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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/03/2020eve 6666 60000 co Meeting Location: Municipal Center City of Apple 7100 147th Street West Valley Apple Valley, Minnesota 55124 September 3, 2020 PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE INFORMAL MEETING TENTATIVE AGENDA 6:00 p.m. 1. CARES Act — Recreation Software 2. Lac Lavon Dock 3. Director's Position Status Update 4. Committee/Staff Discussion Items PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING TENTATIVE AGENDA 7:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order and Pledge 2. Approval of the Agenda 3. Audience — 10 Minutes Total Time Limit —For Items Not on this Agenda 4. Approval of the July 2020 Minutes 5. Agenda Items A. Pickleball Status Report B. Building Operations: ■ Senior Center ■ Apple Valley Community Center C. Ice Rink Maintenance Costs 6. Division Updates 7. Adjourn NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETINGS - Tentative: Thursday, November 5, 2020 6:00 p.m. (Informal) and 7:00 p.m. (Regular) 10 minutes 5 minutes 10 minutes 10 minutes 10 minutes 5 minutes Regular meetings are broadcast, live, on Charter Communications Cable Channel 180. (Agendas and meeting minutes are also available on the City's Internet Web Site www.eityofapplevalley.org) City of 000 0060 00606 6606 Goo AppValle Y U"T PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: SECTION: Lac Lavon Dock Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting September 3, 2020 Lac Lavon high water levels High Water levels Aerial site 2. September 3, 2020 Informal 1 High activity from youths continuing to use the area and dock for swimming. Repeatedly removing the No Swimming signs that are posted and not respecting the area. Residents are concerned with the level of use at the dock. Water level is still not at the highest level to utilize the outlet. Farquar Park If the DNR will support moving the dock to Farquar. Water levels are consistent as well as being ADA compatible. 2 CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE July 16, 2020 Minutes of the July 16, 2020, Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. PRESENT: Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Chair Brent Schulz; Secretary Josh Gaffke; Committee Members, Dave Freed, Noel Hammill, Matthew Hinrichs, Lisa Hiebert, and Mark Schori; Acting Parks and Recreation Director Mike Endres; Recreation Manager Susan Muelken; Valleywood Golf Course Manager Jim Zinck; Arena Manager Brian Christianson; andAdministrative Coordinator Dorene Perkins Monn ABSENT: None ITEM 1. Call to Order Chair Schulz called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Everyone took part in the Pledge of Allegiance. ITEM 2. Approval of Agenda MOTION: by Hammill, seconded by Gaffke, approving the agenda as presented. VOTE: Yes — 6, No — 0, Abstain — 1 (Hinrichs) ITEM 3. Audience — 10 Minutes Total Time Limit — For Items Not on the Agenda Caller Cyndi Deyus inquired about the location of the agenda. Agenda posted on the city's website. ITEM 4. Approval of the March 2020 Minutes. MOTION: by Gaffke seconded by Schori, to approve the March 5, 2020, meeting minutes as presented. VOTE: Yes — 6, No — 0, Abstain — 1 (Hinrichs) ITEM 5.A. Agenda Items — Acknowledgement — Director Barry Bernstein Director Bernstein passed away unexpectedly March 21, 2020. Recreation Manager Muelken shared a history of his work experience, a scholarship GoFundMe opportunity, and his words of wisdom "Do the right things, at the right time, for the right reasons." -lof4- CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE July 16, 2020 ITEM 5.B. Agenda Items — COVID-19 Pandemic Response Update Acting Director Endres spoke to the city's response to Covid-19. When the State of Emergency was declared the city activated the Emergency Operation Committee. The committee consists of representatives from each city department. The Committee works with Executive Orders and assesses protocols. A Covid preparedness plans has been drafted and distributed. Park Maintenance division has designed and created all of the protective barriers throughout the city facilities. They have also assisted with sanitation operations in other areas of the city. Covid-19 has created a budget shortfall for the city. Many positions have been put on hold and we're working with smaller staff loads. Seasonal staff numbers have been cut in half or more. ITEM 5.C. Agenda Items — Orchard Place Development Acting Director Endres reported there will be minimal affect to Quarry Point Park by the proposed Orchard Place Development as it's currently designed. The development is located north of Quarry Point Park, between 157t" Street West and 153rd Street West, west of Pilot Knob Road. There will be a small, yet undetermined, amount of park dedication coming from the development. ITEM 5.1). Agenda Items — Pickleball Acting Director Endres stated the initial bidding for the proposed pickleball courts at Johnny Cake Ridge Park came in at $382,000. A second bid process came in at $318,000, which was still over budget. The budget estimate was $250,000. Once the pandemic hit, and city budget took a hit, the decision was made to postpone the project at this time. The Hayes Park pickleball courts opened for the season June 8, 2020. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. following the city council directive. Committee members, Schulz, Hammill, and Heibert reported individually visiting the Hayes Park court area to assess the situation. Courts were being used during those visits and the sound was noticeable but believed to be acceptable next to a park. Feedback from discussions at the park included: "It is what it is, we live on a park" and "Recommend removing the southern two courts to reduce the noise." ITEM 5.E. Agenda Items — Redwood Feasibility Study Update -2of4- CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE July 16, 2020 Acting Director Endres reported the Redwood redesign concept drawings have been put on hold. Preliminary concept items included inclusive play structure, shelters, extra play areas, expanded parking, and a highlight/vision for the entrance to the city. ITEM 6. Agenda Items — Division Updates Valleywood Golf Course Manager Zinck reviewed information included in the agenda packet. The golf course opened for the season with the clubhouse closed to the public. All transactions and reservations were conducted over the phone or online. The building opened the end of May for public access. Limited service was opened by the food and beverage provider June 1. Valleywood reported close to 5,700 rounds in May and just under 6,000 rounds in June. Modifications include 10 minute tee times, no rakes by the bunkers, single rider golf carts. Almost all of the golf outings have cancelled for the year; however, the course is seeing an influx of new public play. Staff reports Roasted Pear will complete the season as food and beverage provider but there will be a different provider next year. Arena Manager Christianson reported the shut down for COVID happened at the time of year the ice would be shutting down for the season. There were no turf or tennis rentals at the arenas this year due to restrictions in place. Hayes Arena opened for ice June 15 when restrictions were lifted. Adult league rental started after July 4. Restrictions are structured by the number of skaters on the ice at one time. Other modifications include entrance and exit designations, disinfecting of locker rooms and touchpoints, and limited player times in the locker rooms before games. Normally there would be high school tennis at the Sports Arena, but with the schools doing distance learning there were no spring activities. The arena has remained closed since March. A large consignment sale is scheduled July 26 — August 10 with restrictions and guidelines. Staff is awaiting the Department of Education's decision on the 2020-2021 school year because that will affect what sports happen in the fall. Recreation Manager Muelken reported the Apple Valley Community Center reopened July 6 after being closed in March. Daycamp was provided with restrictions following the (Health Dept.) guidelines and adult softball summer and fall seasons have been combined. Bean Bag league is also being provided. The Aquatic Center and Redwood pool are closed for the season; however, Kelley Park splash pad is open. Senior Center is working on virtual programming such as exercise classes and bingo. Puppet wagon performances and the Playground program have returned to the parks. Parks Superintendent Endres thanked staff for assistance while he's been working dual positions of Parks Superintendent and Acting Parks and Recreation Director. During the COVID period crews have been able to address field maintenance. Quarry Point Park field #1 is getting a complete renovation, as well as Johnny Cake Ridge Park field #11. New batting cage is being installed at Quarry Point Park. -3of4- CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE July 16, 2020 (As outlined in the City's Emergency Plans) the Parks Department, in a pandemic situation, is in charge of planning. The Department has been very involved with detennining when buildings will reopen, how staff will work, how things will function. Acting Director Endres was successful in receiving a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency grant for battery powered hand-held equipment to replace the department's two-stroke weed whips, leaf blowers and hedge trimmers. ITEM 7. Adjourn There being no further business, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting was adjourned. MOTION VOTE: Respectfully Submitted, by Schori, seconded by Hammill, to adjourn the meeting at 8:04 p.m. Yes — 6, No — 0, Abstain — 1 (Hinrichs) Dorene Perkins Monn, Administrative Coordinator Approved by the Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee on September 3, 2020. Brent Schulz, Chair -4of4- 000 0060 City of AppValle y ITEM DESCRIPTION: Pickleball Status Report STAFF CONTACT: Mike Endres, Acting Director Action Requested No action required at this time. Summary ITEM: PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: [•�X�L�7`iF DEPARTMENT/DIVISION: 5.A. September 3, 2020 Parks and Recreation Department Regular With the recommendations from the August 26, 2020 council meeting, we will be revisiting the bidding process to install new pickleball courts at the Johnny Cake Ridge Park West facility. Background This site was slated to have courts installed in 2020, but the COVID — 19 pandemic has had a large impact financially on the city budget, putting the project on hold. I will be working closely with Engineering and Finance departments to get this put together for 2021. 000 0000 60600 0000 City of 000 AppVa,le Y ITEM DESCRIPTION: ITEM: PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: 4 September 3, 2020 Building Operations — Senior Center and Apple Valley Community Center STAFF CONTACT: Susan Muelken, Recreation Manager Action Requested No action required at this time. Summary DEPARTMENT/DIVISION: Parks and Recreation Department Regular The Senior Center and Apple Valley Community Center are incrementally returning to operations. Background The plan is to open the Senior Center Tuesday, September 8"' with restrictions and for specific activities only. Masks will be required in the building and group size will be limited to ten people per activity. Participants will sign up through pre -registration. General socializing and gathering will not be available inside the building until MDH and CDC guidelines suggest an increase in allowable group sizes. Apple Valley Community Center is currently open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. also with restrictions. Masks are required in the building with the exception of while participating in recreation activities in the gymnasiums. The YMCA has rented gym space for their childcare program while their school facilities have been shut down August 24 — September 4. Approximately 60 participants are divided into pods of 10 to allow social distancing. Staff is exploring our ability to provide open gyms in a safe environment within the state guidelines for our participants. 00 ITEM: rj.C. 00@00 060 0 PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY City Of App1e COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: September 3, 2020 Valley SECTION: Regular *so 0000 &Go** City of Apple ppe Valley ITEM DESCRIPTION: Division Updates -- ---- - ---- --..... ... ... .... -- STAFF CONTACT: Mike Endres, Acting Director Action Requested N/A ITEM: 6, PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: September 3, 2020 SECTION: Regular Agenda DEPARTMENT/DIVISION: Parks and Recreation Department Summary Included in the agenda packet you will find divisional updates. These are for informational purposes, no action is required. Background The division updates are presented in written form. From time to time, individual division managers may present in person, items in more detail. If a committee member wishes additional details regarding a specific area please feel free to discuss during the agenda item or contact me at mendresgeityofapplevalley.org or 952-953-2420. *ego Soo AppVal�ey City of MEMO Parks and Recreation Department 7100 - 147th Street West Apple Valley, MN 55124 952 / 953-2300 TO: Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee FROM: Susan Muelken, Recreation Manager DATE: September 3, 2020 SUBJECT: Recreation Division Highlights Summary Staff is providing highlights from the last several months of operations and a brief of what is coming up. Background The Recreation Division is pleased to give you the following highlights from the last few months: • The Community Center re -opened on July 6"'. Building hours are Monday -Friday 9am- 5pm. Door counts for July 2020 was 791 compared to July 2019 which was 7,032. • The Community Center will begin evening and Saturday hours beginning the week of September 14th. AVCC will not be open on Sundays. • The combined summer/fall softball leagues have gone well and will end at the end of September • Adult indoor volleyball and bags leagues will begin in mid -September. Currently, there are about 60 volleyball teams and 10 bags team registered. • The Senior Center will re -open on Tuesday, September 8th. Groups will be limited to 10 participants, activities with shared equipment (i.e. cards, mah Jong, etc.) will not be resuming at this time. Participants are asked to come for their activity and then leave the building. Socializing will not encouraged at this time. • The Summer Playground Program had 133 participants. • Day Camp had 10 of 18 possible spots taken and Awesome Adventure Camp filled with 18 kids. • The Aroma Art program gave out 600 take home art kits for Puppet Wagon viewers. • The Puppet Wagon had 1,853 people attend shows this summer. • Staffing update — Marcie Padgett, Youth and Family Programmer retired in mid -July. Bill Bird who has worked at the Senior Center for many years has assumed her responsibilities so a Recreation Supervisor will be hired to fill his role at the Senior Center. Interviews will begin on September 9th see go&& Cwee& ®@ see City of Apple Valley TO: Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee FROM: Jim Zinck, Valleywood Manager DATE: September 3, 2020 SUBJECT: Operational update MEMO Valleywood Golf Course 4851 McAndrews Road Apple Valley, MN 55124 952 / 953-2323 Below is a brief update on the Valleywood operation for the past couple of months of the season. The 2020 golf season feels as if it has been about four seasons in one. It seems as if every other week we are dealing with some form of change we have never dealt with before. From opening with no one allowed in the building to allowing people in the building to the mandated wearing of masks indoors. In addition to a brief weekend with an 8:00 PM curfew enforced. We have seen a lot of different requirements placed on our operation and I could not be prouder of the staff we have here at the golf course on both the maintenance side as well as the golf services side. After record setting months of May, June and July we held a very successful Men's and Ladies club championships the weekend of August 8&9. We are tracking for a record setting August and anticipate play continuing to be strong throughout the fall. While we always aerify the greens on a Sunday night in mid -August, this year we elected to close the course the following Monday to assist our maintenance staff with getting the course cleaned up and ready to play Tuesday morning. Some of our golf service staff even came in to help the maintenance crew with some additional projects. As a result we were able to not only top dress the greens with over 10 tons of sand but we were able to get all of the green fringes, all of the approach area to greens and about 'h of the fairways aerified. In addition to all of the maintenance we were able to complete it also provided a much needed day of rest and recovery for the golf course. Working with the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce and Think Bank we were able to obtain cart dividers for all of our 55 electric golf cars with Think Bank paying 2/3 of the cost in exchange for sponsorship signage on the dividers. The clear plastic dividers allow us to rent golf cars for people to share thereby reducing the overall amount of cart traffic on the golf course. This will also allow us to end our short term lease of 12 additional golf cars the day after the Chamber tournament. We are in the midst of planning a socially distanced Chamber Golf Classic on September 10"'. We have met a few times with the chamber golf committee and are hoping they can get 100 players for their event. As of this writing they have approximately 70 players registered for the tournament. The logistics of handling 18 various hole sponsors with their products, tables and chairs as well as the 100 players is no small task. The committee and our staff will have to work very closely to not only make for a successful event but to clearly communicate to the players and the sponsors the procedures to help keep everyone safe. I am very confident that our plan will work well and we will provide a great day of golf for all of the participants and sponsors. As the season has progressed we have seen that golfers are very good about following the rules and are very appreciative of the opportunity to play. However, over the last few weeks we are starting to see some people's patience run thin and have a had a couple of difficult customers who are clearly frustrated with the continued limitations on what is allowed. This is the exception not the rule. Most players continue to be very understanding that we don't make the rules but it is on us to enforce thetas. A few things we learned through this pandemic that we would like to incorporate into our business model are the following; • The larger gap in tee times has been a real eye opener. We would typically have 8 or even 7 minute tee time intervals in the past. In order to facilitate social distancing we set our tee times at 10 minute intervals and will most likely adopt a 9 or 10 minute tee time interval into the future. • We are re-evaluating our golf outing pricing model for the coming years. With most outings cancelled this year we have accumulated a lot of data on how much golf revenue we generate on the various days of the week and will adjust our outing prices based on the day of the week as well as the time of day an outing plays. • We will be closing the golf course for one day each August to facilitate the aerifying of greens and other maintenance projects. This proved to be hugely beneficial this year and the additional time to perform maintenance has greatly sped up the healing of the greens from the aerifying process. • We hired three 16 year old staff members this spring to assist with the constant cleaning and sanitizing of the golf cars as well as the building. As the season progressed these young staff members grew in their roles and now assist with the golf shop operation and all of our outside golf services areas. We anticipate attempting to snake the hiring of a couple of 16 year olds a regular part of our spring hiring plan. • In the midst of all of the uncertainty this spring and summer, Valleywood has continued tc provide a setting and service to the public that has been greatly appreciated by virtually all of our visitors. We have seen a lot more families, couples, youths and women playing this season which bodes well for our business model moving forward. We have also had a lot of people coming out to ride along with players or just bring a folding chair to watch a spouse or child hit range balls. The course has proven to be a valued resource for the public to spend time outside with other people. The biggest thing I have learned through this season is that we have a phenomenal staff here at the golf course. We are very fortunate to have the team we have and they all work so well together it has rarely seemed like a problem being here the amount of hours we have. Jordan, Ryan, Tom and I all work so well together that I think it reflects positively on all of our staff and as a result the staff is quick to help each other out. I have also learned that I still love what I do. Even in these trying times. age as&& 00000 0606 e0o City of AppValley TO: Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee MEMO Parks and Recreation Department 7100 - 147' Street West Apple Valley, MN 55124 952 / 953-2300 FROM: Mike Endres, Acting Director of Parks and Recreation DATE: September 3, 2020 SUBJECT: Park Maintenance Update The summer and fall continue to be challenging for the Park Maintenance Division with the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is still, and in the future will be, to keep the crew and staff safe while continuing to prepare for fall and winter maintenance demands. We are still operating with a 75% reduction in seasonal staff and 2 less full time staff. Summer / Fall Updates • Field use is starting to increase, but we still have an excellent opportunity to focus on strengthening the turf in our athletic complexes. • The renovations to JCRPW # 11 are completed and they are starting to use it for practice. • Quarry Point #1 Baseball remains closed for the season for renovations. The field will be in great shape for the start of the 2021 season. • Continuing to install new Park Rules signs throughout the park system - 40% complete. • Assisting with COVID-19 disinfecting protocols at City Hall and Liquor stores. • Utilizing warming house sites to separate Public Works and Park Maintenance staff. • Actively involved with the planning and implementation of EOC (Emergency Operations Center) protocols during the COVID Pandemic. • Maintaining the integrity of over 680 acres of park infrastructure, including 105 athletic fields, 54 playgrounds, 20 basketball and tennis courts, 26 park buildings, 6 pickleball courts, 80 miles of pathway, 32 parking lots, 1 disc golf course and a skate park. • Family Aquatic Center 1. Sprayground has been started and tested, working with vendor on final details. 2. Taking full advantage of the pool being closed to do a major landscaping renovation.