071321 CAC Agenda PacketIf you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact Susan Rader at 763-531-5152 or srader@newhopemn.gov
Citizen Advisory Commission Meeting
City Hall, 4401 Xylon Avenue North
July 13, 2021
7 p.m.
1. Call to Order.
2. Roll Call.
3. Approval of May 11, 2021 minutes.
4. Police Department Update with Chief Tim Hoyt regarding Body Worn
Cameras and Community Engagement Program.
5. Update on Garage Sale.
6. Brainstorming – Ideas to bring attention to New Hope.
7. Parks and Recreation project updates.
8. Other business.
9. Adjournment.
CITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
NEW HOPE, MINNESOTA 55428
Citizen Advisory Commission
Regular Meeting
May 11, 2021
New Hope City Hall, 7 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER Chair Herman called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Absent:
Staff Present:
Commissioners Randy Herman, Jill Kaufman, Scott Kulzer,
Carrie Neuburger, Rick Riley, Mike Terres, Bill Wills
None
Susan Rader, Staff Liaison
Tony Portesan, Recreation Facilities Supervisor
APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Wills made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 13,
2021 meeting. Commissioner Kaufman seconded the motion. Voting in favor:
Commissioners Herman, Kaufman, Kulzer, Neuburger, Riley, Terres, Wills.
Opposed: None. Motion carried.
UPDATE ON NEW HOPE
AQUATIC PARK
Tony Portesan, Recreation Facilities Supervisor, addressed the commissioners.
He announced that the new aquatic park would open for the season on June 5,
and reported that programming would include water walking, lap swimming,
and swimming lessons for Little Ones through Level 6. He informed the
commissioners that hiring had been mostly completed, and noted that staff
orientation would be held in about two weeks. He also mentioned that he
would be providing specific training for guest services, concessions and water
safety instructors, and would also teach a Lifeguard Certification course for
staff who needed certification.
Mr. Portesan reported that he had been working with vendors to install
concessions equipment as well as restroom equipment, and noted that
supplies were currently being stocked. He also mentioned that cleaning of the
50 meter pool was underway, and he hoped to begin filling it in approximately
1 ½ weeks. He informed the commissioners that it would take a few days to
fill, followed by a few more days to balance the chemicals.
Mr. Portesan reported that four local swim teams had rented the 50 meter pool
for practices in the mornings, and a fifth team had expressed interest. He
explained that rentals would occur every weekday morning as well as some
weekend mornings. He also mentioned that the New Hope Crystal Plymouth
Swim Club (NHCP) would be hosting some weekend morning swim meets, as
well as one regional swim meet July 16-18. He added that the aquatic park
would be closed to the public during that regional meet.
New Hope Citizen Advisory Commission May 11, 2021
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Ms. Rader informed the commissioners that the Governor was in the process
of modifying the outdoor capacity limits that had been in place, and noted that
prior to this change, staff would have had to limit capacity at the pool.
Mr. Portesan added that under the previous guidelines, the facility would
have been limited to a maximum of 570 people, and activities like water
walking, lap swimming and swimming lessons would have been limited as
well. He added that he could now increase maximum class sizes for most
swimming lessons, and noted that many of the classes currently had waiting
lists.
Ms. Rader also reported that during the initial budgeting process two years
ago, the city council had approved staff’s recommendation to adjust the start
times for open swimming. She explained that in years past, open swimming
had begun at 1 p.m. daily, however the new facility would open at 12 p.m. on
weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends.
Commissioner Wills inquired about the concessions menu.
Mr. Portesan replied that it would include hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza,
chicken tenders, nachos, chips, candy, ice cream, fountain pop, and bottled
pop and water.
Commissioner Riley wondered if the concessions operation would be run by
an outside vendor or city staff.
Mr. Portesan replied that products would be purchased from a distributor and
would be prepared and sold by staff. He added that he held certification in
food protection management and would be training all staff.
Ms. Rader informed the commissioners that the concession stand featured a
walk-up window that would be accessible to the general public.
Commissioner Riley wondered whether the pool was naturally heated.
Mr. Portesan replied that two large heaters would heat the 50 meter pool while
an additional heater would heat the shallow water pool. He added that the
shallow water pool would be set to around 83 degrees, while the 50 meter pool
would be a few degrees cooler.
Chair Herman inquired about the capacity of the pool complex.
Mr. Portesan replied that the capacity in the water was approximately 1,233
people, while the deck capacity amounted to an additional 1,200 people.
Chair Herman wondered whether staff had planned on the rentals from the
swim teams.
Mr. Portesan replied yes.
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Ms. Rader added that the city had been fortunate to have swim team rentals in
the mornings in the past. She noted that there were a limited number of 50
meter pools in the metro area, and commented that the swim clubs had
expressed strong support for rebuilding a 50 meter pool.
Chair Herman wondered if the rest of the pool complex would be open to the
public during swim meets.
Mr. Portesan commented that two Saturday morning meets planned for June
would not impact open swimming, but noted that a three-day regional meet
scheduled for the third weekend in July would cause the pool to be closed to
the public.
Ms. Rader explained that the organization Minnesota Swimming had
provided a grant of $40,000 to the city of New Hope toward its project costs. In
exchange, the city had authorized the ability to hold a three-day regional meet
for the next four summers. She added that the swim club would still pay a fee
to use the aquatic park during that time.
Commissioner Kaufman wondered whether there would be pass reciprocity
with any neighboring cities.
Ms. Rader replied no, but noted that Crystal and Golden Valley residents
received the resident rate on membership purchases.
Commissioner Kaufman also wondered whether any safety or security
measures had been included that had not been present in the past.
Ms. Rader replied that the new gate system would make it easier to control
entry into the aquatic park compared to the previous pool. She explained that
the new mechanical systems were much more efficient and were housed in a
dry environment, unlike the previous system. She also mentioned that the new
facility featured security cameras, unlike the previous facility.
Commissioner Neuburger wondered whether additional lifeguards would be
needed in comparison to the old facility.
Ms. Rader replied yes.
Commissioner Neuburger inquired about the guidelines for closing the
aquatic park due to weather.
Mr. Portesan replied that the facility would close whenever lightning was
observed and remain closed until 30 minutes following the last observed
lightning strike. He added that the pool could remain open during rain
showers, unless it hampered the ability of lifeguard staff to clearly see to the
bottom of the pool.
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Commissioner Riley wondered about the severe weather location.
Ms. Rader replied that patrons could seek shelter at city hall, if needed.
Commissioner Kulzer inquired about the hiring process.
Mr. Portesan replied that positions had been advertised locally, and noted that
he had also reached out to local swim teams and high school coaches for
potential lifeguards.
Commissioner Kaufman mentioned that the school district was also offering
swim lessons.
Ms. Rader reported that staff had participated in a discussion with
Robbinsdale Community Education staff regarding the possibility of sharing
staff.
Commissioner Kulzer wondered whether staff had any concerns regarding
parking for the farmers market.
Ms. Rader replied that staff had mapped out parking for farmers market
vendors and customers. She added that staff had also requested that the street
be blocked off, whether or not vendors opted to use it. She stated that the
parking lot west of the pool would be designated for pool customers only, and
noted that portable signage would be placed there on Saturday mornings.
The commissioners thanked Mr. Portesan for his presentation. He excused
himself from the meeting at 7:32 p.m.
LIBERTY PARK ADOPTION Chair Herman referred to the commissioners’ packets, and noted that it had
included a welcome letter from City Forester Shawn Markham, an agreement
document, a list of safety tips, and a volunteer roster sheet.
Ms. Rader offered to complete the agreement, provided the commissioners
were interested in proceeding.
All present were interested in participating.
Commissioner Wills mentioned that he had visited Liberty Park the previous
evening, and thought that the benches and picnic table could use paint. He
also mentioned the possibility of planting a tree and stated that he would
follow up with the city forester. He added that there did not appear to be any
small planting projects needed at this time.
Commissioner Riley wondered about Shawn Markham’s opinion on planting.
Ms. Rader replied that she had met with Mr. Markham earlier that day and
reported that he had not identified any planting projects that this time. She
reminded the commissioners that the trail would be replaced this summer ,
New Hope Citizen Advisory Commission May 11, 2021
Page 5
and the playground equipment, basketball court and hoops were scheduled
for replacement in 2023. She added that a new park sign would probably be
installed in 2023 as well, and noted that there could be an opportunity to plant
around that sign.
Ms. Rader reviewed that projects for the June cleanup at Liberty Park could
include trash pickup, painting the benches and table, picking up fallen
branches, pulling and/or trimming weeds, and pruning suckers on trees.
The commissioners agreed to meet on Tuesday, June 8 at Liberty Park at 6 p.m.
or later for park cleanup and painting.
UPDATE ON GARAGE SALE Ms. Rader reported that 43 residents had registered to participate in the garage
sale to date. She added that she planned to create reusable signs that would be
posted throughout the city the week of the sale.
BRAINSTORMING – IDEAS
TO BRING ATTENTION TO
NEW HOPE
Chair Herman made the following suggestions:
Hold a music festival at the performance center, possibly inviting
several high school marching bands to perform.
Offer a kite-building/flying contest.
Host a day of comedy at the performance center.
Host a fun run, possibly at Hidden Valley Park.
Create a community cookbook in which residents could submit their
recipes.
Ms. Rader stated that performance center ideas would probably have to be
postponed until summer 2022, as the summer and fall 2021 schedules were
already underway. She also mentioned that the New Hope Lions were in the
process of planning Hey Day, a one-day festival that may include a fun run at
Victory Park. She added that in the future, the New Hope Lions would like to
move the festival to Civic Center Park.
PARKS AND RECREATION
PROJECT UPDATES
Ms. Rader reported that the city council had approved the Corner Park
playground site work. She explained that the contractor for the site work
would replace the playground container at Corner Park, as well as the
basketball court at Little Acre Park. She added that this contractor had also
won the contract for the street infrastructure project.
Ms. Rader also mentioned the Liberty Park trail project, and reported that
residents in the immediate area had been mailed a notification. She added that
a flyer would be posted on the warming house door regarding the upcoming
project.
Ms. Rader reported that the ice arena roof project was nearing completion and
the skylight would be replaced later this summer.
Commissioner Kulzer referred to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new
aquatic park and wondered whether the media would be in attendance.
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Page 6
Ms. Rader replied that CCX Media had been invited to the event and had
planned to attend.
OTHER BUSINESS Mayor Hemken requested the floor, and reported that “Food Truck Fridays”
would take place on Fridays, beginning May 28, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the city
hall parking lot.
Ms. Rader made the following announcements:
Music in the Park featuring “The Percolators” would be held on May
26 at 7 p.m. at the performance center.
Another Music in the Park, featuring “The Castaways” would be held
on June 9 at 7 p.m. at the performance center.
The first Movie in the Park, “Big Hero 6” would be held on June 17 at
9:15 p.m. at the performance center.
The Aquatic Park opens June 5.
The Young Mudder youth event would be held on June 12.
Commissioner Riley wondered whether people still needed to register for the
performance center events in light of the relaxed COVID guidelines.
Ms. Rader replied no.
ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Riley made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting of the
Citizen Advisory Commission. Commissioner Neuburger seconded the
motion. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at
8 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Penny Spitzer
Recording Secretary
CAC AGENDA ITEMS FOR 2021
AS OF 6/22/21
The following is a tentative listing of major agenda items that have either been assigned to CAC, a CAC
member has asked that the item be discussed, or city staff has asked that the item be discussed by CAC.
*Regular Meetings:
August 10 – Community Development Update: Projects and Programs with Director Sargent
September 9 – Commissioner Bus Tour
September 14 – No regular CAC meeting
September 20 – Work Session with the City Council
October 12 –
November 9 – Budget Update
December 14 – possible Legislative Update (Susan to work w/Mayor Hemken)
*Note: A meeting may be cancelled if there are no agenda items.
On-going
Continue to sponsor Snowman Contest, City-wide Garage Sale
Ideas to bring attention to New Hope (possible activities/events - skatepark event; curling;
food truck event)
Promotion of existing City programs: In Focus, RAVE, Outstanding Business
Volunteering at P&R/City events
Updates
Park Projects
Possible Future Topics
Planning Commission Update
?Residential Organics Recycling Implementation