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Mr. Franzwa stated that there is a community effort where everyone donates what they can <br />across the board. <br />Mayor Strommen stated that the Council has spoken about their desire to assist in things that <br />promotes a sense of community and noted that this aligns quite well with that goal. <br />Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood asked if there are trends for sports, <br />noting that would be useful information for future park planning. <br />Mr. Zahler stated that lacrosse continues to grow as the trend for that sport continues to increase. <br />He noted that for the past four years the sport has increased by at least 25 percent each year. He <br />stated that they are running out of playing space. He noted that winter, summer, and fall sessions <br />are available and they are gaining children from other communities because those cities do not <br />offer the same seasons for the sport. <br />Mr. Franzwa stated that baseball continues to struggle for space as well and noted that it would <br />be nice to have a few more fields. He stated that softball continues to maintain steady. He <br />referenced basketball and stated that they rent space from community schools most nights of the <br />week. <br />Mr. Reeder estimated that basketball pays almost $80,000 annually just for the rented space at <br />Lord of Life. He referenced soccer and stated that about 1,000 of the children registered belong <br />to soccer. He advised that there are also children registered for volleyball and tennis. <br />Mr. Meyer stated that volleyball continues to become more popular. <br />Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood noted that the community fields <br />are also being shared with PACT Charter School and St. Stephen's Church on occasion. He <br />noted that the City has streamlined the communication between staff, ARAA and the other <br />groups in order to better schedule the use of the fields and facilities. He provided a handout <br />which lists the daily park maintenance duties and the scheduling of the City facilities. He stated <br />that in October there is not an evening available at Elmcrest, which demonstrates how well the <br />park is working and how efficient and in demand ARAA is in terms of scheduling. <br />Mr. Zahler stated that part of the trends is the growth in the sports programs, noting that through <br />ARAA, Anoka and Ramsey are the hub of the northern metro for lacrosse. He provided <br />information on the end of the summer season tournament which took place during the last week <br />in July on the field at Anoka High School, noting that there was very high attendance and <br />participation. <br />Mr. Franzwa stated that ARAA is asked to host additional tournaments, which brings in teams <br />from across the state that would not otherwise be at the Ramsey parks and Ramsey area. <br />Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood referenced an upcoming <br />tournament at Elmcrest which had 5,000 persons on a single day during the event last year, <br />noting the benefit to Ramsey businesses. <br />City Council Work Session / September 22, 2015 <br />Page 3 of 7 <br />