Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,June 9, 2014 <br /> Page 17 <br /> moved one step from residents for non-elected officials to make decisions. Coun- <br /> cilmember Laliberte noted that she understood the rationale based on past history <br /> of why such a board was desired, but remained hesitant. Councilmember Laliber- <br /> te stated that she'd prefer to meet more often with the Commission as suggested <br /> to stay on top of things of concern to them as a starting point if it was the desire of <br /> the City Council rather than establishing Park Board. Councilmember Laliberte <br /> opined if by meeting more often, especially with initiation of the Park Renewal <br /> Program projects, it would avoid the reason why a $19 million Park Renewal Pro- <br /> ject was necessary to address things done being done when they should have been <br /> done. <br /> Councilmember McGehee agreed with Councilmember Laliberte's comments for <br /> meeting more often, stating that she would not favor a Park Board at this time for <br /> many of those same reasons, for the need for the City Council to retain that direct <br /> relationship with residents and avoid the autonomy of a Board and its own taxing <br /> authority. Councilmember McGehee opined that parks are a resource for the en- <br /> tire community, and when the Master Plan process was underway, stated that she <br /> personally supported a referendum and opined that the City failed its residents in <br /> not pursuing a referendum. Even though 3,000 people participated in the Master <br /> Plan process, Councilmember McGehee noted that this was less than 10% of the <br /> overall Roseville population; with the 2014 community survey indicating that <br /> 70% of the respondents didn't know about the Park Renewal Program, even <br /> though there were residents and the reason for them not using the parks might <br /> mean that their needs are not being met even though a large expenditure of public <br /> money had been made in the park system. <br /> Councilmember McGehee stated that she felt strongly that more public airing of <br /> the Renewal Program was needed to determine what the real issues were, but <br /> what was being done now and the subsequent maintenance needed for those <br /> buildings, were not addressed or supported in either the 2011 or 2014 community <br /> surveys. Councilmember McGehee stated that she would like to meet more often <br /> and have more detail on the projects underway to address the different points of <br /> view of individual Councilmembers, and to have a give and take discussion about <br /> projects and ongoing maintenance, allowing the Commission and City Council to <br /> keep track of resident needs and the use of public funds to meet those needs. <br /> After having participated for years in the public airing of issues in his former role <br /> on the Parks & Recreation Commission, Councilmember Etten opined that noth- <br /> ing in Roseville's history had been as well-vetted as this Park Renewal Program <br /> process. Councilmember Etten opined that to state that it hadn't gone through a <br /> public process was not correct. Councilmember Etten admitted that he had been <br /> caught off guard by community survey responses about their perceived lack of <br /> knowledge about the Renewal Program, but while not sure what had led to that, <br /> suggested that it may have been the label of the program from "Park Master Plan" <br />