Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 04/13/2017

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OPERATIONS Anoka County Ordinance #2012-01, which will be updated in 2017, regulates the parks and trails under the jurisdiction of Anoka County and is enforced by the local police departments as well as the Anoka County Sheriff's Department. Park Service Specialists (formerly known as Park Rangers) provide education to the public regarding ordinances and other park information. Current annual operations and maintenance costs for the park are estimated to be about $23,000. This includes staff time for on -going daily and general routine maintenance within the park, such as cleaning, mowing, sweeping, plowing, debris removal, and sign maintenance, as well as equipment expenses, repairs, service contracts and supplies and utility expenses. Once fully developed the operations and maintenance costs are anticipated to be around $150,000 annually. Expenses are typically offset by revenue generated through daily and annual park pass sales, picnic pavilion rentals, programs, special events and the parks operating budget. Additional supplementary funding is provided through the Regional Park Operations and Maintenance Grant Program. Anoka County currently employs a remote building automation system that saves the department $5,000-10,000 annually compared to traditional energy systems by realizing energy reductions in heating, cooling, lighting, and domestic water during unoccupied and off-peak periods. The program enables staff to monitor, adjust, and troubleshoot building mechanical systems at all of the wide -spread park facilities from a single location, aiding in prompt management and repair. The County has recently undertaken a project to convert lighting in key facilities to LED technology, in an effort to reduce energy demands. The Maintenance and Parks Services Units utility vehicle fleets include a growing number of electric powered vehicles. Turf irrigation systems employ "rain sensor" technology to avoid using valuable water during periods of precipitation. The County has encouraged employees to go "digital" to reduce the amount of paper in the workplace, by utilizing smaller more portable laptop computers and tablets. The county also recently consolidated its contract filing system so as to reduce the amount of paper files, as well as digital files. The County, through the Recycle & Resource Solutions Department employs a refuse and recycling program that requires recycling of paper, plastics, etc. Refuse that cannot be reused or recycled is collected and disposed of consistent to applicable laws. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION INTRODUCTION The public engagement and participation plan identifies local cities, population groups and organizations that are specifically targeted to enable the County to engage the public in an inclusive, accessible and results oriented manner in developing the Mississippi West Regional Park Master Plan Amendment. It also describes the approaches and methods used for engagement. Stakeholders targeted for inclusion in community engagement activities included: 3/6/2017 Mississippi West Regional Park Master Plan Amendment 11