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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 08-18 PRMAGENDA Brooklyn Center Park and Recreation Commission Tuesday, August 18, 2020 6:30 P.M. – Virtual (WebEx) Call to Order 6:30 P.M. – Chair Sorenson called to order at 6:35p.m. 2. Roll Call – Present - Jill Dalton, Travis Bonovsky, Bud Sorenson, Gail Ebert, Council April Graves – Absent – Thomas Shinnick 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes — February 18, 2020 - previous minutes need to be located and brought to the Board for adoption to be adopted City Council Liaison Report - Council have met for past 6 months, but not in April for a few weeks, construction projects, food distribution grants, policing in city and racial justice additional meetings, COVID funding for community members struggling and community grants, police continuing training on de-escalation, Council reading book How to Become an Anti- racist) 6. New Business A. Member Term Expirations and Vacancy - Reggie presented that there are 7 board members, 5 up for reappointment, June 8th Council appointed members to boards, but none for PB with 3 proposed applications. The issue shall be brought to the Council. Commissioner Travis stated he will complete his and Jill stated she submitted hers back in November. Council Graves indicated that the Mayor is trying to reach out to community members to diversify the boards. All of the work of the board members are appreciated. B. Park Issues Contact – Chair asked who do we contact if there are issues in the parks. Doran indicated Todd Berg accepted position with Fire Department, but you can contact his replacement Pete Moen C. 2020 Budget and Budget Goals – Reggie shared a couple of goals for the 2021 Budget. Mission statement was shorten “foster a safe and healthy community and enrich the quality of life for all”. Values – Inclusion, Equity, Quality, Innovative and Adaptable. Goals – 1) Continue improvements in area of cultural competent customer service for all department functions, 2) Enhance marketing efforts (internal/external) for all divisions, 3) Increase resident participation, 4) Develop and implement holistic health strategy, 5) Create or increase youth engagement participation rate, 6) Host the Beautification, Public Art and Multi-Cultural Commission. Chair Sorenson we may have a problem of letting people know where the parks are located. The website is one place where this information can be placed. Holi Sunday is another project, but it doesn’t get to everybody. There was very diverse participation. D. COVID-19 Impact on City Services (Parks and Recreation) – Reggie COVID has put a stop or hold on pretty much all services. The Governor’s Declaration of Emergency and “Stay At Home” policy most staff worked from home. The Community Center was closed; however, we operated Rec-on-the-Go to provide food to youth and families. We were looking to re-open services in September. We do not have a full complement of staff cleaning the parks. We will have limited programming at Centennial Parks. CARS services are opening on a limited basis to help residents address social isolation and to create some physical activities in a health and safe way. Doran – Unfortunately, due to economic impact of COVID we have been unable to be fully staffed. Staff have been on duty since April, to maintain space for people to recreate. We are not permitting and reserving space. E. Brooklyn Center Beyond COVID Innovation Projects “Wi-Fi in the Parks” – BC Beyond COVID was a process undertaken by staff to innovate how we work with residents during COVID to help residents and businesses survive, rebuild and thrive in the COVID Era. Staff interviewed community members identified the needs including: resources of life essentials, housing stability, emotional and mental health well-being, financial assistance to businesses, communication on COVID-19 and access to resources, high speed internet and job creation. One idea was “Wi-Fi in the Parks”. This project could address multiple needs such as access to internet, job work, city education opportunities, and distant learning. City parks are located within a 10-minute walk from every household. Staff was recommending a project at Firehouse Park. Funding for the project would come from CARES ACT Funding. CARES ACT Funding permitted us to expand the pilot to Centennial, Northport, Firehouse, Willow Lane, and Lion Parks. Councilmember Graves indicated that the Council saw it as an issue of accessibility, but we should hear from the stakeholders who live in the neighborhood should have some input. Maybe it can be placed in areas adjacent to the parks. Gail – questioned that we live in Minnesota. The Wi-Fi would need to access in the winter. Chair spoke of looking at parks where there is a shelter. Comcast has hotspots all over the area. Board Travis – agree with Chair that there may be better use for the funds unless it’s a grant. Chair is there something that the City could do with the four school districts. Jill especially during the winter we might use empty buildings. Set up pods for students and adults that don’t have access to internet. Reggie the CARES ACT Funding has to be expended by November 15, 2020. There was not a motion to move or recommend the project forward. F. Trash Problems in Parks 1. Tom Green Posts on Facebook - Chair - Tom Green went through all the parks and pick up a lot of trash. He has cleaned every park except Lakeside Park. He want to put together an Adopt a Park Program. 2. Adopt A Park Monitoring Change - What is happening with the Adopt a Park Program? Reggie that is not something that we have discussed. We will check with staff to discuss and update on the issue. Lions Club doesn’t appear to be active this year. Reggie – there have been some complaints about trash in the parks. Doran – the level of trash is unprecedented, but we are not aware as to why? Chair, one of the things we have talked about in the past was putting up video cameras. Maybe in parks where we have particular problems. Another problem is getting people to use the trashcans. Jill – If a resident see something going one that looks like it will be a problem, what should we do. Something like a big party. Police department would be the point contact. If the issue relates to trash the Pete Moen would be the contact, but that would be after the fact. Council Graves – the award given every year “random acts of kindness” maybe nominate Tom Green as a collective. Other question – any plans to hire on any of the empty positions. People may be more laissez faire about caring for areas where the environment are less cared for. Doran state that the City Manager Boganey approved some hiring and staff are trying to hire. In the 2023 CIP Budget, we are proposing security cameras in Firehouse, Northport, and Evergreen Parks 7. Unfinished Business A. Playground Replacement Update – Chair Sorenson has this been suspended. Reggie confirmed that the project has been moved to the 2021 budget. Chair Sorenson, one of the things we wanted to do is look at the four parks we wanted to do (replace). Take a close look at equipment from a safety perspective. B. Commissioner Witalka Memorial Plaque – Commissioner Travis indicated that he understood COVID, but nothing had moved forward with the project. Reggie stated that staff would look into it and get it done. C. Mound Cemetery/Freeway Park Update – Chair anything going on with this project. Doran. The City entertain negotiating with Mounds Cemetery to terminate the agreement. We contracted with a consultant to do a master plan. We negotiated a memorandum of agreement. The Mound Cemetery Association would donate one acre of land in exchange for to incorporate into Freeway Park. In February, the Council and the Association agreed to the agreement. Preliminary plats have been submitted and in process. COVID slowed the pace, but it’s moving forward. D. Dog Park Update E. Little League Fields Status – Joe had conversation with the Little League. There is playing this year with machine pitch. Typically, they have 50-70 kids. They ended up with about 36 kids or three teams of 9 year olds and above. They stared July 4th and played for seven weeks total. They finished in August. Fall league play for six weeks, but are not sure if it would include T-ball. When the fields were reconstructed, they were hooked up to City water and had a leak in the bathrooms. 8. Set Next Meeting Date and Agenda – Chair contact Reggie for future agenda items. Next meeting Tuesday, September 15 (3rd Tuesday of the Month). 9. Adjournment – Motion to Adjourn (Jill motioned and Travis 2nd). Unanimous vote to adjourn.