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Agenda and PacketAGENDA PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2020, 7:00 P.M. CHANHASSEN RECREATION CENTER, 2310 COULTER BOULEVARD A.7:00 P.M. ­ CALL TO ORDER B.ROLL CALL C.APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioners may add or delete items at this time. D.PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS E.VISITOR PRESENTATIONS Commission Procedures allow for presentations from the audience at this time.  If a motion is required, the item will be forwarded to the next available agenda to allow for publication and review prior to consideration. F.APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1.Approve Park & Recreation Minutes dated October 27, 2020 G.NEW BUSINESS 1.2020 Year in Review Presentation H.OLD BUSINESS I.REPORTS 1.Park Maintenance Quarterly Update 2.Senior Center Quarterly Report 3.Chanhassen Recreation Center Quarterly Update J.COMMISSION MEMBER COMMITTEE REPORTS K.COMMISSION MEMBER PRESENTATIONS L.ADMINISTRATIVE PACKET M.ADJOURNMENT PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Subject Approve Park & Recreation Minutes dated October 27, 2020 Section APPROVAL OF MINUTES Item No: F.1. Prepared By Nann Opheim, City Recorder File No:  ATTACHMENTS: Summary Minutes Verbatim Minutes CHANHASSEN PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING SUMMARY MINUTES OCTOBER 27, 2020 Chairman Boettcher called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Jim Boettcher, Karl Tsuchiya, Matt Kutz, Haley Schubert, Sandy Sweetser, Jim Peck and Youth Commissioner Zoe Erpelding MEMBERS ABSENT: Joe Scanlon STAFF PRESENT: Jerry Ruegemer, Park and Rec Director; Priya Tandon, Recreation Supervisor: and Jodi Sarles, Rec Center Manager APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Jerry Ruegemer added item number 3 under reports regarding Lake Ann Park playground presentation. Tsuchiya moved, Kutz seconded to approve the agenda as amended. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Priya Tandon provided a brief overview of the Halloween Party that was held on Saturday, 24th. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS. None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Tsuchiya moved, Kutz seconded to approve the verbatim and summary minutes of the Park and Recreation Commission meeting dated September 22, 2020 as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. YOUTH ASSOCIATION PRESENTATIONS. Terry Kemble, 3160 West 82nd Street, administrator for the Chanhassen Athletic Association (CAA) and Lenny Checheris, 2411 Hunter Drive spoke to the history of CAA and the associated sports. Commissioner Kutz asked about registration for CAA. Commissioner Peck asked if the CAA gets kids from the Minnetonka School District, and CAA’s involvement with the Legion baseball program. Jonathan Tudor with the CC United Soccer program explained the goals and purpose of the CC United Soccer program. Park and Recreation Commission Summary – October 27, 2020 2 REPORTS: 2020 PICNIC SEASON EVALUATION. Priya Tandon reviewed the evaluation of the 2020 picnic reservation season. Commissioner Tsuchiya asked if the City did any kind of enforcement on the 25 person limit on picnic reservations. CHANHASSEN PARK AND RECREATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM REVIEW. Jodi Sarles explained how the City of Chanhassen scholarship program has worked since it’s inception in 2009. Tsuchiya moved, Sweetser seconded that the Park and Recreation Commission adopt the recommendation outlined in Item number I-2 regarding the 2021 Park and Recreation Scholarship Program. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. LAKE ANN PARK PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT UPDATE. Jerry Ruegemer showed pictures of the before and after progress of the Lake Ann Park playground equipment replacement. COMMISSION MEMBER COMMITTEE REPORTS. None. COMMISSION MEMBER REPORTS. None. Tsuchiya moved, Sweetser seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. The Park and Recreation Commission meeting was adjourned at 8:21 p.m. Submitted by Jerry Ruegemer Park and Rec Director Prepared by Nann Opheim CHANHASSEN PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 27, 2020 Chairman Boettcher called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Jim Boettcher, Karl Tsuchiya, Matt Kutz, Haley Schubert, Sandy Sweetser, Jim Peck and Youth Commissioner Zoe Erpelding MEMBERS ABSENT: Joe Scanlon STAFF PRESENT: Jerry Ruegemer, Park and Rec Director; Priya Tandon, Recreation Supervisor; and Jodi Sarles, Rec Center Manager APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Jerry Ruegemer added item number 3 under reports regarding Lake Ann playground presentation. Tsuchiya moved, Kutz seconded to approve the agenda as amended. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Boettcher: Do we have anything Jerry? Ruegemer: Not tonight. Boettcher: No Halloween Party? Ruegemer: That was last week. Priya certainly can share. Tandon: Sure we can do a brief overview of the Halloween Party. Given I guess the extreme cold it went very well. We got a lot of positive feedback from families and kids so that was awesome. Jodi and Mary were there and Jerry was there helping out and Commissioners Sweetser and Shubert and Erpelding also helped out. Ruegemer: Matt was there with family. Tandon: Yep, so helping out the day of the event. Overall went very smoothly. A lot of positive feedback. We had 22 businesses and organizations either donate or partner at the event helping out as well and then the Chaska High School Key Club, Chanhassen High School Key Club, and Students Today Leaders Forever service organization from Chanhassen school also Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 2 helped out. So overall a lot of help with the event. It was a group effort. Very cold but it went pretty well. Boettcher: Did you get a rough count did you say on people? Tandon: Yeah we did. So we had about 200, 150 to 200 at a time and then we did four waves of that. Boettcher: So still had at least some type of a party then. Tandon: Yes, yes. Boettcher: Alright thank you Priya. Anything else? VISITOR PRESENTATIONS: Boettcher: Next item we have visitor presentations. I believe we’ll wait with that until we get to the new business under youth associations. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Boettcher: Any additions, changes, corrections need to be made? Hearing none motion to approve. Tsuchiya moved, Kutz seconded to approve the verbatim and summary minutes of the Park and Recreation Commission meeting dated September 22, 2020 as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. YOUTH ASSOCIATION PRESENTATIONS. Boettcher: And we’ll go right into the new business. Jerry you want to introduce the topic? Ruegemer: I sure can. So just as kind of our brainstorming that we had in August and September, we had kind of talked about wanting to become really kind of familiar and have our youth associations come in. Give some presentations and talk about their associations and what sports they offer. What population they serve. Just a history of Chanhassen and the area community so we’re really lucky to have CAA here tonight, the Chanhassen Athletic Association and CC United Soccer so we’re excited. They both have really long lasting history in our communities and serving our residents in Chan and around the area as well so their groups really go back to the 70’s and 80’s when their associations and soccer clubs got started so they do have a long rich history serving our community so, so really I think it will be informative tonight for the council, or council. For the commission to hear. I was at the council meeting last night. Just Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 3 to hear kind of first hand really what great service they have so we’ll kind of start with CAA and then we’ll move over to CC United Soccer so Terry and Lenny the floor is yours. Boettcher: And if of you would for record state your name and address. Terry Kemble: Terry Kemble, 3160 West 82nd Street. I’m the administrator for the Chanhassen Athletic Association. Lenny Checheris: And my name is Lenny Checheris. If you can spell I’ll give you a cookie. C- h-e-c-h-e-r-i-s. Boettcher: Did you tell him about me and cookies? Seriously. Lenny Checheris: 2411 Hunter Drive. Boettcher: Alright thank you. Lenny Checheris: So I thank you for inviting CAA here. Terry asked me to speak because for some reason she says she doesn’t like public speaking, I’ll BS on that. She’s never had short of words but she asked me to just kind of go over some of the history of CAA. You know I’ll introduce myself. I’m Lenny Checheris. I’m the Baseball President…League Director. I’ve been with CAA since 2001. I’m sorry, 2011. 2011 so I have two boys that have been involved with CAA since they were youngsters and now one is in high school. I have a 13 year old who continues to play baseball and will continue to do so for the next couple of years, but a little history. I’m just taking some of the notes. The history of CAA. Terry and I were talking earlier tonight and we were trying to figure out how long CAA’s been around. She said she was in middle school so that would make me in diapers so it’s somewhere around 1970. About 1970 and it’s been a robust program for many years. I know baseball really took off because I witnessed my next door neighbor with baseball. It seemed like it just took off from there. This was probably 2006 or ‘07 and we’ve been able to form several teams throughout, you know we’ve had issues as it relates to numbers. We’ve got competing factors. We’ve got kids have to make a decision to play soccer or baseball because they align if I remember correctly. Ruegemer: All the ages groups. Lenny Checheris: And the older age groups and some kids decided to play soccer. Some decided to play lacrosse, baseball and they, our program numbers throughout the last 8 years have seen some fluctuation. Terry printed everything up for you so you guys can take a look at it but through CAA we offer baseball, softball which is under the Diamond Sports umbrella. We offer basketball. We offer soccer. Volleyball is no longer part of our umbrella under CAA. Club has taken most of the kids. Terry Kemble: Yes. The high school coaches recommend. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 4 Lenny Checheris: Yeah so you know and that’s what CAA is really competing with is our club teams now. We’ve lost several teams, members to even at the younger ages now. They’re marketing to 10 and 11 year old kids to play club for the better experience and more competitive experience and most people are finding that it’s really not. The fun is really at CAA. But you know all in all we have a dedicated group of volunteers at CAA that really are passionate about the sport. You know this year was an anomaly as COVID took hold of nearly everything in our lives but we, when it started out in March. I think it was March 13th when they closed the schools or something happened on that day. I can’t remember. You know we were meeting, certainly weekly because we had already formed teams. We didn’t know what we were going to do. Once pardon my French all hell broke loose in May we started meeting several times a week and by the end of, Governor Walz was supposed to give us some information on May 1. It was postponed to May 14th. Once again postponed and we had to make a decision so parents and families could go on with their lives. We couldn’t hold them on and tell whether we were playing baseball or not playing baseball. We don’t know. It wasn’t fair to them so we decided to end the league this year. Or end the season I should say on May 26th and June 1st we opened it back up but we were only, we were the sanctioning body for teams that were independent of CAA so they needed our insurance. We left them play. We formed most of the teams formed again because we cancelled the season. It was a huge mess but it was really neat to see that out of all the teams that we postponed or cancelled the season two kids didn’t show back up and in fact we had 3 other kids that joined which was really neat because people were scared. I mean everybody was scared at that time about COVID and we put in safety measures. We did a really good job, we had wonderful persons that tackled, we did a tremendous job providing sanitization at all the fields. She just did a great job so you know we had a great season. All the kids had fun. You know it was an abbreviated season but it was still a lot of fun. But you know getting back to the other sports. I know Bill on the basketball side is, he’s just going through it. He doesn’t know if we’re one COVID case away from cancelling the season and fingers are crossed that it doesn’t happen that way. I know all of the basketball programs throughout the city have safety protocols in and are very sensitive to making sure that no one gets sick with COVID and if they do they just, what is the process? I was talking to Bill about it. If a kid gets, they isolate him. Terry Kemble: They have to stay home for 2 weeks. Lenny Checheris: But at these tournaments they’re not going to be as robust as they once were. Two people per kid are allowed in the gymnasium which you know baseball usually you’re outside right. You can socially distance really well. Soccer took a hiatus this year because obviously it was unprecedented times. We use that word ad nauseam but they decided not to play because they’re younger. I’m sorry, CAA soccer decided to take a hiatus this year. Younger children. Parents were a little bit more concerned. There was more concern from the parents so they decided not to play this year but as you can see the numbers are still robust within our community and our sports. We have kids that not only encompassing Chanhassen but also Victoria, Carver and some from Minnetonka there that are involved in our program because Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 5 it’s a lot better, quote unquote better program that what Minnetonka can provide because they don’t offer the competitive tournament teams that everybody clamors for… So we use all of the fields within Chanhassen. We use Lake Ann which is by far my favorite field to watch baseball at. I mean there’s a buzz when kids are there and we’re able to have our baseball games there and this year and instead of traveling so much a lot of baseball was played at Lake Ann. We have Lake Susan which is shared with the high school and Minnetonka. Bandimere. All those parks. What was that Sunset Ridge there’s one and there’s just quite a few parks. You guys are great. You maintain them for us. They look great and I think you fold into the mix the Dugout Club and boy they’ve really, they were instrumental at putting lights up at Lake Susan. The City Council really helped us out. Gave us a solid and helped us fund it and we raised money for it and obviously the plans for other things like restrooms at Lake Ann instead of Porta Potties. Those are kind of long term ideas. I’m off the board by then but you know but I think that’s really kind of the direction certainly Diamond Sports is going. You know the facilities as it relates to basketball that use all of the schools around here and so forth. There’s a couple of notes. One thing about certainly for baseball because I’m at the mercy of baseball, I mean it’s a feeder sport to town or high school but also the Red Birds. How many kids from Chanhassen are on the Red Birds? Terry Kemble: We’ve looked at 5 or 6 now. Lenny Checheris: Yeah there’s just, you know and it’s just these kids really just want to play ball and it wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have such beautiful fields here in Chanhassen and you go from the small fields to the little bit bigger fields to the full sized fields and we can service them all. There was one other thing I was going to bring up. You know we have some head winds coming up I think I mentioned earlier as it relates to club baseball. If you’re familiar with club soccer. People believe it’s a better experience. You know it’s more competitive and candidly it’s not. These kids really get a great coaching from volunteer parents that coach baseball and it’s something that we’re going to have to really look at. Back up about 10 years ago softball, once you hit 12 years old you’re off to club and it used to be housed in here didn’t it up until they were like 14. Until high school. Now they’re going younger and younger and pulling these really high level softball players and recruiting them so the growth projections as it relates to baseball we don’t know. It’s been flat for the last couple of years which is better than the decline that we’ve had in the last several and that’s, we’re just grateful that the kids keep coming out and they’re having fun playing ball and the price is reasonable. CAA offers scholarships for those in need so if you don’t have the money to play there’s scholarships available and so it’s very inclusive as it relates to play and you know if the coaches candidly make calls if the kids don’t come back. They find out why aren’t you playing? If they say hey I don’t want to play baseball anymore. I sucked at it or it’s too slow for me, I’m playing lacrosse. God bless you. Go do something else but if it’s because of money we make sure that they’re playing baseball or softball. So it’s really a brief synopsis of our program. Is there anything about soccer because it’s been kind of soft. You’re going to talk about real soccer. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 6 Terry Kemble: So the youth soccer program we compete with Jonathan and then the City also has a soccer program too so when I first started in CAA there was probably 700-800 kids in the program in the fall and now it’s gone down to say 200 because there’s just so many different options to play in the fall and a lot of kids decide to play traveling soccer now because Jonathan has a really great program. My daughter played it 3 years. Kutz: Do you advertise for your programs like I’ve heard of you but I’m trying to think like where we could have signed up to play? How would we have gotten an email saying hey. Lenny Checheris: Honestly you wouldn’t have because that has been our dilemma. It’s been word of mouth. We have now hired a marketing director for our baseball program. Diamond Sports Program and that’s really something that because Google provides you, if you’re A 501C league, Diamonds Sports is. CAA baseball/softball, they will provide you X amount of dollars to market and that’s been a rub that we’ve had for quite a while so we’ve had people that would actually say hey I’ll champion this and nothing got done and we are of course a volunteer organization and we spend quite a bit of time trying to generate more numbers for kids or more for the program because it exposes kids to baseball. Candidly this year I think we’ve got the right person to really deal with it. Terry Kemble: We also use that Peach Jar… Kutz: Yes, that’s where I’ve heard. That’s where I found, you jogged my memory now. Terry Kemble: We used to supply flyers and send them home with every child in their packets but they don’t do the packets for that Peach Jar has actually saved us a lot of time and money. Kutz: So like the City they do the 3 and 4 year olds and the 5 and 6 year olds but that’s kind of where you guys stop right? Sarles: Right. Kutz: In comes you guys, you know that might be an opportunity to work…saying hey here we go. Lenny Checheris: Where are you from I’m sorry? Sarles: I run the Rec Center. Lenny Checheris: The Rec Center, okay. Terry Kemble: Jodi and I worked together a lot when I ran the softball program. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 7 Sarles: And we do, I mean we basically tell people when they ask where do we go from here, you know because the kids have aged out and needs more competition. We send them all to CAA or over here to the CC United. Lenny Checheris: Yes sir. Peck: I’ve got several questions. I’m Jim Peck and...but I’m a baseball freak. Lenny Checheris: Well good. We’re in good company. Peck: I’ve been doing baseball for 58 years. One of my questions is the northern third of Chanhassen is not in the East Carver County or East Carver School District. Do you get any kids out of that or do they all end up in the Minnetonka system because that’s where they go to school? Lenny Checheris: Jim you know we have quite a few kids that we’ve been able to pull from that corridor but eventually, and the reason being is because they tell us, they’re qualified to play anybody within 112. St. Hubert. All of the parochial schools within our association boundaries are eligible to play. That area, and I think you’re talking like just north of. Peck: Well it’s not very far. It’s about 6 blocks north. Lenny Checheris: Right. A lot of kids playing from, who go to school in Minnetonka play for Chanhassen. Peck: But as they get old they stay at Minnetonka because they don’t have much option from what I can tell. Lenny Checheris: Correct. We’ve had one kid who’s in my older boy, my 16 year old boy’s class that is a Minnetonka kid that’s choosing to go to Chan. Peck: My second question is you don’t, you don’t do anything with the Legion programs? That’s a separate entity? Lenny Checheris: It is a separate entity but we are certainly a feeder program for them. Peck: My next question is your numbers from the last 6 years to not last year which you went up some, are about half. Do you think that’s partially due to travel baseball? Lenny Checheris: I do not. What I do think it is, is the competing sports like lacrosse is really looking at 2013-2014, that was I’m trying to do the math. Peck: Yeah lacrosse is not on here so I can’t relate to the numbers. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 8 Terry Kemble: We don’t have lacrosse. Lenny Checheris: No we don’t have lacrosse under our umbrella. Peck: But you have lacrosse in Chanhassen. Lenny Checheris: Oh yes we do. Peck: So it’s competition. Lenny Checheris: Yep. Ruegemer: City Lacrosse, Minnetonka Lacrosse… Peck: Because I deal a lot with travel ball and that’s fine. It’s here to stay. I’ve got a couple theories you pay me I’ll tell you how good your kid is. Your kid can’t play very well because I want your money. That’s going on a lot. Lenny Checheris: That’s it, you know and to your point that’s really what’s happening at club areas right now that we’re struggling with. We had one kid who was rostered on a club team at the Millers and played in the summer and in the fall but then for the following 2020-’21 summer he was cut because guess what they got a better kid in his position. Tsuchiya: Or he got too old. Lenny Checheris: No, no, this kids is an 11 year old kid. Peck: This kid might not have. Lenny Checheris: Yeah so he joined our program. Peck: And a child that comes from a family that doesn’t have very much wherewithal monetarily, we’re not interested in his unless he’s really, really good and then we’ll scholarship him on the other kid’s dime. That’s exactly what’s going on. So I commend you that you’ve got it going and you’ve got a lot of kids playing and it’s fun for them. They’ve got to enjoy it. If they don’t enjoy it and not having fun they shouldn’t be doing it. They should do something else whatever that may be. Lenny Checheris: Correct. Peck: Thank you. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 9 Lenny Checheris: You’re welcome. Any other questions? Kutz: Just briefly we talked about baseball and softball. Where are you guys play the basketball at? Lenny Checheris: Throughout, we’re sprinkled through all of the schools around here. Rec Center. Terry Kemble: Mostly the high school. Lenny Checheris: Pioneer Ridge. Chaska Middle School East and West. Terry Kemble: Victoria. But the school district charges a lot of money for us to play in their facilities. We’re very fortunate that the City of Chan doesn’t charge us for field usage. Lenny Checheris: Yeah and kudos to whoever it is… The field when it’s ready to play ball they’re landscaped properly. They’re, we’ve got enough infield dirt. You know it takes once it’s there we still have to maintain it of course as an association but the initial start up man if you could take a picture of that it looks beautiful so commend the park board for taking care of the fields so well. Boettcher: The one thing you touched on was about baseball and the number is going down for different reasons but you hear it all the time about, especially high school sports. Parents are getting their kids out of football because it’s too dangerous so they want to get them over to baseball and you mentioned it briefly and the kids say it’s too boring. Like I try to watch the games like the World Series again tonight I’ll be watching it but you know when somebody’s standing up there and he has to undo his strap, like please when I played Babe Ruth and Junior League I mean I wasn’t very good by any means but I was there. I mean we loved it. Now apparently kids look as it’s too time consuming. You say some are going over to lacrosse so when you lose someone do you do like an exit review, you know what did you like? What did you like type of thing. Lenny Checheris: Yeah I think I touched on that a little bit. We do. For baseball in particular. I don’t know about basketball or soccer but you know we reach out to the families and figure out what’s up. What’s wrong? Was it the coaching? Oh no not the coaching. Was it anything else? I just didn’t want to play ball anymore. I wanted to play lacrosse and it’s like as long as he’s doing something and not playing video games I’m alright with it right, but if it’s, you know we had a couple of people certainly throughout COVID that struggle financially and we supported them regardless what we had in our coffers. We have to take care of the kids and make sure they keep coming back. Peck: Sometimes when a player’s 10 years old he’s really playing because his dad’s forcing him to play and he really doesn’t want to. There’s a little more of that than you really get to know. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 10 Lenny Checheris: There is some of that. Peck: Not a lot but there’s some. Lenny Checheris: Yeah you know and to your point I think you’ve got some really engaged dads who lived vicariously through their kids and wish their kids were something that they weren’t you know and you can tell. You can tell the kid’s heart’s not in it. You’ve been what did you say, coaching 58 years. You’ve seen it all then so. Peck: I don’t think it’s as bad now as it might have been 10 years ago. I think that’s backed off a little bit with a lot of education. Lenny Checheris: I think it has but the truth of the matter is baseball, you have to have passion for that sport. Diamond Sport. Any diamond sport. Softball can get boring too but you just have to have passion about whatever you’re doing. I have a son that plays baseball and downhill skis. Well he has a passion for both and you know hockey could be someone’s passion or soccer could be someone’s passion or baseball but eventually what I’m noticing now especially with my older boy, he was the first year he’s not playing basketball since he was 5. He’s in high school now. He’s focused on football and baseball so you know kids gravitate to what they feel they’re best at. Peck: In bigger schools they get so much pressure to play whatever 14 months a year that they can key on football or whatever if they don’t play year round… Lenny Checheris: And that’s the thing with my older boy. He’s really training. He’s a pitcher and he’s training his pitching and hitting and winter long which is kind of breaks my heart because he’s played basketball since he was a kid. You know he had, gymnasiums get a little stuffy and stinky and hot but it was still fun. The passion was there. You know everybody gets excited. A lot of noise and I miss it so. Ruegemer: Any other questions from the commission? Boettcher: I have one more but it’s in regards to the basketball. I’ve been on the commission now this is my 9th year. We’ve heard a lot of presentations, is it Todd? Ruegemer: Neils? Boettcher: Neils came in and we talked about we did the lights at Susan. The dugouts. The scoreboards and stuff. The basketball I can’t remember anyone coming in for CAA talking about basketball so I was kind of surprised when I looked at this and I see the numbers for participation actually more than baseball but it’s something that’s like a well kept secret. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 11 Lenny Checheris: You know it’s a well oiled machine. Terry Kemble: My husband runs it. Boettcher: There’s no problems with it? Lenny Checheris: Well and to be fair I mean he really has, a really stuffed program where kids, there were very few cuts this year right if any? Terry Kemble: I don’t know. Lenny Checheris: Alright but that’s just a rumor mill that not very many kids get cut but they’re trying to be a lot more inclusive and he really does a great job. That’s a lot of work. Terry Kemble: It’s probably never been brought up because we don’t use the city facilities for that but we use the school district’s so that’s probably why it’s never been presented. Boettcher: Any other questions for anyone? Lenny Checheris: Thanks for having us. Terry Kemble: …and what we should have talked about is, in normal years we host large tournaments for baseball and baseball and it brings a large number of people to the community and they go out to the restaurants. They stay in the hotels. You know they go to the grocery stores and I don’t know if the City, maybe Jerry probably does because we do a lot with him but I don’t know if the City people realize how much CAA brings to the community. Lenny Checheris: Yeah it’s true. You know we had a baseball tournament which generates a great deal of money for the program but it also generates a lot for the restaurants and the hotels. Terry Kemble: The basketball tournament is the largest in the state. I said it’s the largest one in the state and Sandy used to help us with that. Schubert: Oh basketball? Terry Kemble: Yes. Ruegemer: So just so the commission knows too and in probably February of this year I started working with Jackson…older kids with baseball. We kind of starting developing kind of an economic model to kind of gauge and track per team how much money is, what are we talking about here so we were kind of putting together some information to kind of try to measure that and have kind of a benchmark for year to year to kind of try to chart that so I was kind of working on that. I still have it and it’s going to be a goal for 2021 to kind of hoping we’ll be Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 12 back to 80 percent normal, who knows but that is something that certainly I have interest in to present. I think it would it be helpful for our commission also for City Council as talking points I guess for economic so that could really tie into a lot of things. With future funding and field improvements for lighting or soccer improvements, that type of thing so based on…we certainly want to support our business community. Council’s very in tune with that so that’s kind of one of the reasons why we started to talk about that…but we’ll dust that off and we’ll get it kind of moving again so. Thank you both. Appreciate you coming in. Jonathan with CC United. Jonathan Tudor: Good evening. My name’s Jonathan Tudor, T-u-d-o-r for those of you have not seen my last name around for a while. I’m the Director of Coaching at CC United Soccer. I’m figuring out more and more, and I apologize for a lack of preparation tonight. I changed by email address about a month ago and we’ve been trying to figure out people that don’t have my new email so I got a call yesterday that says hey, there’s a meeting and it was pretty vague but I put some things together on the club and if you’ve got any questions afterwards I’ll be only too happy to chit chat some more about it. CC United is like the community based program. I’ve been privileged to be a part of community sub programs for the last, close to 30 years. Both myself, I worked for my dad at Tonka United and we were there for, my dad was there for probably 20 years and then he came over to us and I was his assistant at Tonka United and then CC United which was Chan Chaska Soccer Club back then which was some 16 years ago asked me to come over and help their program and I’ve been very, very fortunate to have a lot of good experiences over the year. Currently our club we have about 650 competitive players. We have about 1,100 in the rec. We are 40 percent gen in our total programs. We are a District 112 club so we cover the cities of Chaska, Chan and Carver and Victoria. The field usage that we get from the City of Chan, we’re fortunate to get Bandimere and they’re definitely overused in the fall program City Center. We absolutely and I apologize batter it up a little bit. We were there every day, every moment this year with our COVID requirements we struggled. Our season kind of came to a close in March and we were told basically, like everybody else it’s been a very unsure time and obviously the safety of every family that’s part of the program has been our highest priority. But we came back slowly and they had a guideline where we could only have 9 kids at practice but I’d have to mark out grids for them and that was very entertaining and they had to sit 5 yards apart and coaches with masks and spray bottles and we did that for a couple of months and it was very, very creative and I think the positive thing about COVID that I hope has happened is it’s kind of, it’s brought about something that’s missing. You know we get lost in what we want from youth sports I feel currently and I think COVID kind of brought it back on track. We just want to see our kids play. We want our kids to be outside and want them to be away from the screen. We want them to be active. We want them to be engaged and missing that more than anything I think was absolutely huge for whatever sport they play. Whatever activity they do just having the ability to go and interact. I’ve got two kids. My oldest played through the CC United program and is currently in college. I never really understood kind of the value of youth sports until I became a parent coach and I think that, who’s been a parent coach? Alright. I think the beauty of becoming a parent coach and being there with your kids and seeing them at some part in the journey or Sandy helping out with her kids…just being a part of it I think is such a fantastic thing. You know you’re privileged to see, to be on this journey with Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 13 them that they seem to have, one of our coaches pointed out at what point do the smiles stop on the team pictures and it’s usually about 13 when competition gets a little bit too serious and we focus on something else but like I said I think the COVID situation brought into what we actually want from this sport. As a community organization, like I said we’re fortunate to get the facilities. We’re in the July the 4th parade. We’re fortunate there. Last year’s, was it last year’s July the 4th parade the club actually lost money by going in the parade because all the kids turned up with their soccer balls and put them on the back of the float and I thought they were to be given away so I was kicking these balls into the crowd and by the time we finished our loop there were like 12 crying children so it…the club very well with everybody getting these new soccer balls. We had a picture of all these kids being pulled around on the back of these cars you know. Who knew soccer would make your kid miserable. You know we focus, CC United is a community based club. We focus on the attachment phase and we’re very committed to community development. How we batten that up is that, we don’t recruit. We don’t, we have no flyers absolutely anywhere. We solely care about the kids that come out from District 112 from the start to the finish. You know there’s no phone call. There’s no advertisements in any magazines. There’s no Facebook page that says come here. We have a very respectful approach to other people’s community because I believe that if we take one player from another program like say Eden Prairie it creates a negative effect in that Eden Prairie program that affects somebody else’s soccer experience so just having an open conversation with them and finding out why you here? You know what do you want out of this? What are you hoping to get that you’re not getting and it’s, if it’s not happy where they’re at and they’re making sure that the kids are responsible and the parents are responsible and they reach out and do the right thing. But like I say we are very committed to the development of the kids in this. The attachment thing I think is the most important phase in anything that the children do. It’s that part that they get to like and I think to be a part of the attachment thing it has to be local. It has to be cost effective and they have to be doing it with their friends. At the club we’re very, very conscious on putting people with friends in our rec program. It’s all friend based. When they get up to 11 years old then we take into account friendships and drives and things like that just so that we keep them connected. Our goal, and baseball’s probably the same, it’s not what happens now. It’s by the time they hit 18 that they still want to come and swing a bat and hit a ball and if you’ve got kids that come back and they’re playing and you’ve given them that I think that is more priceless than any state tournament that you could ever, ever win. In our program we have a large amount of parent coaches. The last successful year we had which was previous as far as the full season, we had 429 coaches and 380 were parents. And the reason why we strive to get parents coaches is it keeps the cost low. We don’t have to pay for parent coaches. Without the increased fees to get them to come in but we make sure that the pressures are that they’re well trained and these people would be absolutely lost without, because basically when you become a parent coach you have to do your background check and your safe…and concussion training. It’s a long requirement of safety precautions that we ask our parents to do and they’re on top of that. We ask them to come in 3 times a month to come and do coach training and then they’ve got their own training and they’re assessed on the field ongoing so we do hold them accountable but we want them to be a part of the program and they too see the joy in being a parent coach. On a personal note I think that youth sports lost it’s purpose a little bit. I think we’re losing the Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 14 purpose of the name and the game and I’ve had a little bit chance to work with the cities to get the kids back in the game. You know it shouldn’t be about playing for an elite team or a showcase team. It should be about playing for a team and it should be about the sport and the sport’s name should surpass anything else. Some of the greatest soccer clubs in the world are just called their name. There’s no academy or league or showcase that goes with it because we want them to play for the name not the game. We’ve proven in the club that even when we keep our kids together they can achieve. Last year we had a group of 18 year old girls that stayed together and play right through the program and out of a 16 player squad, 14 are playing college. 6 of them are playing Division 1 college. Two of them are playing at the U so that from a community club that doesn’t search players is phenomenal achievement. It is an absolute phenomenal achievement and I think in my position I’m just privileged to have lots of memories of chasing Karl’s dad. You know trying to keep up with him for many years. He’s probably still playing age who knows what now. Tsuchiya: 66. Jonathan Tudor: Oh my goodness. He’s defied age. You know and being a part of Sandy’s kids and everywhere I go I see these memories of kids and it’s not about the state tournament. It’s about the years of practice and being around the group and keeping connected with the group and where they go and grow up and when they come back into the community with their own kids and make me feel twice as old so. The future of our club. We’re trying to provide every single site. We’re trying to provide an attachment for the kids in the community but we also recognize it’s about development. It’s about development of an ability to play a sport. We’ve added Annie Kutz who is the former Assistant Director of Coaching for Minnesota Youth Soccer to our staff. We’ve got Cole O’Connor as our goal keeper coach who was the Minnesota United Soccer Coach and we’ve recently just added a position for Katie Clark who was the Chanhassen Girls High School coach. She’s going to be Director of Women’s Sporting Attachment Phase so Katie’s going to be in charge of any female experience within the club. If you’ve noticed despite the girls hauling the slide up the side on sports participation it’s a male dominated coaching world and we want to get those moms involved. We want to get that balance because I think playing, I think having a girl playing for a female coach I think is priceless and can provide a lot more moving forward for them in their longevity. That’s a lot of information there. Like I say we are struggling right now with our neighbors. Our neighbors in Minnetonka, we recognize that the borders cross and Chanhassen runs into Minnetonka just as Minnetonka runs into Chanhassen but they’re crossing a few boundaries and we’re having a few difficulties with them. They are a recruiting club and there are different beliefs and directions to us but it is making it a challenge with their current stance and mail out’s and things like that so we’re trying to work together. We welcome any help to be able to work together to provide an opportunity for all kids to play in any community. So we are looking at that. The thing I think we need from the City of Chan is the fields are fantastic and we’re sad that they weren’t used as much as they were the previous year. They were always well kept and they’re as accessible as ever and I understand the importance of pulling the trigger when the rain comes. We could use some working together maybe to get some goals out there on Bandimere because are still, they’re the oldest things that Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 15 we have. I’d invite Cole’s probably got 3 or 4 goals on him that tells you how old they actually are so any questions? That’s about everything that our club is, you know we are year round program now. Now developing the District 112 dome. We utilize that. We utilize space in Eden Prairie. We’re trying not to push our kids into you must play soccer year round. It is the belief of myself and the club’s direction that kids should multi sport. They should play hockey, basketball, football, baseball, whatever that they want. They shouldn’t be pressured into one sport and what we have at the club is called an open door policy where our kids can just email a coach and go practice with that team. So if they’ve got baseball on Mondays and that’s when their team is practicing, if there’s a team practicing on Tuesday they can go play with them and just say to that coach and say hey I trained with that team just to keep my team in so we’re not trying to force our kids to play soccer. What we’re trying to do is to get them to understand what their goals are. What do you want to do with your soccer? How good do you want to be? If you just want to play with your friends that’s fine. If you want to push then you need to be accountable to those goals and that’s the big thing we focus on in the club and this year I’m very excited to have the staff to it. We have an office just down by Paisley Park and I’m very excited to see what the next few years hold for the club so. Ruegemer: Does the commission have any questions for Jonathan? Sweetser: Jonathan are we still one of the larger clubs with kind of…? Jonathan Tudor: We used to be but the change in the soccer dynamic and I don’t know what it’s like in other sports but other community clubs emerging to survive so for example there’s just been Woodbury and Dakota Red merged to form a club called Salvo which loses their community name which I don’t know how they do it and still get community fields but now they’re trying to get Lakeville in there too. Burnsville has merged with Apple Valley. Minnetonka merged with Hopkins and Plymouth so they’ve got their programs so it’s survival all over the place. Tsuchiya: Wayzata? Peck: Plymouth’s Wayzata. Jonathan Tudor: Yes Wayzata Soccer Club merged with Plymouth to form PSA and then Tonka merged with PSA to form the fusion. Soon we’ll all be just one big club. You know that’s the kind of thing that we’re fighting against because we are an attachment based club. We want the kids to have the experience but like saying, the challenge just lately is, I think some clubs have lost focus on their grass roots which is the kids…and you’ve got to prioritize them in every way. They’re the ways that are going to keep your club going and growing so. Ruegemer: Thank you Jonathan. Anything else? We appreciate your guys coming in tonight and sharing your stories and we applaud your passion for the community and really provide the opportunities for the kids so thank you for that. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 16 Jonathan Tudor: Thank you. Ruegemer: You’re welcome to stay if you’d like to but you’re certainly welcome to go eat tonight. Take care. REPORTS: 2020 PICNIC SEASON EVALUATION. Boettcher: I don’t see anything listed here under old business. You didn’t have anything additional Jerry? Ruegemer: No. Boettcher: We go onto item I, Reports. First one is 2020 Picnic Season Evaluation. Priya this looks like it’s your’s. Tandon: Yep, thank you Chair Boettcher and thank you commissioners. So this year’s 2020 picnic reservation season was significantly shorter than previous seasons, as you can imagine due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on gathering size so this year paid picnic reservations totaled 32. We normally have around 120 so obviously very down just due to the cancellations and restrictions on gathering size. So the paid picnic reservations ran from July 21st through October 3rd compared to May 1st to October 1st or so which it normally is. And these 32 reservations generated about $3,000 in revenue compared to the $15,000 that we normally bring in. And many other picnics and small gatherings take place weekly at all the locations but reservations aren’t made so that’s an option for people as well. So just going over some background like I said, the typical picnic reservation season was May 1st through October 1st but this year the first portion of that picnic season fell under the Stay at Home Minnesota order in phases 1 and 2 of the State’s Safe Reopening plan and so the Stay at Home or Stay Safe they really encouraged no social gatherings and that increased to 10 so it didn’t make sense to have a lot of those picnics because a lot are larger company picnics or family reunions that by nature have more than 10 people and cost of those groups cancelled their events on their own so we just kind of didn’t open the picnic season. And then the other point there is yeah typically most picnic shelter reservations throughout the years are for groups over 25 people so that’s kind of why we kind of waited til the guideline of 25 people in a social setting to reopen those picnic reservations. So for 2020 like I said 32 paid picnic reservations brought in a total of $3,000 revenue. To remain compliant with the CDC and State Safety Guidelines the capacity for all picnic shelter reservations was limited to 25 people and that was based off of the social setting classification as part of the State’s Safe Reopening Plan. Not the outdoor entertainment classification which is that 250 number so that’s why we went with the 25 people. The revenue typically is around $15,000 compared to the $3,000 this year just again with COVID. If you see there are a few attachments that detail the number of reservations. The number of people. Kind of a total throughout those reservations and then the revenue as well. Unfortunately 2020 isn’t really comparable to any of the previous years because of by nature it’s 2020 as you can kind of Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 17 see by the graphs there. Everything down but consistent with other seasons. Most popular site was the Klingelhutz Pavilion at Lake Ann which was then followed by the Lakeside Pavilion at Lake Ann which was then followed by Lake Susan. And there is a breakdown that kind of details that each pavilion, how many residents made reservations. Was it school district? Non- residents and those were pretty consistent with previous years but just very, very scaled down in number. And we did have over 700 picnickers that were parts of picnics that were under reservation so that was cool to see. At the end of the picnic season an evaluation was sent out to those who made picnic shelter reservations and the information collected was largely positive. The big comments and suggestions included fees, especially for the lower capacity of people and hope for some sort of online reservation system or request form so we’ll review that for next year. And yeah overall I guess we’re pleased that we had the picnic facilities to offer to people especially as they look for ways to maybe social distance for a gathering with family. You know especially the Klingelhutz is pretty big and wide open and so people could come with their groups of family and spread out so it was a nice thing that we were able to offer, and that’s about it. Anyone have any questions? Boettcher: Anyone have any questions for Priya? We’ve still got something with a shorten year and a weird year and hopefully the last year like that. Tandon: There were a lot more weddings and celebrations of life this year than I think maybe previous years just because we were one of the spaces that were open and outdoors for people to use so that was kind of nice to see. Tsuchiya: Priya I was wondering with the 25 person limitation, did you guys do any kind of enforcement on that? Tandon: We did not. So every reservation we made we really asked people to follow the spirit of the Executive Order and make sure they are limiting capacity and kind of did our best to make sure that they were at the 25 person limit prior to making the reservations so there were no surprises at then end, like oh. My group has 100 people, you know. We tried to make it very clear from the beginning and I think people understood. Tsuchiya: Okay so more of an honor system. Tandon: Yeah. Ruegemer: Just so the commission knows, I mean the phone rang all summer long and had we had higher capacity of our 25 people we could have made our $15,000 and probably more because Priya was constantly taking phone calls and Jodi same thing with, you know if we had increased capacity at the Rec Center as well we could have been booking rooms all day long but obviously we’re following the CDC guidelines and the Department of Health guidelines so we know our parks were being extremely used this summer as it was kind of a place where you could go together as Priya said so I think our community feels extremely lucky and fortunate that Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 18 our facilities were open. Our playgrounds were open. Skate park was open. Our beaches were open. Our picnic facilities were open so we at least have some positivity in the cruddy year that 2020 has been with that so I think people were extremely appreciative of that and as Priya touched on it we had just cancellations upon cancellations from you know birthday parties to graduation parties and family reunions so you can see in the numbers we were down on our revenue projections but I think that’s across the board for everybody right so we’re hoping for a strong rebound in 2021 and hopefully once we get the vaccine and things start getting hopefully back to normal we’re hoping for 70, 80 percent or 90 percent next year so fingers crossed but you know Priya and Jodi and Mary they all did a great job of informing people of what they can and can’t do and providing safe protocol in place to get people involved and make sure that we’re going in the right direction for our facilities so thank you. Boettcher: Alright thank you. CHANHASSEN PARK AND RECREATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM REVIEW. Boettcher: This looks like Jodi. Sarles: Thank you Chair Boettcher and commissioners. I’m not sure if you’ve uncovered it or not but we have had a scholarship program here, a formalized one in the City of Chanhassen since 2009. It’s on our website. We offer it to anybody here. Under our current program applicants can receive up to $100 per person per year with a family maximum of $350. We have a few minimum co-payments so it’s 20 percent for that program so if they were to come and go to one of the playground programs they would have to pay that first 20 percent and then the park and rec covers the 80 percent there. So we have some exclusions currently. So a lot of Mary’s trips, overnight trips. We’ve got punch cards were one. Day camp. Sports unlimited and Sky Hawks camps, shelter and facility, personal training and then the competitions and that. Each recipient may use that for a total of up to 4 programs annually and then only 3 of those can be summer programs. So since 2009 we’ve granted $4,000 in scholarship funds so it’s not, for that time period that’s a fairly low number. But as we’re looking at it and we kind of decided to do an investigation and see how other areas are doing. What we’re doing differently. What can we do to include more activities so we decided to kind of shift how we offer our programs. Change that percentage so folks will pay for 50 percent instead of 20 percent but then with that switch we include things like punch cards. Make a purchase of punch cards. Now punch cards are like cash and they would have to stay here in house but they could use it for their family and that would offer a lot more options for people to use that money. Also we would include those Sky Hawks and Sports Unlimited camps who did remove kind of the $10 programs and less. Just that is a lot of the administrative fees and everything to get people, it makes sense with those and they can use that for more programs annually with a limit of 3. We allow that for all ages. Some area programs were just for ages 18 and under but we felt it was important to continue to offer it for everyone. You know for all people’s health so if you kind of look around a couple of the attachments are what we will put out for 2021. Got to remember those dates in my head here so it’s just basically, it is for just residents of the City of Chanhassen. Can’t have any outstanding Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 19 balances of course and then the kind of program scholarships will be awarded as resources allow. So if all of a sudden got inundated and everybody was taking a gymnastic class and we kind of ran through the entire season for our year with that, that gives us the flexibility to pull back some of that. The dollars that we would be covering. A lot of area programs either have a scholarship fund so they’re doing different programs and things to try to generate funds with that. Some of them are like memorial funds. That’s what Chaska has is a memorial fund. And so this one we’re basically kind of covering that cost for the folks so we are going to still not include things like day camps and field trips. Adult sports, personal training, birthday party facility rentals, those sort of programs but we did include those other programs such as the Rec Center punch cards and also the attachment is the upgraded scholarship application form so if you do have neighbors, friends, people you know that are looking to participate and don’t think they can we should sure love to have them here. We don’t want to exclude anybody for any of our programs so. Do you have any comments on the scholarship program or things you’d like to see added or changed? Kutz: So are you…dollar amount fee or is it just whatever it ends up being? Sarles: We’ve set a maximum for $1,000 I think it was per quarter and that was set in 2009 so we’ve used $4,000 so we’re doing okay with that one for now. Sweetser: And that’s just based on the number of applicants. Sarles: Correct. And kind of looking at this we were also anticipating that we may be seeing additional applications for folks right now with this COVID phase so wanted to make sure we can take care of people and provide them those activities that they can do in the city here. Boettcher: So when you go through the vetting process I mean do you ask the tough question, I mean if somebody asks for assistance do you say can we see your mom and dad, two kids, do you get to that degree or how is it, I mean that’s always the tough question. Sarles: Right. Boettcher: You don’t always ask that but. Sarles: So kind of on our program we really don’t want to keep people’s personal information here. That was one of the things so we do ask if you’re receiving a form of public assistance and these are how many people are in your household and also if there’s any hardships that we should know about and then your annual income estimate so that’s kind of the questions we ask. We do not make them provide us with any statements from the State or anything that they’re receiving you know free and reduced lunches with the school district. Ruegemer: And that’s basically kind of based on their answers with that. We’re kind of taking people at their word on that so obviously they do have an annual income. We can see what Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 20 people are making and how many kids and people they’re supporting within their family so you can kind of see the number of years that we’ve been doing, we don’t get a lot of people generally asking for assistance so I don’t view this as a wide spread problem and I guess we have, like the associations tonight have really kind of looked at this as it’s really our goal to include our public in our recreation programs. We don’t financial barrier to be a problem so we’ve always absorbed annual costs and it hasn’t been a large sum of money through the years. You know we have a lot of in kind things that we can just provide for our staffing and we don’t have a lot of money going out that we can’t cover or absorb within the revenue phase of these programs so. Obviously Jodi and Priya talk about this. We have to anticipate part of this too. The associations kind of touched on it tonight but people lose their jobs or furloughed and we do have a lot of needs out there potentially so if people have enough courage I guess to ask, we want to make, we really want to navigate them through that easy process for them and I don’t think we’ve ever turned anybody down at all so it’s going to be easy for people to get their kids involved. I guess in my mind and I think in staff’s mind it really is a confidence booster. It’s something positive for people whether it be their kids or a parent, they can provide for their family and that’s a positive light within a tough situation so we’re all on board with this and hope the commission is as well. Tsuchiya: Does any of this proposal need a motion? Ruegemer: We should have a motion on that yeah. Sarles: It’s not written but it would be to accept the recommendations for a 2021 scholarship program. Boettcher: Would someone like to make a motion? Tsuchiya: I’ll make a motion. I would move that the recommendation that staff has outlined in item number I-2 be adopted. Is that sufficient Jerry? Ruegemer: Yep. Boettcher: Alright we have a motion. Is there a second? Sweetser: Second. Boettcher: Motion and a second. Any other discussion? Tsuchiya moved, Sweetser seconded that the Park and Recreation Commission adopt the recommendation outlined in Item number I-2 regarding the 2021 Park and Recreation Scholarship Program. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 21 LAKE ANN PARK PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT UPDATE. Boettcher: Thank you Jodi. Very good. Jerry you’ve got I-3. Ruegemer: I do. Boettcher: With a presentation. Ruegemer: So obviously we did not have an opportunity to get out to Lake Ann Park to visit the new playground equipment this year with darkness and cold and snow but I just wanted to put together just a brief, it’s nothing over the top. I just wanted to kind of show the commission tonight kind of a start to finish in pictures the progress and finished product at Lake Ann so. Just want to kind of go through that here real quick with the commission so we know that the Lake Ann Beach, we took that playground equipment down right after Labor Day. Right after the beach season closed. We knew that the beach was extremely busy this year with COVID, so we wanted, we didn’t want to interrupt the kind of flow of that so we waited until school kind of started after the Labor Day weekend until we took that down so. So we took down the old equipment and kind of got the process started so the commission will probably remember the playground cost was around $50,000 for that replacement of the concrete border. There was kind of a combo bid between Power Hill Park and Lake Ann Park so that was $40,000 in total so we kind of split that out so we figured about $18,000 for the border. We’ll see some pictures of that here coming up as well with that and the interior wood fiber. We kind of got rid of the pea gravel. You know a lot of times we’ll do the poured in place for the community park structures. That’s kind of the surface for that so that was basically $1,800 for a total of $69,800 for that so this playground replaced the original, well not the original but a playground from 1992 so 28 years old. That playground was so it was time. It was getting tired with that. The border was getting tired so we’ll just kind of go through that itself. So you can kind of see on the left hand side, that was the original structure since 1992 with that and we’ll kind of go through and the crew was starting to assemble the project. You can see the leaves so that was probably in late September for that. For kind of the starting of that project so take a picture of that and we’ll kind of work through the process here. So this is kind of the beginning of the project. Everything was fenced for safety and there was throughout the course of the day the crew would get done working and they would button up everything for the night so people wouldn’t get in there. So kind of the removal process here. So we took out the wood border for that and then one of our skids here, Bobcats then pulled out the old piping and concrete footings out with that and basically kind of started with a clean slate. This is the concrete company, Tietz Construction was down there so the container was expanded to make it a little bit more room down there as well so you kind of see how they form the concrete. The concrete border for that. Has some different angles of that so obviously concrete was poured all the way around the structure itself so you kind of see it from different angles what it looked like so that’s kind of the start of that. I think this was done 1 or 2 days before they poured. So that’s when the concrete was pouring. You can kind of see the concrete…so our crew comes in and starts to kind of lay out the decking and the support posts for the playground equipment itself so if you can kind of see the orange dots kind Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 22 of painted in the dirt, you kind of see that? That is where it’s, the posts were basically laid out so the insulation could happen so the rental machine is called a Dingo so we used to do a lot of the digging with a Bobcat attachment and then 2 foot auger. We’d work with it down and ripe out the dirt. This has got a lot smaller footprint. Little bit easier to navigate through that container with that. You’ll see some additional pictures so everything gets done. I see one, that’s JJ holding that but holding up laser level so we can get exact depth on that so, with that so we can kind of go from side to side so. Our crew you see them holding the level with that and you can kind of see that auger bit that goes down to a certain depth and then pulls out the dirt and then that’s kind of an exact depth based on height of the pole and a number of different factors of kind of how that has to be constructed. So again old and new, same angle. This is a complete product. This is done probably about the first week or two in October out at Lake Ann so you can see the wood fiber, kind of the base material that’s in there so Adam and crew usually leave about 3 inches over the winter time. We’re letting it kind of compact with moisture, rain, play, everything kind of settles down and then they’ll come back at a later time and then kind of top dress it again to make sure they’ve got their safety depth and stuff for that around all areas of the playground itself so old versus the new for that. You can kind of see the different angles of the new playground equipment itself. I think the last shovel of wood fiber and there were already kids playing on it so we know that this will be a very welcomed site come next spring and summer. Early summer with the beach reopens back up again but park maintenance staff did a great job of getting it completed and kind of buttoned up here prior to the winter season so it’s ready to go. If those commissioners who have kids or grandkids that want to go down and play, have at it. It’s really a nice addition to Lake Ann so questions? Tsuchiya: I’m just curious Jerry, what happens to the old equipment? Is it recycled or donated? Ruegemer: Usually by the time, usually it is kind of outlived it’s usefulness so a lot of times you know when I first started working here a lot of times we would put it on public auction but now just kind of through liabilities of old equipment and that sort of thing it’s basically just recycled and destroyed. Boettcher: You said it was 28 years old. Ruegemer: 28 years old, yep. Installed in 1992. Boettcher: Because what is it, normally isn’t it 25? Ruegemer: 20-25, yeah. This is really kind of a first generation epoxy poles and kind of a lot of the stuff was old redwood and wood type of structures that kind of were that first generation. And then we kind of evolved through the course of time so now you don’t see wood borders anymore. It’s all kind of poured in place concrete now so we’re really kind of looking at really a longevity thing so they do last the number of years. Obviously we have a significant investment in these playground pieces so we just want everything to last so I will not be around when this one is replaced again. Hopefully. Park and Recreation Commission – October 27, 2020 23 COMMISSION MEMBER COMMITTEE REPORTS. None. COMMISSION MEMBER REPORTS. None. Boettcher: I did notice one thing today. I drove by Lotus Lake boat landing and it looked like one of the residents that lives right by the landing had cleared some timber or someone came in and did a landscape service. There was a bunch of firewood stacked on the sidewalk. Is that to be given away or do you know anything about it? Ruegemer: I don’t know anything about that. Boettcher: It was all I could do to not stop and load it back in my Jeep. As soon I would if someone would come out, but it’s right where the restroom usually is. It’s right out here on the sidewalk and they even have it stacked by size. The bigger diameter here to the smaller. Ruegemer: Easy for pickens huh? Boettcher: That’s what I thought. I mean like I said it was really tough. Sarles: We don’t know how you get home tonight but if it goes away. Ruegemer: In the dead of the night go load up. Boettcher: I mean you wouldn’t have to worry about Emerald Ash Borer. It’s close for transporting it. Alright seeing no other business anyone want to make a motion to adjourn? Tsuchiya moved, Sweetser seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. The Park and Recreation Commission meeting was adjourned at 8:21 p.m. Submitted by Jerry Ruegemer Park and Rec Director Prepared by Nann Opheim PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Subject 2020 Year in Review Presentation Section NEW BUSINESS Item No: G.1. Prepared By Priya Tandon, Recreation Supervisor File No:  SUBJECT 2020 Year in Review Presentation SUMMARY 2020 Parks & Recreation Year in Review Slideshow.  PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Subject Park Maintenance Quarterly Update Section REPORTS Item No: I.1. Prepared By Adam Beers, Park Superintendent File No:  SUBJECT Park Maintenance Quarterly Update SUMMARY Facility Shutdown: All rental facilities at Lake Ann and Lake Susan Park are now closed for the season. The water has been shut down and drained, all seasonal drinking fountains have been removed, and the buildings have been winterized. The recreational docks, fishing piers and paddle boats have been removed and brought into the shop for annual maintenance and repairs. Skating Rinks: As the weather continues to improve for flooding conditions, staff is ready to start making ice for the season.  Flooding will commence on a 24­hour rotating schedule until sufficient ice has been made and the rinks are ready for use.  Due to COVID­19­related mandates, the warming house delivery is on hold until further notice.  Staff has placed tables at each location for temporary seating.  Trail Maintenance: All trails were flail­mowed one last time in preparation for winter plowing. All high­priority tree maintenance has been completed along trail sections to ensure safe travel for plowing equipment. On behalf of the Park Maintenance division, I would like to wish everyone happy holidays! PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Subject Senior Center Quarterly Report Section REPORTS Item No: I.2. Prepared By Mary Blazanin, Senior Center Coordinator File No:  SUBJECT Senior Center Quarterly Report SUMMARY The Senior Center was slowly working into more programming during the past three months, including two larger events and several hybrid classes (Zoom and in­person)and educational sessions. Senior Center rooms were used for small groups, while the Rec Center event rooms were used for larger gatherings. Highlights include: Small groups:The Senior Center welcomed many small groups indoors as the weather turned colder, offering a safe place to socialize and enjoy hobbies. These small groups brought 360 people through the Senior Center doors this quarter. Woodworkers 12­15 senior carvers per week, and 5­6 middle school student learners  Weekly “Music & Jam Sessions” learning to play fiddle, guitar and violin  New Small Group Start­Ups included a Crochet/Knitting Club, Mah Jongg and Scrabble players, and a Men’s Discussion Group. Many were “younger” active adults (under 70) Education and Care:A strong emphasis was placed on education. All of these sessions were offered as a hybrid, giving participants the choice to either attend in person at the Center or join remotely from home on Zoom. On average, 40% of the participants attended remotely via Zoom.  55 Alive Driver Safety: Seven classes were offered in partnership with the MN Safety Council. This was a small revenue­generating program for the Senior Center, with almost 80 participants overall Medicare Updates for 2021 and Health Care Insurance Information. 28 participants November Dementia and Alzheimer’s Awareness Sessions: Hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association, 30 people remotely attended 2 classes on caregiving challenges. A Dementia Care resource table is also now permanently set up at the Chan Library Foot Care Clinics:Each month, we served up to 12 clients. This is a much­needed service for our seniors, as most foot care­related services are not covered under Medicare, and out of pocket expenses are very high. Our nurses charge a minimal fee Caregiver Monthly Support Groups are offered through Senior Community Services; both via Zoom and in person. Individual family consultation with a Social Worker is also offered Tech Support and Learning: Several classes were offered to teach basic cell phone and social media skills. As PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION STAFF REPORTTuesday, December 8, 2020SubjectSenior Center Quarterly ReportSectionREPORTS Item No: I.2.Prepared By Mary Blazanin, Senior CenterCoordinator File No: SUBJECTSenior Center Quarterly ReportSUMMARYThe Senior Center was slowly working into more programming during the past three months, including two largerevents and several hybrid classes (Zoom and in­person)and educational sessions. Senior Center rooms were used forsmall groups, while the Rec Center event rooms were used for larger gatherings. Highlights include:Small groups:The Senior Center welcomed many small groups indoors as the weather turned colder, offering a safeplace to socialize and enjoy hobbies. These small groups brought 360 people through the Senior Center doors thisquarter.Woodworkers 12­15 senior carvers per week, and 5­6 middle school student learners Weekly “Music & Jam Sessions” learning to play fiddle, guitar and violin New Small Group Start­Ups included a Crochet/Knitting Club, Mah Jongg and Scrabble players, and a Men’sDiscussion Group. Many were “younger” active adults (under 70)Education and Care:A strong emphasis was placed on education. All of these sessions were offered as a hybrid,giving participants the choice to either attend in person at the Center or join remotely from home on Zoom. Onaverage, 40% of the participants attended remotely via Zoom. 55 Alive Driver Safety: Seven classes were offered in partnership with the MN Safety Council. This was asmall revenue­generating program for the Senior Center, with almost 80 participants overallMedicare Updates for 2021 and Health Care Insurance Information. 28 participantsNovember Dementia and Alzheimer’s Awareness Sessions: Hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association, 30people remotely attended 2 classes on caregiving challenges. A Dementia Care resource table is also nowpermanently set up at the Chan LibraryFoot Care Clinics:Each month, we served up to 12 clients. This is a much­needed service for our seniors, asmost foot care­related services are not covered under Medicare, and out of pocket expenses are very high. Ournurses charge a minimal feeCaregiver Monthly Support Groups are offered through Senior Community Services; both via Zoom and in person. Individual family consultation with a Social Worker is also offered Tech Support and Learning: Several classes were offered to teach basic cell phone and social media skills. As a result, we are helping our active older adults become braver and better at using their phones, Facebook and Zoom Aging with Gusto in the Time of COVID:25 people attended this 4­week “test” class, including Senior Commissioners, Sr. Center Advisory Members, City and Carver Co. staff, and Senior Housing representatives. The class focused on Personal Age Well Plans and recognizing “ageism” in our communities. We plan to offer this to the community at large in 2021. Carver County grants will cover all class costs Chan Villager articles.These continue to publish monthly and highlight older adult issues and resources for our community Meals on Wheels. Chanhassen’s Meals on Wheels site has temporarily merged with the Waconia site due to the leaving of our Site Manager, Alan Olson. Meals are prepared in Waconia, then brought to Chanhassen for delivery. 12­18 meals per day are delivered to homebound seniors in Chanhassen by local volunteers Large­Group Gatherings: Some of our older adults were excited to attend larger, socially distanced events which gave them a chance to enjoy a change of pace in a safe, organized setting. These were held at the Rec Center, and capped at 40 guests per event. Octoberfest Celebration:Featuring The Jolly Huntsman Band, attended by 36 people. This event was covered in part by a large donation from T­Mobile in September. An historical presentation by David Jones on "Prohibition" was also offered in October November Pancake Breakfast:Over 40 meals were served by the American Legion Auxiliary, with Veterans eating free from a generous donation from the Auxiliary. Meals could be ordered for eat­in or take­out. Mayor Ryan hosted and helped deliver meals to drive up customers, and also chatted with seniors indoors Bingo: Avg. of 22 players each week Holiday Party:The December Holiday Party is now a drive­through event and has been rescheduled for Thursday, December 17. Reservations are still being accepted. Meals will be delivered to patrons' cars as they drive through the Senior Center Parking lot Future Planning:With the new guidelines and shutdowns in place, Park and Rec staff are planning several months of remote­programming options, including multi­generational ideas. Our isolated seniors who do not have access to computers or cell phones, will be getting regular check­in calls from the Senior Center or from our Commissioners. We will continue to find ways to "think outside the box" to offer support and fun programs for our local older adult community. Thank you, and I wish you a healthy and fun holiday season! ATTACHMENTS: Veterans Day Pancake Breakfast Winter Driver Safety Classes The American Legion Auxiliary and Mayor Ryan host our annual Veterans Day breakfast with style! This year, we offer you a choice: dine in at the Senior Center, or pick up your breakfast to eat at home--you can decide which option works better for you! Breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, fruit, butter, syrup, and coffee or juice. Even amidst a pandemic, we want to honor our veterans and our community of active older adults. So sign up, stay safe, and stay tuned! We’ll fill you in on dining/pick-up protocol at regristration. Chanhassen Recreation Center | $5/FREE for Vets Registration Deadline: Friday, November 6 | Drop Off/Mail-In Registration/Call PANCAKE BREAKFAST | TUESDAY, NOV 10 | $5/FREE FOR VETS | DINE IN OR PICK UP| REGISTER BY NOV. 2 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 | For more information, please call the Chanhassen Senior Center at 952.227.1125. Mail or drop off your registration form to Chanhassen City Hall, 7700 Market Boulevard P.O. Box 147, Chanhassen, MN 55317. No refunds given after the deadline date unless the event is canceled by the Senior Center. Participant’s Name: DOB: Participant’s Name: DOB: Address: City, State, Zip: Best Phone Number to Reach Me: E-mail: **Family and close-contact friends will be allowed to sit together with mutual agreement. Who would you like to sit with?PROGRAM REGISTRATION FORMI, the participant, do hereby allow the City of Chanhassen to use any photographs taken by the city of the individual(s) named herein in city informational bulletins released to the general public for the period of one year from the date I have signed below. Data Privacy Policy: The information requested on the registration form will be used to verify eligibility and determine staff, facility, and equipment needs. Participant Signature Date: Please make checks payable to the City of Chanhassen. Credit card payments accepted for $10 and over ONLY and must be made in person. For Office Use Only Date Registered: Amount: Check: Cash: CC: By: Veterans Day Pancake Breakfast Veterans Eat Free! Sponsored by the Chanhassen American Legion Auxiliary CHOOSE TO DINE IN OR PICK UP 9-10:30AM DINE IN, 9-10:30AM | DRIVE-UP ORDERS, 9-10:30AM 55+ Driver Safety Classes Registration is required 5 days prior to start date. All Class fees are $24 Classes take place via live Zoom instruction. Class meets at the Senior Center, or on your own personal device from home. Classes are taught by the MN Safety Council and meet State requirements for discounted insurance status upon completion. Completion certificates are mailed directly to participants. 3 4-Hour Course If you have previously taken the 8-hour Driver Safety course, this refresher class will qualify for your 3-year renewal certificate. Class Fee: $24 Fee includes all classroom materials. In person participants will be offered a snack and beverage. Limited seating.  Tuesday Dec. 8, 1:30-5:30pm Code: 6204.125  Thursday, Jan. 21, 5:30-9:30PM Code: 6211.400  Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1:00-5:00pm Code: 6211.401  Thursday, March 11, 8:30am-12:30pm Code: 6211.402  Wednesday, April 14, 1:00-5:00pm Code: 6212.403 8-Hour Course (2 days) This class runs in two 4-hour sessions, and is required for the initial insurance discount. It is designed to refine existing driving skills. No tests or behind the wheel teaching required. Class Fee: $24 Fee includes all classroom materials. In person participants will be offered a snack and beverage. Limited seating. The course covers the effects of aging and medications on driving, basic driving rules, license renewal, local traffic hazards, adverse road conditions, and accident prevention measures.  Wed, Dec. 2 & 9, 5:30-9:30pm Code: 6204.129  Wednesdays, Jan 13 & 20 5:30-9:30pm Code: 6211.405  Thursdays, March 18 & 25, 1:00-5:00pm Code: 6211.406 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Registration Form - (Submit with payment) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ____ 4 Hr. Tuesday Dec. 8, 1:30-5:30pm Code: 6204.125 Full In person __ Zoom at home ____ 4 Hr. Thursday, Jan. 21, 5:30-9:30PM Code: 6211.400 __ In person __ Zoom at home ____ 4 Hr. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1:00-5:00pm Code: 6211.401 __ In person __ Zoom at home ____ 4 Hr. Thursday, March 11, 8:30am-12:30pm Code: 6211.402 __ In person __ Zoom at home _____ 4 Hr. Wednesday, April 14, 1:00-5:00pm Code: 6212.403 __ In person __ Zoom at home ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____ 8 Hr. Wednesday Dec. 2 & 9, 5:30-9:30pm Code: 6204.129 Full In person __ Zoom at home ____ 8 Hr. Wednesdays, Jan 13 & 20 5:30-9:30pm Code: 6211.405 __ In person __ Zoom at home ____ 8 Hr. Thursdays, March 18 & 25, 1:00-5:00pm Code: 6211.406 __ In person __ Zoom at home Participant’s Name ____________________________________________Date of Birth_________________ Participant’s Name ____________________________________________Date of Birth_________________ Address_________________________________________City/State/Zip _______________________________ Best Phone to Reach You (Home/Cell/Other) __________________Email: ____________________________ I, the participant, do hereby agree to participate in the above-mentioned activity and I further agree to indemnify and hold harmless from and against any and all liability for injury which may be suffered by the aforementioned individual(s) arising out of, or in any way with, his/her participation in this activity. Data Privacy Policy: The information requested on the registration form will be used to verify eligibility and determine staff, facility, and equipment needs. Your name, sex, birthdate, address, phone number and health information will be provided to city staff, volunteers, the city attorney, insurer, and auditor. Alth ough you are not legally required to disclose this information, failure to do so may prevent you from participating in the program Participant Signature: ________________________________________ Date: ________________________ Please make checks payable to: The City of Chanhassen Credit card payments accepted for $10 and over only. For office use only Date Registered ____________ By (Initials) ______ Amount ______________ Check __ Cash __ CC__ PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Subject Chanhassen Recreation Center Quarterly Update Section REPORTS Item No: I.3. Prepared By Jodi Sarles, Recreation Center Manager File No:  SUBJECT Chanhassen Recreation Center Quarterly Update SUMMARY FACILITY INFORMATION The Recreation Center closed at the end of day on Friday, November 20. Rec Center staff have been given the opportunity to continue working; however, the tasks have shifted. Deep cleaning, painting and furniture steaming are under way at both the Rec Center and the Senior Center. In addition, staff will also be scanning City documents into Laserfiche files.  Through COVID­19 funding, new lobby furniture was purchased to replace the fabric loveseats, and the remaining fabric chairs were replaced using the City’s capital funds. The new furniture features anti­microbial vinyl fabric and are single seats that can be arranged in groups or divided to maintain social distance. The total amount was $11,873.20, $3,469.77 of which was covered by CARES funding.  RESERVATION SYSTEM The Fitness Center has been operating with a 5­person capacity. We created an online reservation system for individuals to reserve a time to use the facility. Reservations are offered in 30­minute blocks, and participants may choose up to 3 time blocks per day. You may still drop in, but may not be guaranteed a time slot. It is an adjustment, but at least the disappointment of driving to the Rec Center and being turned away has been alleviated. Indoor Pickleball has also transitioned to a reservation system. A maximum of 20 people are allowed per time period. For people who have expressed concern over playing with strangers, a Pickleball pod­play option has been added to our schedule. One person reserves the court for a group of 4­6, and there is no mixing of courts during this time.  Open basketball has not transitioned to reservations. There is a limit of twenty people on the floor at a time. Once in the gym, you have a maximum of 60 minutes of play while others are waiting. Basketball training is not allowed when there are 15 people in the gym.  PROGRAM INFORMATION Dance for Fun PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION STAFF REPORTTuesday, December 8, 2020SubjectChanhassen Recreation Center Quarterly UpdateSectionREPORTSItem No: I.3.Prepared By Jodi Sarles, Recreation Center Manager File No: SUBJECTChanhassen Recreation Center Quarterly UpdateSUMMARYFACILITY INFORMATIONThe Recreation Center closed at the end of day on Friday, November 20. Rec Center staff have been given theopportunity to continue working; however, the tasks have shifted. Deep cleaning, painting and furniture steaming areunder way at both the Rec Center and the Senior Center. In addition, staff will also be scanning City documents intoLaserfiche files. Through COVID­19 funding, new lobby furniture was purchased to replace the fabric loveseats, and the remainingfabric chairs were replaced using the City’s capital funds. The new furniture features anti­microbial vinyl fabric and aresingle seats that can be arranged in groups or divided to maintain social distance. The total amount was $11,873.20,$3,469.77 of which was covered by CARES funding. RESERVATION SYSTEMThe Fitness Center has been operating with a 5­person capacity. We created an online reservation system forindividuals to reserve a time to use the facility. Reservations are offered in 30­minute blocks, and participants maychoose up to 3 time blocks per day. You may still drop in, but may not be guaranteed a time slot. It is an adjustment,but at least the disappointment of driving to the Rec Center and being turned away has been alleviated.Indoor Pickleball has also transitioned to a reservation system. A maximum of 20 people are allowed per time period.For people who have expressed concern over playing with strangers, a Pickleball pod­play option has been added toour schedule. One person reserves the court for a group of 4­6, and there is no mixing of courts during this time. Open basketball has not transitioned to reservations. There is a limit of twenty people on the floor at a time. Once inthe gym, you have a maximum of 60 minutes of play while others are waiting. Basketball training is not allowed whenthere are 15 people in the gym. PROGRAM INFORMATION Dance for Fun We have a smaller dance program this season under the current COVID­19 safety precautions. Thirteen classes are being offered, and 81 dancers are currently participating. The program shifted to online Zoom classes on the last day of the fall session. Winter session began November 30.  Rec Center Sports Small Fry Sports (ages 3­4): We had 43 youth participate in our soccer program. The program transitioned into an indoor program with the snow. This program was followed with a Basketball/Football sampler, with 10 youth participating in the shortened session. Lil’ Star Sports (ages 5­6): Fall soccer had 31 youth participate in the two sessions. Basketball followed, with 14 children participating in the abbreviated session. Virtual Program Offerings Motivation Mondays: Recreation Center Trainer Juli is offering weekly fitness tips and tricks to keep you exercising at home. These are posted to the City’s main and P & R Facebook pages. Chanhassen Trivia Challenge: Thursday, December 17 at 6:30pm. We will be hosting a 10­question trivia program via Zoom. Registration is free, i ndividuals in groups or family teams may play, and winners will receive gift­card prizes from local establishments.  Dance for Fun, Gentle Flow Yoga, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Mat Pilates, Tae Kwon Do, and eSports are currently offering online programs via Zoom. REC CENTER PUNCH CARD SALE The annual December Punch Card Sale has been postponed. It will be offered once again when the Rec Center is reopened. Accommodations will be made for individuals who would like to purchase them as gifts.  The sale is to buy a 40­punch card and receive a 10­punch card free (a $30 value).