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~i <br />CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION <br />Topic Report: <br />Building and Playground for Elmcrest Park <br />By: Mark Riverblood, Parks Supervisor <br />Background: <br />For the past several years, the Park's portion of the City's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) <br />has shown a proposed playground and park building for Elmcrest Park. This project was <br />scheduled in the 2009 CIP, and is again proposed within the 2010 document. It is important to <br />note that in both these two years, that it was intimated that partial donation (shown as $250,000) <br />by a `philanthropic' organization would help fund the Park Trust Fund project -similar to the <br />2006 pavilion and concession stand at Central Park. Attached are the CIP worksheets that <br />highlight this estimated $530,000 project. <br />Presently Elmcrest serves the adjoining neighborhoods, with the Silver Oaks residents (east of <br />the pedestrian underpass), regularly requesting a play structure -which would also be valued by <br />visitors to the park during soccer practices, games and tournaments. As for the numbers of <br />individuals regularly at the park, the Northern Lights Traveling Soccer (NLS) club currently has <br />38 teams (of 1,300 kids enrolled in the youth soccer program), all of which use the park on a <br />weekly basis from the first week of May into late June, and again for the fall program. In <br />addition, for the last four years, NLS has hosted a large, 3-day tournament in July that brings <br />several thousand visitors to Ramsey. <br />One of the reasons that these two capital improvements did not move forward in 2009, was in <br />recognition of both budget uncertainties and the annual O & M impacts. NLS President Bill <br />Casey, and ARAA's Soccer Coach and Ramsey's Park and Recreation Commission Vice-Chair <br />Randy Backous are keenly aware of these on-going operating costs, and will be in attendance at <br />the work session to discuss this, as well as the needs of the youth association. <br />The purpose of this Topic Report is to determine if, or how these CIP projects may move <br />forward, and under what conditions and timeline. <br />Action Statement: <br />Based upon discussion <br />Reviewed by: ~}~~~ <br />City Adminishator 1~> ~~~~~~ GGGG <br />Director of Public Works/Principal City Engineer <br />CCWS: 5/11/10 <br />