Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/12/2017

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Parks & Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated this discussion will help develop the format and content of the Master Plan, as well as the concepts and complexity as it relates to community engagement. Stakeholders and venues will be identified, and the Commission should make sure to ask the right questions of the right people, and get a good cross section of the community. Parks & Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated City Staff will have intercept Boards at Thursday's concert at The Draw. He hopes to reach the demographic groups of older residents as well as young families. Ms. Major stated the community engagement plan will facilitate ways for the Commission to include residents in the engagement process. She added she will use the plan to record what she has learned from the Commission, and provide results for evaluation. She noted no matter how much the City Council and Commissions engage, how the survey is advertised, how many events and open houses are held, there will be someone who says they didn't know about it. She noted the City can have a record of all the opportunities for public engagement. Ms. Major continued, regarding engagement targets and tools, she wants to understand who needs to be reached and what needs to be learned, and then tools and schedule can be formalized. She added broad categories of people to engage would include organizations, businesses, and government entities, and specific people within those categories would be residents, participants, and members. She asked the Commissioners who they would like to reach. Chair Bennett stated sports groups are a good place to start as they are one of the most vocal groups. He added Ramsey's two sports organizations are Northern Lights Soccer Club and Anoka Ramsey Athletic Association. He noted he and Parks & Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood connect with their leadership often. Parks & Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated Police and Fire representatives are included on the list. Police participation is obviously relevant and he interacts with his colleagues in the Police Department regularly. He added he can attend their department meetings, and get their feedback about parks safety and residents' perceptions of safety. Ms. Major stated it is beneficial to meet with the Police Chief or whoever is in charge of Parks Safety, to ask what they see that can be done differently or any changes they think are necessary. Commissioner Sis asked whether neighboring communities could be contacted to see what they have in place. Parks & Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated that is usually done at the City Staff level, and the draft Comprehensive Plan is required to be sent to neighboring communities for comment and feedback. Park and Recreation Commission/August 10, 2017 Page 6 of 12