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08.a 02.06.2023 PRC Minutes DRAFT City of Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee Monday, February 6, 2023 A meeting of the Scandia Parks & Recreation Committee was held on the above date at the Community Center and Zoom. Attended by Terry Gorham (Chair), Greg Zauner (Vice-Chair), Tom Hinz and Heather Benson (Council Representative,) Charles Fischer (Public Works Director,) and Brenda “Bee” Stignani (Office Assistant.) Absent: Dustin Hegland and Kimberly Johnson. Gorham called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m., a quorum was present. PUBLIC FORUM None APPROVAL OF AGENDA Gorham requested altering the order of the agenda to move item 7 a. to follow directly after 4 a. in order to enable guest Bill Jabas to be able to present his proposal first. Motion to approve the agenda as amended by Zauner, seconded by Hinz. Motion carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Gorham called for any additions or corrections to the January 5, 2023 minutes. No additions or corrections were submitted. The minutes stand approved. NEW BUSINESS Tai Chi Course Bill Jabas presented an updated proposal to offer a Tai Chi class. He clarified that this class would be 8 classes, over a 10-week period due to known scheduling conflicts, and the class would be offered to adults only. Discussion concluded to recommend to Council to offer this class on Wednesday evenings, beginning May 3rd, with all requirements outlined in the meeting packet document. Most notable conditions: enrollment maximum 15, minimum 6, participant’s fee set at $45 with a stipend arrangement of 80/20 (instructor/city) at the end of the course, and Jabas will carry his own liability insurance. Jabas provided document to verify his qualifications. Motion by Zauner, seconded by Hinz, to bring this proposal to City Council to recommend offering this eight - week Tai Chi class over a ten-week period beginning May 3rd. Motion carried unanimously. REPORTS Chair Report Gorham provided a written report. Zauner clarified the dates of the city-wide garage sale to be June 1-3 and questioned what type of coordinating efforts exactly is the Tourism Committee requesting. Stignani suggested individuals to volunteer to complete tasks as needed to make this event (contacting newspapers to place free advertisements, putting up signs, etc.) Gorham will the request and report back to PRC in March. Public Works Report Fischer provided a written report, adding positive feedback from Corey Roberts in regard to the condition of the ice rinks at Vinterfest. OLD BUSINESS MSA Update Gorham proposed, in the interest of time and clear communications, for each PRC member and staff to individually relay their feedback on the current MSA draft in this meeting. Gorham would next confirm with Interim-City Administrator Hurlburt that it would be helpful and ok for him to contact Emily at MSA directly with all of the PRC’s feedback, and then invest all of the time necessary to convey every member’s concern, questions, suggestions, etc. All members indicated support of this proposal and provided relevant feedback. Stignani captured those notes and forwarded those to Gorham for that follow-up with MSA. February 6, 2023 Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee Page 2 of 4 Park Events (formerly Lilleskogen Park Dinner Event) Gorham reported Kim Johnson has an idea for a fundraising, similar to an event hosted by Rustic Roots. Tabled for discussion when Johnson is present. Lilleskogen’s Children’s Story Path Coordinator Hinz will step into the role to continue fostering the relationship between PRC and Scandia Elementary School in regard to the Children’s Story Path at Lilleskogen Park. Gorham will continue, as able, to replace stories in the holders and suggested every 3 to 4 weeks instead of every other week. Discussion over the state of the existing storyboards concluded recommending replacing the existing storyboards and adding more. Public Works will investigate options to consider. Staff will give Hinz more specific details of this project, including the collected stories, at a later time. Gorham requested Hinz communicate with Ann Rinkenberger to coordinate a Dala Horse project in partnership with Gammelgarden. Gorham forwarded email communication regarding this request from Rinkenberger to Hinz. Vinterfest Recap Zauner reported • Need for a volunteer in 2024 to be assigned to maintain the fire pits to avoid running out wood too early. Additional wood has been needed two years in a row. • Paint a Park Pebble produced 30-40 specimens to place in parks in the future. Next year, purchase disposable plastic tablecloths to aid in the clean up process and stock up on paper towels or have a whole roll available to use. About ¼ of the available rocks were painted. Store for next year. • Incorporate “sponsored by Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee” into the new banner for printed posters and to share with partnering organizations. This will give PRC credit for their efforts, and potentially reduce redundancy or free up space on the schedule posters. • Expand to Friday by inviting a large non-profit to host an event in the community center (i.e., Lions Bingo) to go with the anticipated two day The Minnesotan Cup tournament. • One food truck never showed up, but the other two trucks seemed to have plenty of business. • Made 140 buttons, about 15 left over with a few boxes still out in the community. Currently raised just over $450 in donations. Would like to consider printing a few 2nd place buttons to go with the first place buttons in one local business and a few 3rd place buttons to go with the first place buttons in a different local business. All other locations have first place buttons only, and advertise where the specific buttons can be located. Connect with the EDA, to see if some would be more willing to promote donations with each sale in their own business. Gorham did bring a box and buttons to the Lions’ Pancake Breakfast check in table and moved it to the Food & Beer Tent in the afternoon. This was successful in giving away buttons and collecting donations. • Vinterbean Contest needs more advertising next year and to move back to the playground. The game “disappeared” behind the tent, only one team signed up in addition to the preregistered teams. This year there were three adult/child teams and four adult teams. • Fischer will be contacting Martin Marietta for donation of scrap mat material used to walk on over the ice and protect skater blades from being damaged by (and damaging) the concrete as well as give a non- slippery surface for all of the foot traffic of the spectators. • The fireworks display will need to move away from the new playground. The trend toward ‘fireballs’ at or near the ground, and low-level displays make other locations difficult. Tabled to consider other more suitable sites later. February 6, 2023 Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee Page 3 of 4 Annual Report Draft Review Staff provided PRC members with a revised version of the January 2022 Annual Report Draft and asked for further revisions if needed to be presented tonight. Gorham pointed out two typographical errors and recommended two-word choice changes. Staff incorporated these changes; no other changes were suggested. Motion by Hinz, seconded by Zauner, to approve this updated version to be present to City Council on February 21, 2023 as the PRC 2023 Annual Report. Motion passed unanimously. Park Ambassadors’ Reports Gorham defined the purpose of this agenda item as a time to report maintenance needs observed in Scandia’s parks to Public Works. Stignani added an additional purpose is to find inspiration for projects or small improvements that could be considered to increase utilization of any park. Clarification that all parks are loosely divided between all PRC members. PRC Operational Calendar In consideration of electing Chair and Vice-Chair in the March meeting, Gorham and Zauner indicated their willingness to be considered for the same positions for 2023. Gorham for Chair and Zauner for Vice-Chair. Zauner questioned if Bolton & Menk sponsorship in Vinterfest was moved up to September as requested. Staff will confirm if Scandia would be able to provide the documentation required by Bolton & Menk’s accounting department prior to the posters and schedules being published in January each year. NEW BUSINESS Lilleskogen Little Library Zauner reported there is a volunteer prepared to construct a Water Tower Barn Shaped box to house the books. Part or all of the expense may be covered by donations (i.e., Marine Library, Lions, etc.). Zauner recommends installing it near the sidewalk to make it completely accessible to all. The maximum expense is $150 for an official Little Library nameplate, inclusion on the Little Library website, a pressure treated mounting post, and a polycarbonate window. Once installed, the Marine Library will maintain the books. Motion by Hinz, seconded by Zauner, to recommend to Council to approve creating a Water Tower Barn Little Library to be installed in Lilleskogen Park. Motion passed unanimously. Earth Day Activity Ideas Gorham requested suggestions of ideas to organize an Earth Day activity on Saturday, April 22nd, keeping in mind it might still be cold or have snow on the ground. Pull buckthorn, too early for a park clean-up day, and make and give away a bird feeder from pine cones were all discussed briefly. Benson requested adding to the December operational calendar in order to start the process earlier of considering options. Tabled for further discussion next month. Star Gazing Party Reschedule Zauner reported the Gammelgarden cancelled their January event due to cloudy skies and extremely cold temperatures. Mike Lynch is not available for a few months, directed staff to investigate scheduling on Earth Day or find other date options. AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING The proposed agenda for the Monday, February 6, 2023 meeting: 1. Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails update 2. MSA Update 3. Fundraising for Parks (formerly Park Events) February 6, 2023 Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee Page 4 of 4 4. Outings Coordinator 5. Earth Day Activity Ideas 6. Little Library Update 7. Children’s Story Path 8. Elections: Chair & Vice-Chair 9. Park Ambassador Reports 10. Operational Calendar ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn the meeting by Zauner, seconded by Hinz. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Brenda “Bee” Stignani, Office Assistant/Parks and Recreation Coordinator