HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRMinutes_2022_01_31Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Minutes
Monday, January 31, 2022 5:30 PM
Call to Order
Erika Saunders called meeting to order at 5:31 PM. Verbal Roll Call: Present: Steve Berseth, Doug Smith, Erika Saunders,
Andrea Hogie, John Maynes, Jay Larsen (left meeting early due to obligation) & Isaac Schulte; and City Staff Dusty Rodiek,
Al Kruse, Greg Redenius, Stacy Claussen, Darren Hoff, & Ronda May. Guest: Addison DeHaven w/Brookings Register. Not
present: Board Members Carson Cody, & Ashley Ragsdale and City Mgr Paul Briseno.
Approval of Agenda
John Maynes asked to dad item under New Business: 6C Budget. Motion to approve amended agenda by Steve Berseth,
seconded by Doug Smith; motion carried.
Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve minutes by Doug Smith, seconded by Jay Larsen; motion carried.
Staff Highlights
Dusty: DNP – SD Game Fish & Parks hosting ice fishing clinic. Rec staff met to discuss new program ideas, Community Games,
& summer staffing. Christmas decorations down & outdoor skating rinks got another fresh layer of ice. Forestry attended
Int’l Society of Arborists – first conference w/ND Dakotas Chapter of the ISA. New Forestry tech started-Ryker Ramlo,
getting his CDL & being trained. Golf course memberships available & early bird rate in effect until end of March. John–who
attended conference? Al said Larry Maag, Reid Peterson, Chris Engbrecht, Ryker, & himself. Topics were safety stuff,
Emerald Ash Borer update but nothing stood out we should be watching out for or we don’t already know about.
Old Business: Reported by Dusty Rodiek unless otherwise noted
A. Recreation Annex/Holding Barn: still waiting on Banner’s to get back to Dusty but in-contact w/engineer today to get
quote on cost for them to develop cost estimate & basis project planning. Offering mini golf in conjunction w/open
skate & indoor dog park. Sharing w/dog FB group. Erika–how many use golf? Ronda said 5-7 last week but not sure
if running through $$ general ice admissions or not? Doug–possible to get word out on different things other than
FB? Newspaper, website, email? Not everyone uses FB so doesn’t know of any of these events. Doug–are we charging
for disc & mini golf? Yes, $5/person & dogs free. Doug–do we turn up the heat? No, typically not. Doug–what is temp?
Dusty–depends on outdoor temp, anywhere from 45-50 degrees.
B. Hillcrest Beanbag Court Area Update: Dusty visited w/Walt Osterberg, highly involved with local horseshoe group, &
asked if could convert some of holes to cornhole? Yes, if still retain the ability to use for horseshoe state tourney–
earliest we’re hosting is 2024. He thought great use. Dusty thought we could place semi-perm boards in there &
utilize until we host state horseshoe tourney.
C. Trail Grant Update: Dusty spoke to State Grant Admin–guessing mid-Feb receiving formal agreement to sign to get
process started. Would like to have things lined up so can hit early construction season. Prelim mtg w/engineers.
New Business: Reported by Dusty Rodiek unless otherwise noted
A. 2021 Review of Edgebrook Golf Course: Ronda had provided documents related to overview. Looked at single page
doc–3 yr look at Course’s revenue. Numbers have jumped since 2019 the last few years. Even in midst of COVID in
2020, we had substantial increase & even more this past year, particularly in membership category. John–what is
base aggregate? It’s Gary’s incentive so if course does better than the base rate of $305,000 he gets 25% of the over
amount. Other sheet broke down by membership but can’t compare to prior years as structure changed from 2020 to
2021. Will continue w/this format moving forward. No price increase for 2022. Anticipating another good season,
weather dependent. Doug thinks a lot will depend on water sources. To a certain capacity, we don’t want unlimited
growth. John–talked to a member last month who indicated he’s dropping his membership due to overcrowding. We
need to find balance of encourage play & membership. John-do we measure expenses against revenue figures & if so,
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what is the delta that is left? We had talked about this at previous meeting-it’s in range of $140,000 which is what we
request gets put into capital improvement fund. Steve–as to someone leaving because of overplay, he himself never
had to wait at a tee box. John–was 1 member who belongs to both courses. Doug–days of just walking on are over
but doesn’t think really a problem. If County Club member, they don’t have near the busy-ness that we do at
Edgebrook. Dusty–we’ll monitor it & has visited w/Gary on it.
B. Review of 2021 Park & Recreation Board Annual Report: Jay emailed Dusty some additions he’d like added under
Looking Ahead/Goals. Dusty-some substantial things accomplished–Park Master Plan, thrilled we could launch
Community Games & forestry initiative–lots of good things on the list in planning for the future, some grant items, &
administrative stuff. Looking Ahead/Goals–dog park construction, trail segment construction, McClemans & Lions
Parks playground replacement & projects, trail restoration, sidewalk replacement at softball, Edgebrook cart path
additions, LED conversion at Edgebrook, maintenance items at HAC, Rec Annex planning, pickleball complex planning,
grant apps, WiFi in selected parks, new user agreements, & trail easement acquisition in 2022. Doug–any word from
Norby? Dusty visited w/him last week-he reminded Dusty he had 2-3 larger projects ahead of ours, they’re in process
of being wrapped up so anticipating stronger look at ours & hope to have something in March. Hope to identify high
priority & what we can afford for this year, along w/general priorities.
C. Budget Process: John’s request–for some time, he’s thought our Board doesn’t participate in budget planning process
& that we need to be more involved in it. Reason is because City Council has spent $100,000 on scholarships. They’re
right but we’re not getting unmet needs of Parks, Rec & Forestry to Council so they understand that when they’re
spending funds on scholarships, that means some of the issues we’re concerned about don’t get met. He’s requesting
that Brd participate in budgeting process w/dept with clear understanding that Council, City Mgr, & Dusty can differ
with Brd but at least we have position to advance our concerns & needs for our Dept. Dusty–typically, prior to budget
being approved, he has brought budget documents to Brd so he’ll continue to do that for next upcoming budget cycle.
Process starts possibly as early as April but probably more interested in 10 yr capital plan? John–goes farther than
that. He has issue that City Council spending dollars in a field that no other city in SD is doing- city gov’t funding private
ed. In his opinion, that $100,000 could be better spent in our Dept. John thinks Brd should have opportunity to weigh
in so making request to be part of process. Doug–agrees on scholarship issue & he emailed all Councilors & Paul. In
City news today, doing surveys of how City wants money spent, similar to Park & Rec survey. Dusty–as we move into
budget process, we’ll bring it forward so everyone can make comments. Doug-read news article that SF Park & Rec
PT people get paid $15/hr, lifeguards $16 for 15 yr olds, & maintenance people $17/hr for 15 yr olds & higher. Dusty–
just last Sept, staff made request as extremely challenging to recruit staff at previous hiring levels. Adjustment made
so pay rate increased for seasonal staff. A lot more comparable to SF than last summer.
Upcoming Programs & Events:
A. March Meeting: Feb 28, 2022 at 5:30 PM. Some potential items–updates that are relevant & Dusty started list for
next meeting. Board terms, bandshell update hopefully, discussion on blvd tree fees and/or cost recovery at that
point. Dusty asked Al to get info from other communities on tree replacement & costs so can review some of that info.
Adjournment:
John Maynes motioned to adjourn the meeting at 6:13 PM, seconded by Doug Smith; motion carried.
Submitted,
Ronda A May
Ronda A May, City of Brookings Parks, Rec, & Forestry Office Manager