This transcript appears to be from a meeting of the **Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee**. Based on the context provided and the dialogue within the recording, the primary speakers are **Eric Carlson** (Parks and Recreation Director), **Steve Skinner** (Recreation Supervisor), and the **Committee Chair** (identified in the dialogue as Brent). [0:00] [Music] foreign [Music] [0:18] [Music] [Music] foreign [1:04] **Committee Chair:** The August 3rd of 2023 Apple Valley Park and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting. People, as always, I will start off by standing facing the flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance... to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. [1:42] **Committee Chair:** Thank you everyone. The next order of business is to approve tonight's agenda. Do committee members or staff have any changes that they want to make in the agenda as published? **Eric Carlson:** No changes from the staff's perspective. **Committee Member:** I'll make a motion to approve the agenda. **Committee Member:** Second. **Committee Chair:** Okay, we have a motion that has been seconded to approve the agenda as published. All those in favor say aye. (Aye) Opposes? That motion is carried. And now we have the audience participation portion of tonight's meeting. [2:28] **Committee Chair:** So we have about 10 minutes dedicated to your comments from the audience on topics that are not already on the agenda. So is there anybody here tonight that would like to talk to the committee? Could you please come forward up to the podium, introduce yourself, give us your address and tell us what's on your mind? [2:50] **Bonita Samanski:** My name is Bonita Samanski. I'm a 25-year resident of Apple Valley. I live at 13575 Gossman Way in Apple Valley. And I am here tangentially, I guess, related to the referendum, but a more immediate concern would be... [3:13] **Bonita Samanski:** Let me make my point by asking a question if I could. I will keep it brief. But if, empathetically, if you buy a vehicle for one of your kids, they drive it, everything is good, and all of a sudden they decide they're not going to drive it anymore, and then they turn around and they say to you, "I want money for a new car," I would suspect there's not a one of you that would entertain buying them a new car when you've already bought them a first car. But it kind of feels like, as a taxpayer, that's what the city is going to be asking us to do this fall, right? Because included in that referendum is money for some additional pickleball courts. I'm a pickleball player. I'm over there waiting in line, and there are lines to play this game because it's gotten so popular. [3:58] **Bonita Samanski:** And it's a difficult... I'd like the levy to pass, but I think if you want to increase the odds of that levy passing, I think you need to demonstrate good prudence and good stewardship over the money that's been given. I look at that facility, the pickleball courts at Hayes, that are just sitting there dormant, and I just think what a waste of money there. And so I think an easy argument for somebody to make against the levy would be to say, "Well, you're not using the resources well that we've given you." So I think maybe an option would be to think outside the box a little bit and say, you know what, the one facility that Apple Valley does have over at Eastview is so incredibly busy. [4:44] **Bonita Samanski:** Two of the weeknights are taken up by leagues and lessons. You know, they take six of the eight courts, which leaves really two courts for the entire city. An outside-the-box option would be maybe you open back up the Hayes facility and you take over those structured items like the leagues and the lessons. You know, it's a short window of time. Would there be resistance? Probably. I'm sure you all know the resistance that was there, which is why it was shut down. But I think it's kind of a time for a little bit of a backbone for whoever needs to make that decision to say our taxpayers invested a lot of money in that facility and it's just being wasted. [5:33] **Bonita Samanski:** And so I would think it very unfortunate if there were people that say, "We're not going to vote for this levy because we've given the money already and it's not being used well, they're just being poor stewards of the money." So I'm just asking you to think outside the box, try to come up with some creative ways to use that facility at least minimally, so it doesn't become a negative talking point against the levy. **Committee Chair:** Well, I might as well make a couple of comments for you. I'm sure Eric Carlson, the director of the Parks and Rec Department, will have something to say, but I mean, do you understand why they were closed in the first place? **Bonita Samanski:** Oh, I do. I do. But you know what? There's houses... [6:19] **Bonita Samanski:** ...over by the Eastview High School that listen to that marching band practice several nights a week. There's houses that live by stadiums that listen to football games and soccer games. I mean, you buy a house—look at your surroundings. You buy a house by a park, there's going to be noise. You buy a house by an ice arena and kids playing hockey outside in the winter, there's noise. **Committee Chair:** I know... I think, you know, those courts might have been constructed a little too close to the homes in the first place, and the city went through a number of ways to mitigate the sound, but the noise affected the residents right to the south of the courts. [7:05] **Committee Chair:** And I, you know, I personally... some of our neighbors have put in sport courts, and they're playing pickleball there all the time, but that's only one court and that's not annoying. But the sound carries; it's really incredible. And to have all of those courts operating well into the evening, non-stop all day, I think it would drive anybody... **Bonita Samanski:** But that's what I'm saying, maybe a little bit outside the box. Maybe you open it up for restricted reasons. So maybe instead of taking three-fourths of the courts that the city has for lessons—which are beginner people, typically, who aren't hitting hard, there's a lot of discussion and tapping, not "bam bam bam"... [7:50] **Bonita Samanski:** ...that might be one option. So at least then you kind of hold your head high and say, "You know, we're using the resources that we were given." So we're trying to strike some type of balance rather than have it not completely vital—it's nothing right now. I mean, find some creative thinking. **Committee Chair:** I think at that point we should ask Eric Carlson if you have any comments along those lines. [8:00] **Eric Carlson:** Yeah, Mr. Chair, members of the committee, we did speak on the phone—I can't remember if it was this week or late last week—but we did have a chance to talk on the phone. And we talked about the pickleball courts. When the Council decided to build the pickleball courts at Johnny Cake, they said that they were replacing pickleball courts, not adding to the number of... [8:37] **Eric Carlson:** ...pickleball courts that were in the community. And while some of the points being made are valid points, I think it's safe to say that the City Council is comfortable with where they're at in their decision process. Different people are going to look at it differently; some people look at it as that was a good decision, some people like yourself are looking at it as wasted resource. There's probably no way we'll get everyone to agree on what we should or shouldn't do. This is just where we're at on this topic. Through a successful referendum, we would be able to construct more pickleball courts for the community to meet the growing need of the sport of pickleball, not only in Apple Valley but in the area. **Bonita Samanski:** Right, understood. I just would think it would be a shame if there were people that said, "You know what, we don't want to... [9:24] **Bonita Samanski:** ...vote for the referendum because we've given them money before and here it sits empty." That's my concern. I want the referendum to pass. We use the outdoor facilities—not just pickleball but the trails and parks and such. Like I said, I just think that somebody could... I'd hate for that to be a jettison for someone to say a campaign against the levy. **Eric Carlson:** Yeah, and hopefully that doesn't happen. But you know, there's 56,000 people that live in Apple Valley, about 37,000 of them are registered voters, and they're going to have their reasons why they support it and their reasons why they don't. Our job is to... [10:10] **Eric Carlson:** ...try to find a package that meets the interests of the majority, and we think we've done that. The only thing we'll know for sure is on about 10:30 on the 7th when we look at the results of the voting. **Bonita Samanski:** But I will say, as these courts get busier and busier—I don't know if you play pickleball, but you play a game, you rotate off if there's people waiting—so there's always a pool of people because there's not enough courts. Currently, there's discussion, and that Hayes facility comes up. People are thinking about it sitting there being unused. Like I said, I'm just throwing it out as an outside-the-box option to say can we use it a little bit so we can at least say... [10:55] **Bonita Samanski:** ...well, we're not completely wasting it. **Eric Carlson:** Appreciate the comment. Some of those comments lead me to... sounds like a place I need to visit is the pickleball courts and talk to some people and help answer some of their questions about the referendum and about the pickleball courts at Hayes and things like that, to try to make sure that we can't always get everyone to agree, but at least they'll have an understanding. **Bonita Samanski:** Right. And I would say a lot of people that I speak with there don't even know there is a referendum. **Eric Carlson:** Yeah, and that's a group to target. Our survey results would suggest that not everyone is following it closely yet. But we will be mailing out—and I can't remember if we talked about this on the phone—but we will be mailing out a referendum brochure to every address in... [11:42] **Eric Carlson:** ...the city by the end of August or early in September. At that point, unless they don't see it in their mail or they choose not to look at it, everyone will have the opportunity to learn about what we're doing. It'll direct them to the website where there'll be additional information about the referendum. So at that point, it'll be on the residents to educate themselves because we will have provided that information to everyone's mailbox. **Bonita Samanski:** And just one last option as far as another kind of outside-the-box... maybe you can use this Hayes facility a little bit when you have a one-day tournament that takes the whole court for the entire day, right? So maybe you just have the tournament over there and then that leaves eight courts for the other 56,000 people. [12:27] **Eric Carlson:** Yeah, understood. **Bonita Samanski:** That's all. I appreciate you taking time to let me speak. **Committee Chair:** Thank you. Thanks for your insight, we appreciate it. Anybody else would like to address the committee? [Laughter] Once you heard it was televised you said no? Okay. All right, thank you again. Okay, item four on the agenda tonight is the approval of the minutes from our April meeting. Has everyone had a chance to review those? Any thoughts, comments, changes? Hearing none, I'm looking for a motion to approve the minutes as published. **Committee Member:** I will... [13:16] **Committee Member:** ...make a motion to approve the April 2023 minutes as published. **Committee Member:** Second. **Committee Chair:** We have a motion and a second to approve as published. All those in favor say aye. (Aye) That is carried. Item 5A on tonight's agenda is the Recreation Division update, and it's going to be presented by Mr. Steve Skinner. [13:45] **Steve Skinner:** Greetings. I've been asked to just address very briefly the operations of the pools last year, and then we were able to slip a little bit of this year in there simply because we had originally intended to do this in May. So just to go through the numbers briefly. Of course, we have two swimming pools. I think you're all familiar with that. Redwood, our older pool, 58 years old now, originally built by Orrin Thompson as part of that development. Still a very active place, much beloved in its neighborhood. Some of the numbers that go with that: open swim is daily from 12:30 to 4:00. Before that, we have swimming lessons; after that, we have swimming lessons. On the days we don't have swimming lessons, we have rental time so families can have pool parties, and they do those typically in two-hour time slots. Last year we had 103 of those—111 two-hour time slots were actually booked. So that was a really good year for pool parties; folks wanted to be together. [14:48] **Steve Skinner:** Redwood is also, of course, our Red Cross training facility. Officially, we represent the Red Cross at Redwood, and that is where we train our lifeguard staff and we also do their swimming program. We've got lots of little ones for two-week sessions of swimming lessons every summer. We're just in the middle of session number four right now, just wrapping that up. That's what swimming lessons tend to look like—lots of little guys needing a lot of attention and a lot of encouragement. Redwood has three pool managers, 24 lifeguards (six on a shift), and seven swimming instructors. Last year and more of this year, two attendant staff because they are both the concession and entry cashier. There's... [15:34] **Steve Skinner:** ...just one cash register, so they do double-duty at Redwood. The facility is, of course, supported by the Park Maintenance division, and thank goodness for that because it always needs some love. We had 340 group lesson registrations last year; we also had 104 private swimming lessons. Those are for kids that just need a little more attention. These two right here would not get wet below their belly buttons when they first arrived, and you know what, they still have their sun hats on. They're still building up to the idea of getting their faces wet, but staff is working hard at helping them learn to do that. [16:21] **Steve Skinner:** Last year, 5,447 people came to open swim at Redwood. It's spread out over basically 66 days of operation. It was going to be a longer season, but weather always impacts us. Some days shut us down in the middle of the day, other days it shuts us down the whole day. And then we had, as I said, 103 reservations for those rental time slots. Average attendance was 83 people for open swim last year. The Aquatic Center is a little bit bigger, more heavily used. The item that has exploded the most over the last few years is water walking, which is now rivaling a lot of other activities as far as the draw. Very popular; some folks walk with the current, some against the... [17:07] **Steve Skinner:** ...current, depending on how hard they want to work. Open swim is 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. We have that water walking before open swimming seven days a week, and then we have it Monday through Friday in the evenings. On the weekends we reserve that for people that want to rent the facility. For example, this weekend, Sunday night, we have Valley Athletic Association—all their volunteers coming, so that's usually about a thousand people. Daily hours are 9:30 basically to 7:30 once we wrap up that open swim, and then perhaps a rental after that. Last year, four pool managers, two concession managers. The concession manager and lead cashier are the ones actually keeping track of the money and the attendance. Pool managers are focused on the safety of the patrons... [17:54] **Steve Skinner:** ...meaning they're supervising the lifeguard staff. 68 lifeguards, which is actually a very low number for us; we typically need closer to 80, but that's 26 guards per shift. So you can see that's barely over two shifts. 35 attendant staff, six per shift—four in the concession stand, one to two at the entry gate as cashiers to let people into the park. Again, heavily supported by Park Maintenance. Last year's attendance was 64,875, and another 10% from water walking. So that was quite a good year for water walking. Group entries—that specifically deals with the idea of... [18:39] **Steve Skinner:** ...day camps, church groups. These are the folks that come during the day during open swim, typically between 11:00 and about 2:00 in the afternoon, and then they get back on their buses and go back to their home sites and things quiet down. We managed to be open 72 days last year, just nine days closed for bad weather, and that average attendance was 901 people. So nothing too shabby. I also wanted to thank the Police, EMS, and Fire personnel. They routinely come out and train with the guards because the guards like the practice with the "handoff," where you go from resuscitation efforts to handing it over to professional rescuers. [19:25] **Steve Skinner:** That is how that's done. You'll note Mike Murphy in that lower left corner, one of our firefighters, who when he was that age was a head lifeguard at the Aquatic Center. Chat that up! Entry fee was $13 last year, water walking is $5, and a Redwood entry fee is also $5. Rental fees have been increased this year because our labor costs have gone up and we do need to have staff at those rentals. We don't have anything in our pools where our lifeguard staff are not present, including swimming lessons. Staff recruiting was brisker this... [20:12] **Steve Skinner:** ...year. We're attributing that to the pay raises that everyone helped to push forward. I think that made a big difference, especially to the kids who are paying for school. The pool opened for the season on June 8th this year. Some preliminary statistics through the middle of last week, which was day 49 out of our 79 anticipated days: we have amazingly few days closed this year, I think we've had two because it's hot out there. Open swim attendance so far is 30,614—that's an average daily attendance of 535. Water walking—already a significant number of people have come, so I think we're going to bust last year's number... [20:58] **Steve Skinner:** ...by the looks of things. And then Redwood's swim attendance is already approaching 4,000 people. So yeah, Redwood's having a fun summer too. Any questions? **Committee Member:** Just a couple of questions. One, if we close Redwood—and maybe this isn't the appropriate forum—are we going to shift swim lessons to the Aquatic Center or are we going to... [21:44] **Steve Skinner:** We have certainly discussed that. One issue is going to be what time of day would you do such a thing? Because parents... our early swimming lessons are not very popular; they just can't get the kids up and out the door to the pool that early. So we'll have to look at where the time slots might be possible. Another option would be switching it to one of the schools. The schools have their own program, so I wouldn't want to rival it. **Committee Member:** And just one other question. Any idea what's driving the lower daily attendance? I mean, we're down almost 400 people a day... [22:30] **Committee Member:** ...at the Aquatic Center? **Steve Skinner:** No, I don't, because it's been a gorgeous summer, right? So yeah, we'll dig into that. I'm tracking daily statistics right now trying to get a good handle on what's happening every day, correlating that with groups, temperatures, and what the weather's doing. Maybe it's been too hot! If you're the parent sitting by that pool for four or five hours in the heat, it's not as popular as you might think. **Committee Chair:** I have a comment and a question, Steve. My comment is that, you know, it... [23:18] **Committee Chair:** ...I don't care if we're talking to the Park Superintendent or the Golf Course Superintendent or the Arena Manager or you—it is just amazing at how much goes on that I don't think the residents of the city are aware of. This is very impressive. But my question is that, every year, city-wide there are adults that unfortunately drown, and I know several adults who don't know how to swim. Has there been any thought ever given to adult swim lessons? **Steve Skinner:** We have offered adult group swimming lessons, but the time slots don't necessarily lend... [24:04] **Steve Skinner:** ...themselves well to people's needs. Evening swimming lessons are 4:30 to about 6:45, and that's kind of prime time for family dinner. Typically, we steer adults to private instruction. A lot of those private lessons that you're seeing are actually adults. It's easier to fit in with their lives and their schedule. **Committee Chair:** Private lessons through the city? **Steve Skinner:** Yes, sir. One-on-one with one of our instructors. **Committee Member:** Steve, I just had a question on the Redwood pool. You have the 2022... [24:50] **Committee Member:** ...attendance on there. 5,447? It seems to me a while back we looked at the attendance for like three years prior to that, and each year it had decreased, and then it took a spike. Was there any reason why all of a sudden there is more interest in Redwood? **Steve Skinner:** I think the weather correlates strongly with it, frankly. It tends to be strongest in June and July and tapers off in August as people's lives get more complicated and they prepare for school. So... [25:36] **Steve Skinner:** ...I'm waiting to see if August is different this year because it is so hot. We can certainly parse those numbers more. **Committee Member:** Do you have any idea—do a lot of people from Burnsville come to that Redwood pool just because of the location being two blocks from... **Steve Skinner:** Yeah, it practically is in Burnsville. There's no doubt; in fact, a lot of people think it is in Burnsville. We actually spent the month of July asking people voluntarily to give us their zip codes. Very few people were willing to do it, unfortunately, so it's kind of a skewed data, but the vast majority came... [26:23] **Steve Skinner:** ...from Apple Valley. **Committee Member:** Because Burnsville does not have a swimming pool, right? **Steve Skinner:** They do not have a swimming pool. I'm trying to think if there are any outdoor swimming pools left out here, and we're pretty close to it. You know, Crystal Lake Beach, but that's not guarded anymore. **Lisa Hiebert:** I do have a question. Do you know roughly about how our stats compare to Eagan and Cascade Bay? The reason I'm asking is when I talk about pools, you hear a lot about Cascade Bay, you don't hear about Apple Valley. And I'm like, "You've got to come... [27:09] **Lisa Hiebert:** ...to Apple Valley, the pool is great and you can bring in your own food," which my son is against—he works at the concession stand and doesn't like me sharing that! He's a little biased. But yeah, I'm just wondering if you have the stats of comparing to our neighbors. **Steve Skinner:** Well, you have to get a straight answer out of Eagan, which can be challenging at times. One significant difference about Eagan, of course, is that they have a season pass environment; we have the discount entry environment. If you buy a season pass for Cascade Bay, it's only for the one person. [27:55] **Steve Skinner:** A lot of folks like the fact that they can bring whoever they want with their discount. They're very different environments. And as you said, we allow people to bring their own food; Eagan does not. **Lisa Hiebert:** I just wanted to say thank you. I am a fairly regular water walker, and it is wonderful. If people haven't tried it, get out and do it! **Steve Skinner:** We don't want too many people! [Laughter] People walk against each other because we've actually changed the current in there. It's really enjoyable. [28:41] **Eric Carlson:** Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, maybe just a little bit more on Lisa's question about comparing to Eagan. As part of a successful referendum, we're planning to invest about $8 million in the Aquatic Center. Part of that would go to rebranding the facility, probably changing the name a little bit to hopefully make it more attractive to people not only in Apple Valley but those from outside the community as well. **Lisa Hiebert:** I also saw there's more... [29:27] **Lisa Hiebert:** ...shade structures in the referendum plan, which I think will be more attractive for those parents on super hot days. **Eric Carlson:** Exactly. **Committee Chair:** Thank you. Thanks a lot. [29:48] **Committee Chair:** We're going to hear now from Eric Carlson, the Director of Parks and Rec, to talk to us about signs and Park and Rec logos. **Eric Carlson:** Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, for the last several months the committee has been working on updating our park signs and creating a Park Sign Master Plan. In your package, you have photos of all of our existing park ID signs around the system. There are some inconsistencies with them as far as size, shape, color, logos used, font sizes, etc. In an effort to... [30:33] **Eric Carlson:** ...rebrand the park system and to help identify Apple Valley parks versus other parks, we have been working on the Sign Master Plan. Through the work of the committee, this is the sign style that the majority of you have kind of landed on—Design F. This is what we're recommending to the City Council for further consideration. I can answer questions. I'd encourage you to have some conversation amongst yourselves and then make a recommendation. **Committee Chair:** Okay, are there any comments or questions? [31:20] **Committee Chair:** I personally like this sign very much. I think it looks contemporary, not too industrial. I think it's perfect. I like the colors; it's eye-catching but not too snazzy. So I'm all in favor of it. **Committee Member:** I find it easy to read, and that's a key part of the sign. I can see the white against the darker background much easier. I'm a fan of this style as well. [32:30] **Committee Member:** I'll go ahead and say I like the overall design very much. I will reference that I preferred the other option we looked at with the green stripe, simply because to me that feels more "parks appropriate" using a green color. The other sign looks like a great Apple Valley city sign, but it doesn't to me read as a park sign quite as well. But overall, I think both designs look very good. **Committee Member:** Just a quick question on the colors—it looks like that's a yellow, but on here it looks more stark white. Is it this yellowish color? [33:40] **Eric Carlson:** No, it's meant to be white. I'm sure it's just a copying or scanning issue, not a true representation. From a city's branding perspective, the colors used in this coincide with the city's brand and the color palette that the city is choosing to express itself with. So it's consistent with the overall city's operation as well. **Committee Chair:** And Eric, we at some point had a conversation about the posts and the framing for the signs. Is that part of tonight's discussion? [34:35] **Eric Carlson:** Details to be worked on as we continue the process. At this point, we're trying to get people comfortable with the design of the layout and the colors used. Once we've got that figured out, then we'll get onto the details of posts and those types of things. **Committee Chair:** Okay, and this is Design F? **Eric Carlson:** That is correct. **Committee Chair:** Based on our comments tonight and previously, I'm looking for a motion to adopt Design F. [35:23] **Committee Member:** I'll make a motion to go forward with Design F for the park signs. **Committee Member:** Sure, I'll second that. **Committee Chair:** We have a motion and a second to adopt Design F. All those in favor please say aye. (Aye) Opposed, no? (No) That is carried 6-to-1. Okay, now we're going to talk about logos. [36:08] **Eric Carlson:** Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, again, the committee has been working on a new logo. We looked at a number of different options. Some have strayed a long distance from what the current city logo is, and some have incorporated aspects of the current city logo. We've talked about colors, style, font size, and "stacking." Tonight we're wanting the committee to make a recommendation. In some cases, there might be a need to use more of a "stacked" version of... [36:54] **Eric Carlson:** ...the city logo. These are the three options that people generally settled on. Where I believe the committee's kind of landed is, depending on the situation, to choose from Concept 1 and/or Concept 3. These would be the two logos available for us to use on signs, shirts, marketing materials, etc. **Committee Chair:** Well, I think you're exactly right. We previously had talked about this where the use calls for a horizontal format we would use Concept 3, and where it calls for a vertical format we would use Concept 1. [37:39] **Committee Chair:** I like them both. I've always liked the Apple Valley apple tree on top of the "L," but I do like the way Concept 3 looks on the signs. I do want to say though that we've previously used just the apple on signs without the words "Apple Valley Park and Rec." I think that's a little weird. I guess I would just like to throw that in as a caveat that we don't just use the apple alone. [39:11] **Eric Carlson:** I think what you're saying is don't let this stand alone? [Gesturing to image] **Committee Chair:** Correct. **Committee Member:** I think it's a good compromise. I think having the choice of 1 and 3 is a good compromise. I think it looks really nice on the signs. **Committee Member:** Well, that's really what pushed me over for liking Concept 3 honestly, is seeing them on the signs and realizing how it works in the space. Dave was an early advocate of that format. [40:26] **Committee Member (Dave):** I guess my comment would be to commend Eric and the staff on going through a well-run process. One of the hardest things to do is get a committee to agree on a design, and I think the process got us to a point where everybody is reasonably happy. Nicely done. With that, I'll make a motion that we approve Concept 3 and Concept 1 as the Parks and Recreation logo. **Committee Member:** I will second that. **Committee Chair:** All of those in favor say aye. (Aye) Opposed? Nobody. That's carried unanimously. [41:12] **Eric Carlson:** Mr. Chair, members of the committee, appreciate all your hard work and feedback on it. We also want to recognize the work that Eve, our Communications Manager, put into it. She listened to a lot of people's feedback and tried to put those thoughts onto paper. She does a really great job for us. **Committee Chair:** She did a fantastic job with all our crazy ideas! "Can we see this, can we see that?" **Eric Carlson:** "What about pink?" No, I don't think anybody ever said pink! [Laughter] [41:59] **Eric Carlson:** Actually, the last item on the agenda is any other new business. Mr. Chairman, I just want to highlight that at the July 27th meeting, the City Council voted unanimously to have a special election scheduled for Tuesday, November 7th, 2023. During that special election, residents will have the opportunity to consider two different questions that could support improvements to the entire park system. [42:44] **Eric Carlson:** Question One is for $66,750,000. It contemplates spending $2 million to improve existing trails and build some new trails, $2 million on natural resources like planting pollinator gardens and additional trees. It also contemplates spending $16.7 million on our existing park system—replacing playground equipment, tennis courts, basketball courts, irrigation systems, and lighting systems. It also contemplates building additional... [43:31] **Eric Carlson:** ...pickleball courts, replacing the skate park, etc. Then there is $8.1 or $8.2 million for improvements to the Aquatic Center, which includes adding shade, replacing 24-year-old mechanical equipment, refurbishing the slides, and improving the bathhouse. Investing $10 million in the Community Center/Senior Center—connecting the two buildings and building additional lounge space for seniors because... [44:17] **Eric Carlson:** ...the senior population has grown so much. Building an indoor playground for the community so that during inclement weather people have a place to bring their young families. Building a small fitness space designed for seniors. Then there's $5 million for taking the four fields that exist at Westview Elementary School and turning it into a Youth Baseball/Softball complex with 240-foot... [45:04] **Eric Carlson:** ...fences. There's $3.9 million to replace the mechanical systems at the Hayes Arena. $9.6 million for a redo of the Redwood Park master plan, which includes the removal of the pool but the construction of an inclusive playground, a splash pad, new courts, a new shelter, and an underpass of County Road 42. It also includes $8.6 million to redo the master plan for Kelly Park—a larger stage for concerts, movies in the park, and replacing the splash pad equipment. [46:37] **Eric Carlson:** The second question on the special election would be for residents to have the opportunity to consider replacing the pool at Redwood Park. So if Question One passes, and if Question Two passes, then we would replace the pool at Redwood Park instead of a splash pad. Residents will be getting information in their mailboxes by the end of August or early September outlining all of this. [47:23] **Eric Carlson:** I encourage residents to educate themselves. Some residents will be supportive, some may not, but it's important to become knowledgeable about what they are voting for or against. I just wanted to highlight that because it's something that this committee's been working on for the last two years. **Lisa Hiebert:** And Eric, thank you... on the website there will be a list of 15 or 20 different open house opportunities where people can either come in person or virtually. [48:54] **Lisa Hiebert:** Eric, just to make sure, are most of those open houses after the mailer is going to go out? **Eric Carlson:** Correct, yes. The date of the first one is September 13th and they run all the way to November 1st. We wanted to get a bunch of them in before September 22nd because on September 22nd people can start to absentee vote. **Committee Chair (Brent):** You know, Eric, we previously talked about the brochure. The last page lists all of the polling locations. [50:27] **Committee Chair (Brent):** I'm thinking maybe instead of the polling locations, we might want to list the open houses. I'd like to hear comments on that. I mean, polling locations haven't changed very much; I'm not sure that's real informative and it takes up two-thirds of the page. **Committee Member:** We could probably do both. **Lisa Hiebert:** My polling location did recently change. **Committee Member:** Having participated in some of the previous public information meetings, people need to know where they're going to vote. Can we put on here when the open voting starts? [51:58] **Eric Carlson:** Absentee balloting is something you get mailed to your house. Direct balloting (early in-person) starts on October 20th. We just need to be careful that we don't try to pack too much information on there. White space is important. I'm going to trust Eve and her professional judgment. **Committee Member:** I will say, just kind of devil's advocate, I do agree with Brent about doing the open houses on the back instead of the polling locations because I have no idea what my precinct number is anyway. **Eric Carlson:** We'll definitely have a conversation with our City Clerk and Eve. [54:16] **Committee Chair (Brent):** Okay, based on that, that was the last item on the agenda with the exception of adjournment. I'm looking for a motion to adjourn. **Committee Member:** Second. **Committee Chair:** All those in favor say aye. (Aye) Meeting is adjourned. [55:03] foreign [Music]