Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 07/11/2002

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Mayor Gamec stated he had been down by the Rum River and noticed there was a lot of erosion and trash along the banks and he wanted to know what could be done to correct the problem. Chairperson Cook stated the Rum River was a scenic fiverway and there were restrictions mandated by the State. He stated not many people know about the different things that could be done there. Mr. Boos stated they could get the scouts out there to clean up the area. Chairperson Cook stated they could adopt a fiver program and have the scouts clean it up. Councilmember Anderson stated people were not taking advantage of the fiver or other areas in the City. Chairperson Cook stated that people were not educated about the fiver. He suggested they print up pamphlets to hand out to new .~esidents letting them know what was available to do in the City. Commissioner Ostmm asked how they were coming on acquir/ng the property at the gun club. Councilmember Zimmerman stated they had not pursued this recently. He stated he thought the owner was waiting to get a good price for the property and maybe waiting to develop it. Councilmember Anderson stated that all the developments that had come in lately were cash in lieu of land. She wanted to know if they were getting enough small parks in the City. Chairperson Cook stated that when they took the park dedication fee, they took the money and used it for a park in the same distr/ct instead of malting another small tot lot, which was not needed. He stated some areas of the City did not need another park; they just need the money to improve the park that was already there. Councilmember Anderson stated that she felt most of the kids in the City were beyOnd the tot lot. Commissioner Schrock stated parents were not letting kids go as far away from home anymore. She stated parents were bringing kids to a regional park to be there and supervise them. Chairperson Cook stated they were going back to the whole system where there were park districts, life stated they could not provide every neighborhood with a tot lot, ball field or ice rink. He stated they were now providing park systems that an entire area could use. He stated kids use the trail system to get to the parks so the major roads would not be crossed, instead kids could use the bike trails to get to the parks. Mayor Gamec stated it was sad they did not see kids playing together anymore at the smaller parks like they used to do. Park and Recreation Commission/June 13, 2002 Page 8 of 9