October 5 Meeting Report
Regular Meeting called to Order at 5:00
Agenda rearranged a bit to provide speaking time for the new Exec Director at the Minneapolis Institute of Art Bill Griswold.
Mr. Griswold expresses gratitude to the MPRB for its support and partnerships ( the MPRB serves as the conduit for money from the taxpayers to the Museum ) he also invites the commissioners and superintendent to a tour of the new wing opening this fall. He also mentions that he is looking for input from the community in how the museum can better serve the people.
Reports of Officers
Lake District ( Paul Hokeness )
Some flooding at 50th and the Parkway during the storms areas that usually flooded at Lake of the Isles aren't Hiawatha Golf Course did flood The first meeting for the 2006 Loppet was held Palio (sp) was celebrated at Kenwood Park The Twin Cities Marathon was handled well by staff and park police All sailboats should be off of the lakes by Oct 10th and the docks will be coming in soon Check out your neighborhood park for their Halloween party schedule (http://www.minneapolisparks.org ) He then mentions the Lakewise newsletter (who gets this????)
Cirque du Soliel's performance schedule was interrupted by flu and he has had no complaints about Cirque site
River District ( Jon Oyanagi )
Lots of clean up of trees in this district after storms (Liz who lives in NE will vouch for at least 5 trees down in her neighborhood alone) The Bottineau skatepark equipment is going in soon ( and he mentions the River Review... again what is this and who gets it??? ) The Victory Memorial Trail ( bike and walking trail) is moving along (It looks like a 2nd street down the middle of the grassy area) The Cleveland Park wading pool is getting updated and there are public meetings for Edgewater Park ( Oct 6) and Jordan Park ( Oct 11) The NE and North Parks also having Halloween parties
Commissioner Young asks about the Peace Pledge banners at Folwell and if they could be displayed in the board room ( they are property of the Folwell Neighborhood Association)
Minnehaha District (Eileen Kilpatrick) The Bob Casey Field dedication was held and next year Mr. Casey's son will be coming to throw out the first pitch of the baseball season at Stewart Park Had a School's Out day on Sept 30th at Wabun Park with 78 kids doing tours of the Lock and Dam, games and eating hot dogs cooked up by the park police Youthline received a grant and there will be Art Projects with professional instructors and studio tours at Sibley and Longfellow parks
The first Scooter School will be October 22nd There will be a Family event at Wabun Park on Oct 29th (that includes some haunted houses) Bossen Field was under water after the storms and a service road in Minnehaha Park washed out
Commissioner Erwin asks if flooding of Minnehaha Creek needs to be address to increase capacity or flow rate
GM Mike Schmidt gives some flood management info... 1) Flooding of parks and golf courses is preferable to homes and streets 2) Flood mitigation falls under the cities public works dept. ( with no funding currently dedicated there ) 3) We could have more ponds 4) Changing anything about the creek would be a regulatory improbability
Commissioner Berry Graves comments on the beautiful reports (Lakewise and River Review etc.-.???) and hopes that 50th and the Parkway can be "fixed" to not become so flood prone
Commissioner Kummer asks if a meeting with the watershed folks might be prudent
GM Mike Schmidt mentions they will be before the board in November. They are going to make a report on their "vision" for Minnehaha Creek
He then moves into his report The Minneapolis Tree Inventory completed by the Dept. of Ag on a recommendation from the state DNR which will be given as a report on the 10/19 meeting. It will discuss our urban forest and the MPRB's forestry practices
He also mentions that the MPRB won the National Roadside Vegetative Associations, Municipalities with Excellent Vegetation Management Award after being nominated by MNDOT.
Minutes are approved for the 9-21-2005 meeting ( you can see these on the website, they are the agenda with notations as to votes or actions taken, if you want to hear discussion you can order a copy of the meeting on DVD for a fee)
Consent Business The board moves and passes 7 items with little discussion including pay raises for 2 unions and having a non- appointed Citizens Advisory Committee for the Jordan Park and Shingle Creek tot lot improvements
Report from Admin and Fin Committee
7.1 Adopt the Commissioners budget priorities for the 2006 budget ( based on surveys turned in by 7, vs the 4 last meeting, commissioners )
GM for Administration Don Siggelkow
The duty of the board is to.. Decide property tax policy Set fee policies Define services we will provide Define service levels Set salaries and benefits How these policies are then implemented are up to the superintendent and staff to work out (I hope that there are SOME boundaries on how )
Do you have a line item budget? yes Can you have one? just ask ( Can the public ask??? I am asking!!!!)
He then showed the compilation numbers that staff arrived upon from the 7 commissioner surveys they received
Commissioner Hauser asks for the differentiation in Fees 1 and Fees 2
1) what the MPRB presently collects ( as a percentage of the total cost) and 2) the average % the commissioners would like to see recovered
Commissioner Young asks how the MPRB is dealing with increased costs for energy, health insurance and pensions and where would these costs be found
GM Siggelkow points out the healthcare will rise 20% this year ( 1/2 million ) but there is a one time increase in LGA this year so the board is not facing budget cuts. Energy costs are expected to increase between $150,000-$175,000 and pensions are handled by the city and historically have not been an issue for the MPRB
Commissioner Young as head of the Operations and Environment committee notes that Maintenance seems to take big hits when the staff chooses where to cut. How can the Commissioners vote to keep more maintenance.
GM Sigglekow responds that they need to specify this and pick a different area to cut
Commissioner Erwin points out that the top 10 are in pretty basic categories like tree removal and replanting, youth sports and supervision and building and field maintenance he also mentions some on the bottom like the horse patrol and storm response (gee, just after the last meeting storm response was very important in reality) he then asks when the there will be specific discussion and if the board will meet as a committee of the whole to do this?
Commissioner Dziedzic points out that when they we last elected there were 137 parkkeepers and now only 115, can the dept absorb more cuts
GM Schmidt admits it could be done but the system would have to change (Hey Mike... are you talking about outsourcing union jobs here????? )
Commissioner Dziedzic and President Olson have words over how long Commissioner Dziedzic has been speaking
Commissioner Mason states that in her 8 1/2 years there have never been discussions about the specifics in regard to budgeting (amongst the commissioners) and that it mostly came to picking where to do eliminations. She then makes a motion for a meeting of the board as a Committee of the Whole where the budget talks will be the only agenda item.
Commissioner Berry Graves seconds the motion and would like more details from GM Schmidt about his last statement ( Liz would too). She is hearing that we are maintaining at the current level and that people want it better so what options would be needed.
OPEN TIME
President Olson has 11 people signed up for OPEN TIME and 15 minutes available so doing the math comes up with 1 minute 20 sec per speaker (but there were not 11 people and he should maybe have confirmed that).
Barb Stevens of the West Calhoun Neighborhood shows maps of Lake Calhoun and points out where they need Stop signs for safety. There are 5 stop signs on the other side of the lake along the Parkway and they have ZERO. She mentions petitions ( 95% of those asked, signed ).
Mary Tate presents the resolution and the signed petitions requesting stop signs at W 36TH ST, W 32ND ST, and at the exit for the parking lot at the Lake Calhoun Executive Center. They would like to prevent a tragedy from happening in a 25mph zone where speeds average nearer 40 mph.
Meg Forney of West Calhoun Neighborhood:
In light of the Board recently taking the initiative for a comprehensive look at Lake Calhoun, and now taking into account these residents' comments, I would like to remind the Board of 3 items: 1) In 1997, appointed to the Park Board's Parkway Traffic Study, I served to address effective and consistent traffic calming methods. Clearly West Calhoun is inconsistent with East Calhoun, as they have stop signs at every intersection and West Calhoun has none. The 2004 Traffic Study Addendum suggests raised pedestrian crosswalks are effective. 2) The Chain of Lakes Study, with architect Michael Van Valkenberg, addressed commuter use of the Parkways through the continuous parkway intersections, and suggested breaking the continuous path with t-intersections. Commuter traffic has seriously increased since his recommendations. Breaking the pattern is essential. These t-intersections, as well as other alternatives to decrease commuter traffic need revisiting. 3) The shared private-public parking lot at the Lake Calhoun Executive Center, although it is seriously under-utilized-still after a dozen years of this shared use agreement, the use has significantly increased in the amount of pedestrian crossings from that lot to the lake, across West Calhoun Parkway. This is a serious "blinded" crossing. the elimination of parking bays should be examined.
I hope the Board will address the West Calhoun inconsistencies and be pro-active in setting a balanced comprehensive plan for Lake Calhoun that re-evaluates the public's use and enjoyment in light of private use and development.
Liz Wielinski of Northeast:
I would like to thank you for again providing me with this OPEN TIME opportunity to address the board.
In 2004 while setting the budget for the current year the superintendent recommended the following to balance the budget...
1) Current positions that will be held vacant during the transition and historical ( $353,000 ) - But then Mr. Hokeness and Mr. Oyanagi were hired (approximately $90,000 each).
2) Eliminate contributions to Midtown Greenway ($20,000) and Brain Coyle ($18,000 ) - On March 2, 2005 the funding for the Midtown Greenway is restored.
3) Contractual reductions for public relations, archives, historian and youth sports ( $28,000) - We now have the talented Ms. Sommers ( approximately $13,000 for 1/4 year).
By my reckoning cuts of $419,000 are now down to $215,000. Where did the $200,000 come from?
The other part of the 2005 budget that has me concerned is the 1/2 million dollar Superintendent's Innovation Fund. It was billed as a fund for one time investments that could produce long term savings. I would like to have an accounting of the Innovation Fund from January to the present given by the accounting staff, maybe Rich Theis the Finance Manager could bring everyone up to date in a staff presentation. I think it would serve everyone well to see how last years budget decisions have panned out going into this years plan.
Hopefully at that time he could also report on whether the Park Permanent Improvement Fund deficit fund balance as of Dec. 31, 2004, was paid back with capital program money and/or private contributions in 2005 as stated in the 2004 Annual Financial Report.
Commissioner Hauser makes a comment about the Innovation Fund being tabled ( since when does that mean you folks aren't spending the money???? )
Joan Berthiaume and Ted Wirth offer an open invitation to all board members and the public to the Historic Theodore Wirth House in Lyndale Farmstead Park on Saturday the 8th of October from noon to 4pm.
Brad Pass Mr. Pass lives one block south of East Phillips Park and also served on the Cities' Long-range Improvement Committee (CLIC) After having seen the MPRB's requests for funding from CLIC he was mad that the kids of East Phillips Park who are some of the poorest in the city were once again passed over for a recreation center and that the MPRB felt that $1.2 million dollars for astro turf at Parade Stadium was a more worthy project.
Carol Pass Mrs. Pass protested the plan for expenditures at CLIC and is ashamed and embarrassed that the MPRB keeps passing over the very deserving kids and adults of the East Phillips area and thinks the MPRB priorities are bad. Unlike other parts of town, the parents from her area are often single parents working more than one job and do not have the time to come to these meetings and state their opinions. She will be letting everyone including the media know how she feels about the rotten priorities this board has set in regards to her neighborhood.
Bill Zeigler, Executive Director , Little Earth United Tribes Mr. Zeigler thanks the MPRB police for their stepped up patrolling of Cedar Fields. He then goes on to say that Mrs. Pass has hit it on the head. 75% of the population in his area is under 18 ( 500 kids ) and most are from families living on less than $18,000 a year. ( Mr. Zeigler, Mr. Pass and Mrs. Pass are directed to Judd Rietkerk of the planning dept. )
Back to the 2006 budget discussions...
Commissioner Hauser points out that many parkkeepers retired in 2002 with the early retirement buyout and believes that staff was directed to bring those numbers back up in 2004's budgeting process, did that happen???
GM Schmidt said that the forestry staff is at 100% of what is authorized ( and is that the same # as in 2002???) and that they are down 4 parkkeepers and 1 gardener but were not filling those positions until they were confirmed as being in the new budget.
President Olson asks if the base budget can be maintained
GM Siggelkow says it looks close and that the staff is looking for direction from commissioners
Commissioner Young asks that the Committee of the Whole meeting that was moved be scheduled and wants to add community input but her choice of date would not allow for the 2 week notice required and the meeting agenda is already getting huge with DeLaSalle etc..
There is a suggestion to change it to the 12th, which is bad due to a religious holiday so the 26th at 5:00 pm for 1 hour is chosen with a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Erwin asks staff to make available before the committee of the whole meeting 1) What % change have we had in various budget areas since the previous election and the changes in # for staff and in what areas 2) What are the costs associated with the items on the survey 3) Administration... have the # of employees and the $ spent in administration changed since the last term began and by what degree. ( I would personally like to thank Commissioner Erwin for asking for these specifics, apparently as a department head at the U of M he does know what REAL budgeting looks like :-)
Commissioner Kummer would also like to have the $$ that are spent on the Board itself provided. ( thank you as well)
Commissioner Hauser would like to know if there are any recommendations for parking enforcement etc..
GM Siggelkow explains that these are self funded through fines and the meters and in fact the MPRB collects about 1/2 million in fines annually.
7.1 to approve the 2006 commissioner priorities is passed ( which I guess are trees, youth sports and maintenance)
Unfinished Business
The board votes to ask the city to bond for more for diseased tree removal.
from Don Siggelkow who explained it...
« The bonding ... is repaid with assessments. We remove the trees, the homeowner has the option to pay all of the bill or spread the payments over time and pay interest. There is no impact to any taxpayer other than the homeowner that had the tree removed. We normally have the City issue $500,000 in assessment bonds. Due to higher than normal losses, the bonding level needs to be increased to reflect the higher level of assessments. »
passes
New Business
Emergency Preparedness
Commissioner Kummer asks if the MPRB has specific plans both internally and externally
GM Schmidt says there is a plan and the park police and the forestry dept. are part of the first responders
They are also included in the plan made by the Office of Emergency Preparedness and the MPRB coordinates with them and through them should FEMA or another agency come into Minneapolis.
The Office of EP has a website if anyone cares to look up the plan
The staff and supervisors are all kept up to date on their part.
Commissioner Berry Graves asks if we are depending on communications that are strictly phone based? NO and the Park Police are part of a bigger network
Commissioner Kummer asks for the information to be available at the parks ( which will happen) and that people should remember to have papers on their pets and extra food for them as part of their home emergency plans
Commissioner Young asks that Commissioner Dziedzic convene the legislative committee again soon for getting 2006 bonding priorities started, would like a date for the House Capital Bonding Tour and details ( Oct 10) and is East Phillips on our agenda???
Commissioner Dziedzic will take it under consideration.
Petitions and Communications
Commissioner Fine is getting calls about a rumor that the MPRB is planning to sell East Harriet Farmstead to Lakewood Cemetary Commissioner Kummer got a letter ( via Commissioner Young ) about the playground equipment at Nokomis, a letter in praise of Sea Salt, and a letter asking that the rinks be maintained in the budget.
Commissioner Berry Graves also received the rink letter and also got calls about the Wirth House being sold to Lakewood and that the MPRB was probably going to sell the tot lot on 58th and Washburn. The constituent that called about the tot lot had heard this from his district commissioner back in August
President Olson and Commissioner Dziedzic had both heard many thank yous about the great clean up by the forestry staff after the storm ( Liz would like to add her thanks as her neighborhood Columbia Park really had a mess of trees down)
Commissioner Dziedzic also joked that with all the rain Lake Sandy was back( well part of it) . He also mentioned that a major donor to the Logan Park Halloween Party had backed out and that they could use $$$ for candy and prizes.
Commissioner Young reported that she had spoken at Henry High and there was a letter from the students on her website. They saw first hand the responsibility of the MPRB foresters when the storm went through their neighborhood.
Regular Meeting Adjourned 7:00
Operations and Environment Committee 7:00
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) GM for Operations Mike Schmidt
In laymans terms it is using a variety of methods to deal with pests Majority of MPRB land not treated, just gardens and golf courses It is approx 50% cheaper to use IPM than to eliminate and restore Like with humans and bacterial infections if you use the "hard" stuff you develop resistant strains The operations staff are licensed pesticide applicators The MPRB has received awards in this area The MPRB has also done Audubon Society Certifications for Meadowbrook and Wirth Golf Courses He also gives a great compliment to Mary Lehrman for keeping everyone up to date on new technologies in the field
Commissioner Erwin suggests that the U of M turf grass guys would love test spots on the golf courses and is hoping the MPRB will take the lead in handling invasive species like Buckthorn
At the request of Commissioner Kummer a guest is allowed to speak Kristin Berg Thompson
Ms. Thompson would like to see the MPRB to make an organic push where pest control is concerned. She is concerned with the methods used and postulates that the golf course care at Hiawatha is a cause for the water quality problems and the closing of Lake Hiawatha.
She would like to see an Organic Land Care Initiative. In the 1980's the MPRB was ahead of the curve and in 2005 one of the lakes is closed.
Adjourned 7:25
Admin and Finance
Passes 2 NRP contracts with Armatage and Phelps Park
STONE ARCH BRIDGE
GM Siggelkow makes a request of commissioners to approve a plan to rent out the plank road ( part of West River Parkway) and the Stone Arch Bridge because there have been requests and there hasn't been a policy to do this. The suggested rates are the same as for closing a parkway and they would use Mintahoe as the exclusive caterer.
Commissioner Dziedzic who had recently attended a reception at Wirth Chalet complained that the drink prices were too high
President Olson ( after dismissing Commissioner Dziedzic to talk to staff later) supports doing this now that there is demand after they had one last year ( do it and then ask for a policy... interesting)
Commissioner Fine asks how often this would occur
GM Sigglekow believes the permitting staff would be able to handle making the decisions about what would be the correct number of venues and what is appropriate ( shades of the Jason Stone incident make me question this) and would have to be a huge or unique event. {Circe du Soliel tents there next summer???}
Commissioner Young thinks the policy should have more specifics or maybe rates per hour, possibly define what number constitutes huge.
GM Siggelkow again wants it up to staff
Commissioner Erwin wonders about the neighbors in the neighborhood and if they have been contacted. ( if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all... Thumper from Bambi) He does not feel that the MPRB should commercialize the bridge.
President Olson says the neighbors were accommodated for the last event on the plank road and it's mostly in front of the Mill City Museum.
Commissioner Young tries to add more detail and gives up in frustration and then like Commissioner Erwin decides that maybe it is a bad idea.
Commissioner Dziedzic asks if they are recommending Mintahoe without a bid
GM Sigglekow claims that no one else would give the 15% Mintahoe agrees to ( how do you know, you didn't ask )
Commissioner Dziedzic asks for price lists for all the caterers the MPRB uses
Vote is taken...
For Dziedzic, Hauser and Berry Graves Against Mason and Young
Passes to the full board for a vote on October 19th ( so get your calls and letters in folks)
Administrative Tickets
General Manager Sigglekow recommends a system of administrative tickets that will be handled by the MPRB instead of Hennepin County This will be for parking violations and violation of dog park and off leash rules etc.. not for moving violations
Using hand held devices ( at an unknown cost to buy and administer) the MPRB police will give 1) a warning 2) a ticket that can be upgraded to a dog park permit or season parking pass 3) a regular ticket , $750 misdemeanor or $33 parking ticket because the park patrons often don't see the signs or the meters are out of order etc... This will prevent a clog to the court system.
Commissioner Berry Graves asks the cost
GM Siggelkow says it must be cost effective because the city uses it.
Commissioner Erwin asks how much the MPRB really recovers on a ticket ,mprb 60%, county 40% Will this be a revenue increase? GM Siggelkow yes ( really, you quoted a 1/2 million in parking tickets and meters earlier) Commissioner Hauser asks how this can be enforced if people have no ID or a vehicle with a license plate? GM Siggelkow...chancy
The vote is for staff to get more details and return to the board
Adjourned 8:00
Planning
4.1 Retain consulting services for East River Flats Park for Phase II Master Plan implementation for a not to exceed fee of $60,000. Commissioner Dziedzic mentions that this will be the runway to the U of M boathouse project.
Passes
Study report item Lake Calhoun Overview
Director of Planning Judd Reitkirk
Gives the long history of the area with lots of old photos and comments on old plans and studies which all seem to concern the need for conserving the area as OPEN SPACE
Commissioner Dziedzic says they can not allow any more encroachment on the lake
Commissioner Fine asks where we go from here
Director Reitkirk thinks that the SCOPE of any project needs to be discussed and considered in a broader picture
There is some finger pointing at developers at this point.... a surprise as usually they are looking to partner up with many of them... And the one mentioned is on their Minneapolis Parks Foundation Board ????
Then there is a question of if they should be writing to the planning commission about keeping out high rise developments (Thumper)
Director Reitkirk asks if they are interested in pursuing legal actions
Commissioner Young suggests going to the meetings and voicing support for the Shoreline Overlay District
Meeting is adjourned 8:20