Agenda - Council - 10/10/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Jill Johns — Reappointment Application September 29, 2006 4. What would make commission more effective? • Adding a Parks & Recreation Director (or Coordinator or Manager — some sort of dedicated resource) to the city staff. Key areas of improvement with this addition, not only for our Commission, but also to the. City as a whole. 1. A central point of contact for park and recreation issues and projects. a. Currently everything park & recreation related is spread out and shared across several people on city staff and across various departments (fire dept., engineering, utilities and maintenance — even the receptionists). I have to believe this leads to duplicity of effort or worse, not meeting expectations or desires of our residents. No accountability. b. There have been situations with developers not fulfilling their Park obligations. I believe with a dedicated Parks person, these situations would not have occurred. Money is being left on the table because of this situation and that's a poor reflection on the city. As the city grows and programming desires become more intense and user demand rises, you will soon be putting out fires and reacting to crises. There is so much more that the city could offer with regards to amenities through its Park and Recreation experience. The City needs to take this step if it ever wants to rid itself of the impression of Ramsey being more like a "township" than a city. 2. Long Term Planning. a. This always seems to be pushed aside due to other priorities in our liaison staff's "regular" jobs. This is not a complaint about staff — they are terrific to work with and they make every attempt to help us fulfill our desire for long and short term planning. However, as a commission, we can provide the direction and desires of the community, but we need a dedicated individual to put it to paper and help steer these community desires through City Council. 3. Recreation - eventually be able to offer programming through the city (Amphitheater programming, Farmer's markets, Naturalist programs, fishing clinics, etc.) 5. What would you like to see the Commission accomplish during the next two years? • Complete a Master Park Plan a. We need another community park in the northern tier of the city. b. I want to replicate the success of The Master Trail Plan with a Master Park Plan. The Master Trail Plan has proven to be a highly effective planning tool as well as making us desirable for grant consideration. For example: Trott Brook corridor, and the Mississippi trail and the coordinated effort with Anoka County. • Sunfish Lake Recreation District development planning. • Continue to make land acquisitions within the Trott Brook Trail corridor. • Re- development of Central Park. • Continue to complete priority trail segments within the MTP. • Develop a skate park within the City. • Build the Swimming Hole in Ramsey Town Center • Develop a Park and Recreation programming plan for RTC's Amphitheatre and Plaza areas as well as throughout the city. -193—