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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10-25-04APPROVED Members Present: Leslie Defries, Mike Eliason, Mark Jacobs, Eric Johnson Members Absent: Phil Sterner Staff Present: Dan Schultz, Director of Parks and Recreation and Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary Student Volunteer: Philip Harris Others Present: None CALL TO ORDER: Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: Johnson asked for an update on the athletic complex. Schultz will address this under the Director’s Report and also give updates on the sports dome, the Cheney visit, and the Wiklund property preservation project. Jacobs asked if there was an update on the Community Center parking issue. Per Schultz, there isn’t yet. Jacobs asked that this item be brought back to the next meeting. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA FOR OCTOBER 25, 2004: MOTION by Johnson to approve the October 25, 2004 meeting agenda as amended. SECOND by Eliason. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. 3. APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 27, 2004 MINUTES: Jacobs asked for the addition of the words “parks dedication” before the word “fees” in the seventh to the last line of New Business c. 2005 Fees and Fee Policy. MOTION by Johnson to approve the minutes of September 27, 2004 as amended. SECOND by Eliason. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. 4. AUDIENCE INPUT: None. 5. DISCUSSION (Response to Audience Input): None. 6. OLD BUSINESS: a. 2005 Fees and Fee Study – At the last meeting there was a request for information that showed if room usage decreased when fees were increased. Our current rental software program does not have the capability of tracking this information. The rental coordinator could manually compile the information on room usage for next month’s meeting. Schultz wanted to review all of the fee information that was received from other facilities, have the Commission request any additional information they’d like, and then Schultz will bring that information back to the next meeting. The Commission could then form a recommendation for the City Council to review in December. Indoor Ice Arena - We’re at the lower end of fees being charged for prime time ice, but not out of line with current fees being charged by other arenas. Our fees for non-prime time ice are right in the middle. Most of those we surveyed had increased their fees for 2004 and didn’t plan to increase them for 2005. Schultz will let the Commission know if any of the facilities we received information from are going to raise their rates for 2005. Schultz reviewed the 2004 General Fund Revenue Report, and 2004 Budget Worksheets for the Arena and the Parks and Recreation Department. Jacobs had asked whether the community center rink fees cover its costs and if they don’t, where the money to cover these costs comes from. Per Schultz our revenues match operating expenditures, but don’t cover debt service on the building. The Community Center/Parks and Recreation Department operations are covered by general funds that come from property taxes, etc. These funds cover costs that aren’t covered by fees. Jacobs asked if costs increase, was there an expectation that we need to increase fees to help cover those costs. Schultz explained that we keep an eye on the market and make sure we’re in line with what others are charging, and that we have not been given direction from the City Council to increase fees. Johnson noted that there has been no non-prime time ice sold according to the arena revenue worksheet and asked for a definition of non-prime time ice. Schultz said that we do sell non-prime time ice, but have not tracked it separately. Johnson felt it was important to see a comparison over the last three or four years of the amount of prime time ice versus non-prime time ice being sold. Eliason asked if we rent the concession stand to RAHA. Per Schultz, we do. Eliason asked about charges for clean up and Schultz explained that users are billed separately for clean up after events. Outdoor Facilities – Our fees for the most part are in line with other cities based on the information we received. Cities with newer facilities and more amenities do charge higher fees. Other cities also may line fields and do more work when fields are rented, and charge more for this as well. There was discussion regarding creating a new category for groups such as the Jaycees, St. Joseph’s, Rosemount Baptist, etc. The Commission felt that there should be some kind of established order for who can use the fields, and that there should be a detailed list assigning priority. Schultz will work on this and bring it back to the Commission. It was also noted that some cities charge for lights and concessions and that this might be an opportunity to look into. Jacobs asked Schultz about the frequency of use of the band shell. Per Schultz, it is used frequently by a church group and also for City events throughout the summer. Community Center Rental Information – Schultz wanted to get input from the Commission on having all groups pay for use except Class 1 (City Sponsored Activities). Schultz asked if the Commission would like to discontinue free use and create a new category with a lower rate for certain groups. The trend is to have all groups pay some type of fee. Groups affected would include RAAA, RAHA, and scouts, all of which fall under Class 2 and receive free room use once a month. The Commission felt that unless there was excess demand by these groups or if the Council was requesting more revenue due to budget concerns, we should leave it the way it is. Parks Dedication Fees – Schultz reviewed a list of land sales in Dakota County and found two that fit what we are looking at: Brockway – 112 acres for $9,000,000 and Applebee’s - .67 acres for 101,900. Applebee’s was a ready-to-build site, with road access and sewer, and this was reflected in the sale price. Schultz provided a fee comparison since 2000, which shows how we’ve increased residential, commercial, and industrial parks dedication fees. Schultz reviewed the Ingraham and Associates parks dedication survey and explained that cities use different methods to figure the amount of parks dedication they collect. Per Schultz, it’s important to review the parks dedication fees annually to make sure we keep up with land values. We’re collecting fees based on $60,000/acre for the Brockway Development and they actually paid $80,000/acre. The Commission thought we should look at increasing residential fees. Jacobs asked if it would be possible to get feedback as far as charging parks dedication fees for parks dedication based on actual purchase prices. Sterner had submitted a memo to Schultz with the following recommendations for dedication fees: Residential $75,000/acre, Commercial $92,000/acre, and Industrial $50,000/acre. Johnson thought that raising the residential fee to $90,000/acre would be fair and Eliason agreed. Per Schultz, we will probably hire an appraiser to do another survey next year. Jacobs noted three items from this discussion to be brought back next month: Budget expectations, if any; what other cities are doing for 2005 as far as rates; and non-prime time ice sold in the past. NEW BUSINESS a. Director’s Report – The Parks Improvement Fund Balance as of September 30, 2004 is $1,102,048.57. Parks dedication fees of $383,400 were received for the Brockway Development. Skate Park Update – There was a skate park meeting at the Community Center earlier tonight. The meeting was well attended. Representatives from Skatewave were at the meeting. The kids were able to use scaled down pieces of equipment as well as a computer to design the skate park they’d like to have. One parent requested lights at the skate park for security reasons. We should be receiving skate park diagrams and price estimates in a few days. Per Schultz, the funding from the Jaycees has not been received yet, but they are working on fulfilling that obligation. Sports Dome – Work on grading the site should begin this week. Vice President Cheney Visit – Vice President Cheney was at the Community Center on Friday. The event was well attended, with an estimated 1,100 – 1,300 people. Athletic Complex – Staff received an e-mail from Flint Hills Resources. They’re trying to put together a land use plan because of the County Road 42/ Hwy 52 corridor study. We should hear back from them in the next few weeks on this. Wiklund Property Preservation – Schultz reviewed maps of the 25 acres of Wiklund property and the 1-1/2 acre strip of land owned by Earl Bester that runs along the road and provides access to this property. Mr. Bester’s attorney has proposed that the City purchase this piece for $50,000 per acre, or a total of $75,000. The City has not made a decision on this yet. Schultz will contact Mr. Bester’s attorney regarding this issue. We’re waiting to get the DNR appraisal and title opinion back. The DNR does want legal access to the 25 acres that will have the conservation easement. 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Johnson to adjourn the meeting. SECOND by Eliason. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary