Minutes - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/12/2023

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Councilmember Musgrove commented that she brought that forward as she felt that it got lost in the planning. She commented that there are funds from the vehicle accident to be used for that purpose. She commented that she had some concerns with the representative sample and limited time for the survey. She noted that there has been fantastic interest in pickleball but that is not accurately depicted in the survey, so perhaps a group of people are missing from the survey results. She also did not believe that some of the formats for the questions led to prioritized answers. She also commented on the need to maintain existing infrastructure within parks and trails and noted that perhaps a question should have been added asking if they would be willing to pay a fee to support those items. She noted some of the new program offerings that have been very successful that she did not see in the survey. She stated that perhaps the City should list all the parks and its amenities, noting that perhaps that would help people with handicap accessibility needs to find the best location for them. Parks & Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood confirmed that those elements are available on the website and a fold out version was included in the Ramsey Resident as well. Recreation Coordinator Proulx commented that she was also concerned with the sample size, noting that they did start with the flyers from Happy Days but after not receiving many responses, they turned to social media and targeted ads. She commented that she did think about having a question about funding, but because it was a small-scale survey, she felt that question would be better addressed in a larger scale survey. She explained that her purpose was to gain a direction on programing for the next year rather than future facilities. She confirmed that she has been tracking the successful events from the past in hopes to continue those. Commissioner Loss asked if the fee mentioned by Councilmember Musgrove would be related to trail use or for those using a splashpad or other facility. Councilmember Musgrove replied that her comment was more related to program offerings. Parks & Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood commented that he was also pleased to see the constructive comments received and noting that residents even thanked the City for having an opportunity to share their input. He asked and received confirmation the pickleball participants were included on the emailed survey list. He commented that the survey can be completed again in one or two years and that will provide great comparison information. He believed items related to funding and/or a community center should be left separately from this type of survey and would be better handled by the City Council. He noted that every two years the City completes a community survey and that would be the more appropriate location for that type of question. He explained that they offered art in the park for free and have also charged a fee of$5 and found no change in participation, therefore they began charging $5. He commented that they have added fees to other programing as well and have found that it helps to fund the instructor and/or materials and helps to firm up the commitment of people attending. He noted that all park features are built to ADA compliant standards but noted that there are amenities in other communities that offer therapeutic programing using pools and things of that nature. He noted that the successful events from the last year will be repeated. Commissioner Sis asked if they have attempted to work with the schools to partner for programing offerings. Park and Recreation Commission/October 12, 2023 Page 3 of 5