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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-15-25 - PTRC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2025, 6:30 PM ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL MEETING TO ORDER Committee Chair Dan Dietz called the April 15, 2025 meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dan Dietz, Eva Acosta, Kerri Seemann, Derek Hilding, Sarah Julius, Nikhath Nazir Ahmed, Nancy Jacobson, Lacy Loosbrock, Amelia Rogers and Kate Olson OTHERS PRESENT: Recreation Supervisor Matt Johnson and Council Liaison Emily Rousseau ABSENT:. Liz Johnson New Committee Members Sarah “SJ” Julius and Nikhath Nazir Ahmed introduced themselves and took the New Member Oath. 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Committee Member Jacobson moved, and Committee Member Olson seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda. The motion carried unanimously among members present. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. March 18, 2025 PTRC Minutes MOTION: Committee Member Olson moved and Committee Member Hilding seconded a motion to approve the meeting minutes as written. The motion carried unanimously among members present. 3. NEW BUSINESS A. Park Master Plan Presentation Bryce Shearen of Bolton and Menk introduced himself and presented the components included in the Park Master Plan Proposal. A Park Master Plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the long term vision of a community’s Parks and Recreation facilities, goals, strategies and priorities for development, management and maintenance. Community input is a key part of this process. This helps ensure the plan will reflect the needs of residents and future generations. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 2 Committee Member Loosbrock noted that these plans should be updated every 10 years. She asked when the last update happened in Arden Hills. Bryce Shearen said the current plan was updated in 2002. There is no statute that requires it to be updated every 10 years. Bryce Shearen said they gather information regarding demographics and trends. They get PTRC input and use national metrics, City Council, Staff, the public and steering committee input. All of that information is synthesized into these plan recommendations and priorities. The goal is to have a plan that will help the City plan and prepare for Capital Improvement Plans (CIP) park projects. It will serve as a guiding document. It will look at upcoming park and trail improvement projects. The plan can potentially be used as a tool for funding sources. When you apply for grants, sometimes they ask if there has been community engagement. They ask for proof that the City has taken the time to hear what the residents want. This is the document that outlines what the community wants. When this process is complete, the plan can plug into the 2050 Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Jacobson asked what the definition of a CIP is. Bryce Shearen said CIP stands for Capital Improvement Plan. All major park projects will be programmed through the Capital Improvement Plan. This Master Park Plan will help guide that process. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said the City has a 5-year CIP. Bryce Shearen said this process starts with information gathering. This includes getting an inventory of what we have, getting all of the assets, getting all the program locations, providers and a level of service comparison. The Community Profile will tell us what the make-up of Arden Hills is today and what the projected make-up is for the future. They will look at local and national trends. They will look at National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) metrics and trends analysis. The biggest one is the community and public engagement. That will have a City- wide survey, pop up meetings and open house. They start with that information gathering. Bryce Shearen said once they have gathered the information, the process moves into the Findings and Visions. They will talk to Staff, stakeholders, the steering committee, the PTRC, the City Council. They ask what needs are missing. That’s not always a community center or something big. Sometimes it’s just that we want to maintain what we have and make it better. They will look for themes and analysis that they are hearing. They will talk about opportunities and limitations. Funding is always a limitation. Bryce Shearen said the next phase is draft recommendations. They will summarize their findings and make recommendations. They will outline what it will cost in today’s dollars and place an inflationary value on that. That will help build out that CIP. Then they will make revisions to the draft that will lead to the final plan. Bryce Shearen said the final plan will be reviewed by Staff, public, PTRC, steering committee and City Council. The ultimate goal is to have the PTRC make a recommendation to the City Council that they adopt the Master Park Plan. This guiding document will help with what the PTRC is doing. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 3 Bryce Shearen shared the anticipated timeline. He said this process will take about a year. A big part of this process is utilizing the summer months for public engagement. That’s when residents are out in the parks and thinking about them. They will use pop-up events in conjunction with other activities. Bryce Shearen outlined what the PTRC involvement will be. He said Committee Members will be asked to promote the process to their neighbors, friends and networks. There is opportunity to be a part of the pop-up events. There will be tools and support available for the PTRC Members to help. PTRC will be the champion for this effort. Community engagement is all about getting people to share what they would like to see. There will be a community-wide survey. Pop-ups are being planned in conjunction with other community events. There are graphics that will be used on the trail system. These graphics will have a QR code that will bring residents to the survey on the project website. That will raise awareness that the City is engaging in this process but it also lets residents know we want to hear their feedback. Yard signs are another tool that will be placed in public spaces, sharing that same message. During the pop-up events, Bolton and Menk will be there, but PTRC are welcome. Sometimes when other residents see their neighbor there, they will be more likely to engage. Bryce Shearen said, when it comes to parks, residents want everything. Residents want big playgrounds, open space, fields for the associations and splash pads. Of course we want that. This process helps determine what we actually need. They plan on having a Project Advisory Committee. There will also be a Steering Committee, which will be a more select group of people to help drive this process. The hope is the Steering Committee will have two Council Members, two PTRC members and two or three Staff members. That committee will have some dedicated meetings throughout the process. This time commitment will be one to two hours a month for the meetings. There may be more if you talk to your neighbors and people you meet on the trails. The Steering Committee will help form how the process works and make sure everyone is on the same page. They will share progress with the PTRC and ultimately with City Council. Committee Member Julius said she’s hearing that there will be a lot of methods to generate feedback. She wonders how that information will be prioritized. Who will have the final say if we get a water feature or a new slide? Bryce Shearen said ultimately PTRC will have final say on what is recommended for Council to approve. They will show who is giving the information. Sometimes organizations or certain groups try to stack the deck for a certain amenity. One of the questions is whether they are a resident or are they with an association. One of the tools of the survey is to look at IP addresses. There isn’t really one specific tool, but there is a set of tools to vet the information collected during this process. Bryce Shearen said next steps would be to identify two PTRC Members that would like to serve on the Steering Committee. We are moving into May. They are hoping to set up a kick-off meeting in the next couple of weeks. We need to start planning for the engagement events. Committee Member Olson asked if the committee meetings will be during the day. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 4 Bryce Shearen said that is to be determined. We try to respect everyone’s time. He’s guessing it will be later in the afternoon, or if maybe a Teams meeting can be done over a lunch hour. They understand that everyone can’t necessarily make it to every meeting but they will figure out the best time that works for the majority while still being mindful of Staff’s time. Committee Member Olson said she will serve on the committee. Council Liaison Rousseau asked if this conversation happened at the Council meeting. Bryce Shearen said the two Councilmember to serve on the Steering Committee haven’t been selected yet. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen anticipates Staff will bring that back to a Work Session for discussion. It will be a quick discussion to choose those members of the committee, and the consultant doesn’t need to be present for that. Committee Member Ahmed volunteered to serve on the Steering Committee. Bryce Shearen said it will be a fun process. It won’t entail a ton of work. It will be learning and understanding the process and sharing that message. The Steering Committee will be the champions for this process and if other PTRC Members have questions, they bring them to the Steering Committee Members first. Bolton and Menk will take on the lion’s share of the work. Committee Member Jacobson said there were alternative tasks in the proposal. She asked if the Council made any decisions. Bryce Shearen said Council got to scope out how they wanted this plan to be done. The initial proposal presented to Council had three alternative tasks. Council opted to include, what is now Task 2.3, Enhanced Survey and Project Marketing, into the plan. That was originally an Alternative Task. The proposal came in right at budget. Council thought the other two alternative tasks were important, for budget reasons they selected to include the survey and marketing task. He doesn’t believe those tasks will be a part of this process, but they left them in there, as options if the City so chooses. Not approving those tasks won’t hinder the process. Committee Member Hilding asked if the community survey will include a mailing or is it just the digital link. He thinks his elderly neighbor may access information differently than he does. Bryce Shearen said it is an online survey. It will be easy enough that if the City wants, it can be printed and handed out to residents who aren’t as comfortable using technology so those residents’ information can still be collected. The survey questions haven’t been developed yet. That will come from the Steering Committee. He will provide a list of questions and the committee can help tailor some of those questions. We want to make sure the questions make sense for Arden Hills. Committee Member Hilding asked if the Arden Hills plan will factor in what is already available in surrounding communities. Bryce Shearen said they will take existing amenities in neighboring cities into consideration. It can be a good opportunity to partner with neighboring cities. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 5 Committee Member Jacobson asked if Arden Hills has a recreation partnership with any of the surrounding communities. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said we have some partnership with Roseville, Mounds View, New Brighton and Shoreview. We team up with them, especially, with youth sports. There aren’t necessarily discounts. If you sign up for an event through the Arden Hills website for an activity in Mounds View it will be a cheaper rate. If you sign up through Mounds View’s website, you may have to pay the non-resident rate. Committee Member Rogers said sometimes residents don’t know that. That should be part of the messaging. Committee Member Julius commented that budget is a huge limitation. She likes how they are trying to get the community thinking in terms of tradeoffs. She agrees leaving it open ended will garner responses that everyone wants everything. She thinks the community is ready to respond. Framing it in a way so residents can understand the data is important. Bryce Shearen agreed it is important that people see the real costs. Committee Member Jacobson agrees it is important to balance the cost of things against what can be done. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said having the Master Park Plan will eliminate the guessing game. Committee Member Rogers said it’s so important to have a vision. We want to be known as a welcoming City. Right now our infrastructure doesn’t allow that because there is so little parking at our parks. We need to vocalize that and change our course, if we want it to be a welcoming place. She wondered if this process would look for those types of deficiencies. Bryce Shearen shared a story about another community that had environmental sustainability in their plan. After some invasive plants were cleared, some in the community wanted to take that open land and make a soccer field. The plan identified that the community wanted environmental sustainability. Trees were planted. They were able to tie it back to a document that everyone has agreed upon. Committee Member Julius asked if we have a “north star” community. Is there a community that we want to be more like, who is similar to us in terms of size and structure? Bryce Shearen said that will be a question to ask to community. Committee Member Juilus asked if another community has reusable plans, it wouldn’t make sense to reinvent the process. Bryce Shearen said they do pull ideas from similar cities and compile what makes sense. Committee Member Rogers said Arden Hills is looking ahead at what could potentially be done. These are typically 10-year plans. How will that incorporate the open developable land. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 6 Council Liaison Rousseau said TCAAP is not included in the scope of this Park Master Plan. That will come in as a whole different project. Bryce Shearen said the Master Plan will include some general information acknowledging that development but that will be separate from this process. 4. REPORT A. Council Liaison Update Council Liaison Rousseau shared a project from the Chippewa Middle School students called Letter to a Legislator. The letter to her stated that Cummings Park needs to be remodeled to make it fun for all ages, instead of ages under 7. The letter said they used to love to go to that park and use the playground equipment. A remodel made it more child friendly and completely took out the fun of the playground for older kids. They are requesting that the City Council budget accordingly to remodel and rebuild it to make the playground fun for all ages. She thought there could be a ninja course or something geared toward older kids. Council Liaison Rousseau said she received information from a resident that on Tuesday, May 30th from 1:30-3:30pm at Johannah Shores they are hosting its first inaugural Community Affair. The resident recommended that PTRC consider hosting a booth. It’s free and may be an opportunity to recruit for Adopt-A-Spot. Council Liaison Rousseau said Touch A Truck is on the same day as Island Lake Elementary School’s Carnival. Council Liaison Rousseau thanked the new members for joining the committee. She also thanked Committee Member Jacobson who just joined the Planning Commission, as well, while still serving on the PTRC. Council Liaison Rousseau said the Council approved a resolution supporting Mow Less May. The Committee and Commission Code of Conduct was approved, as well. She updated that Ramsey County approved a sales agreement with Ryan Companies to purchase the 40-acre Outlot A in Rice Creek Commons. They are anticipating a 157,000 sq.ft. advanced technology project for ten of the acres. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Trail and Parks Projects Update Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said there hasn’t been much change since the last meeting. He updated that Arden Hills is coordinating with the City of Roseville and Ramsey County to install a trail on Hamline Avenue at the southern border of the City. There is a segment of trail that would connect our existing trail on Hamline Avenue that extends to Lake Josephine Road in Roseville. There is just a short segment of trail. There are water main improvements we are doing with Roseville and Ramsey County is redoing the roadway so it was Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 7 ideal timing to include installing a trail. There will be an Open House at Autumn Grove Park on May 1st from 6-7pm. Committee Member Hilding asked if it will cross Highway 51. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it won’t cross Highway 51. We have a trail just east of there so this will connect to our system. Committee Member Jacobson asked where it goes. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it continues down Hamline until the Lydia intersection that goes east on the south side of Lake Josephine. That’s where Roseville will continue that trail that leads to Lexington. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said MnDOT is planning on resurfacing Highway 51 in 2026. We are coordinating with MnDOT and Roseville to get that trail connection. He received plans from MnDOT that shows their plans to include a trail segment there. Arden Hills and Roseville are working to try to make that a true trail connection, rather than having the path run through the neighborhood and connect back to Glen Hill and then go up to Old Snelling. MnDOT is reviewing that. Committee Member Rogers said it would be nice to see the maps show the full connection with Roseville. She thinks there is a lot of confusion because the maps cut off at the Arden Hills borders. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said that is good feedback. We have a consultant that has GIS specialists so we can hopefully make better maps. Committee Member Rogers requested a map that shows existing trails only and doesn’t have the proposed future trails on it. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said the 2025 Parks Improvement Project was approved by Council. He is working with the contractor to set up a pre-construction meeting to determine the schedule. This includes Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park. Committee Member Olson asked if the City took back Lindy’s Park yet. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said we are waiting for the grass to be established. That contract is open to ensure the contractor puts it back, before we accept it. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said that the Spring Lake Park Lions Club donated $15,000 to Arden Hills. Per State Statute we can use those funds for recreational facilities or programs. The Council had decided to use that donation for a chain link fence at Freeway Park to create a safe barrier between the park and the on ramp to Highway 51. MnDOT Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 8 has a construction project and we requested if they could include the feature in their plans. They agreed. MnDOT will install a chain link fence along their right of way, which is the entire length of that on ramp, as part of their project. There will be no cost to the City. The $15,000 that was earmarked for that fence, is available to use for another project. He provided some options on how the money could be spent. He said it doesn’t have to be one of the items on the list. He is asking PTRC to discuss and make a recommendation to City Council on how to spend the funds. Committee Member Rogers said we talked a lot about the ice rink boards. She wondered if that is an option for these funds. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said to fully replace those boards, it would be over $100,000. The Public Works Maintenance Plan includes estimating what it would cost for a full replacement. He is trying to get the estimating done before budgeting discussions start so Council can decide if it will be included in the CIP or at least have the need included in the Parks Master Plan. Committee Member Rogers said there is a gravel area next to the ice rink. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said the plan is to do spot repairs with the boards, to get by. There are some options that can be budgeted for. We need to decide if it’s a full reconstruction. Is it rehab? Is it expanding? Is it adding concrete? This $15,000 won’t touch that. Committee Member Olson said residents have reached out regarding push light upgrades. She wondered if there is one park that gets more requests than others. Maybe Perry Park. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said it will be more expensive to place a button in a more accessible spot vs. right next to the fuse box. Committee Member Olson said she is hesitant to spend too much on an ice rink. The last several years have had a minimal amount of days of ice use. She wouldn’t want to put a whole lot of funding towards something that will not be used often. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said the push button light upgrade was an idea that came from Council. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen confirmed. Committee Member Rogers said she sees people skating there anytime there is an opportunity. Committee Member Hilding asked if the point is to have the lights on for a lesser amount of time. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 9 Recreation Supervisor Johnson said it makes it easier for everyone to skate after the lights have timed off for the evening. Discussion ensued regarding what type of lights are at the parks now and how this type of technology can be used. Committee Member Ahmed clarified that this is for park use, not prevention of trespassing or that type of thing. Recreation Supervisor Johnson confirmed. He said at Cummings have push button lights on the tennis courts. The idea is that the lights will be on when in use. Council Liaison Rousseau asked if Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen remembers more of the conversation from June of 2024. There were a lot of pieces, and this one doesn’t stand out to her. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he listened to that meeting earlier in the day. Mayor Grant brought it up and it was supported by Councilmember Monson. The conversation quickly turned to installing the fence at Freeway. Committee Member Rogers remembers talking about making something pretty. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said Council Liaison Rousseau brought up the community gardens during the June 2024 discussion. There was mixed feedback in that item. There was discussion of beautification along that side of the park. Committee Member Olson remembers discussion about reinstalling tennis practice boards at Cummings. There was also talk about Gaga Ball Pits. She doesn’t know which parks have them but she knows Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park don’t have them and aren’t scheduled to get them. Committee Member Julius commented on the letter Council Liaison Rousseau received. She knows $15,000 isn’t going to solve the problem, but she wondered if this is a unique opportunity to bring the community into the discussion. Ask the youth what they want. She wonders if there is a small solution in reaction to some feedback that we have already heard? She thinks people will appreciate the fence. Residents will select out of spaces where they don’t feel safe. Is there something small we could add to that park that is age appropriate for older kids? Committee Member Rogers said the recall is based on feedback from other people, not necessarily ideas from PTRC. Addressing the letter regarding having something for older kids at Cummings would be a great idea. This is just $15,000. We all know how expensive playground equipment is. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 10 Committee Member Julius said community builds are popular in other communities. There are ways to offset some of the costs. She thinks people will step up, if asked. Council Liaison Rousseau said Boston Scientific built a dog park for Arden Hills. Committee Member Julius wondered if they would build a teen appropriate feature. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said that is an option that is being looked at. He shared that Council approved the hiring of the Parks and Recreation Manager. She will begin on May 5th. The option of coordinating community builds will be more feasible when she is here to guide and coordinate those efforts. Chair Dietz asked when Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen would like feedback on this item. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said sooner is better than later. If the PTRC would like to digest this and come back at the next meeting to make a recommendation, that would be okay. Chair Dietz agreed. He proposed that everyone think about it and put it on the agenda for the next meeting. Committee Member Olson asked if there were any resources where committee members could research options including the cost. Recreation Supervisor Johnson says that is difficult because they don’t tell you the price. It’s not like online shopping where you add to cart. Typically the vendor will provide a quote based on what you request. You may be able to get a general idea by searching online, but specific feature pricing from a vendor, probably won’t be available. Committee Member Ahmed said she is in the lighting business. She would be willing to get a price estimate on the time control lights. She has a meeting with her team this week and she will ask. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen is not opposed to that. Council Liaison Rousseau said there have been conversations that PTRC needs additional funding. There have been considerations for an Earth Day event, the Tree Trust that was presented at a previous meeting and seeds or other things. How would PTRC go about requesting that funds be budgeted for these types of events? When would that information need to be provided? Who would receive the request? Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said PTRC should move to make a recommendation for the specific activities, tasks or events. It would be helpful if there is an Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 11 attached recommended budget. The Parks and Recreation Manager will be the person to bring that recommendation to a Council Work Session and request it be included in budget discussions. He thinks the information should be available by June, at the latest. The second meeting in June is usually when the initial CIP discussion happens. Council Liaison Rousseau asked if the May meeting would be appropriate to have that discussion about what funding the PTRC is looking for next year to support these projects. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen confirmed. It should also be in the PTRC Work Plan. Council Liaison Rousseau said that would be a topic to have on the agenda for the next PTRC meeting. Committee Member Rogers said the PTRC struggles because we don’t know if Council will give us a budget of $0, like this year. We don’t know how to brainstorm on this topic. We have no idea how big we can dream. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it will benefit PTRC to research and plan for specific projects, rather than listing everything on the dream list. If you can figure out what the actual cost will be to implement something and have a justification along with the recommendation, it will be more favorable. B. Work Group Updates Chair Dietz shared that he met with the Rotary Club. They have adopted Floral Park. They are eager to start working with the City on this project. There will be an Orientation Day on May 17th at 10:00 am. PTRC are invited to attend. They are going to look at the park and get a feel for the space. They are enthusiastic about this opportunity and they want us to let them know what tasks we want them to work on. Committee Member Olson asked if the Rotary Club will be at the park monthly. Chair Dietz said they will set up a regular schedule. There are 20-30 people ready to volunteer. He will share the schedule when it is established. Chair Dietz shared that he attended the funeral service for Dr. Bob Mullin on Friday. He learned that Bob Mullin was involved in the development of the Northern Lights Azalea. He met the new Horticulture Director from the University and we are going to try to get some of those Northern Lights Azaleas for Floral Park. Chair Dietz is proposing that we dedicate the gardens at Floral Park to Dr. Bob Mullin and name them Mullin Gardens. MOTION: Committee Chair Dietz moved and Committee Member Jacobson seconded a motion to recommend the City Council dedicate the gardens at Floral Park in memory of Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 12 Dr. Bob Mullin and name them Mullin Gardens. The motion carried unanimously among members present. Discussion ensued about the location and size of several parks in the City. Committee Member Olson explained the Passport To Summer program for the new members. A letter will be placed somewhere in each of the parks and participants will visit each park and find the letter. Once they have collected all the letters, they will unscramble them to make a phrase. They can bring their completed passport to City Hall to collect a prize. Currently we have 100 water bottles that were donated by Bethel and 10 Anita plants from Committee Member Seemann. Committee Member Rogers is working to incorporate a Grand Prize. There are a couple of businesses she has connected with and she is working on a couple more. She is working with the Economic Development Committee (EDC) and they are excited to partner with the PTRC on this to get additional prizes. Committee Member Olson said PTRC Members are being asked to volunteer to frequently check the letters to make sure they haven’t been damaged or removed. She is asking PTRC Members to adopt a park. They will decide where to put the letter and commit to ensuring the letters are there. The letters will be laminated with some holes punched in them. They can be secured with zip ties to a pole or bench. The letters shouldn’t be impossible to find but they should be a little challenging. It should not be placed on playground equipment. The program begins June 9th so the letters should be placed the weekend before. The program runs through August 15th. Discussion ensued regarding which PTRC Members will volunteer to place and maintain letters at which park. Committee Member Rogers said the first 100 people will get the prize. Anyone who turns it in, even after prizes are gone, will be entered into the drawing for the Grand Prize. Committee Member Ahmed asked if there were any drawings or plans for the lighting at the parks. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he doesn’t have any schematics. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said getting quotes was difficult, to say the least. The lighting isn’t designed appropriately. Some of the lights have one breaker that controls one light bulb on a post. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it will probably take a site visit to understand what’s there. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – April 15, 2025 Page 13 Committee Member Ahmed will take a site visit and take photos. Committee Member Jacobson said the neighborhood and PTRC are concerned about how the roundabout looks at Lindy’s. It was planted with tall grass prairie seed two seasons ago. It is a Ramsey County owned roundabout. They were supposed to mow it annually but they didn’t mow it last year. It has tall weeds. PTRC has been talking with Ramsey County Engineering about cleaning it up. Ramsey County said Public Works could apply for a permit to work on it but Arden Hills would have to provide traffic control while volunteers are working. Arden Hills doesn’t have the type of traffic control that Ramsey County deems acceptable. The thought was that we do it on our own by running across the road and work. We knew that wasn’t the right path. A request was made for Ramsey County to mow as soon as possible. Then we will try to partner with them to have volunteers available when they do that maintenance. She has not heard back from the County on the mowing or a partnership, yet. It’s been tricky to work with them. Council Liaison Rousseau suggested reaching out to our County Commissioner. 6. NEXT MEETING A. Tuesday, May 20th, 2025 ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Chair Dietz moved and Committee Member ________ seconded a motion to adjourn at 8:00 pm. The motion carried unanimously among members present.