--------- Council member. >> Good evening everyone. I'm I'm looking for all my council members to join me here at the dis. Council member Refe. >> Council member. >> Okay. Very good. Thank you. Welcome
everyone. It's now six o'clock and I'll call to order the workshop of the Victoria City Council. Our workshops are informal, so we're going to dive right into our agenda this evening. The council is hosting a listening session on downtown parking. So, I want to say thank you to all of you who have joined us. On behalf
of the council, I want to thank everyone who took the time to come to city hall and participate in the interactive activities and share your comments. We ask that anyone wishing to speak this evening register in advance. If you'd like to speak and have not yet
registered, please see our city manager, Miss Hardy, quickly to have your name added while I go through some housekeeping this evening. Um, Miss Hardy is missing. Jen, do you want to grab a signup sheet? You can see Jen right over here at the
corner if you want to. If you haven't already registered to speak, see Jen here and she will get your name on a list. So, we're going to invite individuals to the podium in the order that they registered. As your name is called, please step up to the podium, state your
name and address for our record, and each speaker gets three minutes. Our city clerk is going to be keeping time. We want to hear from as many people as we can this evening. So, as soon as you hear the beeper, we're going to ask you to wrap up your thoughts and we'll move on to the next speaker. To ensure
everyone has an equal opportunity to speak, we want to um ask you to please not exceed your three minutes. Your comments here this evening will be part of our record. While the council is not making any decisions this evening, our purpose is to listen. We'll be taking comments into consideration along with
our survey feedback, open house feedback, studies, and our other data to drive decisions around downtown parking. And with that, I'm going to call our first speaker to the podium. Um, Patrick Murray, and then on deck. So, I'm going to do an
on deck so you know that you're up next. John Herman, you're up next. Mr. Murray, welcome. >> Good evening, council members. Uh, my name is Pat Murray. You like my address? >> I do. 8380 Kelzer Pond in Victoria. >> Thank you.
>> Um a few years ago there was a um a temporary golf cart permit and last year our family got a golf permit and it's been uh quite wonderful. We get a chance to see our family, friends around Victoria. Uh we take it to the Victoria
Rec Center. Uh we got our Chaska permit as well so we can go have dinner at uh the Chesa Town Course. And we would love to have uh that ability to do that in Victoria. We've got quite a few uh golf cart enthusiasts here as well. And uh
just an idea to consider uh there is a a trail right back here and from Kirk Locken Park to uh these bathrooms is about 700 yards. It's a great spot to potentially have some golf cart parking. So obviously that would help eliminate
or alleviate some uh uh parking congestion downtown. uh certainly from uh the senior members of our community, it gives a lot of mobility options, some uh independence for those folks and it just makes uh Victoria a unique city
already more unique and uh nicer than it already is. So uh again, just an idea to somehow bring golf carts into the downtown community to have a chance to visit our uh great city. So thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Murray. Um John Herman,
you're up next on deck. Gina Homeman. Mr. Herman, are you in the audience? All right, we'll come back to John Herman. Uh, Gina Homeman and on deck is Nan Emmer. Welcome, Gina. Thank you, Mayor, council, city staff.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak. My name is Gina Holman. I reside at 8510 Alageney Grove Boulevard. We moved into Victoria in 1987 when my mom and dad moved into Deerrun. So, we know what it is like to see this community
grow and thrive. And what we believe is the thriving of this downtown is because we are very blessed to have so many small businesses here. And behind us are a lot of the community that loves supporting and putting our wallets into
the downtown in our small businesses. What we would love to see is if the council and the staff would be open to using TIFF increment financing to help alleviate the parking problem downtown. I have the unique position of being the
director of liquor operations for the city of Weisetta. So I ran the MUN for 20 years. We had a parking problem there as well. And the city used tax increment finance and it was a huge boon for all the small businesses to come into
downtown and continue to let downtown Victoria and all the business owners that have been here for decades to now support them so that we can have a thriving business. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Gina. Nan Emmer.
>> Oh, she's not going to speak. didn't sign up. >> Okay, >> very good. How about John Herman? >> John Herman. Everybody put their name down. They didn't know what they were putting their
name down for. >> John. Okay. Is John Herman here? I got John on both lists here. Okay. How about Bobby Jensen? >> There we go. And on deck, John the door.
>> Mr. Jensen, welcome. >> Well, thank you, mayor, council people. Um, I live at 1699 Stiger Lake Lane. Um, I just want to say, everybody says we don't have a parking problem here. I've had people
come to visit me in the summer and I've had to put them in our garage in a stealing a space from somebody I knew that was out of town. uh people park in the bank and you know and I agree with the fact that if we could alleviate this
problem with tiff money I don't understand why that isn't being considered or maybe it is being considered but I would like you to really consider it. What some of the projects that I've seen that people are going to do that are going to make
it available for parking seem to make a lot of sense. So I would hope that everybody, all of you sit down and honestly look at the projects and look at the cost. If the cost doesn't cost you cost the city anything and the taxpayers, why isn't it being
considered? And that's I guess the biggest thing that I' I've learned tonight is that that's out there. Why don't we use what's available to us or to you? Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Jensen. John Bador and then Kristen H is on deck.
>> Mr. Bador, welcome. >> Thank you. John Bador, 2020 Woodstone Drive, Victoria. I've been here I don't know how many years, so I'm not even going to say. I am in favor of the parking um downtown the downtown parking of adding and using utilizing tiff
money. It's going to add spaces. is not going to cost nearly the amount if you try to do this yourself. I or you're putting it on to the taxpayers. I think that um I'm just going to leave it at that. It's I'm in favor of that. I'm not
in favor of any structures, three, fourtory parking things or anything like that. Thank you. >> Thank you, Chris. Kristen H. And then on deck, Kimberly Reeves. Hi, my name is Kristen and I run
Victoria Flats. Um, so the parking lot out in front of our building is full often as Bobby was saying, and there is a steady stream of city hall employees
and city council people when there are city council meetings and other city of Victoria employees in and out of my parking lot that do not abide by the two-hour parking. So that just shows me that there is a parking problem in this
town. Um and also when I'm doing my walk around on the building, um just about every night the after the bank closes that bank lot is full every night from people and I watch them walk to and from
the businesses in town because there's no parking in the streets. So there definitely is a parking problem and learning about the tiff money that's available that could help alleviate it without a taxpayer increase
seems logical which would help my residents and the people of Victoria. So just thought I'd add that. Thank you Kristen. Y Kimberly Kimberly Reeves and then on deck Jim Pollson.
Miss Reeves too much already. >> Miss Reeves, welcome. >> Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Um, I live my husband and I live at 8439 Cray Lake Court and then we own a condo for my husband's mom at 1776 Tiger Lake Lane. Um, I work in residential
real estate and our city is beautiful and wonderful for the residents who are looking to move to Victoria. It's a great selling point and having parking would also increase that um just um
vibrancy and with increased stores and restaurants and all the things that are being proposed for downtown, having it with the TIFF funding would also be just a great incentive um for keeping the um
the taxes down as when you know someone is looking for a home, they're also looking at what their taxes are in in their total financing. So, in um looking at what we have with TIFF and what we can do for the city and how we can continue to just invest in our city
would be a great thing. So, thank you. Thank you, Miss Reeves. Jim, you don't have anything to add to this evening. >> Okay, very good. Thank you. Mary Mason is up next and then on deck Brenda Lret
like Brenda knows who she is. >> Hi Mary. >> Good evening Mayor and council members. Um as you all know that at 7929 Victoria Drive, 1776 Steager Lake Lane, 2020 Woodstone Drive. And I have an office
here. So um so we have three or four properties in Victoria. Uh I'm g just turn this way a little bit. Um you all are very aware of the model that we've done on the central parking lot that's behind Ganons and we've got all of the
property owners including uh Carl Runk who's working with the Ganon project are supportive of us exploring doing tax increment financing from the Ganon property from the hotel uh possibly Victoria House there is a
way to bring them back in and also from the Roars building. So if the Roars did an expansion of their tith district and we got that done, we would be able to use the blighted properties that we have and once they're
gone or once we pull a permit, it's not going to be available anymore. So that tool disappears. We have this one-time opportunity to be able to do a tuck under ramp. So at Steager Lake Lane lane
where Victoria House is, it's 10 ft lower than wherewam is where you'd enter. It fits into the landscaping absolutely beautiful. You could not lay out a topography any better than to be able to put a ramp that is tucked in and
then main level. You also have an opportunity to do something for the residents, too. Um, you can put a a covered deck on top. That is a an acceptable use of tip buns for a for the gathering of people, for the park, for a
gathering area, and the residents would be able to have a nice space that they could use in the downtown. You know, we've used TIFF uh for three of the apartment buildings and at least 15 years of it goes 100% to the developer.
I would like to see them be successful, but I also would like to see the existing buildings and businesses that are in the downtown be successful, too. We've all invested and uh you have no no problem I don't think with doing tiff
for a developer who wants to put in apartment buildings. But when all of the business owners come and say, "Hey, we'd like to see tiff in the central parking lot that the city already owns, it seems like it just falls on deaf ears. We've
got redevelopment happening. It's an incredible spot for the city to put in parking and I think it's a huge missed opportunity if this council doesn't get behind it and support it. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Mason.
Brenda, I apologize. I can't read your last name, so you're gonna have to tell me. >> Brenda Leg. >> Legit. Thank you. We live at 1776 Deer Lake Lane and we love Victoria. We've
been here over 17 years. We love the downtown and we're excited about Victoria West as well. And I think anything that happens in the downtown area benefits Victoria West as well. And
we have people who we invite to come and eat in Victoria and they say there is no parking. They will not come over to our side because there is no parking or that's what they understand or have experienced. And so we would love to see
this new parking happen. We know that there's tiff funding and that there's a very brief window when this is available. So, we hope that you'll look at it, save us tax money, and help us have more parking in downtown Victoria.
I think it's good for everybody, Victoria West, and everybody downtown and our business owners who own property here have invested so much in making Victoria what it is. So, thanks for listening.
>> Sure. Thank you, Miss Sid. Okay, I have David Igel and then on deck, Terry Hartman. Mr. Igel, welcome. >> Uh, Madame Mayor and council members, thank you. I'm glad I'm going before Terry Hartman instead of after him. Um,
I've uh I'm at 1725 Martinale Lane in Victoria. Been a resident here for a number of years. Been a resident of the area for about 30 years. done business uh in this area for about 20 and brought in a lot of of people that enjoy Victoria by building homes and neighborhoods for them. I've also gotten
to know a lot of the people and business owners in the city of Victoria in downtown. We patronize them several times a week and I do know that parking is a problem. We bring people in from out of town to come to our favorite restaurants. I've known these people.
It's a problem. And it sure seems like there's a great opportunity to build a ramp that blends into the city that can be funded uh with a limited opportunity with with Tiff funding. Um and I think you really need to take a look at it. So thank you for your time.
>> Thank you, Mr. Igel. >> Mr. Hartman, you're up next and then on deck, Tom Strigle. >> Thank you. uh Terry Hartman and we own property at in several locations downtown but 1750 Tar Boulevard for for one of them. Uh I
don't want to repeat some of the same thing. I'd like to bring you a little bit new information. I'd like to talk about just how wonderful it is to drive in from the east and see all the new highway projects that are going on that you guys have been working on. all the
highway, the county, the the local roads, and how exciting that is to see that everything that's new. We've been looking for that for 25 or 35 years or when we, you and I last talked, you were here for 40 years. So, so to finally see
that happen is pretty exciting stuff. To finally see the downtown develop like it is right now with the momentum is pretty exciting to see all of that. the new Mexican restaurant, the businesses that want to expand, of course, all of the new apartment buildings that are that
are happening. There's just a lot happening right now. And I think with that, you know, I've been on record saying we need to look at parking expansion with all of you. And and I think what I heard you wrestle with is is the when when does that happen?
traffic engineers have have said that at when we're at 85% capacity at peak hours, you're almost too late. You you're full. Not 100%. 85% is about at that point.
And we don't know the studies, but we got to believe we're there because it's hard to find a spot during those peak hours. And from a timing perspective, with all that you're hearing regarding TIFF and the critical timing of TIFF,
now is the time to make that make that decision. Waiting to see what happens after all of this growth takes place. It's too late from a inconvenience standpoint, but you will have lost the opportunity to get the public financing
to make this uh costefficient for the rest of us. >> Thank you, Mr. Hartman. Um Tom, >> Mr. Strik, welcome. >> Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Um I want to applaud the having
this uh forum. It's it's become I think clear to a lot of people that it's harder and harder to engage with the city staff and council between the disbanding of the citizen committees like the senior committee and park and wreck and finance and all those things
that have gone away and then the citizen input opportunity at council meetings. just feels like it's very insulated and I think many people in this room don't necessarily think that the listening here is going to turn into action based on the input. And so um again I want to
applaud that and and I'm looking forward to seeing the um the outcome from this session and how it's taken in specifically how it's taken into the planning and the work that goes forward. This conversation was old when I was on
council 18 years ago and it's not any different than it was. The people who are investing in this downtown who are risking their capital by building buildings and starting businesses have been unhappy with the level of parking availability
again since 20 years probably. Um I think they pay unless something's changed a pretty dis uh high value. taxes for their buildings and I don't necessarily think they would feel like they're getting proportionate benefit from that. Um, tiff is designed and
intended to be used for projects that benefit the good of the community, not the developers, right? And and you can argue at some point having a diversity of housing and um opportunities makes is good for the community, but I think the
balance is lost and I'd like see it return. Um, and so TIFF is probably a way that, you know, visions like what has been shown with the two de two deck park and a parking ramp and with a parking space on top um is a beautiful
way to keep us from just becoming a giant hunk of asphalt with a bunch of buildings sticking up in the middle of it. So, um, again, thank you for holding this session and look forward to hearing uh the outcomes. >> Thank you, Mr. Stre. All right.
I'm gonna ask for John Herman one more time. I don't want him to miss an opportunity. I think John is gone. All right. Very good. All right. Um that is the end of my list. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to address the
council at this time? We do have a few minutes left. So I invite you forward if you'd like to address. Yes, please. Mr. Wharton. Welcome. >> Mayor and council members. I again just like Terry don't want to repeat a lot what's been said but there is definitely
at our busiest times Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday when I drive out and around and I don't find hardly any parking spots that are available in the immediate downtown in close proximity for people to come in that want to walk especially especially in the wintertime
when you have ice and snow you have snow piles you have all kinds of issues and we have a lot of people that have told us we're just not coming back we can't if we can't find a convenient place to park, we're not going to come to your restaurant. And I think that's the same with several of the other restaurants
that are in town. And so I think it's important that you do consider Mary's done a great job of putting things together and to be able to see what it means to have a four plus million dollar potential tiff available to build what could be a a a two-level ramp with
potentially a beautiful deck on top. And I think it's really important that you do take a close look at it before it's gone. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. Any other folks wish to address the council on this matter this evening?
Going once, going twice. Very good. Thank you. So there are no more items to come before the body this evening. So I will entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> We have a motion. Can I get a second? >> Second.
>> We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. We stand adjourned. We'll reconvene in a few minutes at 6:30 for our regular count. Part: 2
Good evening. It's now 6:30 >> and I call to order the regular meeting of the Victoria City Council. Please join us in the pledge of >> allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stand
indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> The first item on our agenda this evening is announcements. All meetings of the city council are open to the public and held in council chambers at city hall unless otherwise noted. We encourage anyone wanting to attend or
interested in speaking at a council meeting or workshop to contact our city clerk in advance for additional information. We invite everyone to celebrate spring with our local businesses at our second annual Victoria in Bloom event on May 16th. Many of our businesses will have specials and
activities throughout the day. Please check check our website for additional information or contact our communications and engagement director Kendrick G to learn more. That concludes the announcements this evening. I do have two proclamations that I'll read
from the dis as well. Proclamation 2026-3 is to recognize May 4th through 8th as teacher appreciation week. Whereas teacher appreciation day was first recognized in 1953 after Elanor
Roosevelt spoke before Congress, persuading them that there was a need to recognize teachers on a specific day for their hard work and dedication. And whereas following Miss Roosevelt's advocacy efforts and with the support of the National Education Association and
the Kansas State Board of Education and the Indiana State Board of Education, National Teacher Day was established in 1980 and initially celebrated on March 7th until it was moved in 1984 to be observed the first week of May. And
whereas teachers dedicate themselves to providing the best learning experience for our students, whether or through distance learning. And whereas teachers have a crucial role in inspiring young minds, they educate and empower our children into well-rounded individuals
who reach their full potential and contribute to our community and society. And now, therefore, be it resolved that the mayor and city council of the city of Victoria, Minnesota, do hereby proclaim May 4th through the 8th, 2026
as teacher appreciation week and recognize teacher appreciation day on Tuesday, May 5th, 2026. The second proclamation this evening is a proclamation declaring May 2026 mental health awareness month. Whereas mental
health is important for our well-being and vitality as well as that of our families, communities, and businesses. And whereas mental illnesses impact a significant number of people in America and around the world. And whereas the effects of mental illness extend beyond
individuals to their families and friends, influencing families, neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. And whereas stigma and fear of discrimination prevent many individuals who could benefit from mental health services from seeking help. And whereas
promoting mental health awareness and reducing stigma in our communities are crucial to raising awareness that mental health services encompass more than just therapy and medication. Caring for mental health may also include comprehensive services and supports that
assist individuals in recovering holistically addressing their social, vocational and community well-being. And whereas mental health recovery not only benefits individuals with mental health disorders by emphasizing their abilities to live, work, learn, and actively
participate in society, but also enriches the culture of our community life. Therefore, be it resolved that the mayor and city council of the city of Victoria, Minnesota, to hereby recognize May 2026 as mental health awareness month in the city of Victoria,
Minnesota. Our next order of business is to adopt the final agenda. Council, is there a motion to adopt the final agenda? >> Motion to adopt the final agenda. >> We have a motion. Can I get a second? >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I.
>> Any opposed? Motion carries. [cough] Moving on to our next item, which is open forum. This is the opportunity for anyone to address the council on an item that is not on the agenda and not in an application form that will be coming to the council at a future date. No one has registered in advance to speak tonight
and I'm asking if there is anyone in the audience that would like to address the council on an item that is not on the agenda and not an application form that will be coming to the council at a future date. Seeing no one, we'll move on to our next item, which is the consent agenda. Items
on the consent agenda are routine administrative, do not require deliberation, or are housekeeping items required by law. Consent agenda items are are approved with one vote unless someone requests an item to be considered separately. Miss Hardy, does
staff wish to pull any consent items for separate discussion and vote this evening? >> None from staff. Madam Mayor, is there any member of the council who would like to pull an item from the consent agenda? Or a member of the audience wishing to pull an item from the consent agenda?
Seeing none, I will now have a motion for the consent agenda. >> Make a motion to adopt the >> We have a motion. Can I get a second? >> We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I.
>> Any opposed? Motion carries. We're now moving on to our regular agenda. The first item this evening is item 6.1, which is to consider Hunters Brook and Marsh Hollow Parks Design Review. Presenting on that item this evening is our assistant city manager, Alyssa Nelson. Miss Nelson, welcome.
>> Thank you, mayor and council members. And I'm going to peer over to our videographer and I director for a second because I'm not able to put my slides on the main computers. Um, thanks everyone. that here in a second. And
>> we are ready to go. >> Thank you all. >> All right. So, we are here to talk about Hunterbrook and Marsh Hollow. These are two parks. Um, and maybe our screens aren't working. >> Um, we can see on our screen.
>> Okay. >> Okay. I'll keep going. There we go. Yeah, our screens are working. >> Those are the most important ones. >> Okay. Um, so yes, we have two upcoming park projects that we're working through in 2026. They are the parks of
Huntersburg and Marsh Hollow. These two parks are relatively close proximity from each other. Um, you can see on the screen a brief map provided by um, our design firm um, Hunters Brook is, if you can see my mouse, right along County
Road 11 or Victoria Drive. in the Hunter Brook neighborhood. Um on the south area of Victoria, you can see the railroad if that helps familiar you to where we are looking. Um and then about a half a mile down the road is Marsh Hollow Park. Um
both are about 5 acres in size. Hunterbrook is about 5 and a half acres. Um there is some topography on this site. The north side of the parcel is at a higher elevation and then it swoops down into the lower end of the park. And then um Marsh Hollow. There's also
significant elevation changes throughout the the site. And then specifically with this park, you can see it on the screen here, we do have about an acre and a half of protected woodland area on that parcel. Um so the developable acres of the park are just shy of three and a
half acres. So why are we bringing this to your attention this evening? Well, this um park project has been going on for uh about a year and a half. We started public engagement with this park um in 2025 doing a variety of different activities, surveys, events um with the
public just to really gauge um what the community might want in these two parks, but also specifically the neighborhood. Um the parks and recreation committee um reviewed those amenities and features they might want to see in those parks. From there, the
city has been working with a design firm, ISG, um a new design firm for the city, uh to kind of help design what these parks can and potentially would look like. Um typically, historically, we don't do two parks designing at the
same time because of the proximity of these two developments. We did do the design um projects the same time um because there was a a a desire of the council and the community to make these projects unique from each other and not
having the same park amenities being copied from one park over to the next because they are a half mile each other. Um so then ISG has provided staff and the parks and recreation committee um with two different types of designs for
each different We got two for Hunters, two designs for Marshall, and then it was the homework assignment of the parks and recreation committee to go through those different uh park designs for you this evening. Um both parks also happen to be over budget. Um, so one of
the exercises that the parks and recreation committee also went through is to provide priority amenities for priorities for each park um that we can hopefully keep around as we try and whittle down that price point. But what
we're here to talk about tonight is we wanted to show you those preferred concepts, walk through those preferred amenities of the parks and recreation committee. Um, talk through and then also talk about that budget component as well. So with that, let's try and move this
along. There we go. before you. Um so just to orient you, um this is County Road 11 or Victoria Drive. Um there's two entrance points into the Hunter Brook neighborhood off of Harvest Trail. This is the north entrance and then the south entrance is
Game Farm Road and then Creekide Lane is on this screen the top road street. This would actually be west tilted this way. Um that is how you would see that park. So uh the entry point into this park. Uh it goes into a parking lot. This is
already stepped out through the development. Um so we're not changing the access point in this park. Um there's about 16 spots as part of this um give or take some handicap accessible stalls that are included in this. Um as I just going through the numbers very
very quickly, but I can stop and answer any questions as we go along. Uh the there is a sports court uh which could be multilinined. It is showing here as a basketball court, but you could also corners, tennis, um other type of sports
court activities in this um element as well. Number three is we have a significant trail connectivity. That was something that was highlighted in the parks and recreation committee and staff is to make sure the park is um connected and that people will walk through the
park. That is the hope and desire of most parks um is to have plenty of access points. Um so there is plenty of trail connectivity um scattered throughout this park. The reason you have this loop-de-loop kind of switch back more or less here is because of the topography um going from this higher
elevation point to the lower elevation. Number four, we do have a playground container about 4,000 square feet. Um in concept one, the parks uh the designer did put a port in place surfacing material um as part of this. So that was
included in the budget. Um however due to the cost of porting place compared to the wood fiber mulch material um staff is recommending that we switch that to the wood fiber mulch material. Um in talking to the design firm the rate of
investment and return that you get and the longevity are actually equal for both port in place material and the wood fiber. Um just the port in place more expensive. >> Is the port in place that kind of spongy? It is more accessible. If you
think of an accessible playground, you place and while that might be needed in Victoria, that's something we don't currently offer. Um that does also drive traffic because it does happen to be more of a a desired um destination type of park element.
And then along with that, we do have a shade sale structure. Typical um four posts pavilion type of structure. And then the The unique element as part of this park as well as a unique element for all of Victoria parks um is there's
proposal for a pump bike track going through the park. You can kind of see this curvy road um that's going through. They're leveraging the the natural topography as part of the park. Um adding some extra curves um to make some
sort of paved bike track. and then seven and then I'm going to skip eight, nine, 10, 11, and 12. Those are all either landscaping um or some sort of buffer. We do have a proposed fence down along here as well. And then
going back up to eight, um we have two areas where it's more or less open space um future area if there was ever a desire to expand this. You do see specifically in this area some gray outlines. Um these are from the old prior development platform.
Um but This is also over by the play features some open space as well. And then we do have a mix of native grass seed um and low maintenance mable turf that will be included in this park. Now just some imagery. Um this is just a
generic imagery that was provided to us. The blacked or grayed out images are ones that were included in concept two. Um but really just to showcase some of the ideas for concept one. We do have the what a shade sail might look like. Um potential playground feature. This is
that bike pump track. Some decorative fencing rather than just having chain link fencing along uh County Road 11. And then the multistriped for basketball court. Um and then we did overlay this with potential costs based on the the costs
that were included in the packets. Um just to kind of highlight that what the the amenities actually cost for these parks. Um, and really speaking towards some of those unique features like a bike track aren't necessarily what's driving cost in these. Um, it's more or
less the the deal of doing business where you have the site work, the trails, and the parking lot is a majority of cost for building parks. Um, so the playground and sports court are also included in here. And the reason that we picked out these three is because these are the three that were
highlighted from the parks and recreation committee as their priority elements. Um not in any given order. However, bike track, the playground, and the sports court were the three. Um we did also ask the parks and recreation committee specifically with the sports court if they would consider doing a
half court. Um and they did say that they would prefer to keep that as a full court if possible. >> Alissa, will you remind us what our weal cost for these elements being 800 to 1.2 million. What's the budget on this?
>> Great question, Mayor. Um, so we do have in the 2026 budget um $750,000 for the entire park project and that includes design and construction. >> And that's just this park or is that both?
>> That is for both parks. >> So, we've got some serious cost cutting. All right. Thank you. >> So then moving into Marsh Hollow. Um so the parks and recreation committee uh prioritize concept too. Um and before we
really delve into this, they also did some cost cutting for us as part of this and I'll touch on that for a bit in a bit. Um but just to orient ourselves, Creekide Lane is on the north side of this park. And then we have Welder's Way coming in on the south. And this is a
north and south facing image. So there's that nature conservation, that woodland area that we talked about before. Um there is a number of uh trail connections through this park. A lot of those were already predetermined with the development. As you see, we have this skinnier section here that connects
to Welder's Way. Um and then if we talk about topography in this area, um this space up here is under significant higher elevation. Um and this area is at lower elevation. So it does swoop down. Um and then just to to highlight, one of
the elements that they included on here is a sledding hill. Um this also has some higher elevation points with then it going into that lower elevation. So it could be a natural sledding hill that we choose to program or just offer for residents to advertise.
Um so one of the areas that the parks and recreation committee talked about um is they loved the concept of this design. They like the flow. They like the trails. They like the connectivity. Um however the elements included to this they recommend um scratching almost all
except for number three which is the deconstructive and slash number four the embankment play features. The other elements that the designers included on here, however, just to walk through with that are community gardens. Um, there was a natural walking area
which included some educational elements um and a hammock grove and then of course the sledding hill. However, the parks and recreation committee recognized that topography is topography and that the sledding hill will remain more or less just based on
the nature of the land. Uh can you go back one second? Sorry. >> Uh what is a yard hydrant an optional ship yard? >> That is on number five. So that's included in the community gardens piece. Um so if there was community gardens there typically you do provide some sort
of water source. Um so it was a water source for the community gardens and then they did say an optional shed. There was a desire for us to rent tools or parks or parks and uh public works to post tools there. And then there's some imagery of um the
elements that did not get cut from the parks and recreation committee's recommendations. So we also have some shade sales. And I I am going to go back one moment because I did forget number six in this plan also had an open air shelter. However, the committee did recommend if we are to provide shade um
that they would prefer that shade structure element. Uh shade structures also are at a reduced cost. Where's the parking on this one? Great question. There is no provided parking on site. However, we do have street parking um alongside Creekide Lane
through kind of a bump out parking area. It's probably not Kira's technical engineer term, but my technical engineer term. Thank you. >> So, there's that imagery again. So, we have that shade sales, we have the sledding hill option. Um and then when
we mean embankment play, we're talking about leveraging the topography to kind of build out the play elements. Um, so utilizing the slides and climbing features on the hills rather than having stick out um playground features that you typically see in a normal flattened
playground. What kind of uh this is probably a question for Bob, but like liability does a city have in a park when you know we see kids riding bikes down the hill here and now you have something that probably is going to look even more appetizing to uh ride your bike down
potentially. I don't want to suggest for a second that cities said um what's called recreational use immunity in Minnesota is very very strong for cities and so to the extent we provide what is intended to be
recreational facilities we have not quite complete but very near to complete community from liability I complete if there is a known risk that is so high that uh knowing of it and
allowing it to remain uh would be unreasonable in the face of a trespasser. In other words, if someone trespassed on your property and you set up a booby trap, you could be liable for that. But that's sort of the level of magnitude of the risk that you have to ignore. Uh so a lot of lawyer words
there. The bottom line is you have very little risk of of any liability for recreational facilities, but you have an obligation to your community to try and keep things reasonably safe. Thank you. >> So, we did the same exercise by just
providing um that kind of over overlay of um cost related um and this is for all of concept 2. Um so it includes the community garden, the hammock village, the exploration, nature, walkway. Um, again, a majority of the cost is still
related to just general site work and trails. Um, and then if you take out those extra elements, the parks and recreation committee's recommendation of just moving forward with the playground and the trails, um, obviously you would significantly reduce cost.
So then with that, um, council members, obviously this is not an item that we're asking for a motion. However, just a check in to see, um, what staff's next steps are and some of the considerations that we touched on in the staff report
is there is an option um to migrate all of the the funds, the 750k dedicated towards one park um, start work on that park for construction and and full final design um for 2026. Um and then we can
include the other park as part of the 2027 budget discussions that we'll kickstart um here shortly. >> Very good. Thank you so much. Um I'm curious about the conversation that the park and recck department had in regard
to the pro the elements that they cut. So let's go if we can kind of go back and talk through that for both parks. I'm curious about that. >> Yes, absolutely. So, the first one I'll start with is Hunters Brook. The that
concept one that they chose. Um there was not much outside of the three elements that they provided. Um they didn't really necessarily cut much. They did talk about there might be an an option to reduce parking. Um since we're
not necessarily having any major programming here, that is something that we will be bringing back to ISG to really understand that number of 16. Where did that come from? Um why do we have 16 stalls? Um a lot of our other neighborhood parks tend to have closer
to 12 to 13. Um and is there significant cost savings in reducing that? Um obviously we're looking at this park and we we don't have things like baseball fields. We're not necessarily programming T-ball games or coach pitch. Uh we don't have a full soccer field so
we're not looking um renting out soccer space to associations. Um so it is really driving from um neighborhood traffic that are probably going to look at more biking and walking. Um however, because we have a unique element like a
pump track, you're probably going to get some visitors from Victoria, not necessarily folks from Eden Prairie or neighboring communities. They have similar if not their own um tracks. >> I ask questions on the parking. Uh okay.
So how far did again did you say this part from the other park uh away it was? >> It's exactly four of a mile if you walk. >> Okay. And there are trails connecting it. >> Sidewalk. Yes. >> Sidewalks. Okay. So I And how many on
street parking spots are on the second one? Do you know? >> I do not know. council member offand exactly how many we're providing. I do know it's not it is more than like two or three. There's actually a number of parking spots there. I mean, if it was
just this park here, I would say maybe you reduce the parking here, but since it's so close to the other one, people might park here and go in, especially with the potential hill there. Um, you know, people might be
like, oh, there's no street parking here. So close. I would guess they're going to drive over there and just park on the street. >> Well, I'm not saying but there's not a lot of parking. So, my point is is there's not a lot of parking. And so, these are not just your traditional,
especially that other park is got a lot of unique features that I think >> I think they just park on the street along the neighborhoods rather than walk half a mile in my moon boots with all my stuff. I think I'm just going to park over there and find a spot.
>> One question I had to on concept I know we're not doing fields today. Is there is it in future discussions to maybe have a baseball field or a T-ball field or >> Council Member? Great question. Um, this
space probably will not fit a T-ball or even a fullsize soccer field. Um, we did ask them in con and in concept to the concept we aren't showing here this evening, they did provide the size of a full soccer field. Um, You can almost
see it underneath here, but it does take up a majority of the side of the park space. Um, if we would want to do that, that would have to >> Got it. Wasn't that one of the complaints that we had about our initial design soccer field there?
>> I want I have a question about that. Um, you know, we talked about because it is a larger it being more of a destination park versus a neighborhood park. So, can you give us a little bit of background about that? We've come to the fact that this
is now going to be a neighborhood park. >> Absolutely. And the reason I'm staring at the screen, sorry, I'm just trying to see if I can pull up the GIS to look at the number of parking spots on street for Marshall. So, I'll try and multitask the best that I can. Um, however, there
was significant conversation. Thank you, mayor, for asking council members um about the term of destination park versus neighborhood park versus community park. Um just for a little bit of backstory, um we did receive a
resident um emails as well as just concerns about potentially placing a soccer field after we received the survey. Um results and the neighborhood was very concerned about traffic, transportation, when it comes to
something like a full size soccer field or a splash pad or those other type of what you might consider destination elements where you're driving folks from um outside of town into one location. Typically you see those type of elements within a park like town or Lions. Um
however we do have some neighborhood parks that also provide that like bridge has a fullsize soccer field that is programmed. Um after that the parks and recreation committee did take that feedback under consideration um and they did recommend not necessarily doing that level of
destination and they train uh changed their their conversation to not necessarily destination in a term of people from out of town but destination as in someone from Rap City um has a gaga ball pit but now they want to do a
bike pump track or they want to do embankment play so they're just going to swing over to the other side of town and hang out in a different neighborhood and hopefully meet other neighbors. Or I guess the same would go for Hunters residents. They they might not have an element um here, but they are willing to
travel to Rap City or Lakeridge or another park to um try something different within Victoria's own park system. So when we say destination in this element, it's more destination for resident to resident and Victoria to Victoria versus um Rosemont and Eden
Prairie and Minnetonka coming to Victoria. >> I had the same general question with our philosophy of trying to create community parks. It's a great idea until we have to put it into practice and the neighborhoods don't want a community park in their neighborhood. So then we
end up with the giant neighborhood park. Anyway, just something to think about as we're going through all of this. Um, I got a lot of questions. You ready? >> Council member, please.
>> Bike track. That's basically for pedal e. Can I take my electric scooter on there? Is are there like reason are there certain properties that I'm allowed? or certain devices I'm allowed to use and others I can't use on the
pump track. >> Great question. Um, mayor, council members, that is up to council discretion via ordinance of what they choose and not choose to allow within their parks. Um, at this present time, we would have that be open. Um, however,
I'm looking Dana Hardy to see. I don't believe within the recent ebike ordinance, we prohibited ebikes within Victoria's own park system. that to my recollection I'm aligned with you on that >> and that's something we can definitely look at but and and parks and recreation
committee did ask us the same question and my answer to them is the same to you that is a policy consideration that um can be talked about at a future date that's >> yeah I'm just saying if I'm taking my redline dirt bike pedaling through there I think it's pretty safe but if I'm
taking my 25 mph ebike through there it's probably not that safe would be my concern about it. Um, something to think about. Um, are there grill and picnic tables at both of these places? Those are the two things that I value most at
a park, but I know that's not for everybody, but I'm just curious if there are those at either both. Council member, neither are designed picnic tables. Yes. Um, park shelter in a traditional form that we see at actually
almost all of our neighborhood parks were not included in these designs. and recreation committee preferred the the shade sale feature um which would not necessarily be conducive for grills to be let's move to the shade sales. Do we have any idea of how resilient those
are? Are we going to be replacing those every year? Do they need to come down every three months or six months based on weather? um you know, is there a long-term cost to the sales versus where an open air shelter would in the long run cost less? Also, great question,
council member. Um these are not something new to the city of Victoria. We actually have these at the Victoria Recreation Center nearby the pickle ball courts. Um we do not remove them season for season. They stay up 365 all year,
all weather. Um it is one of the things that when we put those up that is continuously looking at to see the wear and tear. So far over the last number of years they've withtood that um to the point of do they last longer than open air shelters. I'm sure not. Um however
they're quite less expensive than an open air shelter and there's also significant maintenance that comes to open air shelters as well. Fair enough. >> So there there are picnic tables under the shade sales. >> Sorry. Oh, you're this is an discussion.
>> Um I'm going to talk out of both sides of my mouth here. >> Is the parking lot big enough in Hunterbrook or is it something we can eliminate in order to reduce the cost and everyone just has to park on the street or take their bike or walk there?
>> Those are all great questions. I mean, if the cost is if we can get it down to less than $750,000 by removing the parking lot, it is a giant neighborhood park. Maybe that's how you access it.
>> The Oh, sorry. >> So, anyway, I was just thought, but it was kind of touched on. I think it's something that we should consider. Um, I think if you've got the amenities that are there and 10 people want to get together and play basketball and they're
all, we'll say teenagers or above or college kids home, they're all going to drive there and meet up and you're going to have all of the parking spots taken. Now, how often is that going to happen? I don't know. But those are my thoughts on the parking. Is
it big enough or should we get rid of it all together? Um, and then last We got we had something like this come up in the past just from accessibility for people with different challenges. Handicap, I don't know if I can use that word anymore, but like is this handicap
accessible so that we don't have issues with not complying with state statutes on um accessibility for people with challenges. >> I know we got in trouble at Wasserman. That's why I bring it up. Great
question. Um, for the accessibility, yes, this park would be accessible. One of the things that was included in this we touched on is the surfacing. So, so the state statute level or what is required of us, yes, there's always that
above and beyond piece. Um, that is an element of consideration. Um, that is one of the features that staff was recommending removing due to the cost. And that's that material.
>> So I mean just from my own viewpoint I try to with the budget that we have I would try to reduce it to as close as we can get to 750,000. So we're not going out of budget and I would just do one park but that would be my own personal
opinion. It could be changed but that's kind of how I was thinking today. >> Thank you. Council member Anything else? >> Okay. >> Yeah. Council member Roberts. [clears throat] >> So I think first of all for me if we are
choosing to do one versus the other I would lean towards Marshall Park. It's I think much more unique. Um you've got the deconstructed play. You've got what I would say like a lot of kids are going to really love the uh embankment
play type stuff. Um, I actually would be back to like not cutting the things that Park and Wreck suggested cutting in there, right? Like I think the hammock grove community gardens, which we know are super popular. Um, the nature,
right? Like those types of things I think would make this park very unique and very well used. Um, so my first I guess comment would be I I like I really like the Marsh Hollow Park the way it is. Um, so I I wouldn't be looking to
cut as much there. And I think you're close to budget on that one, right? Even at full, wasn't it a little low to a little over type thing? Um I'm wondering though um when we talk about like where
you can cut on the um the other park um part of me is like again because it's so close um with Hunterbrook a big I think you showed one of the big costs I know that it's like just doing
the the work in the site the site work but the other big cost is the equipment. Um, and to me it's just a generic playground in this area for the most
part. Um, and being that we're so close to the other one that is a little bit more unique. Part of me is like the bike track isn't that expensive, like what if you take out the playground and make add more >> bike track uh area or another sport or
you expand the uh open space in this area, right? So, um that that's where I'm kind of leaning. I'm just like again, we have like I think a unique opportunity because these parks are so close that why double up especially like
playgrounds are so expensive. Like why spend this when like my kids when they were young would have much rather just go over to the other one than come to this one. So, I mean that's not every kid, right? I also think you have to you need to cut somewhere and to me this would be the
better place to cut the playground in this area and then the other one and then add another sport or the bike. >> Yeah, in general I mean 410 of a mile is not that far. So I think we could
combine let's call it one and a half complnt each other little bit and I thought the same thing about the playground couple I don't know kids aren't at that age anymore so I'm not sure how many kids
use those facilities but I know the kids >> well can you show the sorry uh the what was the price for the deconstructed that sliding. >> Well, on that point, there's so many
people that have their own playgrounds in their yard zero to three years of age. I would say half a mile long three year olds, but >> that's not everybody. >> Well, to your point that if they have it
in their yard, they don't need the other ones. >> So, it's funny because This is what 92 to 185. And the other one I felt like was just a generic bang for our buck in this question.
>> Correct. >> I thought that they had a playground. clubhouse. >> Great question, council member. On the rest of council, that is something I failed to mention. Both of these neighborhoods do have independent
clubous. Um, and I can point them out on this screen. So, Marsh Hollow, that park that's more natureesque, if we were to put a mission statement behind it, um, their clubhouse is adjacent to that park. It has a pool. Um, it has a dog
run. It has grills and picnic tables and fitness center and meeting room space. Um, it does not have a playground element. And then going over to Hunterbrook. The Hunters Brook clubhouse is just a short distance away from the
park as well. Um, very similar features to what I described at Marsh Hollow. Other than the dog run, it also does not have play elements included. >> They do have a pool at that one though. >> Yes. Yes, they both I'm questioning myself, but I believe
they have a hole. So neither place has >> I mean I don't know if I can say this or not but that would be one of the reasons why I wouldn't cut Hunter Brook versus Marshall as owner
I say that both setting the issue of cost aside because it is something that we have to be cognizant of that you know you have marsh hollow developed
people from the far northern edoughly you have almost equidist focusing on the Huntersburg part and then with respect to density. The birchwood circle is where town homes are. So, we're going to have
more, for lack of better expression, customers of park services. And then, you know, I guess bring in the concept of parking. I don't know if we can necessarily eliminate that given how
this has been structured with the basketball court or whatever we want. It's no place to park. It's a long way to traffic all those facilities where we have
over was relatively close. So I think we can have a question about the sizing which I think is one of your takeaways to go to the design group and understand the sizing of the number of spaces that are
there and is there a pick from right on the heavy side being able to deploy some of those elsewhere. I don't know if we can necessarily eliminate
And then what would we be able to if we deleted the pump track? Could we put some of the things that have been taken off back into the plan? If for example, we
chose not to develop the Marshall Park at this point to bring the elements that are proposed in So, just to clarify, >> um, I've said a lot
>> and I just want to answer your question correctly, council member, if we were to remove the bike track in Hunter Brook, >> if we remove the let's just for argument sake, >> we we reach consensus and we say, you know, Marsh Hollow for, you know, all
the reasons proximity available space that Huntersburg is where you want to choose to move forward. Um what does it look like to one look at the sizing the parking
spaces and are there are there gains that you know be made by right sizing that and deploying those gains from deletion of something else. What that something else
could look like is do we remove the bike track and go with some of the other like embankment plane which are in the marshall design but we won't do that we would be taking that element away completely
what does a water course look like does a water feature make sense we've heard infinite throughout the years why doesn't have a pool one of them does have a pool
water course isn't necessarily there. But playgrounds though are an essential element of all of these things. We can't just look at things through the lens of saying my kids are grown up. So I don't
really see that right now. I don't have any children. So I don't have a viewpoint of saying my kids outgrew something, but I do live near a city park and I do see that throughout the 24 years that I've lived there that
playground equipment is in use all of the time and families rotate in and out especially when we consider that Marshall is a rental community and there will be people more transient in those housing spaces and they will have younger
townhouse communities will have the feature of it is you know my beginning home in that I'll have younger children that'll use that so I don't think we can really be responsible and say we can eliminate
a playground it feels as though that is an essential element of what we have to do especially Given that none of the neither of the two clubhouse parks have that equipment,
>> I mean, I would only eliminate the playground park if we did the marsh because that is a much it's cheaper and it's a much more desirable. >> Um, what what does council think about
having like the where the pump track is and the sports court and that playground >> [clears throat] >> Hunter maybe skewing this a little bit for older kids versus younger kids. And I only say that because these these
parks are so close together. So, I mean, would it be realistic to expect families, you know, would would be over in Marsh Hollow when their children were younger and then they'd eventually be able to ride their bikes over to Hunterbrook and take advantage of the pump track and and you know, a
playground that's more suitable. who are older and bigger and because I you know one of the things that I always hear from from families are we like having little kids playing with little kids. We don't want them run over by big little kids run over by big kids. So I'm
curious about council's thought on that. Um, and I also want to know, Alyssa, when the when the um park and rec committee had their conversation, were they did they favor doing one park at a time or did you guys talk about let's do a couple elements in each park and then
um so they're both have something to get started with. You know, a sledding hill is not hard to get started with. It's easy. Um but did they talk about that versus, you know, doing one part completely and then waiting with the other? Is there any advantage to doing it that
way? >> Uh, great question, mayor, council members. They didn't necessarily get into the specifics of a phasing approach um or the option of selecting one versus the other. I think their priority is to
was to um do both if possible. Um just maybe over a different timeline than previously discussed. And I do recognize we didn't necessarily get to the end of your first question, mayor, which is talking through um how they prioritized
the embankment play with Marshall and how they discussed removing the other elements here. Um if that's still something we'd like to discuss, I can absolutely touch on that. Please. >> Uh yes. So obviously they focused on the the playground and the embankment play. So I'll skip over that one. But the
other areas, and I'll start on the community. Um, some of the touch points that they talked about is other of the tasks within the parks and recreation committee is utilizing underutilized places within our park system. And and they talked about that yes, while there
is a strong desire from our community to have community gardens, maybe it is alongside other areas within our park system um like along trails or along outs or other areas that um you can fit a few community gardens rather than
something of this size of 30 beds. Um, they also talked about potentially the nonattractiveness of community gardens being along a larger corridor. Um, and the reason that this space was chosen for the community gardens is due to its
proximity to water. Moving into the exploration area walkway, um, they thought that those features were similar to what we have at Wasserman. Um and then alongside the hammock village, they did recognize that there are several tree groves within
this park already. Um that you might just naturally have hammock usage um within those tree elements. >> All right. I so I know our budget is $750,000 for both of these parks
this year in 2026, but I'm curious about the fund balance of our park our park fund because I know we have been adding to that for quite a while. So is um I I don't know if I should ask you or Miss Hardy about our fund balance
[cough] accommodate could we accommodate both of these parks if we dipped into our fund balance? Great question. We do have some park dedication funding available um just after the 750,000
purchase whether that's split between two parks or one. As soon as that goes away, we probably have about equal so 750 to 800 left within our park dedication fee fund. Um however, that would fund probably another one or one
and a half parks. Um also recognizes we have at least one more vacant park parcel within our system which is located in Brookmore um in the middle of Victoria um where the old Kerber Farm was is um that also needs future design
work as well and we're going to start the engagement process this year as part of that um with construction to be determined um recognizing that the funding hasn't necessarily been identified or secured Thank you.
All right, council. Other questions for Nelson? Other thoughts you want to share? >> I'll just kind of jump in a thought on with perspective that feels to me like while we can think about what we want to do there like
feels like there's less of a need in that area because Savannah Valley is close by. It is being used currently every single day resisting resources and then
it's not too far from walk. those park facilities I think that are serving those areas reasonably well and then Brookmore residents really you observe them they're trafficing down
and making use of a place where we could say we can take a pause on development that's a great but in this section of town we've heard loud and clear from the residents who
are there about what their opinion of a park design should be and the need for it. So I think we would be remissed with not moving forward and making the resources available that we have to develop.
So and I think we need to be cognizant that everything that we see on the potential cost the the high side that's the number I think our history is
going into our parks and then finding out we are always at the very very high that's what we want to deliver to our residents and we do it every time so I think if there's a place that might have questions about the number is like
site preparation work it would seem to me at the low end that's you earth moving equipment etc. That really doesn't feel like that should change too much between the two just because the high end of the cost have driven that
percentage higher. You might want to think about what that number means. But we have funding with our budget and what we have in the fund. It's time for us to start
using. This is what we charge developers to do to build parts. Let's Let's get that money deliver on our names. >> Thank you. >> All right. Other thoughts, questions,
comments. >> I I do like if we are moving in the direction of two parts, I do like complimenting the parts. I'll call it age based like we talked about, but
I just So I think to your point system I like that idea we can do that both certain
someap the other I think we need to be cognizant of is like we can't just look at these two developments and the park parcels there. We need to be mindful that we have uh where the quick trips going in just
on the other side of the road or tracks and there's a pretty significant amount of residential development that is going in there as well that we allow these developers to say we'll let you
dedication instead of getting the land to build it. So, we made that decision. We had good reasons for making those decisions, but those residents are going to need to come north of that trail and and use these resources as well. So,
just kind of perspective for us to think about, hey, where are we where are we going to put those dollars? This is the place. >> So, from my perspective, I I would like to do both of these parks kind of concurrently. Um, that would be my I
would favor that. Um, and you know, if we can't do them all at one time, can we do some elements in each of the parks to get us started? And then, you know, and I don't we have to do site work first. And so, I don't know if we
just do site work this year and then put the elements in next year. Um, but I'd like to see it currently I am not opposed to dipping into our park dedication fees to um over overdraw our this year budget if we've got good
reason to do that and again I think um I agree let's make these unique maybe by age um maybe something for the smaller kids in one park something more for the bigger kids you know with the pump track and and maybe the the playground isn't
exactly what a Maybe it's more sport courts, maybe it's maybe it's a swing set. I'm not sure. But that's I and I, you know, I appreciate our park and rec committee a lot. I feel like they've really got their finger on the pulse of um making each of these parks unique. I
do think community gardens are a thing. I don't know that we need 30 plots, but I'd like to see some community gardens um implemented because we don't really have anything on that side of town for community garden space. Um There's a lot of town homes around there. There might
be some folks who would like to have a garden. So, um I don't, like I said, I don't know that we need that many, but I would like to see some of that implemented. >> Mayor, council members question for you. We're not that far away being May is around the corner. >> We are going to have
our budget discussions coming up. What is what is our appetite towards in this budget year asking staff to the accelerator a little bit on where we're going to budget for parks and see
where that comes out. Obviously, everybody doesn't want to have taxes. That's clear. But we think about moving forward to do this. >> That's that's tough for me. I think
we've got a lot of funding available in our parkation fees and I feel like that's where the money for these parks should come from. So I I guess I would favor operating within that balance. >> But the budget that we have is this is already here balance. So what are we
at.5 staring down? spread this over a couple years. I think it's perfect for us to think about should we budget? >> Other council members have thought on that.
>> One question. Can we use park dedication fees for maintenance or does it have to be just new parks? So, sorry. Go on. I was your shake of head said all I needed to know, but I'll let you say it. I'll sorry.
start over on that. So, um park dedication there in the state statute there's very prescriptive prescriptive requirements for how those funds can be used. Um maintenance is not. So new
parks or new amenities in parks um if you think of it just big picture like that um is what that dedication would be utilized for. The maintenance will come from our general property tax and I feel like we have enough new parks
to program that that's I mean it's there for a reason. Let's use it. That would be I would concur with council member Ians. where the city of lakes and parks if it's available we can't use it for anything else let's use it for these two
parks we have to change some budgets here and there but at end of the day if we drain it we can't really use it for anything else anyway so more will have to be funded if we choose to fund it through
future park dedication fees other thoughts for Alyssa, how are you feeling about that kind of conversation direction? Do you need us to be more specific about >> Mayor Council members? I don't believe so, but I am going to do a quick summary to ensure that I um recognize the
direction from at least the majority of councils. So, um we will be looking at construction, continuing construction as normal. Um we're going to look at doing both of these parks with 26. I will note that because we're
entering the fall construction season, that will probably elongate into spring 2027, just as we know with weather. Um, everything is weather dependent nowadays. Um, however, we will look at the bidding process for both of these parks, see what we come to, and all of
these will be touch points that we will bring back to you um to ensure that we're right on schedule and right on the mark for budget. But we will look at both of these parks at capacity as shown to you today. Um, we may look at some
changes to kind of change out the parks a little bit to have more focus on a younger demographic and then an older demographic and see what that looks like for us. >> Is that a summary accurate summary? >> Thanks. >> I think that works for me. >> That's accurate. >> Um, so when will the bidding on this go
out? >> Great question, mayor, council members. Um, we did ask ISG to start doing some paperwork for us on the next step um which is to allow them to start uh the design phase for the bidding um that
will be brought back to you in some sort of agreement um and authorization at our next meeting on May 11th. >> Very good. Thank you. All right. Any other thoughts, final thoughts for the staff on this topic?
All right. So, you're up first. >> Council, I have nothing to report. Thank you. >> All right. Very good. Miss Hardy, anything from staff this evening? >> Nothing from staff, Madame Mayor. >> And anything from council members.
All right. Seeing none, I will entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> Move to adjurnn. >> We have a motion. Can I get a second? >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. We stand adjourned.