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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025.10.21 PRAAGENDA Brooklyn Center Park and Recreation Commission Tuesday, October 21, 2025 6:30 - 8pm 1. Call to Order 6:30 pm 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes- September 2025 5. Unfinished Business 6. New Business • Park Container Assessment • HRG Recycling Update • Community Center Update 7. Set Next Meeting Date and Agenda November 18th – 6:30 pm 8. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 CALL TO ORDER Chair Jeffrey called the meeting to order at 6:31 pm. ROLL CALL Chair Noah Jeffrey, Vice Chair Travis Bonovsky, Commissioners Gail Ebert, Jack MacMillan, Jill Dalton, and Matthew Kraft were present. Also present were Parks & Recreation Deputy Director Carissa Goebel and Community Center Supervisor Rachel Kenyon. Councilmember Laurie Ann Moore attended virtually. Commissioner Julie Bourque was excused. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The commission moved to strike HRG Recycling Update from agenda as it was moved to October. Commissioner MacMillan asked to add irrigation of parks. Vice Chair Bonovsky moved to approve the agenda with changes. Commissioner Ebert seconded the motion. The agenda was approved unanimously. APPROVAL OF MAY MINUTES Commissioner MacMillan moved to approve the minutes. Commissioner Dalton seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously. NEW BUSINESS COMMISSION CODE OF RESPECT The council wanted Commissioners feedback on the Commissioner Code of Respect prior to the upcoming meeting. Commissioner Ebert wanted to note that she understands that it needs to be done, but wants it noted that it is very sad that it is necessary. Commissioner Dalton asked if the Council’s code is as detailed as the Commission’s. Commissioner Dalton also asked if herself and Commissioner Bourque, as moderators of Facebook groups, would be held accountable for member’s posts and also how the code can relate to private Facebook pages/groups posts. Councilmember Moore relayed a message from City Manager Dr. Edwards about the line between using your voice as a resident versus as a Commissioner. Multiple commissioners were concerned with the distinction between the two. Commissioner Dalton asked how private pages are held accountable. Councilmember Moore maintained that the City has no authority over free speech on these groups/pages. Commissioner Bonovsky had some grammatical corrections. Under personal attacks: “a member if city staff.” Should say “of city staff”. Under Public-Private Considerations: “Commissioners may observed” should be “may be observed”. Under Further Incidents: Further incidents at the same meeting may be addressed by subsequent verbal corrections accompanied Repeated incidents can give rise to Chair not recognizing the offending Commissioner to speak. (Sentence is unclear). Under Ethics: Open meeting law: “be open the public” should be “open to the public”. Content wise, Commissioner Bonovsky approves. Commissioner Dalton asked about whether or not the portion that references commissioners contacting staff is not allowed. Commissioners are supposed to contact the City Manager. Councilmember Moore stated that the language is consistent with that of the code for Councilmembers. She also stated that we are one of few cities that have this code. Chair Jeffrey states that he also is concerned by that language. He thought it could create a bottleneck in communication and could be overwhelming for the City Manager. Commissioner Kraft stated that with multiple concerns of the difference between being a private citizen and a commissioner, maybe there should be a clear definition between private citizen and commissioner and that says that unless otherwise stated, commissioners are acting as a private citizen. Chair Jeffrey believes there are some redundancies. Multiple sections refer to the same ideas. Commissioner Kraft noticed a typo at the end of B1: “Resect” should be “Respect”. Chair Jeffrey noted that the document is quite long. Some of the restrictions seem a bit overreaching for people who are volunteering their time. A clause as stated previously may help this. The restrictions could also make it increasingly difficult to keep commissioners. Chair Jeffrey: In support of having a code as a guideline for acting inside and outside of the meetings. Commissioner Ebert brought up Robert’s Rules of Order. The group is somewhat familiar with them, but may want to look into them more for their own benefit. The document ends with language about open meeting law. Chair Jeffrey asked how does the commission make the meetings public. Deputy Director Goebel explained all of the ways that the meetings are posted/publicized. She also offered that potentially she could share the Webex link with the commission. Deputy Director Goebel also reminded the group should not reply all on emails because that would be considered quorum and be considered “commission business”. Councilmember Moore stated that there is a Robert’s Rules of Order portion on the City’s website. Commissioner Dalton asked about how quickly this will turn around. Councilmember Moore stated that, speaking for herself, she believes that the Council needs to get adequate feedback from all commissions prior to approval and implementation. Chair Jeffrey moved to submit the feedback to Council. Commissioner Ebert seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. SUMMER WRAP-UP Deputy Director Goebel shared a presentation about what the Parks and Recreation Department has done over the summer. She shared that camp was full this summer with a 58% of returning campers with 7 out of 9 staff returning from last year, including a former camper and Brooklynk interns. This summer Rec on the Go served 1,476 meals and 872 kids participate in activities. Commissioner Ebert commented on how much she appreciates this program and has brought children to participate. Commissioner Dalton asked if funding would be staying. Deputy Director Goebel explained that Rec on the Go is a part of the budget, meals are the only portion that is contingent on the federal funding of the Summer Meals Program. Summer sports have grown and had expanded to more ages and programs. Swim lessons had 368 registered participants. Commissioner Ebert asked if staffing was adequate for this summer. Deputy Director Goebel explained that summer is usually better staffed since staff are home from college. There were 141 rentals booked for the summer. Parks and Recreation Outreach team started a one night a week open gym that was well attended. They also take kids to growth opportunities outside the parks. Commissioner Dalton asked if there is no softball or baseball opportunities in the City for youth. Deputy Director Goebel stated that with the outside organizations holding those activities in the City the Department didn’t want to compete, but may participate in the future. Commissioner Kraft asked about accessibility for families in financial need. Deputy Director Goebel and Supervisor Kenyon explained the financial aid options available for the different programs offered. AD HOC JOINT ANTI-LITTER COMMITTEE Chair Jeffrey brought the idea of a joint committee for anti-litter with the Cultural and Public Arts Commission. Commissioners Dalton and MacMillan are very interested in these efforts. Chair Jeffrey will share the interest with Chair Kahn. FEEDBACK FROM CULTURAL AND PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION Chair Jeffrey shared feedback from the Cultural and Public Arts Commission after a presentation to them. The commission proposed QR codes on recycling containers to provide more education. They also suggest color changes to the containers to be more traditional recycling containers. They also propose adding other languages to the containers for our diverse community. Commission Kraft asked for clarification due to his recent appointment. Liaison Gutierez brought up “Keep Brooklyn Center Clean” signs and stickers to share throughout the City. The commission suggested getting rid of carpet so there could be more rentals at the Heritage Center. They would also like a tour of the Heritage Center. COUNCIL UPDATE Councilmember Moore discussed that it is budget season. All departments are giving department presentations. What Councilmember Moore is keeping in mind is the increase in Hennepin County taxes, increases in utilities, and increases across the board. She will be as frugal as possible, however, she is only part of the council. Her priorities are public safety and public works. She stated that the Council has been focused on special revenue funds, which have not been revenue generating. Community Development shared that there are multiple new businesses and new expansions coming to the City in the near future. IRIGATION IN THE PARKS Commissioner MacMillan noticed irrigation of Firehouse Park. It was discussed that there were potentially multiple parks. Commissioner MacMillan asked where the funding for that was from and if there would be more taking place. Deputy Director Goebel explained that this was a part of the Parks Capital Plan. Future parks would be dependent on grants and planning of the future budget in relation to the Parks Capital Plan. FUTURE MEETING The next meeting will be held October 21st – meet at the Community Center at 6:30pm. Commissioner Kraft is not available for that date. Chair Jeffrey moved to hold the meeting on this date. Vice Chair Bonovsky seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Ebert moved to adjourn the meeting. Chair Jeffrey seconded. The decision was unanimous.