This transcript features the Oakdale Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Based on the context provided and the dialogue within the recording, I have identified the speakers, including city staff, consultants, and commissioners. [0:13] **Commissioner Cunningham:** there we go good evening welcome to the parks and recck commission for Oakdale Minnesota it's November 19th we're 7 o'clock and we're at the Oakdale city council chambers uh we are calling this meeting to order uh Jeff could you take roll call please [0:33] **Jeff Koesling:** uh yeah commissioner Cunningham here commissioner GTO here commissioner gani here commissioner Meyer here and commissioner Shaw here uh commissioner ber uh not present I don't see him here so okay uh can we will thank you let's all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge alance to the flag [0:59] **Commissioners:** United States America to the stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice for all thank you all right [1:10] **Commissioner Cunningham:** commission did you have a chance to look at the agenda yes for today yes yes can I get approval for the November 19th agenda now motion please October 15th Glenn motion um Jan second yes m in favor I pass approv of minutes everyone get to look at last months any questions [1:45] **Commissioner Cunningham:** discussion can I get a motion to approve the October 15 2024 minutes all motion all right Jen has motion Jan second all in favor I pass all right now we go to an open Forum this opportunity for anyone in the audience to share anyone anyone okay very good that was a quick open Forum we'll close the Forum at this point okay now we're going to go into Old business uh work plan commission education Recreation program uh Jeff you got anything on that [2:34] **Jeff Koesling:** um I'm looking here through Jeb notes uh bear with me um have some program assignments yeah um 2024 the work plan commissioner education the monthly commissioner Recreation program assignments Recreation superintendent uh that was Julie stuff I don't see anything here as of right now underneath it I don't know if you have anything there's nothing in the packet that she yeah I know that um yeah Commissioners anything you want to good all right [3:10] **Commissioner Cunningham:** okay I went I guess I went to the opening uh indoor market last weekend okay um was it was a great turnout I thought I was going to have to park on the street and um on some my calendar go to the art fair this Saturday okay great yeah I'll have to get that in I think I'm marked for the indoor market too so I'll get out there okay let's get on to new business now the park system Plan update uh Hannah could you come on up [3:39] **Hannah Dunn:** yes thank you for having us this evening um as a reminder my name is Hannah Dunn I'm with the city and Stuart Crosby here is with srf Consulting tonight we'd like to provide a brief update about where we're at with the project and then we'd also like to gather your input on concept plans um we won't be able to walk through all of the parks um this evening so our goal is to at least discuss the community parks and then we'll open it up to any specific parks that Commissioners um would like to focus on then we'll just get the slides up um um in your packet uh one of the first slide had um a summary of the community engagement that was done as part of this plan there we go [4:21] **Hannah Dunn:** um so we engaged the general public through three different surveys and various popups at the indoor market the farmers market and Summerfest we also made the intentional effort to engage volleyball players um so the evenings of August 7th and 8th um we found various groups playing volleyball at parks and had discussions with them about what they'd like to see in the park system we also had a popup at Tanner Lake where we engaged basketball players pickle ball players um flag foot flag football families and other Park users for stakeholder engagement we met with the Oakdale Athletic Association and the Oakdale Wellness 50 plus group and then lastly we engaged city council and commissions um EDC you guys um the Environmental Management commission um throughout the spring and the summer [5:15] **Hannah Dunn:** this slide highlights um the reach that we had through our online and in-person engagement we received over 400 responses um for the survey um that was put out for the 27 parks not including um Tanner Lake the Tanner Lake survey received over 200 responses and then at inperson events we engaged over 400 people um the detailed survey results and in inperson engagement summaries those were provided to you um under separate covers so they're not part of your packet but they were provided to you so if you had a chance to look at them uh you got to see all of the feedback that we received as part of our community engagement effort [6:00] **Hannah Dunn:** now we're at the point in the project where we um we're taking all this feedback in addition to council Direction um and we're starting to fine-tune and revise Concepts so that we can come up with a preferred concept for each Park to include in the plan uh since the summer engagement phase ended the project team has been to two fall Workshop uh Council workshops where council members gave initial Direction on 17 Parks um there's lots of par that's a lot of parks and we will be able to walk through all of them this evening like I said our goal is to at least discuss Community engagement Park Stuart um will come up in just a short um bit to walk through um the concept plans um some of the common themes we heard from engagement our project team recommendations and then the council direction that we received um and then each Park will offer an opportunity for you to give additional input on um on the parks uh Park Concepts [6:55] **Hannah Dunn:** and then uh if Commissioners need a refresher Community Park uh Community parks are um you know those are kind of Cornerstone Parks they serve to meet um the CommunityWide needs um there's typically Gathering shelters multiple Sports courts and athletic fields um and then in the in the packet attachment we have the park classification so um neighborhood parks natural resource parks and special use parks are also defined and each um Park classification has all the parks listed um that fall under it so now I'll invite Stuart to come up and start walking through some of the concepts and we'll open up for your feedback [7:34] **Stuart Crosby:** thank you Hannah um as Hannah said my name is Stuart Crosby I'm a landscape architect with srf Consulting Group um we've been really excited about the process um the park planning process that we've been going through um one thing I wanted to mention I mentioned this to council and just following up on what Hannah was showing we've been so impressed with the public input that we've received through this process um the number of people that have engaged either in person but primarily online has been really outstanding we don't typically see this much response and this much input so I think that the city should be very pleased with um the input that that we as a community and as a process have received and I think it's definitely helping and and benefiting um this planning process [8:21] **Stuart Crosby:** so the the community Parks we want to start first with um Northdale Park we put together this initial concept um that you can see on the screen here and that you have in your packet um some of the common themes that we heard uh as you can see here one of our recommendations is replacing the hockey rink with volleyball we had several conversations with um staff about this this hockey rink this is one of the more challenging ones to maintain and uh there's a real desire for a set volleyball location so this seems like a really good opportunity for that um another key theme is to upgrade the playground and some uh trails and sidewalks around it for accessibility purposes and then another desire to add trails around the park [9:05] **Stuart Crosby:** what we're recommending for um up updating the concept that you see right here the graphic doesn't quite show it properly we show uh that yellow or gold band on the outside of the ball fields um we want to remove that that really is just representing a warning track which right we wouldn't want to put in this field just because it takes away that multi-use purpose right now this field can be used for soccer as well um and open Sports and so we'll remove that but we do like the idea of the dash line on the south side of the park would be a paved uh Trail or accessway out to that um East field so that you get an accessible access way out there um otherwise no real changes to this uh concept [9:51] **Stuart Crosby:** and on the next page in the packet are some of the um directions that we received from Council um they have also they also support the project team recommendations keeping the amenities as were proposing um they like the idea of removing that um warning track so that it clearly uh demarcates a large open field that can be used for multi-purpose activities as well so any questions uh Stuart [10:15] **Commissioner Meyer:** I would I know I'm on the minority of this and I always have been with these U fences okay yeah um I think we should look into um removable fences somehow uh it is is at this age on some of these the the fences are nice for these kids and uh it will draw tournaments here between Walton here and ndale we have six nice fields for some tournaments with fences and that will draw in some big tournaments that we could get into with OA and other smaller tournaments so that's something I don't know how that's feasible just in the spring or summer have some fences take them down for soccer time so really you're talking about like Outfield fences [10:48] **Stuart Crosby:** Outfield fences so I don't think we need a warning track per se but just to get those fences in there [10:53] **Commissioner Meyer:** and then on the uh North Side here uh where the residential area is yeah on the first field is uh we get a lot of fall balls into the into those yards and uh same with the other one into the woods in the right field line so is is there something we've talked about putting some screens up before the big netting I know it's uh it's rather spendy I understand but that's something too that uh uh we might want to look at and uh I believe yeah [11:29] **Stuart Crosby:** no that's a good point sorry to interrupt but um we have talked about and I think it's in the finer details of the plan to add some fencing behind those field so that it keeps the balls out of the woods okay so yeah we can certainly look at that for along the the community as well [11:45] **Commissioner Meyer:** yeah okay because I remember that was a conversation topic that came up has actually come up a couple times through our engagement good all right thank you [11:55] **Stuart Crosby:** yeah thank you good good input okay how about any other um Northdale Park comments or questions [12:03] **Commissioner Cunningham:** uh it was kind of hard to see the uh the corner by Ballfield two there is the archery still going to be back there [12:09] **Stuart Crosby:** yes archery is going to remain there we did have conversation about if there's another place that archery could go but this seems to be um a really good place and as we looked around the the system the probably the best place for archery and we didn't want to remove that so yeah that stays and the other benefit of this is that adding that um that dash line you see which is really proposing a paved trail would allow for an accessible access route out there which is which is needed accessibility has been one of the key themes uh throughout this whole process for all parks [12:47] **Commissioner Cunningham:** great yeah all right let's move on [12:51] **Stuart Crosby:** so oh I didn't realize I guess I should have realized we have here the council directions so the next Park is u East Side park and um with East Side the this is we we got some strong feelings on each side here um the common themes that we heard were to keep the tennis courts and pickle ball striping rather than replacing them with um with the smaller ball fields or soccer fields that you see right right there um our recommendation was to try to get a few more soccer fields in the system and we heard pretty loudly uh from a number of angles that these this tennis facility is one that's desirable so um our recommendation is to to uh keep the tennis courts there and improve the pickle ball straping [13:38] **Stuart Crosby:** um as I mentioned earlier accessibility improvements and more playground more and improved playground equipment is also something that was interest uh people are interested in at this park so the Council Direction and support is for um recommendations not to move the tennis courts and they want to keep the dedicated open space for volleyball or other sports as well so um which we essentially have um in this in this plan kind of in a couple of different areas [14:09] **Commissioner Cunningham:** where would the volleyball open space be [14:12] **Stuart Crosby:** so if you look at this there's really um if it's not being uh used as a field you've got kind of the northern part up here as one and then um the other area would be kind of um right adjacent to the fields here the tricky part with volleyball as we've talked about before is the stakes and not puncturing any irrigation and trying to keep those ball fields from getting trampled in certain areas and so um if if there isn't going to be a dedicated location for um multiuse Sports and you'll see that in a couple of these other options um then I think the outer Outfield of the of the baseball area the baseball field would probably be the best [15:01] **Commissioner Cunningham:** I I was just going to say that because that's where they set up three Nets across this field right now yeah and um it's great to see them out there don't get me wrong but if we can designate the outer Outfield somehow [15:13] **Stuart Crosby:** and I think one of the thoughts I have is that if we're starting to identify more locations for dedicated volleyball and then also areas that are um set up so that they can use that without really interfering with other Fields um I'm hoping and I think the thought is that they'll migrate to those locations y so which would which would take some of the pressure off of these fields that have irrigation and other elements that can get hurt [15:45] **Commissioner Cunningham:** on the expanded playground on each side are there any plans on that at all right now [15:50] **Stuart Crosby:** just designated areas just designated areas yeah we haven't uh gotten into the level of detail for that and as we go through into our cost estimating typically we'll look at um different types of playgrounds for the younger kids or the older kids and will'll put costing towards those um but then you get into the finer details that happens really when you're getting into design development and designing those uh components and that's not necessarily part of a plan at this level [16:21] **Commissioner Cunningham:** yeah so this new walkway are there going to be is going to be better lit or do you know anything [16:26] **Stuart Crosby:** probably we I we probably won't be adding lighting along the trails we'll have to use lighting that's in the area along the the street or in the park or adjacent to it I mean you certainly can it just adds a lot of cost in maintenance yeah mhm yeah good question [16:44] **Commissioner Cunningham:** yeah I have a question for you um there is a small parking lot there yes yeah and when you get all the baseball and all that going on they're parking on the street yeah and coming across from 18th over to the east side park I've suggested this on um different surveys before but a crosswalk would be nice at that at the kind of mid block there [17:09] **Stuart Crosby:** yeah yeah well I'll make note of that and see if we can add that we have had that's a good point in a couple of our Concepts where we have Trail access we have identified that as u an interest so we can certainly add some comment about that too that's a good point I think okay [17:28] **Commissioner Jan:** yeah thank you yeah thank you is the um Part B the realigned Trail connection kind of on the west entrance to the park is that so realign does that mean like more Ada if I recall it's a pretty steep [17:41] **Stuart Crosby:** yeah that is a kind of a steep entrance and that would be one of those locations that we u recommend for an accessibility Improvement there so curb cut truncated does and then if possible given the grades to try to ease that that slope right there that grade yeah all right any other questions on great good comments thank you [18:05] **Stuart Crosby:** okay so u Richard Walton Park this one um wins the prize for the most comments received throughout the process um and some of the common themes that we heard u keep the tennis courts and pickle ball oh sorry I was on the wrong one here um so there is a real there has been a real interest in adding a water feature a splash pad at this park um there's also a real interest in um a volleyball designated volleyball area um playground gets a lot of use not surprisingly that's an area that people would like to see improvements as well and um there's a real interest in u adding and putting in that loop trail that we're showing so that there is more walking available that's not on the street [18:54] **Stuart Crosby:** and um the other thing that had did get a lot of input um positive input is the new pin wheel um that you see down there and um we know that that means a loss of a soccer field but um it is going to improve the opportunity for u tournaments and and a lot of other options for u the ball field sports that um get a lot of use here so those are some of the key u themes that we heard [19:22] **Stuart Crosby:** and um our recommendations are to um try to figure out where we could put a an artificial volleyball Turf in here and other than that you know no changes to a lot of the amenities in here um the the racket courts get used a lot and in conversation with Council um and that it's really good discussions with Council about this their feeling is to um not put the water play feature in the Walton Park u concept plan right now and find another another location we'll talk about that in a minute u to u leave the Trail Loops in um especially looking at the um the the one around the pin wheel and we have to make sure that that's actually feasible because that comes so close to the wetlands in the lake right there um so we'll take we're taking a closer look at that although I think that is probably feasible it may not be a 10 foot or 12 foot wide Trail but it could be something a little smaller [20:17] **Stuart Crosby:** um Southwest side of the park to see if there's a better layout for that area that area um doesn't get a lot of use um it has parking there as you can see we've u we're proposing the volleyball facility down there um and we're just we're trying to figure out if there's a better way that that area could be used um couple things that they had asked is um to make sure that one of the tennis courts is dedicated u for u for tennis and that the pickle ball overlays go on the other two so just keep one as true tennis courts and then um in the northeastern portion of the park over there to find a different location for the um the what are we calling that the u the fitness Court Fitness Court yes exactly MH yeah right there you can see it down there [21:11] **Stuart Crosby:** so um some real interest in the facilities that are at um Walton Park right now and improvements to those really trying to get um more playground facilities u improve some of the baseball diamonds and and walkways accessibility is another really key component here and the other thing that came up at Walton but at a lot of the other Parks is to look at drainage in the fields a lot of the fields see a lot of nodding in here um but especially a Walt and a couple of others um drainage is a real Challenge and so seeing if there's a way to improve drainage with drain tile and other u elements any comments or questions on on on Walton [21:55] **Commissioner Jan:** I really like the new P excuse me J go ahead go ahead oh um just I don't know if it's comment or question or throughout all these Parks when you're saying the water um Park MH water feature water feature whatever you want to call it um we've done some financials on that way back in the past of not only to set it up but to continue on with upkeep and um making sure the water is safe and not contaminated and all that yeah um but I in doing these surveys I didn't see anything about that financially and so I think that's important to kind of let us know somewhere in the ballpark of where we would be you know for taxpayers purposes and all that [22:42] **Stuart Crosby:** so in terms of what it would cost to install a water park or a water feature install but u to maintain it maintain sure yeah we can we we will be adding some um some of that we have to add that into the actual plan itself um the splash pads have gotten a lot more efficient I would say um they now have kind of Standalone units that you can put right next to it so the cost although they are expensive they have come down and it also depends on how big of a facility you're looking at um there's the two different options and we can get into some of the differences as you know the flow through and then the recirculation [23:25] **Commissioner Jan:** so yeah I mean it all sounds good until you look at you know what we're going to be paying to not only do it but maintain it right [23:32] **Stuart Crosby:** yeah but they also I think u one one thing that we note is that um they are less to maintain than a pool facility um you don't have to have lifeguards with them u and then the other thing is that people really are wanting these these are a water feature that u people are Desiring and they're going elsewhere if they're not aail available so that's some of the feedback we heard but I think your points are well taken and we will definitely be putting the costs in there for that for installation and for annual maintenance yeah thank you thank you [24:12] **Commissioner Meyer:** I was going to say I like the new pin wheel I think it's fabulous it's the way it should be designed as always right um one thing is where you had that little volleyball court by the OA shed there yeah um what I'd like to see and this goes way back to is some instead of that it's perfect location for outdoor batting cages for our kids if we could put something like that there to take care of the softball and the baseball in that area um we talked about that a long time ago when I was with OA but um yeah I think that's a great spot because that's their shed that's where teams show up for meetings once in a while so you might look at that [24:55] **Stuart Crosby:** okay yeah thank you that's a good point yeah goodput um and I don't know if you could move they have volleyball court to where that Fitness Court was or if it's too close to the road I'm not sure what the spacing is there [25:08] **Stuart Crosby:** yeah and one of the other challenges with that is it's underneath power lines and so as part of the the power easement um putting in a an expensive facility u there has to be access full-time for that so it's too it's very close to the road and it's underneath the power lines right yeah okay all right thank you y [25:34] **Commissioner Cunningham:** how are we doing on time we got to hurry up here um all right so the next one here is for Tanner Lake Park [25:41] **Stuart Crosby:** Tanners came in second in terms of overall actually maybe it was pretty close to tied for overall comments and um Tanners has um we had couple of different concepts and as you can see with this one um some of the common themes this is um the one that we're really push focusing on pickle ball is really heavily used here a lot of interest in that um upgrading the building that is at the park right now um is something that people would really like to see making up more of a usable space and a facility that can be rented u we were proposing reducing the size of the beach and um adding a water play feature to this park rather than at Walton um and improving the playground by adding a couple of different a smaller kid playground a larger kid playground and utilizing some of the slope for it as well that is a real exciting feature for playgrounds especially with kids [26:33] **Stuart Crosby:** um there were concerns about lighting and safety so that is something that we want to add in to this park um we are um oh sorry that was me we're moving forward with um the um some of the the concept improvements that were put forward in these common themes but the council really supported um the um the u Central shelter and um putting a a different shelter in there that can be used by volleyball and basketball and tennis and pickle pickle ball right now in that area of the park there isn't any place to get out of the Sun or if there's inclement weather and so putting in at least one shelter in that location would be really nice u we'd also like to have another shelter that could be a rentable structure um separate from the main building that's by the beach [27:21] **Stuart Crosby:** um fishing and Lake access we want to move the fishing pier to the north side of the park and I think um council's suggestion here of um having a kayak launch near the relocated fishing pier and then um fishing nodes that we're showing there u replacing those with um benches so that there are access points along the park and this probably um see if we can get that right here these these um facilities right here that we put in were really stones for fishing and um we're trying to make u locations where people can see and view the lake and so the one recommendation was to remove those and put benches in or close to that so getting people the opportunity to be closer to the lake but um keeping the fishing at the fishing pier [28:07] **Stuart Crosby:** so I think in summary um smaller um smaller u Beach move the fishing pier improvements to the building water feature u pickle ball u dedicated volleyball facility with artificial turf and um and then also ball Field improvements here would include drainage so that's another key component [28:38] **Commissioner Mark:** commissioner yes um improving the building meaning [28:44] **Stuart Crosby:** so the building right now has one community room and then it has that hallway down the middle that really is um getting a lot of Bird activity in there and makes it not really beneficial um what our recommendation is going to be is to work with an ual architect to see what is feasible but what we are thinking is that you could enclose that hallway space and make a really nice um rentable room you'd have wall floor to ceiling Windows u great view of the lake that would be a great opportunity for renting it out you have the kitchen and then what was the Lifeguard room that could be turned into a catering kitchen that somebody could rent out that space and um have the the beautiful full ceiling u rooms u room and then also a catering kitchen so u potentially making two rentable facilities or rooms out of that one building right there [29:32] **Commissioner Mark:** not expanding the building or anything [29:35] **Stuart Crosby:** not expanding the building going with what is there and building like exactly modifi repurposing what's there yeah okay the other thing I forgot to mention is that um proposing some um parking redoing u putting in a parking lot on the west side there where right now there's just the turnaround that would really benefit um this whole western part part of the park especially that where that building is to put in about a dozen or so spaces right there Han where do you think our time see Jonathan's back here on concept two Stuart [30:20] **Commissioner Meyer:** yeah I'm not seeing any Beach area is that what's happening there [30:25] **Stuart Crosby:** it's um it's very small it's right here this um this um small little thing it's right next to the J right there but we were proposing that that would be the smaller sand area so very small and and and really almost more used for just launching kayaks and things like that yeah and then the idea would be that you'd have the water feature you'd have the splash pad that would be more um associated with the building and the playground right there and having u re purpose building a new playground and that Splash Pad I think would be a real Nexus for families um and groups with smaller kids and then you'd have the open area in front that would be managed Turf um right up to the lake [31:05] **Stuart Crosby:** and u what we're seeing is more interest in people wanting to use water features like a splash pad u than a beach especially when you have challenges with water quality um and cooler temperatures on both sides of the season so [31:18] **Commissioner Meyer:** I understand that I I think it's a shame that we have such a nice Lake and not a beach I really do um but I get the water quality um with your u with this not the shed but the u the building the building u what comes to mind is u Casey Lake and North St Paul if you've ever been out there they got that nice building where people have um cpes they have big parties retirement parties birthday parties they got it's a big shelter cook out there so u haven't been there i' suggest get out there and take a look at that just to get a vision of that's pretty nice [31:58] **Stuart Crosby:** it's a very nice area um yeah I I kind of like the fishing nodes I'm a fishing guy but I can see where just want to sit you I suppose you can sit on a bench [32:15] **Commissioner Glenn:** what are you calling that Casey Lake Casey Lake Casey Lake it's over on 17th yeah yeah it's a beautiful they took an old building and they changed it into a it's a venue it's rented for weddings and it's beautiful it is very nice very [32:34] **Commissioner Meyer:** what area is it considered it's North St Paul nor it's just west of 17th and mcnight in North St Paul if you go to White Bear you went halfway too far yeah it's between Ariel and mcnight okay [32:46] **Stuart Crosby:** the I think this building actually is in really good shape it just needs to be repurposed and with a a bit of love and Direction you could really TLC yeah you could have something that people would like and I think adding parking nearby would help it a lot too yeah [33:04] **Commissioner Jan:** I love the idea for that building and and having everything else nearby it um like you said incorporating the slope into the playground and the Play features would I mean I go to playgrounds all over the cities and it's so fun you know going the up and down and yeah and there's great opportunity here for that I think too yep all right well let's move on [33:28] **Stuart Crosby:** um the last one here that u for these u Community Parks is goosepond Park goosepond we thought um thought about a lot and it's an important park for the the ball fields that are there um our recommendations were to try to um improve the park by keeping the geese away from the ball fields and that's harder said than done um but what we were recommending was to in expand the u the kind of goose Zone as you call it like the no person Zone which would be between the lake and the fields and we could put in some u fencing and whatnot um that's I think a a good opportunity there [34:17] **Stuart Crosby:** but what we heard from the community and we heard from the council is yes do that but don't take away the open space there that can be used for soccer and so we're going to be modifying this concept to reduce that buffer so you still have a sizable enough buffer but not to impact any of of the ball field or playing spaces there so really trying to improve this park by um helping to manage the goose population just by giving them their space and making more of a barrier so that we can keep them off they want to be where the water is and if there's no barrier they're going to be all over the place as they are now so hopefully with creating more barrier we can keep them isolated to one side of the facility and not the whole thing challenging it's a challenge everywhere yes it is [35:05] **Commissioner Jan:** I have a question pertaining to again all the parks and changes what we've already decided to happen to some of these Parks does that continue you know like into like what we've decided for 20125 and 26 27 28 um or are we pretty much going to say we're revising everything at this point [35:31] **Stuart Crosby:** no that's a a very good question what we will be doing is um putting together cost estimates for each of these parks for all the parks to describe what it's going to cost to make the recommended improvements and then we will put together a phasing plan so that the city has an understanding of our recommendation for how to move forward with all of these improvements noting that it's going to be if you add everything together it's going to be a very Hefty price tag and there are some elements that probably are desirable but are going to be put out many years because it's just there's other things that need to be done and so we're going to be providing kind of a step-by-step basis of things that can be done sooner and things that can be done later but probably looking at a 10 to 15 or maybe even 20 year process there okay yeah that makes sense okay [36:26] **Stuart Crosby:** yeah well I think that's those are the five um Community Parks we do have a lot of other input from the other parks and I I would be happy to take that by email maybe through Hannah if you guys have other questions or suggestions that might be the best way to do that as I know that there's another topic you guys have for discussion all right yeah perfect thank you thank you very much for your than you Stewarts thank you thank you [36:58] **Hannah Dunn:** okay it's me again we're going to now talk about um willberg Parks West and north um here we go on the screen um so I'm here now with Jonathan from srf Consulting who um srf is the final design and construction Administration consultant for the next two parks in the Willowbrook development Willowbrook Park u West and willbrook park north um at this meeting we'd like together commissioner input on the concept Alternatives um that have been developed for these two parks but before we discuss concept Alternatives I just want to walk through some of the project background just so we're all on the same page [37:44] **Hannah Dunn:** um as part of a 2021 master planned unit development agreement for the willbrook neighborhood the city is responsible for the construction of three Parks um for those unfamiliar with the willbrook neighborhood the new this is the new residential development located north of 34th Street um east of 694 and um west of Ideal Avenue it's directly north of the Forefront campus the neighborhood is expected to bring more than 1, 1400 housing units to Oakdale over the next three years um we're at u 50% um buildout um 50% of the homes are either under construction or complete and the neighborhood's first residents began moving in in Fall of 2022 [38:29] **Hannah Dunn:** um following the agreement to build three Parks the city did some initial Parks data collection and public engagement in 2022 to better understand the best amenities and uses for these Parks um and then in December 2022 the council approved preliminary concepts for Willowbrook common and Willowbrook Park West as you all know willbrook Commons um opened just over a month ago and is a premier park with prek and K through five playground equipment a challenge course adult fitness equipment um multiple Gathering shelters Ms um and a hammock area and then the preliminary concept plan for willbrook Park West included a u12 soccer field pickle ball courts shade structure open lawn picnic area and a pre-fabricated restroom building [39:13] **Hannah Dunn:** and then Willowbrook Park North does not have an approved concept plan um but the park is envisioned envisioned as a passive park with open space trails and seating areas srf Consulting was hired in September of this year um for vyl design and construction Administration for both parks and then the project schedule last month a project team developed concept alternatives for both parks um we used the preliminary concept plan for willbrook Park West um and S developed two different concept alternatives to explore different layouts and site um and sight details and then using the direction that willberg Park North is a passive Park srf developed two different concept Alternatives um that explore different layouts and seating areas [40:01] **Hannah Dunn:** and then now we're in the process of public and stakeholder feedback about those concept alternatives to understand what residents and park users desire and then using this feedback this public feedback and feedback from the parks and rec commission and um as well as direction from the city council the project team will um take these two different concept Alternatives and produce one preferred concept and then final design plans and construction documents will be developed based on that preferred concept and then for Willowbrook Park West we're planning to go out to bid for a general contractor in a winter of 2025 um and then construction will begin in the spring of next year hopefully the park will be completed by the fall of next year [40:48] **Hannah Dunn:** and then North Park is on a different timeline in terms of construction um plan design will occur next summer into the fall we'll go out to bid for a general contractor winter of 26 and then um construction is is scheduled to begin in Spring of 2026 um I'll turn it over to Jonathan to walk through the concept Alternatives and highlight the differences and then um once he's through with that we'll open it up to discussion about um what the park u Rec Commissioners think [41:20] **Jonathan:** thank you Hannah I will gota get my keyboard u layout here so like Hannah said I'm going to walk through u the park concepts for both West Park and North Park I'm going to start off by overviewing concept A for U West Park and some of the key highlights here just hitting on the main highlights of each Park u Willer Brook Park West um some of the key features here is we're showing a full um Trail around the park so that goes around the whole soccer field and um connects to the parking lot and also makes connections to the greater trail system system of Willer Brook which is quite extensive as you all know [42:04] **Jonathan:** um in this concept we're showing a restroom a combined restroom and picnic shelter u located near the parking lot here um we're also in this concept we actually are showing per like the conversation we were just having with the park system plan a Synthetic Turf volleyball court here um and down in the South End here we're showing six pickleball courts and with some SE seating amenities on the outside um on the North End and on the south end of the of the pickall courts with just some simple bench seating um in this concept we're only showing um six pickle quarts um whereas when we get to concept B we're we are showing eight in that concept [42:53] **Jonathan:** um and in this concept we are also showing the um a buffer along the 694 in this concept we're showing it as a chain link fence with private slats just to provide a little bit of buffer from the freeway there which um you know the park actually does sit up you know maybe 20t above the freeway so it's not like it's right on grade but we feel like providing some sort of buffer u to that freeway is warranted given how close the trail is to the to the RightWay u the other thing we are including in this concept is lighting for the u12 soccer field um and the soccer field is is um 165 ft by 240 ft and that meets the size of the u12 U standard size [43:39] **Jonathan:** and as you can see by the layout that really is u maxed out for the this land resource that we have we did Orient to that north south orientation for all the athletic amenities just to optimize the sun angle for u athletic users there is also athletic lighting for the soccer field as as well as lighting for the pickle ball cour pickle ball courts um and one thing that we will actually explore if this concept was to u go forward with um volleyball would be to adding a second head onto this light pole for the soccer field that would also Point onto the volleyball court so that we're providing an equitable use of lighted amenities within the park [44:26] **Jonathan:** moving on to u willbrook Park concept B this concept the main difference is here really are how we're dealing with the one of the main differences is how we're dealing with the the restroom and shelter building and this option we're showing rather than having a combined facility we're showing um a separate restroom building that would have S similar to the other concept had two two unisex stalls um which is showing up here in the um the northeast corner of the park u but instead of like in concept A where we show a combined shelter we're showing a separate shelter building um directly across the u lawn space and really trying to orient um both of these the both picnic shelter and the restroom building around this kind of informal um picnic lawn space that um really starts to frame up a nice space for Park users to just have u you know just flexible picnic picnicking [45:32] **Jonathan:** u we also have in rather than doing a trail that goes all the way around the park we are showing just a half Loop u Trail around the park and you know part of the thought there is that by doing the half Loop we are able to have enough space to to plant Conifer trees that would buffer the 694 rather than the fence um we just needed that extra space for the trees to grow we didn't want the house to be overgrowing a trail or growing into the soccer field itself um this concept the soccer field is in more or less the same location as concept a um slight shifted to the east again to allow for space for the Conifer trees but very close in location [46:20] **Jonathan:** u this concept we are showing u eight pickle ball courts which the eight courts was u in the original concept plan that was approved back in December of 2021 2022 sorry because those dates mixed up um and in this concept we're showing um u Central seating area for the pickable course with small shade umbrellas so really providing that shade amenity for the pickable court users and again we're also showing like concept a athletic lighting for this facility [46:50] **Jonathan:** and I'm just going to jump now to park North and then we can just open it up for conversation on both if that's okay with you guys um so willbrook park north um these the like Hannah is saying these this North Park is really envisioned as more of a passive Park so you'll see all the amenities that are proposed in both of these Concepts really are around just walking enjoying nature some open lawn space and um you know picnic kind of seating areas so in concept a um here we're really showing picnic areas with shade sales and and picnic tables and we're showing up here in the north corner of the park a shade sale amenity with some picnic tables to Prov provide just informal seating you know um for the neighborhood residents to come and have a picnic during the day [47:52] **Jonathan:** um in this concept to we're actually really showing trying to show more of a dispersed seating around the park and when I get to concept B it's really more of a centralized shelter um so in addition we also have um two smaller shade umbrellas that would provide space for a single picnic table um along 40th we have a a natural stone own um seaing Overlook overlooking the pond in in this native Prairie um we also have we are showing a north east west Trail connection north of the existing Pond and really the intent there is to provide full walking loop around the entire park community [48:37] **Jonathan:** and off of that again we have u an Overlook Pond Overlook u with simple chairs and benches that overlooks the existing Pond um the last amenity that we're really showing for seating here is is a u a u natural stone block seating that kind of steps down the hillside into the main open lawn space and that really would provide views of the the Wetland and or the native landscape to the u south of this site again this concept we showing um large swaths of native Prairie just to really keep in line with the vision of willbrook as u a neighborhood with a lot of open space and a lot of native Prairie already that's being installed so just trying to keep on with that Vision we are carving out a a lawn space that's Central to the park and we feel like just providing some open lawn space is valuable for the neighborhood um unprogrammed just for Neighbors to come maybe throw a frisbee um you know no athletic amenities that that are um programmed for the space but more just passive use [49:42] **Jonathan:** moving on to willbrook park North concept B like I said this concept um really is the big main difference here is rather than showing multiple different seating nodes around the park we're proposing that we would show u that we we would build one um picnic shelter and rather than doing the shade umbrellas which are less that are are a little bit more affordable um in this concept we're just showing one shelter that it would be a steel shelter which u adds a little bit more cost and therefore we didn't wouldn't have the budget to do all the different shade amenities as shown in concept a [50:18] **Jonathan:** u but here we positioned the shelter um to to on the south end by 40th and we really positioned it so that provides views overlooking the existing storm water Pond as well as provides u views for anyone who is using that open lawn space um and in this Trail in this concept rather than having the trail that provides a loop around the entire park on North side of the pond we're showing it really cutting u more in the middle of the park going north south through u through the space here and really trying to provide connections to the existing crosswalks on 40th and then just providing a u again a full loop that would allow Park users to walk around the perimeter of the park and with that I think um I'll just open it up for any questions that you guys might have um maybe we can start here with Park West [51:10] **Commissioner Meyer:** I I park west I think we do need I like the volleyball court that seems to be very popular so I have no problem cutting two of the the u paddle ball courts down um just fill me in a little background on why a u12 soccer field was the big why that why that size and why that field and what else can we use it for [51:35] **Jonathan:** yes so we actually Hannah and I we met with Oakdale Association u last week and we actually asked him that question of hey you know when we build this what what are you guys envisioning of using that facility for and what we heard is they would plan to um do flag football on the field they would also plan to use it as a u12 soccer field but also they would um plan to use um for smaller kids they would run the fields going more East West here so they would have two different they have two games playing on the same field um I'm not sure off the top of my head what Youth Level that field size would be but um 90 by 150 [52:21] **Commissioner Meyer:** 90 by 150 yeah so they they were really excited about this field and they also said that there could be potential maybe to play t-ball on this field but that was more of an iffy it was Mo mostly flake football and soccer could they also do flag football like on a half court then yeah um I think you know the longer way would be you know clearly a much larger field for flake football but you know you can play it you don't have to have the full field to play flake football right [52:50] **Commissioner Meyer:** yeah then on you know on both of these these u the sail Shades and the screens instead of the the actual nice roof metal roof um what's the chance of them getting torn down a lot easier burnt I know we had trouble with hammocks already so this ain't a lot different [53:07] **Jonathan:** yeah well one thing I would say about the shade umbrellas is that that is actually much more when you compare to the hammocks this that these these shade umbrellas are um designed for public use where um you know much more of a durable fabric u if you if you feel the stuff that's out there on at the commons where we put in the shade umbrellas it's those shade umbrellas are significantly thicker material um and you know obviously if someone really wants to come out there with a and you know with a flame and burn it like yeah it's going to burn but um it's not u from what I've seen I I haven't really seen a lot of people since you know they're eight 10 feet above the ground like you'd have to be pretty motivated to get up there and vandalize it [53:50] **Jeff Koesling:** Steve it's they're like a carted canvas they're pretty nice yeah don't go up there now we took them all down yesterday [53:57] **Jonathan:** yeah I don't want you to be shocked if you go up there somebody stole them all and and The Hammocks really were purchased as you know just from a local retail store and they weren't really Park Grade those are really more intended just to Showcase what the bring your own hammock facility would look at the commons that really wasn't intended to be a permanent facility there so that's why those yeah that wasn't really like part grade material there whereas the shade umbrellas would be pretty durable um and one thing like jefff he just already mentioned mentioned that really prolongs the life of those is the Oakdale staff is already doing it they take it down in the winter so you don't have that snow load you know half of the year which helps [54:40] **Jeff Koesling:** yeah we removed them to prolong the life of them and if we got a heavy wet on the on the one which it just had the the one standard you get a heavy wet snow and when we were up there with the installers they said that's probably going to bend so take them down they're not going to be using in the winter and we've never had them so we were a little concerned on okay what do it took us maybe 10 minutes per structure it was done so they're pretty it's it's a very userfriendly simple install well removal I'm sure the install isn't much harder so yeah they're pretty user friendly so they're very nice [55:27] **Commissioner Cunningham:** great I guess I I'm in agreement with Steve in that um I like the idea of concept A and you know six versus eight pickle ball courts yeah six is still even a lot of pickle ball courts but I like the idea that there is another type of athletic activity that you can do there having the volleyball court there and as you were saying I mean I I go by East Park all the side park all the time and summer that there's a lot of volleyball going on yeah so we know it's popular and so I like the idea because I didn't really see anything else than on any other place in the area there that this would be then the court and u that would be aail available to people and I like that idea that having at least one versus none yeah no I that's that is you know we've also heard that from a lot of other folks as well that you know really liking that variety of amenities that that concept day provides [56:15] **Commissioner Jan:** so I'll reiterate the I like having the volleyball court initially I was going to say that I liked on concept B excuse me to not have the walking path go all the way around the field and have the row of trees however after you said having like two smaller games going the East and West I'm thinking about moms coming with strollers and so keeping the loop going all the way around for those smaller games that might occur there yeah basic more providing more accessibility to the field exactly [57:00] **Jonathan:** yes yeah and you know one thing too that we could look at is um you know in concept A here you know it is getting pretty um compressed with land value just trying to get all the components in here but one thing we could look at is is there opportunity to to push the field um further to the east to allow that landscape buffer um again we would have to look at that spatially to see if that actually would work but in Ideal World that would I think would be nice [57:25] **Commissioner Jan:** I would choose the accessibility over the trees as a mom [57:28] **Jonathan:** okay that was good comment yeah that's great I like that I agree I agree um are we good on concept be there or u West Park West want to move to park north in [57:44] **Commissioner Cunningham:** anyone on that I um I'm leaning at concept B I like more the that trail coming through the middle of the area there too I think um I just I just like the look of it seems to function [57:58] **Commissioner Meyer:** all right what's should keep people from playing volleyball in the grass there you know there's really u are we going to have sprinklers in there [58:05] **Jonathan:** there's no sprinklers this is again unirrigated the one thing I I think that would keep people is that um you know if you go to the site today it is kind of graded like a big bowl um so it might not be the best level you know as you get down you know in this area here is fairly flat but it's not necessarily be graded out as a Level Volleyball okay field it's it's more of you know volleyball court you know you're going be like a percent and a half or two this is probably more at like three or four so it's you still could but it's not like it's not going to be a great level surface not that it's like steep here by any means I [58:45] **Jonathan:** but and don't get me wrong I'm not trying to push people away from volleyball but um there's nothing to say in the grass but it's just nice for families and they don't have to worry about you know getting hit with the volleyball whatever one that was talked about you know what we show a synthetic Court here but you know this going back to what the intention as Hannah already mentioned of this park is is really more passive we don't want to be showing we don't want to be inviting u dedicated volleyball but if people come to play volleyball that's not going to be like prohibited or anything yeah yeah I just want to make sure I wouldn't hit any irrigation if there was anything in there [59:22] **Commissioner Mark:** so I personally like concept a um being that it's being designed more as a passive Park having the separate seating you know if I'm going to this park just to enjoy nature reflect I think i' would want to sit maybe more by myself versus a gathering of picnic table with other people trying to do the same yeah um so I guess that's my big reason I like [59:45] **Commissioner Glenn:** I do like features of both quite honestly and but one of the things I I really do like is having the seating area there by the pond in in a that u you know again people also like going to the parks for you just some contemplation and and especially if you're overlooking a body of water it's always u you know it's a very soothing thing um so u and though I do like again some of the with the trail that's kind of bisecting the park and be and so u like I said there's some things that I you know almost like be if you could incorporate you know like sitting area for the pond from a you know that sort of thing [1:00:26] **Jonathan:** well that's you know I should clarify this too that these aren't like either or it's the preferred concept very well could be a blend of both so those that's great comments that you know that yeah seeing more of those CD nodes in concept B would be nice but that trail alignment kind of kind of kind of like it anyone else good okay thanks Jonathan [1:00:51] **Jeff Koesling:** yeah I'll pass Jonathan one comment oh yes I did email you today we do have power at the new park now [1:01:00] **Jonathan:** oh nice [1:01:02] **Hannah Dunn:** so you knew that but yeah finally before we wrap up I just want to highlight some of the engagement that we've done um like Jonathan mentioned um we met with the Oakdale Athletic Association last week There's currently an online survey um the link is included um in the packet so if you got emailed a copy of the packet you can click on that I encourage you all to to take that to share it um it's open through Monday the 25th um I think we already have almost 100 comments so um the more the better um tomorrow we're meeting with the pickle ball Club um we also were at the indoor market u this past Saturday and we talked to about 60 people um shared the survey got some feedback um [1:01:43] **Hannah Dunn:** and then u next week we'll be at city council um sharing all the engagement that we've u received and then u received some further Direction on developing preferred Concepts um so this is just screenshots of the survey um like I said I encourage u all to share that um and then my information is right here so if you've got additional comments please do not hesitate to send them to me via email yeah [1:02:15] **Commissioner Meyer:** any final questions or comments before we oh one thing just um I like the whole what we're doing and we're getting there um but I don't has anybody looked at you know pickle ball volleyball they're the the rage what's coming and what do we have in here that could be new that we should plan for ahead what's going to be the new next sport you know I look there's something called paddle have you heard of that it's coming out of Wisconsin it's like um tennis and squash but you got walls but it's outdoor and you just have walls and stuff like that we got to look at um you call that it's called paddle p a d l [1:03:00] **Commissioner Meyer:** and um you know at the at the North End where Golf View is and the old golf course you guys had on their um the disc golf you were looking at but um foot golf is becoming more and more popular too so these are things that I think you know instead of just this is hot now and this is what we're going to put in well what's going to be hot in 10 years so we don't have to redo some stuff and maybe we're the ones that started oot is the one hey we're ahead of the game just something let's you it won't be bad to research what what new trends are coming in and around so [1:03:36] **Commissioner Jan:** well on that thought Steve um I know Washington County has a disc golf portable set that they can set up um I'm wondering like on that um Willowbrook concept Willowbrook North we were just talking about like in that area is that something that maybe we could buy like a portable set of disc golf um you know it' be less expensive than maybe [1:04:02] **Commissioner Meyer:** I I think it'd be more that this golf takes a lot of room it is an actual nine or 18 whole Golf Course basically with this basket so I think be better off towards where the golf our little Golf Course was and this is more like I said passive we don't want to actually put you know baskets in there for disc I'm just saying that's another sport that you know yeah people are yeah [1:04:26] **Hannah Dunn:** it's certainly a creative way to um not have a a permanent amenity but have want to more features in our Park system so it's something we can look into for other Parks or or this park yeah yeah I didn't mean it had to be right there oh yeah sure [1:04:45] **Commissioner Cunningham:** great great thank you thanks Hannah appreciate it [1:04:49] **Commissioner Glenn:** good J yeah I just want to make a comment um I couldn't make it to the commons dedication so the following week I went out to the to the park and just wandered around and talked to people and it was like wow I mean people were really impressed and I think part of it too is just you know a lot of the things too then for older kids to do and they love that that u Sprint area you know kind of the football they love that thing that I was amazed how busy it was people going back and forth through it and I was also amazed how far some of these people came to go to the park I mean I was talking people from Roseville and and u farther west than that and so it was really quite a draw and people were really impressed and I was really impressed so um I think Kudos was it's it's a terrific place [1:05:43] **Commissioner Meyer:** I'm just going to go off of this it's probably for Andy and now Carrie um usage fees for people not Oakdale if they're going to be coming in from Roseville and Northfield and Little Falls to use our Fields what are we going to do with u you know they're tearing them up something you guys might want to look into all right okay [1:06:14] **Commissioner Cunningham:** anything else thank you for the comments on comment and that was a nice event u ribbon cutting for will Brook you was and I'll just kudos to Hannah and Jonathan they did a great job with that Park you guys really they spent a lot of time on it and did a phenomenal job so as I stated I think they're meeting a month ago we're lucky to have have them on board to do the other two too so great to work with excellent job Jeff also played massive role so thank you Jeff [1:06:54] **Jeff Koesling:** yell at kids up there now that's all I am [1:07:01] **Commissioner Cunningham:** all right great that's great Wonder u moving on u staff Jeff you want to take [1:07:07] **Jeff Koesling:** yeah I I miss Julie I'm like I gotta learn Shand here what she shouldn't be allowed off on Tuesdays here um yeah I'll just u thank you good evening Commissioners um I'll just touch on what parks Crews right now last week we were last couple two three weeks we've been cleaning all the parks going through um took a little Hiatus last week we were here decorating putting lights up for u the upcoming holiday season so um that took a couple days three or four days to get that done um cleaning parks and then u couple of the crew we've been attending u some upcoming plowing and and winter training we've got another class tomorrow um all the crews attend a half day of training with Matt u Williams for Street soup u we go through all the plow routes all their we got a couple new people um that have been moved up into rout so they they get training and all all that they we sit down and go through all that and what our plan is for the winter [1:08:15] **Jeff Koesling:** which I wish it was like last year but I don't think it's going to be so um we'll have to wait and see but u temporary warming houses should be in place possibly by next week early next week at East Side in Walton it could be the following week um with that being a holiday week it might not happen um so those should be in place and the last thing I have is an update on the lighting project I reached out to them materials have all been delivered to the installer they are now and this was part of the original plan they are going to wait until the ground freezes now we had a really good window on October where it was dry and um with the the the equipment was delayed from the weather down south from the Hurricanes a lot of it came from down there and they don't the the size of the trucks that they have to put on these fields they don't want to damage the fields in the irrigation so it makes sense [1:09:12] **Jeff Koesling:** and this was from the get-go that if it got late into the year they would just wait till it freezes so it'll actually be better for them and better for us in the long run so um other than that with with that said I'll stand for any questions I really don't have a whole lot more so we're just prepping for the upcoming season and and u probably be down in the 20s next week we could be flooding some ranks all right let's go let's go strap on the skates if [1:09:33] **Commissioner Cunningham:** I have a question about my the plow route that goes by my house is it Matt that I would talk to [1:09:41] **Jeff Koesling:** yeah you would call Matt or I can answer that we are going to fill your driveway in just so you know I'll talk to you after we pl curve to curve kidding but yeah I I can be happy to answer your question on that yeah okay um if there's no more questions I'll move on to u Julie thesaurus here read that um Recreation update u Julie has u here the number one the community walk recap the 2024 Community walk it was a success this year running April through October there were 186 Walkers registered for the program 80 completed the max 150 miles and congratulations to all Walkers um their goals if they walk 25 miles they got a choice of an Oakdale branded item if they walked 100 miles they've got the Oakdale branded item and a 100 mile Club big frog t-shirt and if they did the max 150 the choice of the Oakdale branded item 100 Mile Club big frog t-shirt and a 150m club sweatshirt [1:10:48] **Jeff Koesling:** so um it's pretty neat to see that a lot of people are involved in that um u next item on the board is the pumpkin carving contest u congratulations to the following winners of the pumping pumpkin carving contest u submiss submissions were voted on during the flashlight pump hunt that was held a few weeks back um the best was called Aloha the spookiest was called pass the pop candy corn and Bumpkin pumpkin trash so u that's what Julie's got written here I had sort of sad it started raining at like 5:00 the night she had it up there so a lot of it was moved inside so sort of felt bad for the young kids but um it still worked out it was a good success [1:11:31] **Jeff Koesling:** um next on the board is the Discovery Center indoor market the annual indoor market will kick off on Saturday November 16th look for 20 plus vendors each week with live music and the popular raffle basket drawing each market the market runs 16 did I say what did I say I thought you said November 16th u it says Saturday November 16th that's where she oh oh the end of okay yeah I thought you on the next one yeah no look for 20 plus vendors each week live music and the popular raffle basket drawing each market u the market runs select Saturdays concluding on March 22nd for more information you can go to the Oakdale minnesota.gov website um five u back 500 back SL indoor market u the art discovery Fair there were 22 local artists will participate in the Oakdale art discovery Fair taking place Saturday November 23rd from 10:00 a.m. to 3: p.m. live music will be performed by juwels music from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. [1:12:33] **Jeff Koesling:** u there will be painting cards artificial floral jewelry fiber Creations mandala rocks glass art Pottery woodworking candles and more will be available to purchase for anybody that's u attending um Santa's mailbox u the Santa letter collection boxes will be placed at the Discovery Center in City Hall between December 2nd and December 15th after we forward the letters to the North Pole all children will receive a personalized letter from Santa so it' be great to u if you can get that the kids I know love it it's pretty successful so um and Steve you can even put one in there too they'll send you a letter [1:13:17] **Commissioner Meyer:** I'm trying to do the Santa [1:13:19] **Jeff Koesling:** I see that um u the Santa fir truck the recreation and fire department continue to partner on the annual Santa Truck Event fire truck framed with lights and of course Santa will make its way down Hadley Avenue on Wednesday December 11th from 6:00 to 7:35 p.m. the truck will begin at the North fire station with selected stops along the way for candy cane giveaways u look for the official Santa stop signs along that route and it can be found on the Oakdale u City's website um next up is the snow sculptures contest the department will accept photo entries through March 31st this year's theme is favorite sport the winning snow sculpture will receive a winter themed goodie basket um last year I don't didn't we weren't too successful on the snow sculpture thing so this year hopefully haven't [1:14:12] **Jeff Koesling:** so u Winter Wonderland u the upcoming Winter Wonderland event will be held on Saturday December 21st from 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. always one of our biggest events um over 1,000 participants attended this event last year activities will include visit with Santa for drawn hay rides from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. the dogs of winter there will be a penting zoo a candy cane hunt a bonfire with s'mores breakfast and lunch holiday face painting holiday crafts provided by the Oakdale library and gingerbread house contest u there will also be or the partners include the Oakdale Area Chamber of Commerce and the First Resource Bank um it's a huge event it's always attended very well so um make sure make sure you get up to that that would be on December 21st from 9:00 to 1 [1:15:05] **Jeff Koesling:** um holiday cookie class love and& Butter Bakery will host another holiday cooking decorating class at the dis Discovery Center on Monday December 2nd from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. participants will learn how to professionally design and decorate holiday cookies u Gingerbread House contest u the department is again accepting submissions December 19th and 20th for our annual Gingerbread House contest houses will be voted on during our Winter Wonderland event prizes will be awarded for top youth and top adult entries um snowshoe rentals daily Snowshoe rental will be available at the Discovery Center beginning December 22nd pending snow conditions u rentals are $6 for 2 hours hours are Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday 12 to 3:30 p.m. Sundays 1: to 3:30 p.m. [1:16:01] **Jeff Koesling:** reservations recommended for group of six or more people u ice rink attendance the department is currently taking applications for ice rink attendance the season will run u late December through February weather permitting and last would be skating rinks and warming houses our rinks are scheduled to open late December weather permitting and the warming houses and rinks are located at Walton and Eastside park hours are Monday through Friday 4: to 8:00 p.m. Saturdays 12:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Sundays 12: to 7 p.m. p.m. rink rentals are also available during select hours so um that's all I had if stand for any questions I'll try and answer them for Julie or any comments questions comments all good thank you thanks thank you appreciate you guys all right u commissioner updates [1:16:53] **Commissioner Jan:** Jan let's start with you okay all I'll say is regarding our Wellness 50 plus you can always look in the Oakdale update there's a page on um for fall and winter it's page 14 and just see what we have going on and please attend we have a lot of fun things and um some really um good things to learn about or participate in yeah so perfect [1:17:21] **Commissioner Cunningham:** thanks Glenn [1:17:23] **Commissioner Glenn:** u really all I have to say is u again congratulations to Carrie and we're GNA miss you and u but u know our loss is the city council's gain so congratulations all right [1:17:42] **Commissioner Mark:** thanks Mark um I know we had talked about having a meeting at the warming houses but with no meeting now till February um I'm suggesting that maybe we just divide and conquer maybe in January just go as a presence and talk to people um so maybe we want to talk about that yep um via email or whatever [1:18:03] **Commissioner Cunningham:** so I was going to bring that up yep thanks good idea um u I guess the only thing I have is I mentioned earlier I went to the U Market this past Saturday and there was U live music and I don't know if that's planned for every Market but it was a nice addition to the market [1:18:24] **Commissioner Jan:** so I agree I've been to some of the events when there's live music and it does make it feel more um stale and yeah a little more cozy [1:18:34] **Commissioner Cunningham:** that's a good word thank you [1:18:37] **Commissioner Meyer:** and I was still going to so if you don't know time Carrie was elected to our city council congratulations now her and Andy are fighting who can be our Elias in here so that's always good that they like us um and again with the Park tour or the the rink tour I was I will put out can I email these and the new email other Commissioners or is that against the meeting deals and all that stuff remember that whole thing we went through so but u a kind of thing yeah yeah but I will I'll put out u because I think I was just going to say the same thing and maybe we can um once they open up we'll hit it a night and get everybody there and Mark will bring hot chocolate [1:19:28] **Commissioner Cunningham:** so I got access to it all right all right um okay very good I think that's what I had oh and it's just for people watching now that we do have an opening now on the commission so um please put your hat in the ring per se as they say and get on the commission and evidently you can walk up the walk up the the stairs to be on the council in no time very good anyway Let's u appreciate everybody let's go to the council um councilman Morcomb welcome [1:20:11] **Andy Morcomb:** sure thank you very much and u Commissioners thank you for your feedback on these Parks this has been a long process over the past year will Brook Commons is beautiful like Glenn had said everyone's really excited about it but there's more work to do and if we don't get the feedback from everybody including the commission here we don't build something that people are excited about so all of these comments that you made tonight we take to heart and I've been taking notes there's a lot of things to consider but it's an exciting time for oakal so thank you for all of that [1:20:46] **Andy Morcomb:** terms of updates yep we got some new council members coming on and Carrie is one of them I know the last time I think we appointed it was Jan and Cary about the same time u there was more interest in the Parks and wck commission than there's been in a number of years there was a long list in fact not everyone who put their name and even got u an interview with the council so it shows how much interest there is in the Oakdale Community for serving and taking care of our Parks and Recreation programming which is great otherwise Oakdale continues to grow [1:21:18] **Andy Morcomb:** the update is the Fourth Street bridge is open after a long time got to attend a ribbon cutting for Oakdale Commons which is the 55 plus affordable housing building right behind High ve and um they're filling up fairly quick but they still have over a 100 spaces available um but I think in the first six weeks they had 30 or 4 40 people move in which is great that's needed in Oakdale and today the Harland which is off 34th Street by Target just had their grand opening as an apartment so lots of good things going and we're just trying to keep up with the police fire and public works all the different aspects of a growing community so lot's going on [1:22:01] **Commissioner Meyer:** how about LA Fitness what's happening there [1:22:04] **Andy Morcomb:** good qu I know they've moved out of the building and it is up for lease by the building owners um but as far as the city council's nothing you it's u a private business and we hope they lease it soon [1:22:15] **Commissioner Cunningham:** okay okay u questions anyone concerns thank you very much thanks car would you like to come up no all right very good okay everyone great meeting appreciate it u can I get a motion to adjourn I'll motion J can I get a second I'll second Mark all in favor u this um commission meeting is adjourned our next meeting will be February 18th of 2025 at 6:30 New time is 6:30 in the council chambers thank you that because of the appreciation dinner right excuse me yeah I think meeting commission meeting is February 18th is what we have on here so anyway we'll get back have a good night she's got