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1999-01 CSCRICHFIELD COMMUNITY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES Tuesday, January 12, 1999 Richfield Water Plant Present: Commissioners: Auchstetter, Jabs, Krohn, McGlinn, Sharkey, Erlander, Schaefer, Scaglia, Dietl Council Liaison: S. Rosenberg School Liaison: J. Sloss Staff: G. Watson, S. Devich, M. Champa Others: J. Bulfer (City of Bloomington), T. Scaglia (4th of July Committee) Absent: C. Strobl, T. Loweth Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Rick Jabs at 7:03 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room of the Water Plant. Acting Recreation Services Director Watson added the assembly of a Veterans Park Plan Interview Panel to the agenda. Jabs added a report from the Multi-Purpose Recreational Facility Task Force. Devich requested that his Enterprise Funds report be moved up in the agenda and paired with his tutorial on the City’s budget. Watson thanked Council Liaisons Rosenberg and Stokes for their work with the Community Services Commission. Motion by Erlander to approve the minutes of the November 10 meeting as written. Second by Sharkey. Motion carried, ayes all. Action Items Beer License for the Fourth of July Committee Watson outlined the Committee’s request: the Committee needs a temporary liquor license to sell and dispense beer for the Fourth of July celebration. Furthermore, since the beer would be sold in Veterans Park, some amendment to the City Code would be necessary. He said that he had spoken with Public Safety Director Dan Scott about containment and security issues and also with the City Attorney about altering the ordinance. Both conversations led him to conclude that it can be done, he said. Sloss inquired about special insurance for the event. Watson said that this would be required and could be obtained without jeopardizing any current policies. Sharkey asked if the Legion had been contacted. He noted that the Legion has sold beer in their parking lot on the Fourth in the past and this may be perceived as an encroachment on their business. He wondered if an agreement with the Legion could be arranged. Watson said that representatives from the Committee would have to address whether or not the Legion had been contacted. Watson told the Commission that it might be advisable to gather more information regarding security, as well as more information from the Fourth of July Committee, before recommending the granting of the license. Auchstetter inquired about tabling the issue, pending the gathering of more information. Jabs asked if this was for the Street Dance, held the night before. If so, he said, there shouldn’t be a conflict with the Legion’s one-day license on the Fourth. He also concluded that more information from Public Safety would be necessary. Dietl inquired about altering the ordinance to not “open a can of worms.” Jabs asked if there were anymore questions or comments and tabled the item. Later in the meeting, Tom Scaglia, Fourth of July Committee Vice President, arrived. He confirmed that this license was for the July 3 Street Dance, formerly held in the VFW parking lot. With the vacation of the old VFW building, the dance would now be held at Veterans Park. The Fourth of July Committee would administer the sale of the beer and reap the profits, which is a much-needed source of revenue since the donations sources have been thoroughly tapped. Sharkey asked if the Legion has been informed. Scaglia said no, there has been some unpleasantness with the Legion in the past regarding overflow of patrons. Besides, he said, their outdoor liquor license is for the Fourth, so it would not conflict with the dance on July 3. Erlander asked if dram shop insurance would be a large expense. Scaglia said that it was reasonably priced. Erlander asked how much revenue the Committee would stand to lose without this license. Scaglia said it would mean $9,000 in revenue. Sharkey inquired to Rosenberg about the precedence it would set. Rosenberg said that those questions would have to be addressed to the Commission, along with questions about security. Sharkey asked if the staffing would be handled by the Fourth of July’s operating crew. Scaglia said yes. Sloss asked about a yearly review to re-instate the permit to prevent any permanent precedence setting or changes in the Code. Jabs said that the City Attorney would have to assure that the permit would not be a qualifier. Watson mentioned, it was the consensus, to table the issue and gather more information from Public Safety and the City Attorney. Veterans Park Planning Interview Panel Watson told the Commission that he had received four proposals from planning firms for the redevelopment of Veterans Park. He asked for three volunteers from the Commission to form an interview panel to select one planner and make a recommendation to the Council at the January 25 Council meeting. Krohn, Jabs and Erlander volunteered. Watson stated that the interviews should be conducted within a week or so to make a timely recommendation to the Council. Sharkey asked if the planning of the redevelopment of Veterans Park was timed well with the Multi-Purpose Community Center proposal. Watson said that the timing was good since the planner could be kept informed about the choice of location for the proposed Community Center and the two projects could mesh at a later date. Rosenberg inquired about each consultant. Watson gave a brief description of each of the planners who submitted proposals. Discussion Items Budget Tutorial Administrative Services Director Devich detailed the different facets of the City’s budget. He explained how the City has an operating budget, a capital improvement budget and money from the fiscal disparities program, which equalizes money between cities based on their degree of economic and industrial development. Erlander pointed out that Richfield may reach the break-even point for fiscal disparities soon, which is good. Erlander asked if there were any Tax Increment Financed items that will expire soon. Devich said that the Hub redevelopment will be coming off of TIF soon. Enterprise Funds (moved up in the agenda in order to follow Devich’s budget tutorial) Devich reported that he had just received word earlier in the day that the Rich Acres par-three course and the driving range would be fully operational for another season. He anticipated another great year like the ’98 season. He reported that fees would be increased in ’99, which is in accordance with an every-other-year rate increase plan. He said that this system seemed to work best to avoid having to change all pricing (printing, postings, etc.) every year and so people don’t face an increase every single season. Sharkey asked if the ballfields would also be salvaged for another year. Watson responded that there was a commitment from MAC to use half of the ballfields for another year. Devich reported that ice time is in great demand during prime hours, so there may be a rate increase for prime time and a decrease in non-prime ice time. He said that an ad package is being assembled to sell ad space in the new ice sheet on the boards. He said that the advertising rights to the zamboni would also be explored. He added that ad space may also be sold at the golf course, mini-golf and the rest of the arena. This revenue would cover the difference between revenue and operating expenses with the second sheet. Scaglia asked if there has been much interest in the second sheet of ice. Devich responded that there has been very strong interest, especially in the prime ice time. Krohn inquired about the use of the second sheet. Devich responded that the first sheet will likely still be the primary ice sheet. Krohn asked if the accessibility of the new ice sheet had been addressed. Devich said that they had, and would continue to, look at accessibility issues. He added that the original portion of the arena has levels that are difficult for a user of a wheelchair to access. That issue would be addressed with the second sheet. Auchstetter inquired about some damaged sprinkler pipes. Devich said that some pipes had, indeed, been torn from the ceiling and clean-up has occurred. Watson inquired about the feasibility of a rehabilitation of the outdoor swimming pool. Devich responded that it is in very poor shape and rehabilitation would be very expensive. Liquor License – New Recreation Facility Watson said that in order to make a banquet facility in the proposed Recreation Facility financially responsible and viable, a liquor license would be necessary. Sharkey inquired about the limit of liquor licenses in the City. Rosenberg said that there is a limit to the number of liquor licenses, but that could be changed. Watson stated that many of the issues related to this issue would be similar to the concerns regarding the Fourth of July beer permit. Erlander stated that without a liquor license, a banquet facility would not be competitive. Watson stated that he just sought to read the tenor of the group. He asked if the Commission would at least consider the issue in the future. General consensus was in favor of considering it again in the future. Watson suggested the possibility of collapsing the two liquor-license issues into one. Committee Reports FOWL Dietl reported that the cross-country skiing was going strong at the Nature Center. He also stated that the dredging project was underway, as well. Krohn told the group that this year’s FOWL Dinner would be held at the Decathlon Club on April 23. Planning Commission Auchstetter reported that the Planning Commission held two hearings regarding the Urban Village project relating to rezoning. Both issues were approved and he confirmed with Councilmember Rosenberg that the two rezoning issues had been approved by the Council the night before. Multi-Purpose Community Center Jabs reported that the Task Force had been meeting often and were assembling goals. He stated that the meetings had been very productive and the members were in sync with one another. He speculated that the original timeline’s goal to make a recommendation to the Council in March would not be realized, due to the need to gather more feedback from citizens. They have been regularly inviting the public to attend their Thursday night meetings. He said that the Task Force would be represented at the Richfield Remodeling Fair with information about the Facility. Short Elliott Hendrickson would provide material for the Fair. Scaglia agreed that the Saturday morning meetings were even more productive than many of the Thursday night meetings. Krohn asked if the new facility would likely include dance facilities. Watson said that it was one of the goals of the Task Force to see that there is ample flexible, all-purpose recreational space. Scaglia concurred that flexibility would be an important trait of the Facility. Sharkey added that the current Community Center could still be utilized after a new facility is built. Staff Reports Recreation Services – American Heart Association Grant Watson gave the floor to MaryKaye Champa, Recreation Supervisor, to discuss the grant received for the playground program. Champa, joined by Joan Bulfer, Bloomington Public Health, talked about receiving a grant from the American Heart Association, administered by the City of Bloomington, to promote the inclusion of low-income kids, kids of varied ethnic backgrounds and kids who fall into an in-between age (14-15 year-olds). In collaboration with several non-profit agencies, Richfield Recreation used several outreach strategies to reach these populations, including bi-lingual promotional material and peer programming to attract “in-between” ages. Transportation was still an issue that needed to be addressed to enable low-income kids to participate in programs. Jabs agreed that access to transportation was a serious issue facing many kids and their families; he suggested to Champa that she consider working with some of the athletic organizations to develop something to remedy transportation issues. The grant was for just one season, Champa said, but they learned much from developing these outreach strategies. Other Next Meeting Jabs acknowledged that Carol Strobl and Tom Loweth would not be re-applying when their terms expire in January. Dietl and McGlinn would be re-applying. Next Meeting The next Commission meeting is February 9, 1999. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting by Erlander, seconded by Sharkey. Meeting adjourned at 9:04 p.m. by consensus. January 12, 1999