[0:01] [Music] [0:54] **Chair:** All right, welcome everyone. Going to call the September 5th meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting to order. If everybody who is able and willing to stand, we'll start with our Pledge of Allegiance. **Group:** I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [1:42] **Chair:** Thank you. Good evening everyone, welcome. First thing on our agenda is the approval of the agenda. Are there any updates or changes to the agenda as presented? [1:55] **Committee Member:** I do have one. If you could clarify for the audience regarding the speaking to the various points on the agenda before we approve it, that would I think be helpful. [2:07] **Chair:** Fantastic idea. So on our agenda today, item number three, we have a 10 minutes total time for anything that is not on today's agenda. So we invite people up to speak on anything that's not on the agenda. We do have some agenda items with the Parks Amenity Plan, the Family Aquatic Center, Youth Baseball/Softball complex, and the Alimagnet Natural Resource Management Plan. So if you are speaking on those topics, please wait until those are on the agenda. We will have our staff reports and updates, and then we will invite people up to make comments at that time. And while we're talking about that, make sure in the back there is a sign-in sheet. Please sign in with your name and your address; that is really helpful. We'll give some instructions when people come up to speak on those during the agenda. [3:04] **Committee Member:** Great, thank you. With that, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda. [3:09] **Chair:** All right, there's been a motion. Is there a second? [3:12] **Committee Member:** Second. [3:14] **Chair:** Motion and second. Any discussion? All those in favor signal by saying aye. **Group:** Aye. [3:25] **Chair:** Opposed? Hearing none, the agenda carries. Item number three is the audience participation. Again, thank you so much for coming and joining us here at the Parks and Rec Advisory Committee meeting. This is the time where we invite anybody to come up and speak on anything that is not on tonight's agenda. If anybody has anything at this time, please step forward to the podium. All right, well, not seeing any at this time, so we'll just kind of move on. [4:04] **Chair:** The next item on the agenda is the approval of the June 2024 minutes which were provided in the packet. Did everybody have a chance to look at those? Any changes or updates from staff or committee? Seeing none, I will entertain a motion to approve the June 2024 minutes. [4:18] **Committee Member:** Move to approve minutes as submitted. [4:21] **Committee Member:** Second. [4:22] **Chair:** There is a motion and second. Any discussion? All those in favor of approving the June 2024 minutes as presented in the packet signal by saying aye. **Group:** Aye. [4:38] **Chair:** Opposed? Hearing none, the minutes are approved. Cruising right along, item A is the update on the Parks Amenity Plan process which will be presented by Eric Carlson, our Parks and Rec Director. Welcome, Eric. [4:51] **Eric Carlson:** Welcome, thank you. Madam Chair, members of the committee, I appreciate it. I want to give a little update on our Parks Amenity planning. Committee members will recall that basically the month of August, we met in every single park in town—50 parks. We wanted to get feedback from residents about a draft plan. Back in November of '23, residents had the opportunity to vote on a Parks referendum. About 66% voted in favor of question number one, which was to invest about $66.7 million in trails, natural resources, the community center, the senior center, and the aquatic center. There was a second question for an additional $6.5 million for the Redwood Community pool. [6:41] **Eric Carlson:** We ended up passing a referendum to cover these items. The Parks Amenity Plan is all about the neighborhood park system—the 50 parks across town. That deals with playgrounds, basketball courts, tennis courts, lighting, trails, and pickleball. We have 51 parks total. We're looking at making about $4.8 million worth of improvements to playgrounds. That doesn't include Redwood or Kelly Park, which are separate projects. We have $500,000 for basketball, $2.8 million for tennis, $1.3 million for backstops, and about a million for pickleball courts at Johnny Cake. [9:47] **Eric Carlson:** It ends up being about $23.4 million total. We get from the $19 million referendum to $23 million because we've been successful in getting outside grant money from the state and federal government. This map shows the coverage; the city is well-covered by playgrounds. Regarding the neighborhood meetings, we met with well over a thousand people. We moved six meetings to the senior center due to weather. As of August 29th, we've had about 423 comments on our Social Pinpoint site. Generally speaking, people aren't supportive of repurposing playgrounds or tennis courts. There is strong interest in pickleball and full-sized basketball courts. [14:25] **Eric Carlson:** The Social Pinpoint site will be open until September 13th. In October, the committee will review comments. We'll post an updated plan and send emails to everyone who commented. Hopefully, the committee can finalize the plan in November, and the City Council can address it in December. This will take at least five years to implement, doing six to eight parks a year. At this point, I can stop and answer questions. [16:42] **Chair:** Open it to committee questions for Eric. [17:02] **Committee Member:** One question to clarify: The plan called for the removal of some playgrounds. Some of those were at parks that had multiple playgrounds. Did we get any pushback on consolidating multiple playgrounds into just one at those parks? [17:40] **Eric Carlson:** There are about six parks that have multiple playgrounds. I would suggest that in the future, those parks will likely have a single playground, but we're still taking feedback. [18:16] **Chair:** Eric, I know you've gotten a huge email list. I'll reiterate: please put comments in Social Pinpoint. I want to say thank you to you and the staff for having meetings at all 50 parks. I'd like to open it up to committee members to share what you heard from residents. [19:07] **Committee Member (Randy):** I heard many people were just there to get updated information. There was feedback like "I heard you're taking our park away." No, we aren't. People are obviously interested in their specific park, but we have to look at the big picture too. [20:19] **Committee Member (Mark):** My feedback was that there wasn't clarity on what a "natural playground" is. When it was explained, it was eye-opening. Also, the amenity plan was an overwhelming document; it needs a summary to make it more user-friendly. [21:18] **Committee Member:** Of the eight parks I went to, four had no people there. Those were parks where nothing was being taken away. The other parks had feedback about losing playgrounds. [22:25] **Committee Member (Craig):** The ones I attended had interest in more native plantings and natural features. Several people indicated that while volleyball courts weren't used much before, they are seeing more use now that men's volleyball is a high school sport. [24:00] **Committee Member (Kayla):** I was a victim of the weather, so my data was skewed. The folks that did show up were divided between expressing pain points and support. [24:28] **Chair:** I heard a lot about playgrounds and tennis courts. People are starting to understand that updates must be ADA compatible. I also heard that people like the idea of variety—themed playgrounds like a pirate ship or fire station. This is a unique opportunity for residents. One other thing I heard was the importance of water quality work and infiltration ponds. [27:32] **Committee Member (Mark):** One citizen expressed concern that the schedule might be too aggressive. Given the feedback, getting a revised plan by October might be rushing it. [28:16] **Eric Carlson:** It's a goal. We won't rush it to the point where we make a big mistake. [28:40] **Chair:** Thank you, Eric. At this time, we will invite any guests to the podium. Please give us your name and address and keep it to two to three minutes. [29:43] **Frank Sachs:** My name is Frank Sachs, 6603 134th Street in the Green Leaf addition. I want to say thank you to Eric for being attentive. I've given Eric our petition with 300 signatures to maintain our tennis and pickleball courts. Those courts are a community gathering spot. Families and people in their 70s play there. We don't care if the nets are the wrong height; we're there for community building. Please maintain our courts in Green Leaf. [32:55] **Chair:** Thank you, Frank. I live on 135th and I can hear the pickleball; they are definitely being used. [33:07] **Christy Maxwell:** My name is Christy Maxwell, 128 Chapparel Drive. We bought our house sight unseen because it was across from a neighborhood park. I want to raise my kids in a "free-range" neighborhood. I told my neighbors to vote for the referendum to update the park, and now I feel duped because the option presented is the removal of the playground. A 10-minute walk to Belmont Park isn't realistic with a crying toddler. Please consider a systematic update based on age rather than removal. [38:22] **Chair:** Thank you, Christy. [38:35] **Connie Kesler:** My name is Connie Kesler, 153 Chapparel Drive. My house is at the bottom of a very steep hill. Dragging children to Belmont Park is incredibly difficult. We shouldn't be looking at how to decrease things in Apple Valley to be "equal" to neighbors; we should be looking at how to be better. [41:51] **Chair:** Thank you very much, Connie. [42:15] **Stella Hannon:** My name is Stella Hannon, I live at 8255 Palamino Drive. I am 14 years old. That park is how I made all my closest friends. My parents never let me walk to Belmont when I was 3 because it wasn't safe. Chapparel was where I formed strong bonds. [43:37] **Chair:** Thank you for sharing that. Any feedback from committee? [44:17] **Eric Carlson:** Thanks to all the residents for staying engaged. [44:56] **Christy Maxwell:** One more thing—Social Pinpoint is getting hard to use because comments are consolidating. It's hard to "like" or "dislike" comments now. [45:41] **Eric Carlson:** I have a meeting with the vendor tomorrow to see if we can fix that. [46:58] **Chair:** Moving on to item B, an update on the Family Aquatic Center and rebranding. [47:04] **Eric Carlson:** The Aquatic Center is an $8.2 million project. We're rebranding it to **Splash Valley Water Park**. The theme will heavily use an otter mascot. We are making it fully ADA compliant, adding shade, and refurbishing the slides. We're replacing pool filters which will save 800,000 gallons of water annually. We're also adding some solar power to the roof. Construction starts late September and should be done by June 2025. [55:30] **Committee Member (Craig):** My daughter adores the dinosaur in front of the pool. She wanted me to make sure it stays. [56:06] **Eric Carlson:** The dinosaur isn't going in a dumpster. It'll show up somewhere, maybe as a "where is the dinosaur" contest. [56:22] **Committee Member (Mark):** I want to compliment the team. "Apple Valley Family Aquatic Center" was tough to market. This rebranding looks great. [56:55] **Committee Member:** I move to approve the rebranding efforts. [57:01] **Committee Member:** Second. [57:04] **Chair:** Motion passes. Moving to item C, the Youth Baseball/Softball complex. [57:43] **Eric Carlson:** This is the Hayes/Westview Athletic Field project. It's a $5.2 million project. The concept is a four-field "wheel" with natural grass, dirt infields, and lighting. We'd be removing the outdoor hockey and pleasure skating rinks to make room for flexible field space for soccer, football, and lacrosse. We are working with the school district on a Joint Powers Agreement since they own part of the property. [1:04:45] **Committee Member:** I'm excited for our kids. This wasn't an easy project to get consensus on. [1:05:46] **Chair:** Can you talk about the playground there? [1:06:04] **Eric Carlson:** The current playground will be displaced by the building addition, so we're planning to relocate it between the two buildings. [1:06:40] **Committee Member (Mark):** Any word from the hockey associations? [1:06:50] **Eric Carlson:** We reached out. Brian, did we hear back? [1:07:18] **Brian (Staff):** No, nothing mentioned from their side at the meetings. [1:09:12] **Committee Member:** I move that we recommend the Youth Baseball/Softball complex concept. [1:09:21] **Committee Member:** Second. [1:09:25] **Chair:** Motion carries. Item D is the Alimagnet Natural Resource Management Plan. [1:10:04] **Eric Carlson:** We have $2 million allocated for natural resources. We've worked with Dakota County and a consultant to develop a plan for Alimagnet Park. It involves removing invasive species like Buckthorn. It will look a bit "ugly" at first during the restoration. [1:17:38] **Samantha Burger:** I'm Samantha Burger, the Natural Resources Coordinator. We want to mimic what Burnsville has done on their side of the lake. We're planning an Alum treatment on the lake this fall to improve water quality. We've applied for a "HELP" grant for Buckthorn management. We're starting with a 12-acre parcel on the west side. [1:24:41] **Committee Member (Craig):** I saw Japanese Knotweed identified in the survey. Is that a priority? [1:25:21] **Samantha Burger:** Yes, we've already started tackling that with black fabric to smother it. [1:26:08] **Committee Member (Craig):** What about the trails? Some are in rough shape. [1:27:46] **Eric Carlson:** We haven't spent any energy on studying trails yet, but they are in horrible shape and will need work. [1:29:43] **Committee Member (Mark):** Are there fish in the lake? [1:29:51] **Samantha Burger:** Yes, it's a safe process for fish. Barr Engineering is helping us manage it. [1:31:37] **Brad Black:** My name is Brad Black, 457 Reflection Road. I've lived here for 58 years. I'm ecstatic. This park was envisioned as a nature sanctuary back in 1969. I've been waiting 55 years for this moment. Please approve this. [1:37:05] **Cindy Deas:** My name is Cindy Deas, 169 Strese Lane. I'm with the Apple Valley Eco Advocates. We are very happy about the deer management and disc golf considerations. We are hosting a "Buckthorn Bust" on September 28th at 9:00 AM. [1:39:23] **Eric Carlson:** Looking for a motion to recommend the draft plan to City Council. [1:39:34] **Committee Member:** I move we recommend it. [1:39:39] **Committee Member:** Second. [1:40:11] **Chair:** Motion carries. Item six, committee discussion and referendum update. [1:40:32] **Committee Member (Randy):** Good news—the first round of Apple Valley General Obligation Bonds is out for investors. It's real, folks. [1:41:15] **Committee Member (Craig):** Could we boost the "Buckthorn Bust" through our social channels? [1:41:35] **Chair:** Great idea. Future items: Dave and Mark asked for a Park Dedication Fund update. [1:42:01] **Committee Member (Mark):** Could we also get a summary of our Joint Power agreements with the school district and an update on the Park Facilities Fund? [1:43:16] **Eric Carlson:** We can invite the Finance Director to give an update. [1:43:55] **Chair:** All right, I'll make a motion to adjourn. [1:44:01] **Committee Member:** Second. [1:44:03] **Chair:** Meeting adjourned. Thank you, everyone. [Music]