2014-08-05_PR Comm Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Roseville, MN - Official Website the entire community, and when the Master Plan process was underway, stated that she personally supported a referendum and opined that the City failed its residents in not pursuing a referendum. Even though 3,000 people participated in the Master Plan process, Councilmember McGehee noted that this was less than 10% of the overall Roseville population; with the 2014 community survey indicating that 70% of the respondents didn?t know about the Park Renewal Program, even though there were residents and the reason for them not using the parks might mean that their needs are not being met even though a large expenditure of public money had been made in the park system. Councilmember McGehee stated that she felt strongly that more public airing of the Renewal Program was needed to determine what the real issues were, but what was being done now and the subsequent maintenance needed for those buildings, were not addressed or supported in either the 2011 or 2014 community surveys. Councilmember McGehee stated that she would like to meet more often and have more detail on the projects underway to address the different points of view of individual Councilmembers, and to have a give and take discussion about projects and ongoing maintenance, allowing the Commission and City Council to keep track of resident needs and the use of public funds to meet those needs. After having participated for years in the public airing of issues in his former role on the Parks & Recreation Commission, Councilmember Etten opined that nothing in Roseville?s history had been as well-vetted as this Park Renewal Program process. Councilmember Etten opined that to state that it hadn't gone through a public process was not correct. Councilmember Etten admitted that he had been caught off guard by community survey responses about their perceived lack of knowledge about the Renewal Program, but while not sure what had led to that, suggested that it may have been the label of the program from ?Park Master Plan? to ?Park Renewal Program.? Given the number of meetings held incommunity sectors, and additional educational pieces and meetings around the program, Councilmember Etten expressed confidence that the process had been thorough and informative community-wide. Specific to the creation of a Park Board, and the many discussions to-date, as well as requirements under the Optional Plan B City Government of Roseville, Councilmember Etten recognized that there would be a rigorous process to move such an effort forward. Councilmember Etten suggested the potential for partnering with aneighboring city (e.g. Falcon Heights and/or Lauderdale) to create a regional board, or partnership of the City and School District for joint facilities, but across levels of government and jurisdictions; giving consideration to the use of local sales taxes for that regional effort. Councilmember Etten opined that this would serve in a grander way to bring lots of pieces together to make it happen, and get a Park Board operational to work jointly with joint funding available. Councilmember Willmus concurred with the comments of Councilmember Etten, noting that the Park Board concept originated during the Park & Recreation Master Plan process; and noted his enthusiasm to look at the concept and how it worked in other communities, and how it may provide a different path to follow. However, based on the process outlined in tonight?s meeting materials, Councilmember Willmus advised that it involved a totally different path for implementation than he originally thought. Councilmember Willmus advised that he found itinteresting to hear comments from his colleagues comparing this to creation of the HRA, since similar insecurities and hesitations were brought up in creating that body as well. However, Councilmember Willmus noted that many good things that had come from that collaborative planning effort that the City Council would have been hard pressed to accomplish, and had become a great advantage to the City and its residents. Recognizing that there were many pros and cons to creation of such a Board, Councilmember Willmus noted that he disagreed that there may be less accountability, since even the HRA "similar to a Park Board" came to the City Council to approve its levy, which was the City Council's ultimate control measure. Councilmember Willmus stated that he'd like to explore further whether a partnership with other community was a feasible avenue to consider, as suggested by CouncilmemberEtten. As theCommission frequently heard the City Council speak on operational efficiencies, and in looking to potential partnerships with other communities beyond shared programming currently done, and as the City continued to struggle with the question of a community center, Councilmember Willmus suggested opportunities to look to Shoreview or Maplewood for shared opportunities as well. Councilmember Willmus thanked the Commission for their work to-date on the Park Board issue and discussions, and opined that it should remain on the table as a potential option down the road. Since this Park Board issue came up, Mayor Roe stated that he'd struggled with it, even though appreciating the work, research and comparisons done by the Commission to-date. In using the HRA comparison as a model reference, Mayor Roe opined that was a minor portion of the City's annual http://www.ci.roseville.mn.us/Archive.aspx?AMID=&Type=&ADID=1785&PREVIEW=YES