Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 08-23 CCM Special Work Session MINUTES OF "TI��E PROCE�;UINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL/�?CONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORI"I'Y OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN "I'HE COUNTY OF HENNEYIN AND "I'HE S"I'ATE OF MINNESO"I'A SPECIAL WORK SESSION AUGUS"I' 23, 2021 VIA ZOOM CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council/Economic Development Authority(EDA) met in Special Work Session called to order by Mayor/President Mike Elliott at 5:06 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor/President Mike Elliott and Councilmembers/Commissioners Marquita Butler (arrived at 5:07 p.m.), April Graves (arrived at 5:15 p.m.), Kris Lawrence-Anderson, and Dan Ryan. Also present were City Manager Reggie Edwards, Community Development Director Meg Beekman, City Attorney Troy Gilchrist, and City Clerk Barb Suciu. STUDY RESULTS OF PHASE I OF THE BROOKLYN CENTER COMMUNITY, HEALTH, CULTURE, AND RECREATION CENTF,R EXPANSION City Manager Reggie Edwards introduced the item, noting that about a year ago, the City started thinking about expanding the Cammunity Center, which was generated by staff bringing various interests in who were interested in that expansion. That was followed up by conversations with former City Manager Boganey and staff to determine what was needed to move forward with a study to learn whether there was interest and need and what an expansion to the Community Center would look like. Councilmember/Commissioner Marquita Butler arrived at 5:07 p.m. Dr. Edwards stated the City Council/FDA is aware the City submitted an application for State bonding in the 2022 bonding year. A presentation on that will be made before the City Council/EDA on September 21, 2021. He stated an RFP was released for firms to conduct a study on the Community Center. Perkins and Will were one of several firms who responded, their favorable proposal and approach included engagement of the community to gain inside perspectives, and they come to the table with expertise after doing many facilities in the State and other locations. Staff found they had the needed expertise and brought skills to the process that would be favorable to how Brooklyn Center would consider a new Community Center or an expansion to the existing Community Center. Dr. Edwards stated the first phase of that study will be presented tonight to address the need and resident input on essential needs, articulate the possibilities and timeline with a more extensive Phase 2 study. He noted that following the presentation, there will be time for the City Council/EDA to engage with questions and discussion. 08/23/21 -1- Lindsey Peckinpaugh, Principal in Charge and Arcllitect with Perkins and Will, stated she is specialized in sports and recreation architecture and has had the honor of working in many communities throughout the country. She noted this is a team effort and introduced the project team including Brigitte Bjorklund with Zan Associates who are community engagement specialists. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated they know that Brooklyn Center is a rich and diverse community so Ms. Bjorklund's team was critical in reaching out to the community. Ms. Peckinpaugh introduced Matthew Avila, Hunden Strategic Partners, who is a financial analyst and led the market and demographic in analytics on the project. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated they will be recapping the study goals and process, talk about their observations on the existing condition of the facility and spend the bulk of their time to bring the City Council/EDA up to speed on the public engagement process, economic and demographic analysis, and market analysis. She stated they will wrap up their presentation with conclusions and recommendations and leave time for questions and answers. Councilmember/Commissioner Graves arrived at 5:15 p.m. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated the goals, as outlined by City staff for this study, were to develop a ten- year vision for the Community Center Master Plan and this vision should be crafted by and for the community of Brooklyn Center. She described their four-step approach including the discovery of the vision and data gathering, define programming, and prioritization of needs. 'This is the first phase of the study that is being reported tonight, the discovery and definition phase. Should the City determine to continue, Phase 2 will include exploration and final recommendations. Ms. Yeckinpaugh displayed a list depicting Phase 1 base services, noting it includes a review of� the existing facility, their discussion with strategic partners, and deep dive on market and demand analysis. She explained that Phase 2 is the fun part for an architect as it uses the information learned from public engagement and the demographic analysis and market demand and they start to draw and generate planning strategies on what a new vision of the Community Center would look like and assign a cost to those improvements from a capital construction cost and on-going operational cost. Then they would move into implementation planning and final report and findings. Ms. Peckinpaugh displayed a schedule-timeline, noting it has slipped a little bit along the way as they had intended to wrap up Phase 1 by the beginning of August, which slid a few weeks as they took on additional community engagement, made sure there was time to talk with additional focus groups, and Zan Associates could get into the community for additional events. Even with the three-week slip, they are still projected to wrap up the study in its totality towards the end of the year. Ms. Peckinpaugh reported that coming out of Phase 1, they identified as a team with City statf four project indicators, noting there are four questions the team has been tasked with answering. l. Is there public support for the renovation, expansion, or renewed investment in the Community Center? 2. Do the community demographics and market analysis have favorable indicators to support a renewed investment? 3. Do the strategic partners that we talked to have complementary goals and resources? 4. Does Centennial Park have the capacity to accommodate improvements? 08/23/21 -2- J II Ms. I eckinpaugh stated they are in a posit�on to answer these questions this evening. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated in looking at the existing building, the team of experts thinks that one of the most beneficial assets of the Brooklyn Center Community Center is its location in Centennial � Park. There is a beautiful park that is well received by the cammunity but it is part of a flood plain I and they understand the adjacent ballfields are prone to flooding. She displayed an aerial view of the subject site, noting the areas denoting the flood plain and buildable area. Ms. Peckinpaugh explained the site is constrained in its buildable area but there is the capacity to make improvements on the site to the existing building. Ms. Peckinpaugh displayed colored pictures of the inside of the Community Center and stated it �' is their observation that it is well kept and maintained for its age but, like most buildings of this generation, it is opaque and highly compartmentalized. They observed, while onsite, that the '', building is hard to find, lacks wayfinding and a clear sense of entry, and informal gathering space. �'I Because the building is primarily concrete and brick construction, it is rather rigid and cost- prohibitive to renovate. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated they recognize that the 50-meter pool is an incredible asset and there are ', not many like it in the region. It is well kept and maintained, a true benefit to the community, so � they have been looking for strategies throughout the Phase 1 study to increase utilization of that area. � Ms. Peckinpaugh stated a key tenement of their study process is foundational to a public � engagement process. As a team, they believe diversity drives innovation and inclusion and sparks � creativity. They take a broad and wide-sweeping approach to public engagement, not just because �I it is the right thing to do but also know it yields better results for their clients and projects. She �i explained that for the public engagement process to be successful, it must be authentic, inclusive, ��, and embrace diversity. They have come to appreciate what an incredibly diverse cammunity !� Brooklyn Center is and have been learning as they have gotten out into the cammunity that there ii is a lot of cultural aspects to this community that is certainly unique so their approach must be I, tailored to the community. '� Ms. Peckinpaugh stated it is important for the City Council/EDA to know they believe that public � engagement is a continuum and what they have done in Phase 1 is just the very beginning of a long relationship with the community of Brooklyn Center. Should "I'he City Council//EDA determine to move into Phase 2 with the design of a facility, they intend to keep the public engaged throughout that entire process. Public engagement is also achieved through a variety of inethods and formats including broad community engagement, which Ms. Bjorklund has taken the lead on, a small focus group format for interviews, strategic partnership discussions, and direct staff involvement. Ms. Peckinpaugh displayed a colored bar chart depicting engagement as a continuum starting with programming (Phase 1 of the Master Plan Study). Bridget Bjorklund, Zan Associates, stated she is excited to share the engagement plan and results of Phase 1. She displayed a picture oi'their online engagement platform that is a launching site and provides a convenient place to give and gather information, collect survey data and other feedback, and provide contacts and links; a kind of one-stop-shop. 08/23/21 -3- Ms. Bjorklund displayed a table showing the promotions launched during Phase 1, noting those efforts reached over 3,500 people and the two websites reached a lot of people in the community as well as flyers and e-mail blasts to historically under-represented residents to inform and gather input. She referenced a list of groups they worked with and diverse pop-up events they used to capture the wider diversity in F3rooklyn Center, immersing themselves in the community. Talking face-to-face with residents was their strongest connection and gave them the most information. Their partners with the City were also in the community to connect with residents and gather information. Ms. Bjorklund described the I Ieal the City event they attended after the shooting of Daunte Wright when the community was grieving and participants were please to know their voices were being considered. She found this to be a very moving event because people realized we care about what they think, which was quite powerful. Ms. Bjorklund stated othcr events they attended included the Concert in the Park, Ilmong Celebration in the Park, Thursday Farmer's Market, and 26 National Night Out events where they offered engagement activities to gain resident input. Ms. Bjorklund then reviewed their online survey that was available in three languages. They received over 200 unique surveys sharing suggestions and impressions about the Communit�� Center. Ms. Bjorklund presented a listing of their top recommendations with those in bold having the most mentions or votes from the community. Requests they heard repeatedly were for basketball and volleyball couris, indoor track, splash pad, and indoor/outdoor park. They also received requests for many things to do with learning, after school, tutoring, and computers, as well as arts and entcrtainment. Ms. Bjorklund explained that culture and diversity came up repeatedly in a myriad of ways, and those ideas are listed. There were also a lot of people who wanted to partner with the Brooklyn Center Community Center to have programs that reach out farther in the community. She noted people specifically want to do more in the winter. Ms. Bjorklund displayed a pie chart depicting the survey demographics, noting they match pretty well with the diversity in Brooklyn Center and they reached quite a few people of different races and ethnicities during the engagement phase. She then displayed a pie chart depicting survey respondents by gender. Continuing, Ms. Bjorklund provided an overview of slides relating to respondent's answers about the current Community Center accessibility and favorite features. Ms. �jorklund reviewed the categories that residents identified at the last four or five events that indicated their favorites. She described current impressions residents offered that identified what they thought of the current Community Center, what events would get them to come more often, and what they suggested for the future. Ms. Bjorklund stated overall, they are very pleased with the breadth and depth of their engagement efforts. Ms. Peckinpaugh explained that in addition to the broad cominunity engagement, they also administered focus groups and strategic partnership discussions. She stated they ran nine focus group meetings, as listed on the schedule, and were intentional on the diversity of groups included, 08/23/21 -4- from recreation staff; cominunity leaders, and facility users (from families with young children to '' senior citizens). She stated they had a particularly fun focus group on July 13, 2021, with the Brooklyn 13ridge Alliance attended by about a dozen 7`n to 12t�, graders who were very participatory, polite, and full of great ideas. Ms. Peckinpaugh recapped and summarized that the common themes heard throughout the focus groups were the same heard by Ms. Bjarklund in the broad community engagement. Those themes included: the existing facility is clean and welcoming; the pool is the biggest asset with swim lessons; an exterior splash pad is encouraged; to accammodate competitive lap swimmers' preference for cooler pool temps; perhaps an additional body of water is needed; meeting rooms are underutilized and need to be modernized plus a prep kitchen; an updated entry, signage, locker rooms, and indoor/outdoor park connection is needed; informal small group gathering spaces with Wi-Fi access plus programming for teens and seniors; multi-purpose gymnasium space for unstructured activities; spaces for artists, maker, STEAM, and eSports; rooms for multi-cultural dance/prayer/wellness; and, workforce training and enrichment programs. Ms. Peckinpaugh reviewed the four different strategic partnership groups they reached out to and explained their intention, through these engagements, to place these partners along a partnership spectrum. This spectrum ranges from potential partners who would be in support of the facility and/or facility improvements but probably not users of the facility to full strategic partners that could bring both capital for construction and ongoing operations acumen to the project. After talking with the four potential partners, they plotted them along this spectrum, recognizing that Brookdale I�ibrary and the School District are supporters of the Parks Department and would certainly be supporters of facility improvements but they are probably partnering more on the program side. However, Great Wolf Swim Club falls more into a rental partner model where they are interested in becoming a tenant and renting space within an improved facility. Youth & Families Determined to Succeed (YFDS) and Inner City 'I'ennis are potentially viable partners as full capital and operational partner moving forward. Ms. Peckinpaugh provided a recap of each strategic partnership group's desires for updated facilities, facility improvements, multi-use spaces and indoor courts, fundraising capacity, and ongoing acumen as detailed in her presentation. She cxplained her team knew it would be important to test fit those program elements on the site, knowing the Centennial Park site has a limited capacity. She displayed a site plan showing the ground space required to include a 400- meter track and multi-purpose courls, noting it would start to overlay the floodplain. That tells us the fieldhouse would need to be elevated one story with parking underneath. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated there is precedence for doing that and her firm has elevated field houses in other communities and knows it is doable; however, it comes at a cost premium. She stated the site would also allow expansion of the existing building to get shared community spaces and take on an expanded aquatic center. The current site does have the capacity to fit the program elements; however, there are some design complexities and engineering that come with it. Ms. Peckinpaugh explained that throughout the strategic partnerships, focus groups, and events, they have had thousands of touchpoints with the community and it is clear to them that the community is engaged in this process. F3ut, as she said earlier, this is just the first piece of� community engagement and they view this as a continuum. Also, as Ms. Bjorklund said, a lot of the feedback they heard, in summary, has recurring themes. She highlighted the key themes being basketball and volleyball courts, splash pad, better connection to Centennial Park, educational 08/23/21 -5- programs, Maker's space, �ame room, anything that supports diversity whether multicultural dance or wellness or prayer rooms, and services around mental health, addiction, and housing support. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated tllcy believe they must continue to co-create the vision with the Community Center and, as a team, are committed to doing that. She introduced Mr. Hunden to present the analytical side of the economic and demographic analysis. Matthew Avila, Hunden Strategic Partners, stated he would first present drive time demographics and then get into the market analysis of other conlparable facilities and how Brooklyn Center can differentiate itself from this Community Center. I Ie reviewed drive time demographics to look at where people are coming from,the number of households,and the total population within the drive tiincs. He noted the median age is slightly lower within a l5-minute drive time than when that drive time area is expanded. In looking at the number o1�households that will be captured in this large metropolitan area, there are a lot of people who will be attracted to the Community Center and bring about a large opportunity that some communities do not have. Mr. I-Ianden stated they also did a walking time demographics analysis to understand who is right in the proximate area around the Community Center, noting that within 10-, 20-, and 30-minutes, the population is young and the median home value and income levels are slightly slower. He explained that understanding these different characteristics as well as the age and ethnicity breakdowns will be critical in programming the space to meet the needs of those communities. He presented the ethnicity breakdown within the walk times and explained it is important to note it mirrors what they received from their survey respondents that it is a very diverse population group and one that very much mirrors the entire �3rooklyn Center community as a whole. So, they need to create an environ�nent in which they will want to come whether walking or taking public transit to the facility. Mr. Handen reviewed the age distributions within walk times, noting the 25-34- year-old demographic group is the largest and that is also the largest survey respondent group and Ms. I3jorklund's analysis from comrnunity outreach. Mr. Ilanden stated when looking at the population as a whole, the City is growing in line with the greater metropolitan area as Brooklyn Center is close to the metropolitan corc but is growing slightly above the State and Country average, which is promising to see as other areas across the country are not seeing that growth. Mr. I�anden stated they wanted to note the age and ethnicity breakdown in Brooklyn Center as a whole and strong distribution in the 2021 population demographic results from the US Census Bureau, Brooklyn Center has a strong young population that is growing. He noted understanding that how to cater to those in the area, and programmatically results in what can be in the facility is important to look at. He stated all are aware the City is very diverse and has a community with so many backgrounds and ethnicities is a strong point for the City. Mr. ��anden reviewed income and spending demographic data that looks closer at the persons per household as well as the homeownership rate, which is slightly below that of Hennepin County and Minnesota as a whole. He explained this is seen as an opportunity in bringing the community together and potentially elevating some of the demographic indicators. 08/23/21 -6- Mr. Handen stated thcy also wanted to touch on unemployment rates, noting Brooklyn Center, as a whole, tracks slightly above and represents an opportunity for the Brooklyn Center Community Center to bring in people for job fairs or community programs to enrich people. He stated if the City creates a space 1or people to come for resume workshops and things of that nature, it will hopefully bring the unemployment rate slightly lower in the future. � Mr. Handen presented the tapestry segmentation analysis that takes the greater Brooklyn Center political boundary and understands, based on 67 unique segments, who the population is. The top three are Parks and Rec, Front Porches, and Metro Fusion. He explained that the median age of this tapestry segmentation is about 40 years old, they make approximately $60,000 a year, �, primarily owner-occupied homes, and the average household size is about 2.5 persons per household. This represents very middle America and that is the City's largest group but the third lat-gest group is the one he wants to note. Mr. Handen stated �;ront Porchcs has a median age of�34.9 years old with a median household income of around $43,000, which is slightly lower. A lot in this segment are renters or first-time home buyers. He explained that understanding these demographic groups is critical to understand who might be in this space and what they might need whether it is spaces for kids and families to come or whatnot. Mr. Handen stated the third group is Metro Fusion and is a highly diverse demographic group that is slightly younger with a median age of under 30 years old. "I�hey don't make that much money but they are highly connected with the general cammunity area. This is the one they have seen, from all their survey responses, is coming up the most in the 25-to-34-year-old demographic grouping. This is promising to see as one of the core demographic groups in Brooklyn Center. Mr. Handen recapped the analysis of the economic and demographic implications that Brooklyn Center is very diverse which is a strength so bringing it together is critical but understanding the � distributions of age and ethnicities will help program the space in further phases to meet their �, needs. He noted there is a lot of opportunities. � Mr. Handen stated they wanted to benchmark Brooklyn Center's Community Center with other facilities in the local area to understand the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, threats (SW07') ' of�the City's facility as it currently sits. He stated all are aware that the 50-meter pool is a strong aspect of the facility as it is not seen widely in the area and the addition of a warm water pool for , leisure/therapeutic use will elevate the facility. With opportunities, keeping it flexible and allowing for court space to meet the needs of tennis and transition to potentially have basketball , and volleyball uses would be a strong opportunity as well as an elevated walking track above the courts. In addition, career counseling and workshop space would be a strong opportunity. Mr. Handen stated there are a few weaknesses, which the City Council/EDA and staff are aware of, and threats would be conflicting public and private rental use that can occur when you bring in anchor tenants, but strong management can mitigate those types of issues. Mr. Handen stated they used a service called Placer.ai, which tracks cell phone data to understand I where people are caming from and characteristics about their visitation. He stated the City has 120,000 visitors per year (in 2019) and 80% of those come from within 10 miles and 7.5% come il 08/23/21 -7- froin over 20 miles. "1'his data is used to compare with other facilities to understand differentiating factors that might attract people from further away. Mr. Handen reviewed community center industry trends, in general, noting there has been a strong push for outdated community centers built in the late-1980s to the 1990s to be rehabilitated and renovated into new spaces. COVID has thrown a wrench into some of the development, but now is a great time to revamp these spaces and bring communities together, which everyone so desires given the past few years. Mr. Handen reviewed what makes a community successful and trends seen across the board including having the flexibility of spaces for use by multiple people and targeted programming and marketing. He stated several other characteristics are noted in his presentation. Mr. Handen stated in looking at the local community center supply in the area, there are five that are very campetitive, three of which he will review in more detail. The three main characteristics are having aquatic and titness centers and gymnasiurns. He reviewed a list of other meeting spaces, cvent venues, parks, and other recreation spaces that people might go to if not for the Brooklyn Center Community Center. For the aquatic supply, he noted there are only two other 50-meter pools in the Minneapolis area. One is at the University of Minnesota and the other is the outdoor Edina Aquatic Center. There is another 50-meter pool planned, but not yet constructed. Mr. I Ianden stated this information shows Brooklyn Center has a strong opportunity for the 50-meter pool if marketed well and the water temperature is brought down to meet the competitive facility needs. Mr. Handen next provided a brief overview of rates at the four competitive community centers in the area and how they do rate distribution. With the Brooklyn Park Community Activity Center, their strong differentiating factor is their two ice rinks, which drive those from outside the area into their community and creates an economic impact. They believe the same can occur with the City's 50-meter pool. Mr. Handen stated Brooklyn Park's Community Activity Center also offers a free walking track, which is attractive to their citizens. Their rate distribution goes by a free entry fee rate for the walking track plus a small fee for different activities and seasons based on usage. Next, Mr. Handen reviewed Brooklyn Park's visitation data, noting they see around 450,000 visitors (2019) and over 23% of them came from a distance of over 20 miles. Those visitors are cating and shopping in Brooklyn Park, driving economic impact. Mr. Handen stated the Shoreview Community Center is a strong competitor. It was built in 1990, has monthly and annual membership fees options, a iitness center, multiple studios, basketball and volleyball courts, and an aquatic center. Their membership rates are slightly elevated compared to most in the area, though their annual fee is comparable with a private facility. He stated Brooklyn Center will note these rates and benchmark off them in the future. He stated the Shoreview visitation data shows almost 700,000 visitors a year, likely due to their Aquatic Center's leisure aspect. He reviewed the 5% distribution of visits, which they see a lot for these kinds of facilities. Mr. Handen stated the Plymouth Community Center is a proposed facility with a projected cost of $50 million. Their current facility will be renovated and expanded with 80,000 sq. ft. over multiple phases. Phase 2 will be an active wing in the west parking lot and completed at the end of 2021. Phase 2 is the renovation of the existing education wing and will finish in the fall of 2022. He 08/23/21 -8- � 7 II renderin s of Pl mouth s ro osed ex ansion with flexible s aces elevated wa lkin displayed g y p p p p , � � track, and large play area for fainilies. He stated their current facility has visitation of 200,000 !� visitors with 80% from within 10 miles. I Mr. Handen presented a case study of the �3ridges Sports Complex in West Virginia, noting it is one they have been tracking. It is a public-private partnership with the City of Bridgeport and SFN Network, the management group for the facility that was completed in 2021. It is an attractive I facility with a 30,000 sq. ft. fitness center, 6 hardwood courts, a turf space, two indoor pools, and � a clip and climb. It is used by members of the community and private groups who rent spaces. � Mr. Handen stated from their interview with them, they drew some implications he wanted to �, include. Mr. Handen stated that the facility was projecting 500 members in iheir �irst year and got 1,300 � members in their first month. "I'hat's astounding for a community that is just over 8,000 residents. This means they are drawing people from around the area due to how they program the space,how I it is laid out, and the ualit of it. He noted this shows the im ortance of how a facility is run by 9 Y P bringing in a managing partner as well as accommodating dual usage with the rental and also space for the cammunity because,at the end of the day, a place where residents like to be is a place where visitors like to be as well. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated in summary, their recommendations are to movc into Phase 2 design planning scenarios with a focus on the key assets around the 50-meter pool, figuring out ways to make it better utilized, and looking at strategies to better engage Centennial Park as a key asset. They see there is an opportunity for growth expansion of the facility for multi-purpose activity spaces like the gyms, courts,track, or turf space, and larger aquatic center. They also believe those multi-purpose activity spaces could have a broader draw from around the region to get economic impact into Brooklyn Center. 7'hey highly recommend the City Council/EDA look at value-based services including the introduction of a multi-purpose court space that will not only draw visitors , from across the region but also could be beneficial for community-based rec programming by the ' Parks Department and alleviate pressure from the schools. They think the introduction of informal � lounge space and multi-purpose rooms to allow for cultural enrichment and cammunity-based programs would allow the Community Center to flourish. , Ms. Peckinpaugh referenced the four project indicators that had been mentioned at the beginning I of the presentation with answers as follows: 1. Is there public support for the renovation, expansion, or renewed investment in the I� Community Center? � Yes•, the Brooklyn Center Communiry Center is widely perceived as a communiry asset and the community would like to see improvements made. �', 2. Do the community demographics and market analysis have favorable indicators to support a renewed investment? While Brooklyn Center has a lor��er median household income, they do believe the � Community Center provides an opportuniry for low-cost programs to the surrounding area � and to promole qualiry of life for the community. 3. Do the strategic partners that we talked to have complementary goals and resources? YFDS and Inner Ciry Tennis, they believe, are the most viable partnerships_for capital and �� operational partnerships and shoulcl be explored further in Phase 2. '� 08/23/21 -9- ��� 4. Does Centennial Park have the capacity to accommodate improvements? Yes, it carr accommodate renovation expansion of the .faciliry but a shared pa�•king al�p��oach and certairrly�aying attention to the,flood pluin will be in�l�oi-tant to ihe szrcce.s,s of those plans. NEXT STEYS Ms. Peckinpaugh stated their recommendation for thc next steps is to rnove into Phase 2 of the study with continued commuility engagement. �I'hey recommend exploring the following three planning strategies: I 1. Just renovation and expansion of�the existing lacility focused on community recreation, wellness, and health needs. 2. Renovation and expansion of the existing facility focused on the community recreation, � wellness needs including the YFDS and Inner City Tennis partnership. '� I 3. Look at this as a new construction f�acility with or without City Hall on the Centennial Park '� site. ' Ms. Peckinpaugh noted their presentation includes a list of program recammendations that should �� be considered moving forward. She offered to hear the City Council's/EDA's questions and provide answers. �, Mayor/President Llliott opened the floor 1'or questions and comments from Councilmembers/ Commissioners. Councilmember/Commissioner Kyan stated in the last iew years, the City put a lot of money into �I� basically major maintenance, repair, and upgrades of the HVAC system for the Community Center. So, the planning scenario he would like to see is one where the investment already made in the existing building can be maximized. He would appreciate it if the presenter could address �' how they would picture that element of the building. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated certainly expansion planning scenarios 1 and 2 that they have � recommended would build upon all the recent investment in the building. They would look at expanding the systems and certainly not consider a wholesale replacement approach. Councilmember/Commissioner �3utler asked how were the groups identified, for example, Inner City Tennis, and are leaving space to engage other groups. She also wondered whether the Teen , Tech Center with Best Buy was explored. � Dr. Edwards stated the City was approached by the Inner City "I'ennis and other tennis and track '' organizations as interested parties but the City is open to exploring other parties as they move into Phase 2. Ms. Peckinpaugh reiterated they are certainly open to talking with additional partners and as they I move into planning strategies with capital and operational projections, any partners that can contribute to capital construction costs or ongoing operational revenue sources are parties they'd have interested in s eakin with. She stated the did not look into the Teen 7'ech Center with Best � � g Y �, 08/23/21 -10- Buy but she'd be interested in learning more about that and certainly would welcome conversations around that. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson thanked all of� the presenters for a very thorough presentation and stated she looks forward to the next steps for a better Community Center going forward. Mayor/President Elliott stated hearing no more questions or comments from Councilmember/ Commissioner he will open the floor for community members to comment. Ms. Car stated the 'ust ot notice at 3:23 .m. that this meetin was oin to ha en so a lot of Y YJ � P g g g pp community members are not in attendance. She asked if the recorded portion of this presentation can be shared widely and asked that until the community can watch this presentation and give feedback and input, nothing move forward. Ms. Cary stated her 13-year-old son goes to the "Teen Tech Center in St. Paul, which is a fantastic program and could get the City's teens on the cutting edge of technology. She described the classes her son has taken and stated their mentors are � culturally competent with state-of-the-art technology. They also have a technology library with things that can be checked out. Ms. Cary stated if the City can get that kind of program in the I kid's hands, it will be a game-changer for Brooklyn Center. Caroline Long stated we have mentioned before how Brooklyn Center is a diverse community and the presenters did some of the comparisons but it didn't seem to her like they were comparisons as diverse as the City's community. She suggested looking at the Capri Theater, located in North Minneapolis,which was just finished and includes the Best Buy Tech Center for youth,a recording studio, and an area where kids can play music and make videos. She asked if that can be checked out and included. Ms. Long stated another place with a diverse community use is Maple Grove, even thou h their o ulation is not that diverse, with a teen center that has nightly programming g P P that a lot of youth of color participated in. She hoped since Brooklyn Center is a diverse communit ,that ever thin is viewed throu h an e uity lens and we try to find those diverse areas Y Y � � q that look more like us. Myrna Kauth,former Brooklyn Center Mayor, stated this sounds like a wonderful project for many years from now and wondered what the outlook is for doing a certain part at a time or will it be one big project. As a Brooklyn Center taxpayer, she is also concerned about the cost to our people and requested more detail on that concern. Ms. Peckin au h stated art of their sco e of services for Phase 2 will look at an im lementation P g P p P plan, which may very well include phases in smaller implementation projects over time. The goal is to first develop a master plan for the facility and then to work as a team to figure out an implementation strategy that is feasible for the community. Alexander Koenig asked what the project manager envisions as the priority that is feasible as part of this project, the outside, the entrance renovation, structural, or more infrastructure. He also asked what would produce the first benefit to the community users. Ms. Peckinpaugh explained that it is premature to say but she thinks the two most apparent opportunities are a renovation to the aquatic center to increase utilization of the 50-meter pool and 08/23/21 -11- the addition of same multi-use court space. 'I'hose are the two elements that could drive revenue and more diverse, broad use of the facility. Diane Sannes stated she thinks many new residents ask other residents, `Where is the YWCA in I3rooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park? She asked if the City has looked at other options for organizations that do this as a business. Ms. Sannes stated maybe the Y is an option we should be i looking into because a lot of these services could be handled by an outside non-profit organization II like the Y and it would be great to have it in Brooklyn Center and not give it to Brooklyn Park. 'i Ms. Sannes stated Brooklyn Center has eight different school boards and she did not hear much I about input froin the school district. She also heard no talk about Park Center, which is where the ,, majority of I3rooklyn Center's high school seniors graduate from. She noted that Park Center is � on the border of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park. Also, F3rooklyn I'ark has a tennis center that I was not mentioned. She noted some of the school's students are not as diverse so we need to also '� study that and determine who we are. Ms. Sannes stated she does not feel this study has a pulse ��� of Brooklyn Center's schools and who it is. Ms. Peckinpaugh stated she is sorry,but will have to leave the meeting at this point to make another � council presentation; however, her team will stay on and field questions. She explained that in the I interest of time, what they have presented tonight is a summary of data with benchmarks of other , facilities. She stated she will follow up with her team after the meeting. ' Mayor/President Elliott asked if there is any follow-up by team members on the questions already ! raised. � Ms. Bjorklund stated they will continue to reach out as the engagement process goes forward to �'� make sure thcy reach as many people as possible. They understand the City is very diverse and I they had focused on under-represented communities in multiple ways and with creative ideas to I hear what people have to say. She stated there are more people out there, places to go, and people to talk with, and they will continue to do that. � Matt Branch stated he does not think we have to look too far to invent something that has been � running successfully. He noted that just a mile into Brooklyn Park the Zanewood Rec Center is an example of a successful program that is supported by their city with an emphasis from their Park and Rec Department. He stated the Brooklyn Park city council put a lot into Parks and Rec i in collaboration with the Police Department. I;verything is run out of the Zanewood Rec Center, it is a model that works, and could absolutely work in Brooklyn Center so he does not feel we need to think too hard or look too far, as things are happening close to home that is already working and we could try to replicate that in Brooklyn Center. Ebonie McMillan asked who is Brian Fullman. � Brian Fullman, an organirer with the Barbershop & Black Congregation Cooperation of Isaiah, stated he is here as a stakeholder, was a resident of Brooklyn Center for 13 years, and organizes in both Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park. Ms. McMillan thanked Mr. Fullman for the clarification. She stated she is currently a Brooklyn Center renter from Sterling Square Apartments and the last few months have been hard for her as 08/23/21 -12- - Motion passed unanimously. ��i STATE OF MINNESOTA) �� COUNTY OF �IENNEYIN) ss. Certification of Minutes CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER) "I�he undersigned,being the duly qualified and appointed City Clerk of�the City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, certifies: 1. That attached hereto is a full,true,and complete transcript of the minutcs of a Work Session of the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center held on August 23, 2021. 2. That said meeting was held pursuant to due call and notice thereof and was duly held at Brooklyn Center City Hall. 3. "I'hat the City Council adopted said minutes at its September 13, 2021, Regular Session. l /, '/� � / � , � ��LNv` I3arbara Suciu, City Clerk Mike Elliott, Mayor 08/23/21 -14- a tenant dealing with an incompetent property management company. They have been put in debt of over $3,000 due to bad communication on their behalf�and incorrect paperwork and ledgers. She stated if they were communicated with properly so they knew what was going on with their rent and new property management, Monarch, taking over, they would have been able to stay on top of things. Ms. McMillan stated there have been a lot of discrepancies and errors with money, which they don't have to waste. She explained the management company has added late fees, lease violations, not allowed them to renew leases so they have run out over the summer, and their argument for not renewing is not by the book. Ms. McMillan stated she settled with them last week, costing over $2,000, which put her in the hole so the money she received from the City to replace damaged property from teargas or relocate, whet to the management company. She, along with her other neighbors, was trying to use that money to build their credit so they could relocate into a home instead of an apartment but now they are starting from scratch. She stated there is no remorse on the management company's behalf and thcir tone has been arrogant so tenants feel there is no type of stability, no leases to present to show they are a resident, and the violations are holding them back from moving. Ms. McMillan stated they have all applied for rent help, with the help of Brooklyn Center a few months ago, and they all got approved. The money has been paid out or is on the way but that has been overlooked. She stated she should not have had to settle with payment out of her pocket. She got approved for over $2,000, they just got thcir payment last week, and now she has given all of her money. Ms. McMillan stated all of hcr neighbors who were in the 7,00m meeting with the City Council/I;DA over the past month have been targeted by their property management since those meetings and Code violations were handed out. She asked if the City can enforce current laws towards landlords or make better laws to hel this current situation. P Mayor/President Elliott stated we will have Open Forum from 6:45 to 7 p.m. but this discussion is to focus on thc expansion of the Community Center. He explained he did not want to interrupt Ms. McMillan because her comments are incredibly important and encouraged her to stay on and speak at the Open Forurn, noting her cominents have been heard and the City will follow up. Mayor/President Elliott asked if there are other questions or comments about the Community Center expansion. Dr. Edwards stated to all who are listening, the survey is still up and will continue to be held open on the City's website. He encouraged all to share that information and let f-olks know that it is available and the City is open to hearing from folks throughout the community. Mayor/President Elliott asked one more time for comments, noting this is an important conversation for the community to assure there are opportunities and places for our residents and young people. No comments were offered. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember/Commissioner Ryan moved and Councilmember/Commissioner Butler seconded adjournment of the City Council/Economic Development Authority Work Session at 6:34 p.m. 08/23/21 -13-