Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-17-26 - PTRC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 6:30 PM ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL MEETING TO ORDER Committee Chair SJ Julius called the February 17, 2026, meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: SJ Julius, Dan Dietz, Ted Chresand, Lacy Loosbrock, Derek Hilding, Nikhath Nazir Ahmed, Liz Johnson and Kate Olson OTHERS PRESENT: Parks and Recreation Manager Jess Skalicky and Council Liaison Emily Rousseau ABSENT:. None 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Discussion about an alternate meeting date in March, due to spring break, was added to the agenda. MOTION: Committee Member Olson moved and Committee Member Deitz seconded a motion to move the March 17 meeting to Tuesday March 24, 2026. The motion carried unanimously among members present. MOTION: Committee Member Olson moved and Committee Member Deitz seconded a motion to approve the agenda, as amended. The motion carried unanimously among members present. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. January 20, 2026 PTRC Minutes MOTION: Committee Member Olson moved and Committee Member Deitz seconded a motion to approve the meeting minutes, as written. The motion carried unanimously among members present. 3. REPORT A. Council Liaison Update Council Liaison Rousseau said City Council held a special council work session on January 31 where we talked about immigration enforcement. There is a resources page on the City website. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – February 17, 2026 Page 2 She encouraged Committee Members to share the information with anyone who may be in need. She said Ralph Reeder is a key player for food resources. B. Parks and Recreation Report Parks and Recreation Supervisor Skalicky provided the draft of the spring/summer activity guide. She has been working with Staff to update the pricing. Parks and Recreation Supervisor Skalicky said the City of Mounds View and the City of Arden Hills is going to hire one coordinator for the Rec on the Go program. Last year there were three coordinators. This year we have implemented more efficient processes and will only have the one coordinator for both cities. Parks and Recreation Supervisor Skalicky shared the flyers that were created for the 75th Anniversary. She said the car show is free and anyone can enter any car. She said the center of the activity guide will have the flyer, and an advertisement for the car show and the penny carnival on the other side. C. Trails and Parks Projects Update Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky provided the memo from Assistant Public Works Director Miller. Generally, the items in bold are new. However, there is nothing new since the last update. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said she attended the Roseville meeting regarding the Hamline Trail. It is a project that is happening this summer. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Park System Plan Draft Anna Springer with Bolton and Menk has been working with Staff and the Steering Committee on this project. The goal is to present the plan today and open the discussion for questions and comments. The final plan will be brought back to the next PTRC meeting where committee members will be asked to recommend forwarding to Council for their consideration and approval. Ms. Springer said the plan is organized into three chapters and has a full appendix. The first chapter outlines existing conditions. The second chapter is the needs analysis. This lays out what they heard from the community during the public engagement events, about what they want to see in the parks. The third chapter is the action plan. It has a section for each park that breaks down what is in the park and replacement timelines. There is also a section for trail connectivity improvements and the 10-year CIP with some ongoing initiatives. The appendix contains meeting summaries and the raw data collected from the online survey. Ms. Springer said the introduction chapter lays out the project schedule and reviews the meetings that were held with the Steering Committee and during the public engagement events. The table in the existing conditions chapter is helpful by laying out each park and all of the facilities offered at each. It’s a good snapshot of everything in the system. Part of their analysis was to look at distribution of different elements. There is a map that shows sports courts and playgrounds. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – February 17, 2026 Page 3 Ms. Springer said one key part of the needs analysis is the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) agency benchmarks. The NRPA pulls data from across the country and breaks it down into categories, by all agencies (city parks departments) and also by agencies that have populations of communities that have less than 20,000. They made key takeaways and notes for those benchmarks. They also look at the outdoor facility service standards to determine if a community has what they need. There is a gap analysis for parks. They determined that all residents have an Arden Hills park within a 10-15 minute walk. That is outstanding park access for the community. They summarized the engagement touchpoints that they heard at each of the public engagement events. They confirmed that trails are important. A lot of residents want to see a nature playground and water features. Ms. Springer said the action plan outlines the assets in each park, what condition they are in, a replacement timeline and potential replacement cost. These costs are estimated and may not include engineering or a wide range of finishes. That can affect the final cost. Ms. Springer said the trails and connectivity improvements are in one table that highlights specific projects and feedback from the community. Ms. Springer said they refined all of the improvements with Staff, trying to spread out the recommend improvement dollars. She said there is a list of ongoing initiatives that they heard from the community that aren’t related specifically to park upkeep and maintenance. Some examples are a splash pad and single track mountain bike trails. Those initiatives are not included with hard recommendations. They may be included in future park developments, potentially with park dedication funds. It puts these initiatives on the radar for Staff to look for opportunities to consider in the near future. Ms. Springer said it wraps up with funding strategies, including grants and funding mechanisms. Council Liaison Rousseau asked how PTRC members can affect the final document, if they identify a gap or opportunity at a specific park. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the next step, after approving the Park System Plan, will be to prioritize specific parks to have their own mini park plan to make decisions on the enhancements or features that would work well there. They will start with Royal Hills Park. It will include the larger vision of what this individual park will be, based on community needs. Ms. Springer said there is a section that outlines the parks that they think should be addressed first. This plan is a snapshot in time, right now but is designed to be a living document that is updated, as needed. Chair Julius said it sounds like the current plan is a comment on existing assets. How do the conversations had about what the community wants, show up in this document? We don’t want to be starting the conversation all over. Ms. Springer said the priority was to maintain what exists and then use the planning process for individual parks to decide what should go where. Chair Julius asked if the mapping of proximity to parks included any demographic information. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – February 17, 2026 Page 4 Ms. Springer said that was not part of this process. You can get census level data, that just wasn’t part of this scope. Committee Member Hilding asked who will be responsible for implementing the plan once it’s finalized. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said this will be extremely helpful for parks and recreation and specifically helpful for Staff in planning the CIP for the next 10-years. Public Works, and Parks and Recreation under that, will own this document and make sure the upkeep, maintenance and future planning all align. The Park System Plan has recognized a lot of things that will need to be replaced in the next few years. Even if they are a few years out, we earmark money for those improvements knowing we don’t have a specific plan right now. She will own this document, moving forward. Chair Julius added it will be a part of the PTRC Work Plan. Reviewing the future year Park CIP is one of the core elements in our work plan. Discussion ensued that one of the park photos is actually on Roseville’s land and that the cover photo will be changed for the final version. B. 2026 Public Works Maintenance Plan Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said Public Works Superintendent Frid created this maintenance plan and is seeking feedback from Staff. She has provided the parks portion for today’s discussion. This is the first draft. She doesn’t anticipate there will be very many big changes to this. The purpose of presenting it to PTRC is to look at the plan, using their specialized knowledge and identify projects that should be done or possibly noticing projects that shouldn’t be done. For example, including an invasive species of trees to be planted. Committee Member Olson would like to see a trash/recycling receptacle at Lindy’s Park. Chair Julius said the document outlines that Floral Park’s softball field isn’t going to be striped. The Parks Plan talks about decommissioning it. She was curious if that is happening. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said that line needs to be crossed out. She noted drainage in the Floral Park baseball field area need to be dealt with, whether there’s a field there, or not. That area hasn’t been used as a ball field in a long time because of the drainage issues. She told committee members to take it home and digest the information then email her any comments. The plan won’t be finalized for another week or so. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. 2026 PTRC Work Plan Discussion Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky thought the group can discuss which subcommittees should continue to be on the list, if any should be removed and if any should be added. Chair Julius said in looking at the draft annual work plan, the core elements will happen. Any projects added are optional. If we sign up for a project, it will be included under the committees. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – February 17, 2026 Page 5 A project should not exist unless there is a committee member that will hold it down. We want to have actionable language outlining the steps we will take. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky suggested the language for the trails group is “The trails group partners with the City and local municipal partners on Arden Hills trail planning. The trails group focuses on long term trail visioning and future trail improvements, providing input well before projects enter planning or design. This work is intended to inform projects expected to begin planning three or more years in advance. It does not apply to active or approved projects.” She thinks the trail group should be meeting about projects years in advance so their voice can be heard. By that process, people may understand the intricate timing of these projects and learn why you can’t just make a change to the approved plan, even if it looks like no big deal on the surface. Chair Julius asked how PTRC can be proactive so intentional discussion happens in advance and not as a reaction. Council Liaison Rousseau said Council has had some communication around this. There are differing thoughts. She would love to bond for all of the trails but she knows that would harm a lot of people in our community. They are trying to find a balance. Prioritizing Lake Johannah and Old Highway 10 is the focus right now. There may be something in the queue like with the Snelling project where there’s an opportunity to get a financial advantage by partnering with MnDOT or the County. She said maybe the trails group can touch base with Council at a work session. Chair Julius said she thinks a touch-base with Council would make this more tangible. Council Liaison Rousseau said it would be good for PTRC to hear what the other four Councilmembers’ perspectives are. They may feel different about bonding. Committee Member Johnson appreciates the language for the work plan. That allows the group to have an idea of how they can be productive. We don’t want to propose things that just aren’t possible. We want to focus on, and have input on, what is possible. She said it will be good to have someone looking for opportunities to work with the county or another city on a common project. There are so many entities involved that things get missed. It will be good to provide input on trails and connections before the planning stage. That allows us to point out opportunities that the designers, who have one certain goal in mind, might have missed because that’s not the main focus of their project. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky thinks it’s a good idea to present at a work session. It makes it more solid. In addition to that, she still suggests the group meet a few times a year to make sure the PTRC voices are heard. Committee Member Johnson said it’s about education and connecting dots so everyone is on the same page. Council Liaison Rousseau said PTRC members can come to a work session with Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky and share the different plans they have. Then the trails group could talk for a few minutes about what they are working on. Committee Member Johnson asked if language outlining that process should be included as a part of the PTRC Work Plan. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – February 17, 2026 Page 6 Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky confirmed she would add that into the plan. She said Chair Julius suggested another goal for this year could be a Love Your Parks Day. Chair Julius said she sent a draft of potential language. She thinks the specificity of the language in the work plan will be important. She was hoping to discuss that and approve the goal be added to the work plan. This would be an event to clean up and beautify the parks. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the draft language reads “Coordinate a single day in the beginning of the summer for a City-wide volunteer-led park clean up day at all Arden Hills park locations. We would invite community members to show up to help clean up trash, remove weeds/buckthorn and any other activities that can help make our parks better as we prepare for the busy summer months.” She thinks it makes sense to say we for sure want to have one event and leave it open to having another one later in the year. Committee Member Hilding remembers discussion about Earth Day but couldn’t remember if we should tie into or avoid Earth Day. Chair Julius recalls the discussion being that Earth Day happens so early in the year. The parks may still be covered in ice and snow or they could be really muddy. Is it better to do it at the beginning of the summer or towards the end after the parks are used? She envisions hyper localized networks. The park that residents care the most about are probably the one they live closest to. Committee Member Deitz said we wouldn’t want a lot of foot traffic in the park until the grass is dry. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said we don’t have to have a specific date on the work plan. She will add the language to the plan. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the subcommittee for volunteer coordination with the Lions Club and Rotary is led by Committee Member Johnson. The draft language is “Partner and prioritize building relationships with Lions Club and Rotary by offering more visibility into our priorities as Arden Hills PTRC and request additional information on their priorities.” She said Committee Member Johnson is already doing that and asked if she had any updates. Committee Member Johnson said she attended both groups’ meetings earlier today. Both entities are clubs that do volunteer projects for the community and help raise awareness on projects that could help our communities. Each of the groups requested a liaison to represent the city to identify what we do here and what our needs are. Then the PTRC can pair that with their goals, giving them some exposure. They dedicate a lot of time in Arden Hills and this partnership would highlight those efforts and help Arden Hills residents be aware of all that hard work. Chair Julius said part of this should include expressing appreciation to both groups. It could be as simple as a thank you card signed by PTRC members. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky asked if there were any other items that members wanted added to the annual work plan. Hearing none she said she will take the discussion from this meeting and incorporate it into the final work plan. She will present the final PTRC Annual Work Plan at the March meeting for adoption. She said the calendar in the draft needs to be rearranged a little. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – February 17, 2026 Page 7 Chair Julius said the calendar will help us know what we need to look at in upcoming months. Committee Member Loosbrock noted that the Flashlight Pumpkin Hunt is on the calendar and she thought the spring Egg Hunt should be added. B. PTRC Charter Discussion Chair Julius said the current PTRC Charter allows up to 12 members and 2 youth members. We know surrounding cities don’t have such a large number for similar committees. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said she can’t find a document establishing the PTRC. The oldest minutes she found were from 1968. Council Liaison Rousseau provided a document that looked like a charter from 2013 but it turned out that it was part of the work plan. Council Liaison Rousseau said the living document for PTRC will be the annual work plan and the code of conduct. Discussion ensued about if the Code of Conduct was something that was revisited annually. Committee members sign it when they are appointed to the PTRC. However further discussion ensued that there may need to be some revisions. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the work plan is meant to be just for this year. She thought the mission/vision document may be a separate item. Council Liaison Rousseau said the EDC has a charter that is outside of the City Ordinance. They went through the process when the group was reestablished a couple of years ago. They talked through what they would focus on and what that looks like. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said there may be opportunity to discuss that further at a later date. Today’s discussion is about the size of our group. Council Liaison Rousseau said we have fewer working groups this year. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the work groups still exist but if there is no activity, they will be left off of the agenda. She would like to know everyone’s thoughts on the number of PTRC members needed. Discussion ensued on the calendar. It is still a draft and subject to change before the final version at the March meeting. Further discussion ensued that the process could be started earlier in future years so the calendar can be finalized by January. Chair Julius said during the last discussion regarding membership everyone agreed it is optimal to have an odd number since quorum is 50%. We increase our burden to reach a quorum with an even number of members. There isn’t any benefit in being too small and we want to be inclusive to anyone who has a passion for this work. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said we could lower the youth slots to just one, then the non-youth members would make it an odd number. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – February 17, 2026 Page 8 Committee Member Deitz said we currently have 7 members and 1 youth member serving on the committee. Two committee members terms will be ending this year. He said this is pretty consistent to what he has seen during his time here. He thinks 7 is a good amount. That falls better in line with the other cities. Additionally, with a really big group, everyone’s voice isn’t always heard, just because we don’t have time. Committee Member Johnson thinks 7 is a good number. Chair Julius thinks 7 regular members and 2 youth members or 8 members and 1 youth. Committee Member Deitz likes having slots for 2 youth. Chair Julius said she is hearing consensus that 7 members and 2 youth members will keep us at an odd number. She asked if anyone had any other thoughts. Committee Member Hilding said if we find someone who is really passionate and wants to join is that an option? Is this a formal change? Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said she is proposing that we formally change the number. That would involve bringing it to Council and change the ordinance. Council Liaison Rousseau said her understanding is that we have one youth committee position and we can bring in one other member that would meet the criteria, as a youth member but they aren’t in the youth committee position. They would be a regular member with the recognition that member may not fulfill an entire term, if going to college. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky confirmed. The youth committee member has a wider parameter than a regular member. A youth committee member doesn’t have to reside in Arden Hills. They have to attend school in the Arden Hills School District. Chair Julius said we should make it clear. We should identify what the youth member is and everybody else is a committee member. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said if there were no members of the PTRC and six Mounds View high school students who also live in Arden Hills wanted to join, they can. There is no limit. Youth committee members are only appointed for one year and can live in a different city as long as they attend Mounds View or Irondale high schools. Committee Member Hilding said in January we said we can go up to 12 but we can just operate lower. If we are going to do a comprehensive rewrite we should simplify it. He thinks there should be a cap of two high school students, regardless of where they live. Discussion ensued that technically there could be all youth members. Someone would not be told no just because they are 16 years old. Further discussion ensued that it can state that at no time can there be more than two members that meet the criteria of a youth committee member. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – February 17, 2026 Page 9 Council Liaison Rousseau said she advocated for additional youth seats on a couple of our committees and it is the opinion of at least one other council member that there should not be 3 or 4 on any committee. Committee Member Hilding felt the last discussion was informal and we were saying maybe we should just have fewer people. Now we’re amending an ordinance. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said she is obligated to interview each qualified person who applies. If she chooses not to appoint someone she has to answer why. She isn’t comfortable saying that even though we can have 12, as a group we decided we’re okay at 7. Chair Julius said even with the current size it can be challenging to get through the agenda. The goal is PTRC members are engaged residents who are passionate and want to exchange dialogue. She thinks the smaller size makes sense. Right now we are sitting at 7 with two youth spots. That means, currently, we have space for one more youth member. She asked if everyone is comfortable with that. MOTION: Committee Member Johnson moved and Committee Member Deitz seconded a motion to recommend Council change the ordinance to amend the member size from 12 members and 2 youth members down to 7 members and 2 youth members. The motion carried unanimously among members present. 6. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES Committee Member Johnson wanted to talk about connectivity in the Park Improvement Plan. One section states that Grey Fox plus Red Fox Trails, then a trail connection from Highway 96 to Rice Creek North Trail. That doesn’t make sense to her. Staff will get clarification. Committee Member Ahmed said she had requested a map of just trails from the Bolten and Menk consultant she hasn’t received it. There is a map that shows existing trails plus future trails. Having one that shows only what exists would be helpful to her subcommittee. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said they are working on that map. 7. NEXT MEETING A. Tuesday, March 24, 2026 ADJOURNMENT Chair Julius adjourned at 7:56 pm.