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03-23-2021-prc-sumCHANHASSEN PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES March 23, 2021 Chairman Boettcher called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. via Zoom. MEMBERS PRESENT: Jim Boettcher, Sandy Sweetser, Matt Kutz, Jim Peck, Joe Scanlon, and Karl Tsuchiya MEMBERS ABSENT: Youth Commissioner Zoe Erpelding STAFF PRESENT: Jerry Ruegemer, Park and Recreation Director, Priya Tandon, Recreation Supervisor, Adam Beers, Park Superintendent, Mary Blazanin, Senior Center Coordinator, and Jodi Sarles, Rec Center Manager PUBLIC PRESENT: None. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Commissioner Tsuchiya moved, Commissioner Kutz seconded to approve the agenda. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 6 to 0. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS. None. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS. None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. APPROVE PARK & RECREATION MINUTES DATED FEBRUARY 23, 2021 Commissioner Tsuchiya moved, Commissioner Peck seconded to approve the Minutes of the Park and Recreation Commission Meeting dated February 23, 2021 as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 6 to 0. NEW BUSINESS. None. OLD BUSINESS. None. REPORTS. PARK MAINTENANCE QUARTERLY UPDATE Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – March 23, 2021 2 Park Superintendent Adam Beers gave a report on park staff activity in preparation for the changing seasons. At this time, due to warmer weather, staff is approximately three weeks ahead of schedule performing maintenance on summer equipment and placing pickleball nets, tennis nets, ballfield bases, and soccer goalposts. Sentence to Serve will be cleaning around City Hall and the Library the second week in April. A new staff member, Payton Neuville started two weeks ago as a Park Operator. On March 19, 2021 the City received bids for the 2021 Park Replacement Plan which included playground designs from Midwest Playscapes, Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground, and Northland Recreation. Finalized designs will be posted on the City website for two weeks and residents can vote for playgrounds for Pheasant Hill Park and Carver Beach Playground. Chairman Boettcher commented that it was great that the City got employment applicants from outlying areas. 2021 EASTER EGG CANDY HUNT PREVIEW Recreation Supervisor Priya Tandon reviewed plans for the upcoming Easter Egg Candy Hunt which will be held April 3, 2021 at City Center Park. The event will be run in three waves which include three age categories in each wave (4 and under, 5-8 years old, and 9-12 years old). The times are 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m., 9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m., and 10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Due to a change in the executive order, 300 participants are now allowed per wave which includes children, their families, volunteers, and staff. Staff and volunteers will sanitize and place additional candy between waves. Each participant will receive a goodie bag for gathering the eggs including special golden eggs that can be redeemed for prizes. The golden eggs were increased over previous years and door prizes were eliminated to encourage social distancing. There will be a socially distanced visit from the easter bunny and a drop site for the coloring contest. Those interested in participating in the coloring contest can find the information on the City website. Ms. Tandon added that the City is seeking volunteers for the event. Commissioner Sweetser volunteered to assist in the event. 2020-2021 ICE RINK SEASON EVALUATION Ms. Tandon gave a review of the past ice rink season. The ice skating season was abbreviated due to COVID-19, warm temperatures, and snow events at the beginning of the season. The ice was available for skating from January 11-March 1, 2021. Due to restrictions on indoor venue capacities, the warming houses were not opened. Rink lights were turned on at night for 45 days and remained off for 5 days due to high and low temperatures. Lights were turned on at City Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – March 23, 2021 3 Center Park, North Lotus Lake Park, the Chanhassen Rec Center, and Bandimere Heights Park, which are four of the five parks that typically have warming houses. The lights at Roundhouse Park remained off because the warming house hours were typically during daylight hours. Pioneer Pass Pleasure Rink did not have lights turned on as it was flooded for a second year on a trial basis. No outdoor rink data was recorded as there were no warming house attendants hired. Rink attendants stated the rinks seemed popular. Twelve rink attendants were hired, half of the usual number, who worked an estimated 98 hours with salaries coming in at $1,000. Overall, seasonal wages, warming house rentals, and rink maintenance costs were down. Flooding Pioneer Pass Park cost $1,800 which is covered in the Park Maintenance budget. Commissioner Kutz stated that, in the future, there needs to be a focus on more consistent ice. Due to the weather, there were only 25 days of good ice. When funding is available, the City should look at a more permanent way to get consistent ice. SENIOR CENTER QUARTERLY REPORT Senior Center Coordinator Mary Blazanin stated the Senior Center was shut down until February 1, 2021. While it was shut down, the City provided remote classes including teaching people how to use zoom, a music history class “MacPhail Unwrapping Music” attended by 50 people, and History Mystery lessons prepared by local historian Dave Jones which were shared with 150 registrants. Currently, small groups of people are allowed to access the Senior Center in groups of no more than 10 people. Meals on Wheels continues to deliver meals out of their Waconia site to 12-15 Chanhassen residents. Some classes have transitioned to a hybrid of online and in-person including the 55+ Alive Driver Safety Course, Tax Information Assistance, and Understanding VA Benefits. The Senior Center held a St. Patrick’s Day party for 33 participants which included musicians playing Irish tunes and take-out containers of baked potatoes. Ms. Blazanin has been able to help seniors register for their COVID-19 vaccination when they call for assistance. Carver County has stated almost 80% of seniors have received at least one shot. Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – March 23, 2021 4 Ms. Blazanin collaborated with Rec Center Manager Jodi Sarles on “Love your Community Month” including a Valentine’s Card drive which collected 150 handmade cards delivered to local senior housing sites. Great Start Donation Drive collected 2,836 pounds of food and hygiene items which were donated to PROP. There is a gift card drive for Eastern Carver County School District families as well as a Volunteer Connection list posted on the City website. Ms. Blazanin and Ms. Sarles also collaborated to host a Chan Rec Trivia Challenge which included 10 groups of participants and awarded the top two winners with prizes donated from local businesses. Chairman Boettcher asked Ms. Blazanin if the Senior Center requires temperature checks. Ms. Blazanin stated they do not require temperature checks at this time. Commissioner Peck expressed an interest in donating to the gift card drive and asked where he could find additional information. Ms. Sarles stated the information for the gift card drive was located on the City website. Once gift card purchases have been made, the gift cards will be delivered straight to the school. CHANHASSEN RECREATION CENTER QUARTERLY UPDATE Ms. Sarles gave an update on city facilities. $80,000 for the Rec Center removable wall replacement was included in the 2021 CIP budget and two proposals were brought to the council meeting. A proposal for $67,800 was accepted to replace removable walls by the end of summer. The new walls will be more sound proof and help reduce noise in the shared space. Youth sports activities were paused for two weeks including in-person youth programming and open gym from March 6-20, 2021. Some classes continue online and others were postponed or cancelled. During that time period, the Rec Center was used by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) as a COVID-19 testing site where people could get a free saliva test. Ms. Blazanin, Ms. Tandon, and Ms. Sarles collaborated to hold a Blarney Stone Hunt where 16 painted stones were hidden in 8 parks, one closer to a playground area and one off of a trail. To date, all but two stones have been returned. People who returned a stone received a prize pack which included extra sponsorship gifts, gift cards from Cub and Lunds & Byerlys, and Rec Center passes. Ms. Sarles reviewed that some classes and sports are being held in person and there have been 45 participants in adult activities thus far. Dance classes have modified their year-end recital to include three separate performances at the Rec Center in May 2021. Participants in sporting activities have to wear a mask if they are age 5 or older. Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – March 23, 2021 5 COMMISSION MEMBER COMMITTEE REPORTS. Commissioners Scanlon and Boettcher and Youth Commissioner Erpelding have reached the end of their terms. Mr. Ruegemer added the new commissioners included Scott Fischer, Heather Markert, and Don Vasatka as well as Youth Commissioner Chaehyun Lee. Their first meeting would be April 27, 2021. He thanked outgoing Commissioners Scanlon and Boettcher and Youth Commissioner Erpelding for their service on the Park and Recreation Commission. COMMISSION MEMBER PRESENTATIONS. None. ADMINISTRATIVE PACKET. PROP DONATION RECEIPT ADJOURNMENT. Commissioner Scanlon moved, Commissioner Boettcher seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 6 to 0. The Park and Recreation Commission meeting was adjourned at 7:43 p.m. Submitted by Jerry Ruegemer Park and Rec Director Prepared by Kim Meuwissen