Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 01/11/2018

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Funding Scenarios and Strategies, con't Scenario 4 - 'Pilot Cities' + Demonstration Projects — Renewable Energy Corridors This Scenario is a bit more complicated and potentially involves the shared efforts of the City, the Metropolitan Council, the McKnight Foundation and the Metropolitan Design Center (University of Minnesota, College of Design). For the next round of Comprehensive Planning (required for all/most cities), the Metropolitan Council and other participants have suggested an updated approach and expanded planning criteria that perhaps better respond to the "Grand Challenges" of our time (U of M President Kaler). These include at the very least; climate change, equity and health. To support cities, both large and small, already beginning the process to update their Comprehensive Plans, this group of stakeholders have proposed a series of workshops and city -by -city roundtables that will drill down and help address the specific challenges and needs for candidate `Pilot Cities + Demonstration Projects' that meet their criteria. While the specifics of this approach, and the selection criteria/process, are still being resolved, the City of Ramsey might 'jump the queue' by expressing interest and beginning to organize your planning steps to take advantage of this opportunity. Benefits include, precedent research and best practice models from around the world, facilitated workshops with specific focus on Ramsey issues, funding support for planning studies to help redefine objectives, and final Comprehensive Plan document preparation that highlights innovation and implementation priorities. Strategies: 1. Meet with leadership at the University of Minnesota, Metropolitan Design Center to learn more about this opportunity and, if interested, begin to define your commitment and potential next steps. 2. Schedule working session(s) to draft a plan/approach tailored specifically to your needs, including overall process, preliminary task outline, schedule, participants, roles and responsibilities, issues/ideas and other study requirements. 3. Schedule first Ramsey Workshop and Focus Topic Roundtable meetings to officially launch this process. Scenario 5 - Seek Partnerships — Grants + Loans + Other Funding Sources While this Scenario may at first glance seem very familiar as a means to secure project funding, there is a much broader playing field and an increasing menu of opportunities across the local, state and federal spectrum. There have been numerous recent successful applications that integrated project objectives with various essential infrastructure and development components including: Shared eco/environmental outcomes and benefits Energy innovation demonstration projects • Health initiatives matched with wellness programs • Affordable/life-cycle housing • Living -wage jobs and other initiatives One example: Prospect Park Minneapolis was just awarded a McKnight grant for $350,00 through their `Regional Communities and Energy Program' to be used for detailed design of a district heating and cooling system (through District Energy Saint Paul) that will eventually serve more than 300 acres of mixed use/'Innovation District' development projects. This represents another major step toward sustainability goals, carbon reduction and a shift to renewable energy sources. It is also important to note that this project is part of a layered approach that concurrently is working to integrate district infrastructure within a variety of proposed public realm improvements (parks, trails and so on). This includes district stormwater management, district energy and district parking, with a long-term view that shared systems will bring us much closer to the realities of living within our `resource budget'. 14 The COR Parks + Public Places -'ty of Ramsey