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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, October 24,2011 Page 15 the fields looked plush this year was due to the amount of moisture received. Mr. Davies opined that his organization and the City wanted to be proud of their community and provide a good product for those visiting the community for summer activities used to keep youth involved in the community and to help them learn team building skills to develop into young adults. Mr. Davies concurred that the City was obligated to maintain its facilities and parks, in addition to providing a fire station that was legal and met today's standards, not just because it was a legal requirement, but because it was the right thing to do. Mr. Davies of- fered his services as a volunteer for the fire station process; and recognized the differing opinions among younger and older residents. Mr. Davies opined that the City had an obligation to move forward; and further opined that residents wanted parks for their kids to play in. Richard (Jake)Jacobson, 583 Owasso Hills Drive Mr. Jacobson noted that he had been a Parks and Recreation Commissioner for a number of years; and when he had moved to Roseville the condition of the City's parks and playground equipment, especially Oasis Park in his neighborhood, was not that great. However, Mr. Jacobson noted that, through his volunteer participa- tion and the leadership of Mr. Biersheid as Parks and Recreation Director at that time, a program was developed for priority replacement of specific playground equipment, and advised that often, rather than neglected maintenance, many things were simply due to equipment and/or facilities at the end of their life cycle. Mr. Jacobson opined that, when compared to facilities in other communities, such as hockey and ice arenas, the City of Roseville's facilities were very good; how- ever, they did need ongoing maintenance. As part of the Master Plan process for Parks, Mr. Jacobson noted that this had been addressed, that was now being at- tempted through the Implementation portion of the Plan. Mr. Jacobson noted that the Master Plan process had been community-wide and solicited input from a multitude of stakeholders and demographics in Roseville; and that now it was time to move forward with that process. Mr. Jacobson expressed how over- whelmed he was with the volunteerism in Roseville by individuals and various youth recreation boards and association in keeping actual costs down, ultimately affecting the bottom line. As a fervent believer in supporting the park system, Mr. Jacobson noted that the deliverables from various implementation task forces spelled out the priorities; and asked that the City Council consider those recom- mendations seriously in their decision-making; with the Master Plan process in play for a number of years, and now being the time to move forward. Karen Schaffer, 2100 Fairview Avenue (resident next to Evergreen Park) While sharing in the viewpoints and comments of many speakers tonight, Ms. Schaffer opined that the City Council had been put in a box or in a spot, with a manufactured crisis. Ms. Schaffer questioned what was so urgent that a City Council policy limiting expenditures to $3 million without a voter referendum could be ignored. Ms. Schaffer questioned the need for, rather than issuing a General Obligation bond, the City Council felt the need to research arcane docu-