e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e right all right good afternoon um I
called to order this regular March 10th 2025 city of newm Park and Rec commission meeting we will start with a roll call if we can go off to my left please Jeff Golden commissioner G lunenberg commissioner Dave Christian council rep Amy
Johnson Kurt Johnson commissioner Jim Jensen commissioner Cheryl Corman staff Joey shugal Staff All right so we will move on to 3.1 approval of the agenda can I get a motion to approve or amend the agenda for the regular park and rec
commission meeting from March 10th today for moved and a second second all right all in favor say I I I all right oppose same sign and motion carries we will move on to 4.1 approval of the minutes
uh we are looking to approve the meeting minutes for the park and rec commission regular meeting from February 10th 2025 may I get a motion so moved and a second I'll second all
right all right all in favor say I I all right motion carries we are going to move on to 5.1 the city council meeting recap director shugal thank you Vice chair Johnson Commissioners uh few items
at the February 18th regular meeting the Prairie Lakes Grant uh was application was approved and we'll have a follow-up item on that in a little bit uh also at that same meting meeting the l lccmr Grant application was approved so that
process is still ongoing uh trying to complete that application before the deadline there was also a work session at the after the regular meeting on February 18th and that had an update on the Herman Monument reconstruction project that we'll talk about a little
bit under old business here and then in the March fourth regular meeting there were no Park and wreck related items all right let's see can we get a motion to receive an order filed the city council pass action report so I'll move second
all right all in favor say I hi hi right opposed same sign and motion carries on to Old business 6.1 the Herman Monument update director shugal thank you Vice chair Johnson Commissioners uh things have been moving forward with the Herman
Monument reconstruction project and some some really positive things have been moving forward uh so staff was approached by flarity and Hood which is also a firm that is our City attorney um is contracted out of but out of their government relations office and they have an individual there who has been
who has a a does a pro bono project that's approved by that firm every couple years and he asked approval of his firm to uh to work on the Herman Monument reconstruction project which uh has ties to the Springfield New Alm area the name is Marty cyer um which was
really positive so so he's has great connections at the capital and has authored bills um for historic sites in the past as well so staff had the opportunity to meet with him and representative Doms uh at the um in St
Paul and all positive uh representative Doms was uh really strongly in favor of um finding funding on the state level for for a project like this so our next step is to also meet with representative state representative tor
um and we're trying to set that up in the next couple weeks here as well and and to catch that and then the goal is to have a a draft bill um written for um authored at least and get in front of uh our the state and our legislators and
then potentially that bill would go to the floor in 26 so this would really what that bill is looking at is Legacy funding Legacy funding is um uh overseen um through the state and the historic preservation office uh shiple we've
talked to a lot uh there's an arts and cultural heritage fund that there's dollars for uh projects similar to Herman which we'd be going at and that can be upwards of $10 million so that's the type of funding that would be needed for this project so all positives there
we have we're staff's continuing to get all um the information needed for this bill right now and so we're working on getting that um to um Mr Cypher and um working through that process so
positives that way um and uh our goal again is in a couple months here to open Herman for the season um per after an inspection and uh and uh then continue to work on on this process so more updates to come at Future
meetings do we have any questions for director shugal on this all right if there are none then we would like to look for a motion to receive an order filed the Herman Monument rest or reconstruction project update I'll make that motion okay second
all right all in favor say I I I all right all post same sign and motion carries all right on to 7.1 new business Prairie Lakes art and cultural heritage arts and Festival Grant acceptance director shugal thank
you Vice chair Johnson Commissioners uh so this is the follow-up item on the the Prairie Lakes grant that we submitted we were successful in receiving funding uh so this is asking for authorization to accept that $6,000 request this would go to uh concerts in the park on Thursday
nights at German park with the activities down there so uh would like to thank Prairie Lakes Regional um Arts Council for um ex authorizing us or um granting us here this is the first time we've applied for that for music in the
park will that cover the whole work yeah so so we've had a a great relationship with with bands and and um our we have so many Community ties to uh concerts in the park where um we haven't
paid bands in the past you know either they sought their own funding through sponsorships or uh so this is a combination of of you know having some funding to maybe get some of our traditional bands we get some new bands down there but also fund the puppet
wagan and free activities down there and make this more of an event on Thursday nights as well so but yes we feel that 6,000 will adequately cover pretty nice to see the uh blending of Ages down there there's little kids running around playing in the front and
then there's old cers like me up stands and younger people really nice to see that I mean really one thing that really brings people of all ages and cultures and thinking whatever together so I think it's a really nice event for nor right very long-standing free family
event yeah great great great everybody's seems to always be having fun than glad we do it anyone else need need a motion we're going to make a motion but I just want to say like how exciting some positive news is
today as far as our business is concerned but we are going to make a motion to recommend the city council approve the acceptance of the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council for the Arts and cultural heritage Grant I'll make that motion all right second sounds good
all right all in favor say I I I all right oppose same sign and motion carries so we're going to move on to 7.2 which we had spoken about earlier last week later last week this is going to be
the Park and Recreation master plan consultant selection so director shugal would you like chair Vice chair Johnson Commissioners first off I'd like to thank thank you for your extra time um at the work session last week to have
the presentations from both isg H KGI and Bolton and mink just to recap that whole process uh we went out for a request for proposals for the park and wreck master plan we uh had nine qualified submittal that were accepted
out of those nine the scoring committee narrowed it down to those three and those three is what you saw at the at the work session all three presented had the had the same amount of time to present to you and now we are here today uh looking to select who we're going to
move forward with uh this is a budgeted item for 2025 and all uh qualifying proposals were un were within budget requirements um so um our goal is to hear from you and what what you thought of uh the work
session and the proposals itself would you like to just start one by one kind of go through and do we want to discuss like pros and cons yeah I think that's a great option thoughts questions and so forth great way if anyone wants to start with that um on on
um Thursday and the proposals out of isg H KGI and Bolton and mink yeah I'll start I guess I I've been I was involved in the very beginning going through all the nine scoring them as as Joy had requested and all that sort of stuff I
then got the three back again from him so I could go through them again um I guess well I cut to the chase I favor isg uh I thought they did a nice job they're within budget uh they have I was looking only for mainly for some
place that had been involved with us before and that knew the New Alm Community obviously isg and Bolton M had that idea and they knew that and and I I was impressed with what isg had to say and what they've done
particularly in smaller communities around here St Peter and whatever they've been at um and obviously you have had work with them at St Peter and and hopefully now here or whatever it is so that I guess that's what I would say I
would that's my two cents for whatever it's worth you want to go this way or sure go ahead I I also have them down as my number one choice I think it was it's interesting because uh from a perspective of not being a professional at this you know uh they were all they
were all very well poys they're all knowledgeable they all had good programs but I thought uh isg for a number of reasons U I like a lot of the things say they said and I felt very comfortable with that and uh um so that's that was
the one I readed in the first place uh I myself I do like the two firms out of Main K possibly because of the closeness all three firms did an excellent job and I I at this point there would be a toss up between the two
firms in Mano I'm not sure which one I would go with I guess it would be depends on recommendations from you when I when you say two firms in man Jeff ISJ are uh B in Sleepy ey yeah Sleepy Eye also they're also in main C I didn't
yeah okay well people you got were from sleepy I talked to one of them this morning or not one of them but one of another guys that used to work there sure and that that's the only that's the only thing I would saying all over the place I I I agree with you they uh so
yeah it is it is troubling to think that we're going to spend $100,000 on a study and I told you this earlier but if we break it down for $5,000 a year you know hopefully we can get something out of it um it's going to be tough with the budget restrictions but
hopefully we can uh you know money maybe not the whole purpose of this right yeah our commissioners our goal is to have a plan that provides a road map and that road map doesn't mean just shining new things all over the place that road map
looks at our full system you know what where are some areas that maybe don't impact the that neighborhood they're in anymore but could in a different way um and it doesn't always mean it's a new playground and it's a new it's dollars dollars dollars there's ways to
repurpose things there's also we'll look at our facilities and um road maps for potential funding that doesn't impact our tax base you know because we have we have a great system and Facilities but we have to now take care of those and we
have numerous facilities that are going to be coming to the point where we have to now um have that next phase in that um and so you mean grant money yes or other potential funding sources that way yeah y That's what I have
sure anyone else have anything no I don't have a comment on any of three uh I apologize I was on Capitol Hill when you guys did that thank you for going through them uh the city has worked with isg and Bolton mink on
numerous projects but I want to reiterate what our park and rec director ctor said that comprehensive plan is very important when it's going to come it looks good when you're applying for a $10 million Legacy Grant it looks good for uh DNR grants parks and Trail grants
they rely heavy on those questions does it match your comprehensive plan right I mean you can be talking millions of dollars for that right and great and and the city all the city did a full-on comprehensive plan as well Park and
wreck had a chapter within that plan so these Consultants all receiv received that and shown what what was in there one of the first things that came uh out of that information in our comprehensive plan is it's time to do a a park and wreck master plan and then also outlined
a numerous goals and objectives as well that these Consultants whoever's chosen would feed into that as well that we're going to hit on those for the Citywide comp plan and then build for 15 years within this master plan as well it's it's a it's a big you know it's really an important we've said
before it's a very important part of our uh City the you know for development of of business and everything it draws a lot of people and it's a nice place for people to live and it's good for people to get out get some exercise and be social and so I think it it really makes
snow even more special and we're spending a lot of money but I think if we're going to spend the money let's spend in the right place and I think that's why this plan's a really good idea and looks like it's well thought out and I think it it'll bring dividence through the the years as we because we'll get the right things done in the right way sure I favor of
it Vice Cher Johnson any any feedback I I just I heard of sitting through all three of them they all did a fantastic job and very thorough I was reassured very much to here a lot of the same points were brought out by them as far
as like this is the road map moving forward even just what you said right now too as far as like this isn't about new parks this is kind of about what is works for us none everything has to be new and how do we re-evaluate some of these things and but yeah I heard a lot of the same points coming out from all
three of them so that was just it made me feel like very confident that this is a right move for us to do so that's where I'm at with it um do we are we ready do you want to discuss anymore do we want to make a motion as far as our recommendation Joey did you
have anything else you'd like to add so Commissioners what I'd like to say is um it it might feel like a hard choice but it's uh the great part of this all three of the proposals were quality proposals really all nine of them were so these three row from the top in the scoring so
you know really um there's there's quality with I've heard isg with uh The Familiar being familiar with New Alm doing a lot of projects they were part of renew um Bolton and mink works on a lot of engineering products within the city um and has worked on Park and wreck
related projects they worked on the Veterans Memorial at at German Park H KGI uh hasn't been in New Alm a ton uh did the 2007 comprehensive plan though uh councelor Christian that um and even
though they haven't they have a lot of similar experience as well so they did Hutchinson's uh Park and wreck master plan uh they've been Alexandria type of communities similar communities to new Al so I think no matter what the the motion is you should feel good about
that motion um and I know staff will feel good about um working with any of these three um I'm very very familiar with all three of them well Mr director Cheryl and yourself hopefully are going to be here for a while to work with them so out of all three of them which ones
would you pre prer to work with I'll put you on the spot there a little bit I'd like to hear it's GNA be it's going to be a big thing for you guys to uh to be working with them so a little more background um so great question and and we can uh we'll
let assistant director uh Corman um add to this too but after the scoring um Bolton mink scored the highest from the the four individuals that scored um The Proposal out of that scoring um Bolton
and mink had a high score of one person out of the group isg did not have a high score out of anyone but averaged out in the top three and H KGI had two High scor scores out of the scoring committee now that's just scoring the application too out of the
presentations if you're asking me on the the presentations from Thursday I think HJ H KGI did the had the best presentation they talked about um why new alm's unique and why they wanted to work with us the other two focused not not right or wrong they
were open to do this but focused on what they've their firm and what their firm's good at and that I mean all of them did that but they they didn't really convey that now um just putting that out there it doesn't mean um all proposal I I reread the proposals all today for about
the sixth time um again you know I on out of the proposals I think you know maybe my top one got swayed a little bit um by looking at it today so I know I'm not answering your question directly but uh really
good really good uh proposals came through I scored I went through and scored them unfortunately I wasn't able to come to the presentation so I don't really think that I can make a good recommendation um director shugal has
been through this before he has spent way more time in and invested more into this project he's going to be leading the project into the future and I think it's important that you know he has he has the say representing our
department well to move the long I'd make a motion to uh I isg I'll second the motion okay all in favor say I I I okay
opposed same sign um with that motion take a roll call we should probably do that y all right councelor golden yes councelor lunenberg
no commissioner Christian yes commissioner Johnson yes commissioner Johnson yes commissioner Jensen yes motion is carried once again Commissioners I'd
like to just thank you for your time now um You will be heavily involved in this process as we go through this will be a year-long process as laid out in the um the timeline that we've discussed uh there will be two uh specific meetings with our commission along the way and
then countless updates as we go so all right uh we will move on to well it would be 8.1 commissioner reports do we have any Commissioners who have a report for us today okay with no commissioner reports
we'll go to 8.2 the department activity report director shugal Vice chair Johnson Commissioners uh the February activity reports in your packet I would like to highlight in February um highlighting uh this is pretty consistent over especially the winter
months and and fall and spring about how many parties are at the rec center so there's was 14 parties in February February is a short month but um with the redesign and the the availability of of accommodating those type of birthday party packages uh that's just something
I wanted to call out out of this this activity report that month um it's been a very popular um very popular for the community uh and a good option um that as a parent there aren't that many out there so it's a it's a nice option
um other than that if there's any questions and anything else in there either now or to follow up either myself or assistant director Corman are always happy to answer questions all right let's see can I get a motion to accept and file the park and rec the park and wreck department
activity report for February 2025 so moved okay and a second second all right all in favor say hi hi um oppos same sign on to 8.3 staff
report director shugal thank you Vice chair Johnson Commissioners uh staff report this month is like to highlight out at the Civic Center uh the north Arena Ice has been removed uh and it was removed for the farm show this just this past weekend on uh was a change this
year for the farm show to be moved to the north side due to uh State Hockey t tourament um Bantam State hockey on the south Arena coming up this next weekend farm show was very happy with um how the setup worked out for them on the North
Arena um and I stopped out there on Friday and it was a busy busy show and so um and it it sounds like that continued throughout the weekend so uh H we very much appreciate those uh large shows Drive Floor shows at the arena and
brings a lot of people to the town and also um is great for those vendors to be able to Showcase what they do asht tree removals uh per an RFP that went out has started so if you've been by Nells Park uh South Park Washington
Park is getting hit this week you'll you'll see many less asht trees uh we are looking to um replant once we're allowed to do the once the weather allows um and we have if you look in those areas I mean Nels is way different
looking into the park now but you see all the new planting throughout the park already in anticipation for this so um unfortunately we had to lose those large trees um but it was time uh and Mano land shapes was was uh successful in getting that RFP we had four uh
qualifying bids come in and they were the low bid there and then the last thing I wanted to touch on is uh assistant director corman's been um leading the charge on this and working very hard to on implementation training for our new recreation sophomore software that will
go live in August uh they had an implementation training week last week and they have another one coming up in April um but um looking for an improved software experience both for customers and for backend users our staff uh and
financials with our explor Recreation is going to be the new software any questions on any of that I see you guys are planting different types of trees now yes not only yes and and you know now there's a DNR
approved planting list so it diversifies you know what is planted and and so we follow that and have numerous different types of plantings all right any other questions comments all right then I will look for a motion to accept and file the park and
rec department staff report move all right second I'll second that all right all in favor say I I I I all right oppose same sign and motion
carries okay so with that the date of our next meeting is April 14th 2025 here um and with that I just want to say thank you all for being here today and with no further business I will call this meeting to
adjournment thank you thank you thank you thank you for for