Loading...
OSRC Minutes January 27 2025.pdf REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 1. Call to Order Vice-chair Wright called the meeting at 6:30 pm. 2. Roll Call Commissioners present: Roger Bergman, John Cornelius, Bill Delaney, Matthew Olson, Matthew Sanders, Scott Seys, Brian Wright Commissioners absent: Dawn Speltz Council Members: Gillian Rosenquist Staff present: Janelle Crossfield, Parks and Recreation Director; Greg Simmons, Parks and Recreation Assistant Director; Kevin Martinez Del Arca, Recreation Coordinator; Sheila Van Sloun, Administrative Assistant 3. Land Acknowledgment Statement 4. Approval of January 27, 2025 Agenda Commissioner Cornelius added an update from Crossfield on her first year, along with her goals and visions for the future and how she sees the OSRC fitting into those. MOTION by Commissioner Bergman, seconded by Commissioner Sanders to approve the agenda with the addition. Motion carried. 5. Approval of October 28, 2024 and November 25, 2024 Meeting Minutes Commissioner Bergman asked that the October 28, 2024 minutes section seven, Brookview Golf Year in Review, reflect that the potential new driving range building will accommodate the need for additional golf cart storage and will include the addition of golf simulators. MOTION by Commissioner Bergman, seconded by Commissioner Sanders to approve the October 28, 2024 meeting minutes as amended, and the motion carried. MOTION by Commissioner Bergman, seconded by Commissioner Seys to approve the November 25, 2024 meeting minutes as submitted, and the motion carried. 6. Review and Recommend to Approve Recognized Golden Valley Youth Athletic Associations for 2025 Simmons said Hopkins Youth Boys Basketball has moved off the list and Hopkins Fastpitch has reached out to be added as a recognized association. He also said no other associations have approached the city . January 27, 2025 – 6:30 pm Brookview Valley North Room City of Golden Valley Open Space & Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes January 27, 2025 – 6:30 pm 2 Discussion then focused on association field use, locations, and any interference with an additional association. Simmons added that being on the approved list grants associations field space, a field maintenance fee per player, and access to a Brookview conference room once a month for a board meeting. The following are considered recognized youth athletic associations in Golden Valley: Golden Valley Little League, Armstrong-Cooper Youth Baseball, Armstrong-Cooper Youth Lacrosse, Golden Valley Girls’ Softball, Armstrong-Cooper Youth Hockey, Hopkins Girls Basketball Association, Park Valley United FC, Armstrong-Cooper Girls Fastpitch, and the addition of Hopkins Fastpitch. MOTION by Commissioner Cornelius, seconded by Commissioner Bergman to approve the recognized youth athletic associations as listed above and the motion carried. 7. 2025 Park Projects Simmons shared the 2025 upcoming park projects and answered questions. Projects are as follows: a. Natchez Park Playground and Sun Shelter – Selected via community input. To be installed by May 30. Commissioners shared concerns on the benches being installed in the mulch, then sinking and not meeting code for height. b. Scheid Park Building Remodel – This project will mirror the building remodel project at Wesley Park two years ago. Expected bid release in late March. Commissioner Cornelius asked about cameras in the park buildings. Simmons said Wi-Fi is installed and functional in all the park buildings. He added that cameras are on the list, but electronic access will be coming first. c. Gearty Hockey Rink – Gearty is the fifth or six full hockey rink replacements in the city, which will take place before the 2025-26 skating season. Commissioner Cornelius said the new hockey rink bases are holding water so much better. Simmons added that the Doodleboards will be located at Gearty as well. d. Seeman Park Playground – Community engagement for this project will take place in early spring, before staff sends out request for proposals. e. Brookview Pickleball Courts – The far west courts will be resurfaced and striped for five pickleball courts in 2025, with space for a few picnic tables or a potential sixth court. Commissioner Sanders suggested adding benches instead of picnic tables. He also shared concerns with parking at that location. Commissioner Cornelius shared concerns on picnic tables sitting on courts and suggested padding be added to the tables to protect the court in the event a sixth court is added. 8. Shifted Park Tour Date to Spring to Align with CIP Budgeting Simmons suggested the annual park tour takes place in the spring to align better with CIP budgeting. After discussion, commissioners and staff agreed to shift to a May or June date. 9. Commissioner and Staff Updates a. Commissioner updates – Commissioner Cornelius said he is proud of the park system and maintenance crew. Both Cornelius and Sanders praised the maintenance crew for their great job with ice this season. b. Blizzard Bash Update – Martinez Del Arca said approximately 1,000 people participated in the event. He then shared details and answered questions. Commissioner Cornelius said the event City of Golden Valley Open Space & Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes January 27, 2025 – 6:30 pm 3 was fabulous and would enjoy seeing an occasional free night at the Backyard going forward to help get the word out. Cornelius asked how much the event cost. Martinez Del Arca said $6,500, with the bulk of the cost being food and entertainers. Cornelius suggested adding more time to the event to spread it out to help with parking, as well as scaling back on all the food. c. Winter Rink season update – Martinez Del Arca shared warming house participation numbers. He said it was a very busy and successful season with Gearty having the lowest utilization of all the parks. He added that 600 people utilized skating rinks on the first day of winter break. Commissioner Sanders asked how they keep track of the numbers. Martinez Del Arca said every hour warming house staff takes a tally at each park. Sanders said seeing the numbers helps justify all the work throughout the season. d. Winter Fest update – Martinez Del Arca shared details on the event and said they had 350-400 participants. He said the newly added medallion hunt was a big hit. Commissioner Cornelius said it was a great event. He suggested hosting the event earlier in the season to get people out in the parks, with the hopes of creating repeat park users throughout the winter season. e. Community Gardens – Martinez Del Arca said 55 people applied for garden plots for the 2025 season, which is up from last year’s 48. He shared highlights from the 2024 survey , which include: most people use the garden as a hobby, subsistence, and therapy; many people saw a reduction in their grocery budget; and many people were able to grow 4-14 pounds of produce throughout the season. Commissioner Cornelius suggested a system for the gardeners to share their contact information with other gardeners. Council member Rosenquist thanked the commission for their efforts on the community garden and said their efforts have been beneficial to the community. f. Janelle Crossfield Year in Review – Crossfield said she has spent the past year getting acclimated. She said city leadership, city council, and the commission have been very supportive. She then shared brief department accomplishments from 2024 which included: • Fully staffing the department with new hires including herself, Kong Moua, Recreation Supervisor, Kevin Martinez Del Arca, Recreation Coordinator, and Justin Norcutt, Golf Staff Coordinator; • Reimagining Supper with Santa to Blizzard Bash; • Three staff completing the NRPA Equity In Practice certificate program; • Brookview Golf remains one of the top five heaviest played courses in the state; • Brookview Golf Maintenance finished installing driving range irrigation system; and • Implementation of a departmental culture team. Crossfield also said she is part of the city-wide culture team where she has had the opportunity to get to know people in other departments. She has also played pickleball with pickleball residents and did pub curling at Brookview for her birthday. Commissioner Cornelius asked if Crossfield plans to participate in the OSRC meetings each month going forward. Crossfield said she plans to be supportive and have a presence. Commissioner Cornelius said he’s been on the commission for 14 years, and it’s been a joy, but said he has been disappointed with the past year. He explained that in prior years, the Parks and Recreation Director brought a lot of potential projects and events to the OSRC for discussion City of Golden Valley Open Space & Recreation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes January 27, 2025 – 6:30 pm 4 and feedback and there has been much less of that over the past year. He shared the example of finding out about the Blizzard Bash at the November meeting after the decision was made and with no input from the OSRC. He also said the agendas have been thin. Cornelius went on to ask Crossfield what she expects from the commission and what she wants the commission’s role to be. Crossfield said it was a challenging year of transition and apologized if the agendas felt thin. Cornelius then shared his disappointment in Crossfield shifting the staff liaison responsibilities to Greg Simmons, Parks and Recreation Assistant Director, now that she’s been here a year and has acclimated. He hopes she will be more involved in the next year and presents more initiatives to the OSRC. Commissioner Sanders added that the commission has taken on some challenges and believes that is the best use of their time and would like to be involved before things are decided and done. Crossfield said her previous commission did not weigh in on programs and events so this is new for her. 10. 2025 Future Meeting Dates and Agenda Items Simmons shared the 2025 future meeting dates, adding that the May meeting will take place on the third Monday due to the holiday landing on the normal meeting night. Simmons said going forward, he will add an ongoing list to the agendas that will include items in talks and for future agendas. 11. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned by Vice-chair Wright at 8:03 pm. _____________________________________ Dawn Speltz, Chair _________________________________ Sheila Van Sloun, Administrative Assistant