planting alternative plants in the future. Committee Member Seemann said all that is in there is really big weeds. She said after planting prairie plants you are supposed to mow it for a season. That didn’t happen. Council Liaison Rousseau asked if Recreation Supervisor Johson will touch base with Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen to secure the permits. She knows this will be ongoing. Chair Dietz thought the Passport program looks great. There was talk previously about having volunteers check the signs on a regular basis to make sure they aren’t damaged or missing. Committee Member Olson said Crepeau, Ingerson, Royal Hills, Sampson, South Point Parks still need volunteers. Discussion ensued regarding recruiting residents near those parks to volunteer. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 8 Committee Member Seemann said she and Committee Member Loosbrock have reached out to Boston Scientific to do some work in Cummings Park. They are hoping to establish a restoration plan for the area where the Ash trees were removed. Boston Scientific responded that they are interested in participating. They will be working with them in the coming weeks. Committee Member Johnson updated on the Ice Swim event in February. She thought there were 300-500 participants and spectators and there were about 75 volunteers. She said the weather was nice. The event went well. They got all the swims in and everyone was safe. She said the day events were great and the luminary event in the evening was well attended. There were over 700 luminaries on the lake. Council Liaison Rousseau said she had connected the event organizer with the Gateway Visitor Bureau. When she talked to the executive of that organization, and he didn’t know about the event. He said there is a regional grant for start-up activities. She hopes there may be some marketing opportunities. Committee Member Johnson said a lot of people where having a hard time envisioning what the event was. They were thinking Polar Plunge. It will be easier now to market it next time, having attended the event. The only negative she heard what the turf that was laid on the ice had the rubber bits that got on the ice. They were out there sweeping it up with brooms after the event. Council Liaison Rousseau told new Committee Member Hilding that the PTRC members serve on smaller subgroups. She asked if he was interested in a subgroup. Recreation Supervisor Johnson outlined the groups and positions where help is needed. Council Liaison Rousseau said conversations begin near the fourth quarter of the year. We discuss what projects are shutting down for the year, what do we want to start up for next year. The sub committees meet and have discussions then they bring updates back for the monthly meetings. Recreation Supervisor Johnson discussed the positions that are being added, to include the Park and Recreation Manager and the Park Lead from Public Works. The Park Lead will identify issues in the parks and trails and will oversee the seasonal staff who will address those issues. He will take more time on the obvious issues and rectify them correctly. There hasn’t been anyone dedicated to this before. Committee Member Olson said there was money donated from the Spring Lake Park that was to go to a fence at Freeway Park. She asked if there is an update. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said he thinks that has been approved. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 9 Council Liaison Rousseau said that is her understanding. There was conversation on cost and installation opportunities. It was approved. Committee Member Olson said the last update she remembers is they were still going back and forth on if it would be an actual fence or if it would be some kind of barrier created through planting. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said he will follow up with Public Works and see if a final plan has been made. Committee Member Hilding said he would be happy to serve on whatever subcommittee needs help. Recreation Supervisor Johnson added that one summer PTRC meeting, usually in June, is held at one of the parks. He will pick a few parks and the committee will look at the parks and discuss them. Committee Member Olson thought the Crepeau/Ingerson side of the City would be good. No Committee Members live close to there and don’t get over there much. Council Liaison Rousseau thought we were looking to check out Arden Manor. Committee Member Seemann asked if there is a date for the volunteer picnic. Recreation Supervisor Johnson thinks that is in July. All the committee members will be there. Discussion ensued regarding interviews for new PTRC Members. Committee Member Hilding said he lives near Hazelnut. He has noticed motorized use on the trails. He wondered if there was any enforcement there. He didn’t know what the solution is. Maybe a barrier pole at the trail entrances or notifying Ramsey County Sheriff. He isn’t sure what the PTRC’s role would be in that, but he wanted to point it out. He is worried there could be a collision. Committee Member Olson thought the PTRC’s role could be advocating for the stoppers. Chair Dietz believes there are rules in place that determine the wattage that is allowed on the trails. Signs could be an option. Discussion ensued regarding dumping lawn clippings into the urban forest areas and who was responsible for enforcement. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – March 18, 2025 Page 10 Council Liaison Rousseau suggested a complaint can be filed through the website. She also said there is a newsletter article in the June issue that will remind residents not to dump yard clippings onto City land. 6. NEXT MEETING A. Tuesday, April 15th, 2025 ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Committee Member Dietz moved and Committee Member Olson seconded a motion to adjourn at 7:51 pm. The motion carried unanimously among members present.