Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-01-23 PRC minutes CITY OF STILLWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING January 23, 2017 Present: Chairwoman Linda Amrein, Commissioners David Brandt, Scott Christensen, Rob McGarry, Sandy Snellman, and Council Representative Mike Polehna Absent: Commissioners Sam Nelson and Bill McGlynn Staff present: Public Works Superintendent Tim Moore and City Administrator Tom McCarty APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of December 19, 2016 Parks Commission meeting minutes Chairwoman Amrein requested the following changes: On page 1, the second paragraph under Aiple Property Park Planning, “A trail connection would probably be created from the parking lot to the trail itself” should be changed to “A trail connection would probably be created from the parking lot to the existing driveway.” On page 2, the top paragraph, “There would also be an area to drop a canoe into the river” should be changed to “There would also be an area to launch a canoe.” In paragraph 5, add “State” in front of “Senator” and correct Senator Housley's last name. In paragraph 6, add “a” in the phrase, “which is a lot of money.” Commissioner Christensen requested the following change: On page 1, the first paragraph under Aiple Property Park Planning, the sentence “Therefore, the City will probably demolish it, which is consistent with the State’s funding” should be stricken. Motion by Chairwoman Amrein, seconded by Commissioner Snellman, to approve the December 19, 2016 meeting minutes as corrected. All in favor. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. ACTION ITEMS Proposals for Updates/Changes to the Stillwater Event Policy City Administrator McCarty explained that staff has been researching event policies from similar Minnesota cities. He summarized proposed updates and changes to the Event Policy as brought before the City Council at its January 3, 2017 meeting. He stated that staff looked first at the lead time that would be optimal for submission of Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting January 23, 2017 Page 2 of 5 event applications: 90 days for special events and 120 days for special events with contracts. He explained what triggers which category an event would fall into. He added that there was discussion among staff about whether the policy should be extended beyond parks, to other facilities such as the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center. Chairwoman Amrein asked which entity will have jurisdiction over the old bridge when the new bridge is completed, for instance if a group wants to have tents on the old bridge and hold an event there. City Administrator McCarty responded that, for instance, if someone wants to do a 10K using the Loop Trail as the route, approvals would be required from many entities. He said staff will be working with all those entities to determine whether the DOT will be in charge of the Loop Trail or if they would allow the City to approve such uses. City Administrator McCarty presented the proposed fee changes. He reminded the Commission that where there is a contract, there is an ability to negotiate the specific requirements for events that occur over an extended period like the Ice Castles. Regarding events with routes, he said staff would recommend establishing a fee of $1 per participant, which is not uncommon. He added that the majority of events are done by non-profits, so reducing fees for non-profits would likely mean reducing fees for almost all events. Mr. McCarty added that the Council also talked about priorities, for instance, what if the City receives applications for three events proposed for one weekend. He said language is needed to cover that. Additionally, he said there is a capacity issue - how many events is too many? Parks require a recovery period for grass. Commissioner Christensen noted one issue that comes up a lot in discussions is whether the City should make money off its parks. He said his attitude has evolved the more time he has spent on this topic. He asked if the City is on the verge of making money off its parks, or nowhere near that threshold. City Administrator McCarty responded that in terms of the big events with contracts that were held in the parks in 2016, City expenses were $30,000+ (exclusive of administrative staff time). The fees charged totaled about $47,000. He is unsure if he would categorize this as the City making money because it didn’t charge a lot of fees for all the other events that took place. Council Representative Polehna pointed out that another issue is lead time. For example, Run Stillwater was advertising their event for months but didn’t approach the City until a week before the event. When denied, they then made the City appear uncooperative. He said the Council hopes to avoid that type of situation through establishing deadlines for event applications. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting January 23, 2017 Page 3 of 5 Mr. McCarty said that the items being discussed probably wouldn’t be implemented until 2018 to give all the organizers adequate notice. He feels it would be wise to get feedback from professional event organizers. Commissioner Brandt asked how involved the businesses and the Chamber are in decision-making. Mr. McCarty replied that the Chamber and downtown businesses are big supporters of many of the events. He has talked a bit with the current chamber director, who is very involved in a number of events. Commissioner McGarry noted it seems like staff has already done the homework. In his opinion, the City should break even and not have a large surplus of parks fees because the City should not make money off the parks. Regarding designated routes, Chairwoman Amrein asked if “sidewalk” includes stairs. Mr. McCarty replied yes. Ms. Amrein suggested that even though stairs are on the map, the word “stairs” should be added in the language. City Administrator McCarty said it could be suggested that if an event route diverts from the routes preferred by the City, or goes into other areas, prior approval is needed. Commissioner Brandt commented that part of the draw of having events in town is the old homes, so holding events in a newer part of town is not as attractive. That said, he worries about event fatigue caused by concentrating events on certain routes. However for some events like the Lumberjack Days parade, people who live on the parade route usually love it and make a party out of it every year. Chairwoman Amrein asked about limiting the number of events per day. City Administrator McCarty replied that the Council discussed this. Commissioner Christensen said hosting large events in Stillwater leads to more impacts than just park use. For example, in May there are 56 weddings scheduled for Stillwater. That makes it difficult for family visitors, casual tourists passing through, or other events if hotel rooms are all booked. He feels this is part of a broader discussion about how this impacts the citizens. He said he is not against it, but wonders how to control event overload. Superintendent Moore remarked that some wedding groups at Pioneer Park don’t reserve the park, they just take their chances. City Administrator McCarty said the application materials online need to be revised to help applicants understand what type of event category they fall into. Other items that need clarity are alcohol standards, advertising (for example, some event organizers advertise their event in the community for a certain date and location well before the City receives any application materials). Also, the City holds public meetings for the big contract events, notifying everyone who lives within a certain radius of the proposed location or route. He added that the policy also needs to Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting January 23, 2017 Page 4 of 5 address last minute event changes. City staff would like to have the final site plan at least two weeks before the event. Mr. McCarty summarized that the next steps are that staff would like to gather some more comparisons, examine the financial impacts of proposed fee changes, speak to professional organizers to get their input, and then come back to Commission for further discussion. He would then go back to the Council with the Commission’s feedback at some point. Council Representative Polehna added that public safety staff needs to provide an example of an emergency action plan, to avoid applicants simply writing “Call 9-1-1” - more is needed than that. Chairwoman Amrein asked who would be the person to allow an exception to a rule, for instance a late application, or the unavailability of a venue? Mr. McCarty replied that right now there is not authority vested in any staff people to do that, so it typically goes to the City Council. Many communities vest the authority in their parks director or some similar level position. Staff can do more research on this, looking at other communities of similar size. Public Works Superintendent Moore noted the Commission has talked about event overload and how years ago, it was limited to four events a year. He wondered if that’s worth a discussion because now there are 12 major events a year. Commissioner McGarry said it would be nice to have a calendar of the events to determine whether there is room for more events. City Administrator McCarty said the commercial use of parks for for-profits is another issue to be explored. He said he will come back to the next regular meeting with follow up information and more research. Commissioner Christensen asked, if the City basically breaks even on its parks fees, how does the City improve its parks and facilities and how does this become a high priority? Mr. McCarty answered that it is a goal for the City to acknowledge, in its capital improvement program, the importance of paying attention to the needs of the parks. It also may require charging more for use of the parks and dedicating some of the revenue toward park improvements. Some communities have a staff person whose job is to manage all events within the parks operation. So there are different ways to handle it. He added this is probably something the Council could consider in their strategic plan which is due for an update in May 2017. Commissioner Christensen added that event fatigue to him means more than having too many people in the parks. It means that when an event leaves, everything is Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting January 23, 2017 Page 5 of 5 trampled and things need fixing but it’s an afterthought because the event is over and everybody’s left. He believes the City needs to take care of existing parks. Council Representative Polehna remarked that it would be nice to have a parks director to coordinate cleanup of the parks after events instead of relying so heavily on volunteers. Mr. McCarty acknowledged there is the question of whether the City needs to add staff as it adds park facilities. INFORMATION ITEMS There were no informational items. COMMISSION ITEMS/TOPICS Chairwoman Amrein informed the Commission she won’t be attending the February 27 meeting. Council Representative Polehna reported that he met with members of a St. Croix County task force on trails to try to tie the City’s trail systems into theirs. He brought up the issue of cooperating on Kolliner Park. Chairwoman Amrein referred to the City Council meeting where Community Development Director Turnblad reviewed the Aiple Property concept plan and there was a lot of controversy about whether the existing house had to be demolished. Council Representative Polehna responded that the question remains whether the City can utilize it; but it does not have to be demolished. Superintendent Moore acknowledged the City plows the property because access is needed in case of fire. Mr. McCarty confirmed the City is doing minimal maintenance. Commissioner Christensen stated the site is open now. Chairwoman Amrein said the City needs to think about naming that park. Commissioner Christensen stated he attended a meeting last Wednesday night regarding the Boomsite. He reported that Washington County is going to spend the year basically looking at taking it over - there will be public meetings and discussion at the County board level. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner McGarry, seconded by Commissioner Brandt, to adjourn. All in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Julie Kink Recording Secretary