##VIDEO ID:DZavbwKRPeo## e start go call to order order Chas a parks and recreational commission for Tuesday December 10th 2024 uh roll call please Mary Jason Branch chair here Elizabeth W Vice chair here Michael Howard Zach cig georganne kort here Danielle HEI here Harley sit uh here Terrence swarm here Kevin Hill here thank you Mary all right that moves us to number three on the agenda adopt the agenda um does anybody have issue or any change necessary to to the agenda as written if not I will ask for a motion to adopt this evening's agenda I saw motion I second hi hi and sit all in favor say I I opposed agenda is adopted um number four visitor presentations see none we will move on to item number five approve previous meeting minutes um do we have any discussion on the meeting minutes from 9:10 of 2024 if not then I will ask uh again for a motion to approve the previous meeting minutes from 910 of 24 don't mov schworm second second we Bean all in favor say I I opposed previous meeting minutes have been approved item number six receive city council and planning meeting minutes um 6A got quite a few of council meeting minutes um both August September October and November um any discussion on either of the minutes for the city council yes uh the city council meeting from 10:21 uh there was a visitor presentation where a resident asked the council if they are going to address the electric scooters and electric bikes that are using The Pedestrian spaces I know this is something that we had discussed um here as well but I wanted to point out that that was brought forth by a resident of our community and I'm sure we all notice it and feel it uh with the varying speeds and such um and I know Liz you had a a good comment about The Pedestrian uh I can't say the whole pedestrian walk bike M master plan just um I think with DaNell bringing this up here kind of brings out our master plan and the importance of the six e or is it six Marshall education being one of them and you know as we educate people on how fast maybe they should be going on Trails versus you know maybe when you should move to a road I think some kids today don't even know what side of the street to walk on and I think this kind of highlights just that education and being cognizant of when maybe you should remove yourself from a path and get on a road and just what the rules are think um just highlights that yeah I can share some thoughts on that um you know first off I think even just educating people about the different classes of ebikes and the fact you know that um they are allowed to be on Trails um there is some legislation though that some people aren't aware of that you do need to be 15 or older to be on an ebike um so there is a level of enforcement that could be had individuals younger than 15 but I think you're hitting it spot on it's it's us continuing to educate the community how we can coexist on the trail system um and in fact we did a little bit of a video shoot um that's going to be coming out uh eventually um but we enacted some scenes where I was the the ebike rider and um Ashley and another member on our staff were walking on the trail and there was one scene where I go zipping by them very fast and sort of shock them and they're very surprised and it shows them kind of upset at me and then there's another scene where I am on the ebike um following the rules going at a really good speed but those two are kind of hogging the trail making it hard for me as the e-biker to get around and I'm trying to say on your left but they have earbuds in and don't even hear me so in that scenario I'm a little frustrated as the ebik rider and then we finish with the perfect scenario you know people on the people on the trail paying attention and aware of their surroundings and I let them know I'm coming on the left and they step aside it takes two seconds and I go by them and we we wave and then oh and then there is a final scene where I happen to be seeing them again on another day and they actually are now interested in buying an ebike wanted to learn more about the ebike so so we are going to be working on putting more stuff like that um which is kind of a followup to that individual that came to the city council meeting and I'm sure there's a lot of others that are thinking the same thing were you in an elf costume I was thinking the same thing you might get more viewership elf is out even of Christmas I don't know if you notice in that visitor presentation but that same individual asked about lighting for the smaller dog park is there not already adequate lighting there there's some Street lighting that already exists and then our kind of Public Works Department's looked at it I think to add more lighting um would be difficult just because there is residence right across the street um so I think at this point our answer is to not not incorporate more lighting um it's just really not intended to be lit up so okay I had a question on one of the meeting minutes this was an August one I don't remember which date it was but it mentioned a second grant for the Big Woods and I don't recall that or what do you recall what the um reference to that was or what is the second grant for the Big Woods Park yeah so the first one was the Minnesota DNR uh outdoor Grant I believe and then the second one was that one that technically it's still got to get approved through the upcoming legislative session um so I think that was the second one we were referring to but what is that one involved what was the scope of that one do you recall um it was a pretty significant you know application process and then the legisl the legislature utilizes a and Carly can probably fill in the gaps here but I think they rely on citizens to help evaluate um the applications and there was a couple kind of rounds of narrowing it down and one of the final rounds was us giving a presentation and then from there they decided to to um or decided which applications were going to get put into the actual legislative session for consideration and I think our understanding is at that point it it becomes a little bit more of a formality that typically they get approved because they went through such a process to get there okay that's good to hear had a question on another council meeting and this is not quite as adjacent to our particular uh commission but on 114 city council mayor winshell noted a purchase agreement was signed for the new public work site I know the public work site's going to be renovated but is there a new public work site that had to be purchased and where is that yes so they are working on um a purchase agreement for another site to rebuild a new um Public Works facility um and mainly because there's actually a cost benefit on the current site a significant cost it would be relocating a a major power line that goes through and so and that really wasn't going to really add value to the actual building and the operation of that site so through further evaluation it's actually more cost effective to rather rather than incurring a cost move that electric line to um purchase land and build uh a new facility um Public Works is fully moving and they'll keep they'll keep the current one though more for like a cold storage so it'll be a little bit more additive okay where is the location um it'll be kind of on um Creek Road off of Creek Road um where that round that new roundabout is um back in where the industrial park over there thank you any further discussion on the council minutes okay uh 6B planning meeting minutes from 8:14 and 911 of 2024 any discussion or comments on the planning meeting minutes I just noted that um there was talk about Park dedication fees and or in structure for the 4460 Spring Creek Drive development and just curious on I think that's just in concept plan still but I think it was interesting to know that the planning team asked for that specifically just noting there wasn't another park within a half mile radius and then also um they talked about tree preservation and that that neighborhood is going to be near busy road so they need to have even a to lot or something yep so that would be on the south side of chesa Boulevard I believe that little there's a little triangular section that's kind of down from Fleet Farm and so our our comprehensive plan doesn't call for a park um but I think the question is whether or not it's viable you know for people to safely cross um chasa Boulevard to then access the future um Park we're planning um over there um but technically because it's not in our comp plan we can't require the developer um to incorporate a park but I think what they're trying to do is advocate for the developer to include a Tot Lot within that development um which can then just provide an option for the residents in that local area and in amenity that could also just attract people to want to live there too so then I forget is then the city takes over the maintenance for that Tot Lot if the developer puts that in or that's part of the developers responsibility developer resp usually goes into some kind of a homeowner's type of maintenance plan thank yep any further discussion okay uh we have received the city council and planning meeting minutes um that brings us to item seven reports and 7A silient Community project presentation the University of Minnesota students all right really been looking forward to this one guys so fair and Commissioners uh thank you um as you know I've I've provided some updates along the way that we've been working on this and so I'm excited to have the the students from the University of Minnesota here with us tonight and they're going to be coming up shortly and introducing themselves but I also want to welcome Kayla who's here tonight um she was their professor in the um evaluation program course and then we've also got stina with us tonight who is the resilient communities project coordinator at the University of Minnesota so we've been working with her as kind of on a partnership for this um project um and then also Ashley is here tonight our city planner um her and I worked on this project together with these students and so with that I'm going to work on sharing my screen and getting their presentation going and then I'm going to turn it over to Ashley to sort of Tee It Up a little bit more and provide some background that was a fancy way of saying I'm going to fill a buster while he's getting uh so the resilient communities project RCP as we've been calling it uh really works to establish Partnerships between local governmental agencies and students and faculty at the University of Minnesota you know the partnership is really focusing on projects that are aimed at advancing Community sustainability equity and resilience and we could do that by way of access we get access of the community to University students and their faculty and they help provide research and technical assistance to us uh so earlier this year uh the city of chasa submitted a proposal which included a variety of different topics uh the one that you'll see presented to you here in a moment is the city's first uh partnership project uh through a program evaluation class so as Marshall said uh we've worked with this group of students uh for the better course of the fall semester um they're going to present their project to you and uh their project is really aimed at developing an evaluation program uh and a strategy uh to help establish a baseline data uh for The Pedestrian and bicycle usage over time which really gets to one of the six E from the recently adopted 2040 bicycle and pedestrian and master plan we plan to use uh the toolkit that they've put together uh to track infrastructure implementation throughout the city uh in Track Trail usage uh throughout the community so we can really show and demonstrate the value of our Trail Network here within the community uh so before I turn it over to them I think Marshall alluded to this a little bit but we've really enjoyed working with them they've been phenomenal I think you will also agree uh when they find or when they finish up their presentation uh they've really exceeded every expectation I think that Marshall and I had uh going into this so it's truly been a delight and and I'm really excited to turn it over to them and and have them share their work with you okay well Ashley thank you so much for that introduction um it truly has been uh quite a pleasure to be able to work with the city of chasa on this project I think I'm probably not um in my group and saying that we're probably the luckiest group in our class in terms of just getting a really uh wonderful client and a project that's really dedicated to a really wonderful Mission which is improving the parks and rec system so that clients can derive even more satisfaction uh from the existing system that they have here in chasa um so we are in uh program evaluation um as part of our coursework here at or not here but at the uh Humphrey school at the University of Minnesota um this is our team I am Alicia Wright I am a master of public policy student um with dual concentration in advanced policy analysis and racial and gender equity in policy hi my name is Ian kin I am a second year master of public policy student and I'm specializing in advanced policy amendments hi my name is haar shakuri I am not from the US I am from Mor I am with the humre program which is a program where the Department of State brings individuals from different countries us to have a professional exchange experience in my country I work at the ministry of Tourism on monitoring and evaluation hi my name is Leo andji I am a masters of science technology and environmental policy at the Humphrey school and so um throughout the presentation we're going to go over a variety of elements that were part of the program evaluation plan uh so we're going to start with a brief introduction of just how we approach this project and then we'll dive into some of the more uh specific tools such as the logic model the design matric design Matrix and the other data collection tools that we had uh prepared um this stuff might not really uh make any sense right now but once we show everything it'll become clear how this uh set of tools will be really uh effective in helping uh a program evaluation uh process in the long run and so as I'm sure you're all aware in uh March of 2024 the city of chasa adopted its uh master plan with respect to its uh bike and pedestrian uh system and so uh what we really sort of um you know where we came in for this project is providing research support so we've been drawing from what we've been learning in our class about program evaluation and using that knowledge to try and deliver on some of the objectives uh that are part of the evaluation component of that master plan so uh really in the master plan it was communicated that the city was trying to understand user perspectives so really connect with City residents and understand what they are trying to get out of the park uh or the uh pedestrian and uh bike trail system and so we could uh deliver you know really what their needs are and then uh we also really uh prioritize supporting a culture of walking and biking we understand that that's one of the things that makes chasa such a desirable city to live in is that people know that they have a really great outdoors uh system here and then we also wanted to develop a set of metrics that would allow for the tracking of uh you know the different elements of what um is in our view uh really important for assessing whether the uh pedestrian and bike system is effective in delivering its uh services to its res or the city's residents and so um I really want to highlight that this project has been a very collab abative Endeavor um it's been a partnership uh with the city of chasa we've been working with Marshall gra Ashley colie um as well as um the Metropolitan Council we are working with McKenzie uh young Walters as well as uh stina um uh kilme cook from uh the resilient communities project and so really for this uh evaluation plan we wanted to establish Baseline data so identify uh from the Geto what are the different um metrics uh with respect to uh citizen satisfaction um some of the infrastructure details uh you know the actual uh length of the trail system and then we also want to uh create a data collection design so identify you know how are we're going to be collecting different kinds of data is it going to be through surveys versus focus groups and then we also wanted to uh really analyze the data that already been collected uh from citizens using the existing survey that was implemented and then um for the plan uh we're really trying to identify what are the needs uh that citizens have um we want to identify the value that the new investments will provide and then as I was referring to earlier really support that culture of walking and biking and so this was sort of the uh series of steps that we went through uh for this project so we started by defining the evaluation questions what fundamental questions were we really trying to uh answer through our evaluation plan um we then developed the logic model which we'll uh show soon um but that basically is a way of connecting uh things that are going into the project so that could be uh time it could be Financial Resources it could be physical resources um and then what are we trying to get out of it um what are the um outputs and what do the outputs actually contributor to in terms of outcomes especially in the short term and the long term and then we also created a design Matrix uh which uh essentially identified how for each uh overarching question what were the sub questions that would answer that overarching question and then lastly we identified and designed uh data collection tools that would actually um provide uh the parks and re uh Department with um you know the questions the surveys needed to actually collect that data so I get to delve into a little bit of the fun stuff that Leo mentioned so the first thing is the logic model as we've mentioned this is sort of a tool that helps us connect the all the elements of the project so we're thinking inputs activities outputs and outcomes from the short term short term until the long term so I'm sure you know the master plan better than I do but this is sort of like a fun exercise that helps us understand the project better so that we know what we want to evaluate so for the inputs of course we look at the resources that are being uh serviced through the project so the funding the facilities the equipment and also the partners and then we look at the activities so a lot of improving the network expanding upon it holding engagement educational activities and also improving safety and improving access for underrepresented population so these activities lead us into outputs which we have identified here as the number of pedestrians and bicycle users the number of users who come from underrepresented populations the miles of improved of the network how many gaps of the networks have been have been addressed and how many residents are actually aware of the network so then we move into the the other uh element of the logic model which is the outcomes so for the short-term outcome s we would hope to see that there's an increased usage of the network all year round that the network is more accessible for all kinds of users that there is increased safety that there are reduced gaps and that there is increased interest overall for the citizens of jasa and using the network and then at the intermediate level we start to look at at behavioral change so it becomes more pronounced we're looking at improved in accessibility in maintenance of the network all year round improved Network connectivity to key destination in community hubs we're seeing increased variety of usage of the network and that we're seeing that a lot more underrepresented communities are using it as well and maybe less Reliance on cars maybe people will be able to access job opportunities that they couldn't before and so for the long-term outcomes we're looking at more of an impact assessment so as you can see we're sort of like thinking that the network will be very convenient that it will be very easy to use that there will be less congestions on roads maybe even less carbon emissions and that we're going to see an overall improved quality of life for the city of chesa so the first three elements have some assumptions built in into them so we are thinking if we expand the network if we enhance it then automatically there will be more uses of it we're also thinking that the people who work in chasa also live in chasa which is why they will be able to use the network for commuting to work we're also thinking that the evaluation and the results of it will actually help in decision making and for the other three elements which are the outcomes they are linked to the impact that we would like to see so the impact that we have understood is that chesa's desirability will be enhanced that there will be more Community prosperity and that there will be increased health and wellness for all the residents of jesa so so then after understanding the project we move into design Matrix the design Matrix is this framework where we identify our areas of inquiry so here we start to think what are the questions that we need to answer in order to evaluate this project so here you can see some examples of the areas of inquiry that we had there are dozens of them but for example we would when we look into users we would want to know what is the most in sections of the trails when we're looking into usage we would like to know what are the barriers that are preventing people from using the network we would also like to see what are the demographic differences in users and what actually makes users feel safe on the network what is their perception of safety so when we identify the areas of inquiry we then start to think how will we answer these questions so then we start to delve into what are the data sources that we're going to look into being that this project looks both at sort of quantitative data and qualitative data that has to do with quality of life and perception and whatnot we knew we would need a variety of data sources so we knew that we would need infrast infrastructure metrics we would know that we would do a survey obviously and we knew that we would needed focus groups to delve a little deeper into the results that we would get from the survey and then while talking with our lovely Cooperators in this project we understood that City events were a pretty big deal and that they really wanted to have something there that will improve engagement with this project so we thought that looks like also a data source for you know information so what we we wanted to do is have this approach where our questions were linked to different data sources so that we can have more depth so that for example when looking at barriers we didn't just do the survey and look at Trends and have people check three boxes and then stop at that we would love to also have focus groups where we would ask people what are their barriers or particularly for them because they can be different depending on the person and so then we could have not just quantitative data but also qualitative data that informs us on how to make better decision and improve the network so this has been sort of our process and then we move on from this to actually thinking of how we're going to build the data collection tools which I will leave to talk about yeah so um as haar had mentioned we our goal was to create a mixed methods approach which combines those hard numbers of quantitative data with more human- centered qualitative data um our quantitative tools are the survey and the trail counting Tech technologies that you kind of see on here and then the qualitative tools being the focus groups and those City events the community engagement directly between City staff and residents um taking this approach allows chasa to have both the breadth that quantitative data provides with the depth that qualitative data provides really giving a well-rounded approach so then uh when we look specifically at each individual data tool um you can see that there are really some that all the data tools complement each other very well starting off with the survey there are 22 questions that are grouped into four different sections usage of behavior awareness and perception barriers and improvements and then demographics most of the qu like I'm sure you see 22 questions and you're like oh my goodness it's going to take forever but actually um there because most of the questions are closed ended meaning that respondents have a have fixed answers that they can check um that aids in the speed of which someone can get through a survey um examples of these kinds of questions are like how aware are you of the Master Plan and there's a rate a rank of one to five of the trail maps and resources of educational events of the trail web page um and again each of these are you rank them one through five um also what barriers if any prevent you from using the trail and sidewalk Network more frequently and we've listed a whole bunch of potential options and with also a spot where someone can select other and then write in what barriers do they experience we do have also some open-ended questions for residents to be able to elaborate on their answers or suggest improvements that they may be they've thought of but we haven't thought of in the pre-baked answers in the survey there is also a specific section that is related to commuting because again we wanted to get to that piece of people who work in chasa live in chasa so how easy is it for someone to commute via the trail Network so then moving on to the focus groups this is a qualitative data piece this is specifically designed to Target underrepresented communities including bipo differently abled women aging and Elder um just some of those more those demographics that maybe have different considerations and have different things that affect them than what would generally be thought of the goal here is to more fully understand their experience and how their needs may or may not be met through the trail system as it exists at that time of data collection questions for uh this tool include like what has been your experience of the trail system leaving it very open-ended so respondents can then bounce off of each other to explain what their experience is like more fully also what makes you feel safe or unsafe on the trails what is safe for me might not be safe for you or for you you know leaving that open-ended again to really dive deeper into what is it that makes someone feel safe this tool um specifically in recruitment utilizes trusted Community leaders and M passers to assist in that recruitment process um and it also provide we also suggest providing powerful incentives to increase participation likelihood of participation such as fif paying uh participants in $50 gift cards um providing child care that way people who maybe would not normally be able to participate because of child care Duties are then able to um ensuring that the location where the focus group is going to be held is easily accessible to people with different abilities as well um again this is to encourage participation moving on to the trail counting system these are devices that are installed as part of the infrastructure of the trails themselves um and they provide an automatic count of Trail users as they are going by that trail counter um there's a lot of different types in our report we provide a whole lot of different options that are available um and with a range of abilities they can be as simple as a camera that just counts specific like movement um that goes by and as complex as measuring the vibrations in the ground to determine what type of activity the person is doing as they move by that counter the goal of this method is to gather real-time data on usage and monitor the effectiveness of the infrastructure over time because this is something that would be gathered all the time as part of the structure lastly as we mentioned with those community events um it involves engaging directly with event participants through methods such as like live polling doing like mapping exercises to get like what people understand about the trail system and what it looks like um doing kind of demonstrations to do more of that education piece and more um again the goal is to gather real-time data directly from the community in a very approachable way because people are already at these events so then we put all of this together into a cohesive monitoring system this um because we recognize that the master plan covers a 15-year span so ensuring that the evaluation could be done at multiple points to track progress towards goals um was really key for us as you can see each tool runs kind of at its own Cadence um and each of them kind of complement each other the trail counters being continuous it's the big yellow bar there that it just runs all the time um the community events are seasonal so it makes sense that those would be in a seasonal pattern on here the survey and focus groups are the things that have probably the most unique Cadence where they are done in threeyear Cycles so the surveys would happen at years 0 2 5 8 11 14 and 17 getting going past when the master plan ends to be able to measure that effectiveness of what had just happened over the last 15 years um those would occur in like August through October that way you can still get that overlap of reaching people with those City events um to encourage that participation in that survey and then the focus groups happened the year after the survey in years 0 3 6 9 12 15 and 18 again because if in that survey data analysis if something surprising kind of comes up and the city decides that they want to Del a little bit deeper they have that opportunity through the focus groups a few months later um and so all of this put together really tries to create that monitoring system that like I said like starts with that Baseline data and tracks every three particularly every 3 years how it's progress ressing towards the goals with the idea of by 3 years after the master plan has been completed um you have an idea of exactly how effective were the efforts at various points in time while also allowing yourselves opportunities to tweak and shift where need be in order to reach those goals that you have yeah all right I am going to be the last person speaking on behalf of our group before this project ends up being passed to you all for the implementation part and so let's look to the Future a little bit I want to First just talk about some concerns and limitations that chasa should be aware of and then also talk about some opportunities that should hopefully arise from the implementation of our evaluation plan so when it comes to the four different data collection methods there are some limitations that each of them face so starting with the trail counting technology as it is with technology it can be subject to glitches in areas in which they may need some maintenance and so the city of chasa should be aware and trained on how to properly maintain Any Trail counting technology that they procure as part of this process when it comes to the survey there could be issues with sample bias um perhaps citizens that are more engaged with the community are more likely to respond or to have more accuracy with their responses and so that's something for the city to be aware of as well when they receive those survey results uh same thing with the focus groups here this method would likely Target population um that could be less likely to respond to the survey again yielding some sample bias uh and then lastly with the community events uh this could be a situation where if the parks and recreation department has a table and they're inviting people to come and approach the city perhaps the people who have the strongest opinions will be the ones that are likely to talk to the city of chesa with their thoughts and feelings so with that said there could be some very strong opinions but that might not be representative of the entire Chasco po the great news is that when all of this information from these four data collection sources are taken together and looked at holistically that eliminates some of that bias that's inherent in each individual one so that's why we encouraged more of a diversity of data collection sources in our plan so some possible results talking with Trail counting if the trail counting technology is working accurately then the city of chasa could be able to understand who uses what trails at what time of day seasonal patterns um the types of travel by bike walking running Etc so all of that could be helpful down the road when it comes to the survey uh assuming that results are not waited for sample bias uh it could skew more positive in terms of the types of responses that would be garnered from the survey data uh we would also expect that uh the focus group which gets more time for residents to really d buge their thoughts that could yeld some more critical responses to the system um but would also help the city of CHA understand more fully what barriers are uh facing chasa residents in using the uh bike and Trail Network and then lastly again as noted when it comes to those community events some strong opinions may be held um but that could yield to some really helpful information if uh those are not found in the survey or the focus groups so turning this data into action let's start with enhancing the network the work that has been done to this point by the community of chasa has certainly held a long vision and a lot of implementation goals and it is our hope that being able to get the Baseline evaluation data will allow the city of chasa to see over time just how many more people are using the trails how more comfortable they are using the trails and to also identify specific junctures in the city where there are issues that can be remedied so that's where when it comes to the example listed on this slide perhaps low usage sections uh could be highlighted through the feedback from residents in the survey the focus group at community events and then those areas can be enhanced uh it could also be a tool for strengthening funding if the data that comes back shows that Baseline data has then yielded more and more users over time or perhaps inversely less users in certain areas it can help the city identify which parts of the trail Network need funding and then they can Levy that data when talking to potential funding sources and help them hopefully receive funding to then address those concerns and then lastly uh fostering Community engagement one thing that I think we're all very proud of with our plan is that there are multiple points through our data collection sources where Tasco residents are being engaged whether they're filling out a survey or attending a focus group or seeing community staff at a community event or just going about their business on the bike trail all of those different methods will allow the community to become more engaged in understanding that there is a bigger project going on in chasa with this bike and pedestrian master plan so with that uh I think just the final note is a big thank you we understand that having read the master plan at the very start of our semester we know we are just a small facet of the larger going on in chasa so thank you to all of the citizens that have come before us and for allowing us to be here and add a little bit to your story should we take some five for questions yeah yeah questions well with that let's just see if there's any questions or comments um I love the four avenues for data collection I'm a data nerd I love it and so you're gonna get a lot of an anecdotal answers and such but I have a question as you turn it over to Marshall and City staff um is there this is a limitations question is there a smallest sample size where you would say look in this three-year cycle don't compare this three-year cycle to the original data set it's too small it's going to skew the data doesn't mean anything do you have a recommendation based on our community size for to say you only got 50 results or whatever that is don't count this this year sure I'll take um so that is a very very good question um I would say that best practice I believe in Caleb please tell me if I'm getting this wrong is you because our understanding is that like particularly with the survey you're going to be trying to get as many responses as possible and so best practice is like of your sample size trying to like that 75 to 90% is like really good for a response given the size of chasa you know 28,000 people trying to get like 25,000 people to respond is probably a really big ask um so I know so my own personal background is I was in fundraising for seven years and now I'm a consultant but um in like that world of fundraising and nonprofits and stuff when you're looking at surveys if you get like 10 to 20% response from your survey people you're like having a party so my my own gut says it would probably end up skewing towards that lower end but I would definitely try to compare how many responses are you getting on this specific survey compared to like those larger surveys that you all do to see like is your response rate comparable to that response rate that you get for the larger city of chasa surveys um if there's a big discrepancy then I would maybe make note of it and then really rely more on those other U methods when it comes to the focus groups themselves the best practice is three to four focus groups per um population so the way that we built it because of let me go back to the this part um the way that we were kind of envisioning it for the focus groups themselves right would be a focus group like every other week starting in February and running through April for a toal of 12 right because we figured that if depending on the populations that you're targeting if you're targeting let's say women bipo differently abled you're running 9 to 12 just with those three specific populations like total combined so if and obviously that can Flex the big thing with like those focus groups is when you start seeing the same responses within a certain Community that's when you know okay we've reached data saturation and we know that like all of these responses are probably going to be the same so we don't need to continue doing these focus groups for right now um so yeah that's it's there's no like hard and fast rule but that's kind generally what you're looking for in specifically the focus groups thank you I also want to add you know from a statistics per or from a statistics perspective having you know like 30 makes your results statistically valid however it might not be especially weighty in terms of decision making I also wanted to say that I'm sure in your roles as Commissioners when you're interacting with citizens every comment and every conversation that you get from somebody counts in some way right so I feel like even if you don't get that 30 uh respondent threshold it's still you know useful information to think about thank you very comprehensive very thoughtful yeah thank you all very much um my question is related to those populations of people that you would be interviewing or the survey is there any consideration good or bad for including children so it's F because we were we were talk well no it's funny because we were talking a little bit about like uh practices with kids and um so we we specifically in the survey designed that kids would not be taking the survey because when you get into using miners as your participants you could very quickly get into some uh areas where you're going to need what's called an IRB which is uh something review board where you have to run your International institutional institutional review board thank you um and where you have to run your entire study including like all of the questions that you're going to ask what your entire Protocols are past this panel of people who will then say yes you can continue as it is you can continue but you have to make these tweaks because children are considered a sensitive population and so you have to make adjustments in the data that you're requesting in order to protect like anonymity and to protect any kind of um potential like psychological harm or like anything anything sensitive with kids or they'll say no you cannot do this so in the survey we very much tried to stay away from that and the same thing with focus groups we really like we had a qu we have a question in the survey that gets to like our kids using it but kind of in a very roundabout sort of way where we ask um when you're out on the trails who are you with and we give a lot of different responses again and one of them being like my children you know that way we can understand like are kids using these trails are they not we ask as part of the commuting like do you commute for school so we can like ask some so we can kind of get around to that without triggering anything that would potentially lead to an IRB because then you're looking at a really long like it's going to take a lot longer to implement any data collection pool then if you have to have IRB involved thank you questions how long did this program span did you it start in September or to now okay um just about four months or so so not too long but um you've been working at it for a while so I think we also have a great instructor so everything that we've been able to share um is derived from her yeah true well I'll finish just to thank the students and commend you on just an excellent job with this project um it's been pretty I think impressive for Ashley and I to to to see kind of from the start um here to the finish line and what you've produced um we talked a lot of philosophy in the beginning you know which doesn't quite get to data but I appreciate how you guys sort of embraced the philosophy of chasa and sort of the philosophy of what the pet and bike plan is intended to do um and then figured out a way to develop this evaluation um method you know that kind of gets end of the philosophy which is quality life and you know um enhancing the image of chasa over time so we're looking forward to implementing it and um a kind of echo your sentiment you know I I think we we enjoyed all of the presentations we got to see of the student groups last Friday but Ashley and I think you guys are the 18 we appreciate that um and then I'll finish with just so the commission is aware we are working with stina on sort of taking a next step with this project um so thinking about um the resources that might be available at the U ofm to take this survey and figure out what platform to build it on um so that we would have have basically the capability of then going out um next summer early fall to get that survey out but then maybe utilizing a class in the fall semester next year that could help analyze the data because I think that'll be the the key here you know first time out the gate you're sort of trying to figure out what is what's the story this data is even trying to tell us and maybe getting an outside perspective on that in conjunction with staff's perspective will will be helpful so yeah we're excited yeah awesome all awesome thank you all for your time your hard work hey that brings us to 7B Recreation program staff presentation yes all right so I don't know if I can talk and do technology at the same time but I'll try it I'll just kind of set this up but so with us tonight we've got Erin link our Recreation program manager and her team of Staff you that represents our Recreation programs and Community event division within our Parks and Recreation Department um and I'm just going to turn it over to eron as I set up this presentation um for them to go through some highlights uh over the last year great thanks Marshall Marshall said I'm Aon link the recreation manager for chasa Parks and Recreation um thank you for the invitation or at least allowing us to to be here tonight um I'm very excited for for all of you to meet the entire Recreation team this is really kind of a t tough act to follow I think I wish we maybe could have gone first but um we'll do our best um but no really appreciate the opportunity to be here and just really share um about the important work that we're doing and really some highlights from uh 2024 so um that that's kind of our main um main goal for tonight is just to highlight this past year um and I think the we're up now so as you can kind of see from um some of the numbers and some data on our first slide here um really the program participation and um attendance at events and just engagement with the community has really been wonderful this past year I think we would all agree we've really seen kind of a nice um upward uh Trend even over the last few years just with people signing up for programs and coming out to an event or to events um you know we definitely have some areas in our department that are really just booming as far as um enrollments and numbers so um exciting exciting work that we have going on right now um I do just want to point out with this first slide and with the numbers that are here that these are um reflected reflective of our team here so the recreation team so um there are programs that are taking place with our curling and event center team and our community center team as well um so some of the things that aren't included in these numbers would be like our swimming lessons skate lessons Fitness classes curling leagues all of those types of things so they I know will be coming I think at a later um time probably into the next year so um Marshall all right our mission and our vision um I truly think that this team that we have here tonight is so great at really um embracing our mission and our vision with Parks and Recreation and really um living that out with our programs that we provide um our primary focus is to really serve the community Through programs and events and I do truly believe that um that through the opportunities that we're creating we are um kind of hitting that Vision as well and are we are creating a healthier community and um I know that we are making helping families and participants really um create memories that they're going to have forever it's kind of fun when I end up talking with somebody you know an adult that talks about like well I remember when I was in a park and wreck program when I was a kid and and those sorts of things maybe it's a parent coach that we have that's coaching now and they talk about something they were doing as a kid with Parks and Recreation um so it's pretty neat that we get to be a part of um of that right now in that work um and creating those memories for people into the future and a really cool part about chasa and I think we would all agree that just all of the great amenities that chasa has that we get to um utilize with our programs and events so you know we have the community center we have the curling Center uh we have a lot of parks 30ish or something like that you guys probably don't know the exact number um all the different miles of trails that will have lots of people walking and biking um and and the two golf courses you know and the addition of the loop Golf Course has just been awesome um as really you know providing opportunities for people of all ages and abilities and it's been fun we've already partnered with the loop on a couple different programs for people with disabilities and um some of our teenagers so I think we would all agree that we're just very lucky to be uh Recreation professionals within the city of chasa all right and then speaking of um the mission of serving the community uh this team right here is just really knocking it out of the park and just very topnotch and probably a little bit by for sure but um they are just a tremendous team that does tremendous work and um you know I think um there really isn't a better a better team around and just the level of professionalism uh creativity and just the you know kind of that top-notch customer service that these guys bring to work every day is truly amazing so I am very lucky to get to work alongside and support this team um every day and it really makes coming to work a lot of fun so um you know and with that I think everything that we do you know everything really starts with ideas and a lot of the ideas do come from you know this creative team but a lot of ideas come from you know community members Liz had an idea before we started tonight so um you know it might come from a pickle ball player we know pickleball players tend to have a lot of ideas um you know we have uh maybe another organization comes to us with an idea but um the really cool part I think about our Recreation team is that they really um are kind of a yes team and we'll take those ideas and try to respond and kind of put those things in motion um as best we can so um and as you can see with with um the list up there you know we've got like a list of responsibilities for each of us but at the very bottom too there's uh a years years of service so I just have to to call out I hope they don't get mad at me but call out a few people on our team here that um have been dedicated um employees with the city of chasa for 20 plus years so I have to call out Joan seedorf and Sandy Janssen um you're welcome um no and then really you know all and they they just provide so much experience you know knowledge history with the city and then we have you know all of us that fall somewhere in between and then we have um Katherine who's one of our newest employees who has been with us for just under a year will be a year I think this next month so um I think just with our um all of the you know experience and talent that we all have we just have a really great uh Team um yeah and they're going to be coming up here and introducing themselves in a bit and sharing more in their areas so all right and I do think that um one of the really the best um parts to our work is that we do get to serve such a like a broad reach and have a broad impact so you know we are truly when we say that we serve people of all ages and all abilities it is very true um we have you know some of our programming that's parent child programming maybe it's a music class gymnastics you know class preschool Sports we're serving people as young as one and two years old and then we have you know all of that we do all the way on up through our active older adults um and our AOA participants who um come to lots of programs within the lodge so I think that's kind of really um a piece that I really enjoy is that what we're doing is really having a very broad impact um on many many people all right next slide all right I'm gonna pass it over to Sydney and she's gonna introduce herself and share more in her area hello I'm Sydney Cipher I am the community event supervisor for the Parks and Rec Department um I've been with the city for seven years um this is actually my first year as the community event supervisor even though I've been involved with events throughout my whole um time here um uh we've had like a fun year of events um we've had 12 free community events um this year and 18 concerts in the park this summer um a couple highlights um of this year is that touch a truck um one of our bigger events we had moved to a new location it's been hosted at the community center for like 20 something years I think um we moved it to the chasa high school this year which was like a a nice change it gave us more space more opportunity more opportunities to invite new people um to be involved uh with that event and then um Fire and Ice we had I feel like our biggest Friday night um I think we had like 12,000 people I think attend Friday night this year and then 15,000 people throughout the whole weekend um and then something for next year is that we already have our um Headliners booked um we're going to have Viva Canal for Friday night and um they're like a pop rock band and then Saturday night we're doing UPS South which is like a country band um and through all of these community events we work with a lot of different partners in the community um for example for our Latin music and Food Fest we work with masasa and Latino voices um new this year um we've worked with the Southwest Metro chamber um to combine our concert series with their Farmers Market to grow attendance um with that because we both kind of felt like we were lacking attendance so we wanted to combine it to make it a bigger thing bring people together um and then some goals for us for next year in the community events world is that we want to grow um our volunteer program to help um support our community events and then um continue to provide opportunities for um Community Gathering and then grow business relationships and our sponsor ships s yeah um and then the impact for our community events these are just some of our um testimonials we took some surveys new which was new this year um to get feedback on um what people liked about um each event these are just some from our bigger events so um with Touch a Truck um someone said this was such a great event thank you so much much to everyone who made this happen only thing that would have made it better we heard chabe had a helicopter but in all seriousness our kiddos had an absolute blast um and then for fire ice love the fireworks so much fun seeing the community come together for food music fireworks and fun thank you for continuing this summer celebration um so it just shows that putting on these community events people enjoy and um it just is another reason to just continue um these tradition and bringing people together next and then these are just some of our sponsors from this last year um we weren't be able to H or do some of the things in community events and our programming without sponsors from the community um they really help us to enhance um just our events and just add more whether it's just a bigger band um bringing more like kids activities or like other um um opportunities so like this year we had at Fire and Ice new was like a dunk tank or whatever so just making our stuff more enhanced and bringing more opportunities to continue to host these free events I think that's it for me but do you guys have any questions about my area um I I don't think I have any questions um necessarily but um just a bang up job I love the community events and I'm a sucker for Fireman's Park yes so yeah any event going on there not me just tonight I drove by and the lights on it makes me smile I love it but yeah just such a great job I mean uh the Fire and Ice this year just seeing that many people there on Friday night and the fireworks I tell people as many people as that you have to come see these fireworks because they are amazing and it never disappoints and so it's just I mean across the board not just fire and ice but everyone across the board it's just great job great job no thank you very much I'm I'm curious about volunteers you said that's one of the goals is to raise volunteerism do you mean just in terms of like coaching like the basketball leagues or baseball leagues or is it uh yeah it would other volunteer opportunities and how would someone go about signing up to be a volunteer yes so I think it's all around whether it's community events helping out in um coaching our wreck sports or being involved in our adaptive programs helping out in the lodge um just all around just G gaining more um awareness that people can volunteer for these things and then I'm still working on a way to um a a better way for people to to sign up and know where to go if they wanted to volunteer so hopefully next year I'm going to have that in place to so people know where to go and where to where they could volunteer and what they can volunteer for okay thanks yeah thank you good evening I'm Sandy Johnson um I've been with Park and W for 22 years now um I'm the youth supervisor for uh wreck and I primarily am preschool through Elementary um but some of my programs are for um infants um parent child so um some of my programs that I am in charge of are like I said child care and enrichment so one of those is our extreme kids summer Child Care Program that's a 10 week long summer program for um kids in first through fifth grade I also um do uh Kids Day Out programs which are fall on our non-school days so it's like a full day child care for those non-school days um trxs and trails preschool is one that I also um an involved involved with Junior explorers is a kind of a spin-off of our trucks and trails preschool um second after uh after care or after uh session um for our our um trucks and trails and then young chefs so for extreme kids um it was initially designed for a 60 kids per day is what we were um going to serve um in 2023 we expanded it to offer it to 90 kids per day so we we were seeing that there was a need for more care um so we um are taking up to 60 kids in grades first through 3D um a day and then um 30 in grades four through six so like I said we can take up to 90 kids per day um this past year we had 106 kids total in the program uh 65 of those chose our five-day contract meaning they come five days a week for the entire summer so um that's pretty awesome our registration fills up within minutes so when does it open March 3rd thank you yeah so March 3D and again it's like instant so um it is a very popular program which makes me proud um this past summer I had 31 staff so um it takes a you know a village to to run this program and they are amazing and the kids have a blast so it's field trip swimming ice skating you know uh crafts team building like it's it's a fun fun full day um and then like I said our trcks and trails preschool I've been part of that since 2007 when we opened that program um I I've been teaching ever since right now I'm more overseeing the program I've got two wonderful teachers Miss Heather and Miss suan who are are the teachers um I feel in and sub and then I'm part of the administrative part of it um this year we have 25 kids total enrolled for that for this school year um which is pretty good I mean it's ever since Co our numbers have definitely declined trying to get it built back up um something we KN knew we started was a young Chef's cooking class and that's for um Elementary age kiddos um we use the lodge I don't know if you're familiar with the lodge it's a beautiful setting thank you Joan um with a kitchen and a bar and um all the things the kids need um this year I only I take eight because it's an hourlong class and it's you know it's a lot of cooking right so we took eight we were full with eight um we just open up registration for the winter session um which is in March and we already have four kids registered three of which are repeats so um I think that's pretty amazing um cooking provides children with the opportunity to develop a wide range of um skills um they make two recipes um each day or it's a four-week um session so each week they make two recipes um so they're making a total of eight different recipes so um I think it's amazing I think it's great they love it they want to see more of it um some more of the programs that I am involved with is music together in the valley that's a parent child one and again it's infant to six years old um we have 10 enrolled in that session um top Time adventures is one that we do it's again another parent child one it's crafts games snack um and we use the community center and we also use um village hall and Carver for that one so um we get to use both of those spaces um kid create Studios is an art class or an art camp that we do and then we also do a youth um Theater Camp uh this past summer we had 70 kids enrolled in our theater production so um and that's a weekl long uh Theater Camp that we do twice a year once in March and then once in the summer um a couple goals that I have is to increase our enrollment in our trucks and Trails program like I said we um used to have um a higher enrollment and it's always something that I'm working towards uh getting more kids um into that program another one is a leader and training program for our extreme kids like I said they age out you know going into sixth grade um so like that you know sixth seventh eth grade sometimes there's a a little Gap there if we can have them in our program in a leader and training to kind of see how it is to be you know one of our leaders but yet they kind of still get that child care you know um part of their day too CU they're maybe not old enough to stay home alone so that's something that I'd like to work towards and then just to continue to offer more um programs that you know um help kids with lifelong skills and meaningful experiences so um yeah and then I think I have one more some a few testimonials um the first one is from a family that was in our TRX and Charles preschool program for 10 years all four of their kids came through our program so I think that you know says a lot about our program when you have you know a family of four that come through um and then the other one is for our extreme kids you know I did a survey at the end of the summer uh one of the questions what did your child like most about extreme kids and it was the variety from swimming ice skating field trips fishing um is what makes our program stand out so and I would agree so um this summer unfortunately our fishing um we only do it once a month and it got rained out every single so um but one of them I was able to take them down to Fireman's Park and they could fish from the um the the pier there so um yeah um that's that's me to Nutshell any questions jeez I mean this is oh please Carly go ahead I have a comment about the um doing like a later and training so I um used to work at a place called T I'm maybe you're familiar with Tamar Nature Center um and they did a similar where like they wanted to capture um when they Camp day campers you know reached that sixth grade level and then um before they could become staff and so they did a junior naturalist program um and it was like really successful and I worked with students in that and it was um it was a really great learning opportunity and they ended up getting a lot of Staff out of that because I know seasonal staff can be very difficult to find yeah um but it's a really good like work training program that um I felt like it was really successful so I think it's well worth the effort to do that thank you it's something i' I've thought about just have never really put it into motion so I think it's something that is I'm definitely gonna to look into so thank you abely okay I just again just thank you very much for I mean this is just doing with our young ones and and our youth is just it's so important for the entire community and for the growth of our community hopefully keeping people in home in chasa and um so thank you very much thank you thanks for your service too very right hello my name is Katherine McCarthy I'm our newest employee I guess newest full-time is now Nikki but I'm still the newest I'm 11 months a year at the end of January so kind of focusing on teen programs but helping out with everyone's activities across the board it's been a great learning experience as a new professional to kind of do Youth and kids and a spud bar in the lodge or help with garbage at Fire and Ice it's been great to see all aspects but I go to the next one yes please all right so just focusing on some of our teen programs um partnering with Sandy and extreme kids adding like a teen trip to the water parks so going on the same bus filling the bus with teens so having some help there from Sydney as well so good collaboration across all of us and different age groups um Vertical Endeavors in Bloomington it's a big hit for rock climbing for this age group as well and then action-packed paintball another popular one I know Joan in her teen years did a couple trips there and brought that back this spring and it had almost 20 kids in it and worked with Southwest transit to get some Transportation last minute with Aaron's help and they brought the trolley so that was super fun for the kids to be able to go paintballing on the trolley um Partnerships like Aaron mentioned earlier the loop that's been great um a lot of kids that age are interested in golf but not comfortable enough to go out on a big Golf Course or I don't know how to golf or I don't have golf clubs so that was a really great program with John Young um hopefully doing something more consistent with that this spring summer fall um great weather we were able to do that like end of September so it was super nice to be out there and then Carver County Parks especially with Adventure Camp which is kind of that week-long outdoor camp following extreme kids for ages 8 to 12 so a little bit wider age range there um Mercury Adventure Club is a new one that's Dungeons and Dragons which has been a big hit um ran two of those which were super successful this fall and looking at um some sort of summer dayong camp with them and then Carver County Library is another big one a free book club uh we did two this summer for teens and twins that we offered one in Jan in June and then in August and then we're going to do one in January as well so hopefully a winter book club for this age group is a hit too but that's completely free from the friends of the library so that one's super fun um collaboration with them and then just some goals is continue to offer a wide range of programs from art and book clubs to paintball and kaying and just trying to figure out what those teenagers like which leads me into the middle school Advisory Group so hopefully getting a couple of those trusted middle schoolers to tell us what they want to do and what they don't want to do like what do you want to do after school what do you not want to do and then just continuing to build Community Partnerships with different organizations and see what these teens want to do I don't have a testimonial slide but one of my favorite ones was from a teen that filled it out after paintball and all it said was I wish I would have worn a long sleeve shirt so that's about what I get for testimonials so I left that slide out but yeah that is all I got I love the idea of a middle school Advisory Group that's just brilliant yeah they have one already established with the superintendent so there may be a way to work with that group that's already established rather than forming a completely new one but trying to get a good idea going with the Middle School population especially but yeah know that's good I mean not that any age group is you know has its difficulties I guess but I mean the teen one can be there's just so much going on with the with the kids and their development at that age so just you know what I mean having you know inspiration and and you know and and things to do that excite them and opportunities to do that is awesome yes it's more awesome take notes and put out a pamphlet as a community service and I will read it in like five years he'll memorize it in five years what the enrollment uh like kind of numbers with the teen programs is it is it hard to get kids to sign up for there it really varies we did so Dungeons and Dragons was our most recent one and we did one on a no school day so they were there from 9:00 a.m. to 4 and it had like 15 16 kids in it but then we ran an after school Dungeons and Dragons the following Friday and it only had six or seven and it it was just it's interesting I don't know their schedules pattern of I want to do it all day or I don't want to do it all day so I'll come after school the next Friday so it's been kind of roller coaster of the water parks definitely our big hit I think almost all of those were full this summer um where then we did like a kaying with Carver County at Fireman's Park and there's only one kid in it so it's very hard to pick a date a Time an activity so that's kind of the hope with this Advisory Group that they can give a little more personal guidance from the teenagers directly so yeah well thank you Zach Johnson I'm the recreation supervisor for athletic so some of you probably recognize some people on this picture so we have great pictures um this just shows you know the excitement the happiness that our programs offer so we've got a lot of these kind of pictures so if you ever want to see some kids or families or parents [Laughter] happy so I'm in charge of anything athletic so you Sports adult sports I also partner with caror County parks to do some outdoor recreation field reservations so I work with a lot of the associations to get them time on the fields um not sure if you know but Athletic Park hosts the 3A State baseball tournament also some All-Star weekends for high school players so if you ever around in June on some weekends some great baseballs being played down there um we work with the twins to offer a camp out at community park in um August so we do a lot of Partnerships through that as well um and I recently took over Park shelters as of this summer so I am still Lear how to do all that but U those are always filled every weekend between weddings graduation parties birthday parties you name it so uh those open up relatively soon so if you're looking at doing something like that make sure you get your reservations in early um so some of the things that I do um Athletics wise are Rookie Sports which are actually transitioning over to Catherine so um one of the interesting things that we saw this year going even just from the spring we served almost 90 kids which is great but this fall we served over 200 kids um and that has to do with you know the great staff that is leading it but also adding a parent child class which I got to partake in with my little guy two-year-olds don't get to do a lot of things so getting them to run in parkour shoot baskets soccer yeah they're not going to be Superstars by any means but if they can run around for 10 minutes and hey if they can kick a goal one time out of those four weeks fantastic so those numbers keep growing um and so again that's a a tribute to all the great staff that we have our gymnastics program which you might have had some of your kids in that always fills and we have a weit list of you know almost 50 people that want to get in so we are adding some more classes going into 2025 um this year as soon as we opened our registration it was a race between Rookie Sports and gymnastics to see who could get the most kids signed up so it's a tight race we're not going to reveal who won just yet so we just have stay tuned for that uh there are a few spots open um so get the word out but those are usually ones that fill up fairly quickly um and our youth sports which I know a number of you have had your kids in those continue to grow um for instance Our Youth Baseball increased by 30% from 23 to 24 and then our you soccer went up 10% from 23 to 24 so those numbers just keep growing um and a lot of that and I tell the coaches this it's the coaches and that run it so parents have great feedback on you know Zach you do a great job of organizing I said no it's the coaches they do a great job of getting those kids involved engaged learning the game from some kids this is their first time ever touching a basketball they've seen maybe brother or sister playing or they've seen it night on TV or Mom and Dad have talked about it but they've never done it well Andy is coaching Corbin you should see the smiles on the kids faces and then from week one to week six and they might not have made a basket week six they made too and that's their whole whole year so those continue to grow we are going to add a few more going into 2025 to to hopefully keep those numbers on the upswing um we added a homeschool a gym class this year which was brand new um it's something that I had done in a previous position a lot of homeschool families will do things outside um in those warmer months you know up until October November but then where do they go when it's cold so recently we've we've implemented that last last year we had 17 kiddos which was great for our first try we're up to 23 now we're going to offer two more sessions going into 2025 so we do a variety of different things between teaching them floor hockey pickle ball dodgeball is a fun one so they always want to play that if I gave them a choice of what to play every day that would be what they would select parents don't want to play dodgeball every day but so just last week we did a basketball session um and then we'll go into another uh SE session of basketball next we um adult sports um what we say is we're holding strong I mean okay strong is probably not the right word but we are still holding on to our adult sports just there are so many kids things that are going on where a lot of communities are folding their softball or their volleyball you name it we're still able to run those we're still able to provide that to our community while our numbers kind of like Katherine said a roller coaster you know our volleyball leagues are on the upswing again so we're hoping to see that with some of our others like softball and like our basketball leagues like that so while the numbers might not be where we want them to be we are still providing that service to people who want to join those um and pickle ball is obviously a big one in this community you've seen that Lions Park has added five brand new courts and the feedback that we've gotten so far is fantastic so the Public Works team has done a tremendous job down there um so all the Kudos goes to them so if you haven't seen those I believe Aaron has some pictures of those uh new courts we actually were able to host a pickle ball tournament down there for the first year in conjunction with River City days it was the Battle of the paddle so we served over 40 players our women's bracket filled so men we got work to do to fill our bracket it was a great day and it was 95 degrees on the courts um but we served over 40 people we had tons of people coming through yes it might have been due to River City days but we had a lot of people stopping asking if we're going to run another tournament are we going to run anymore and that was our first goal so we want to see how it went we got a lot of great feedback I worked with a couple members within the community on that tournament and they have some Grand ideas of 144 players two days like that is a lot of people me playing pickle ball so we'll see where we go but pickle ball continues to grow so we're adding leagues we're adding lessons um as Katherine is adding a teen Advisory Board we've talked about adding a pickle by pickle ball Advisory Board just there's a lot of communication there's a lot of people that have a lot of opinions when it comes to pickle ball so if we have a group that can come together and meet with me rather than 18 different people coming at once we can streamline that process um and we'll move on to my testimonials um I won't read them all but uh testimony number three like I said the coaches were great this was such a fun program and we will for sure be signing up for more youth programs in the future thank you for putting on great programs for the kids keep engaged again I give that to the coaches I put it together but the coaches are the ones that make it what it is so and for a gymnastics we have great staff the kids keep coming back you know all the programs that we have we get great feedback like this and so I I than the community I think the the staff that we have and the coaches and the volunteers that we have because we couldn't run our programs without those people any questions for me I will say though the organization that goes between timing like basketball we've always participated in basketball you have so many children and you have to figure out are they playing on which court at what time then you have another game right after that and another game after that and so yes the coaches are awesome I'm biased my husband does but thank your husband for coaching everything so um but the timing within the season and just the timing in the organization that goes into that particular activity is just fabulous because theyve it's always been so easy to coach whether it's soccer or basketball and I say it's easy because I don't do it but there's never been any communication issues and honestly um getting our kids around age three into some of these Sports was how we met our community it I mean right around when covid restrictions were lifting we didn't know anybody because you know we herited it up for two years I knew my next door neighbors and that was about it this is how we met everybody that we know now and it was just been a fabulous opportunity so thank you for putting these on we've we've had coaches who have been hesitant to try it like I don't know anything about soccer well neither do I but I'm good with kids so I can teach them and they come year after year and the kids love having their parents a part of it so yes it's a it's a great tradeoff anything else no just U again I'm Gonna Give You Kudos um like you said I've you know been through the community center and have you know Sidelines you know senior interactions with some of those kids and it's like they think you're a superhero dude you should have been there for Dodgeball tonight we had kids versus parents kids parents in the gym just yeah as far as the youth and just the way I see them look at you and the way you interact with them it's it's super special and we're very fortunate to have youone so thank you very much appreciate it thank you yeah all right well I was one of those parents just playing dodgeball sides he was with the kids and he was with the parents and um but no yeah kudos to to the whole team but um you know I think um Zach has done such a great job and even with this dodgeball program you know he's turned this last session into that parent child game and I mean it's turned into this tradition and so much fun and so we were in our dodgeball clothes a little bit ago and now we're here at the park board meeting but um well I'm back up here because I um create and oversee U our adaptive programs and um within the department I have a background in therapeutic recreation so um super cool part of my job is I get to kind of um utilize some of my training and and background and um work with some very very cool um families and individual ual um so before I have Marshall go to the next slide I was just going to really quickly kind of explain the difference between adaptive programs and inclusion support if if that would be helpful but adaptive programs are really programs that are designed specifically for people with disabilities so with a very flexible environment in mind um you know lots of different modifications available for for people to participate in different ways um you know a lot of times just different equipment items if it's a floor hockey or if it's basketball or if it's an art program having some different um you know different equipment and things available so everybody is going to be very different with their um their abilities and their needs so so adaptive programs are really designed specifically for people with disabilities um the other really cool service that our department has is um inclusion support so what that means is that uh a person with a disability can sign up for any of our programs um it can be going on a kaying you know trip it could be signing up for a swim lesson any general program but if they're needing some support um we have an option for them too so they would indicate that when they register for the program um and then that would kind of trigger and actually Joan um is is the person on our team right now that kind of really deals with the inclusion support and kind of that process but it would tell us all right we we're going to reach out to an organization that we have an agreement with um they're they're called reach for resources um but we would reach out to them and say okay we've got you know um Cooper signed up for a swim lesson it's these nights it's these times families indicated that it would be helpful for him to have some support and then uh reach for resources has a pool of staff that they would work to pair up one of their staff with the program participant and they would actually come to that program or be at that program with that person so I love that we have a few different options in in ways to serve people with disabilities it might be the Adaptive programs that um are really tailored for that group or it could be any of our programs but we still provide some support there too so all right so kind of echoing Zach a little bit with some of the Youth Sports and youth programs that are really just on the rise our adaptive programs um are really similar you know we have seen so much growth over the last few years um you know we had I think we tried our first adaptive programs I believe it was 2019 so we had just tried a few different things um there's there's a part time staff person her name is Tanya and she's wonderful and she's kind of my uh my partner with these programs um and really involved and um does a lot of great work with them but we had kicked off a few different programs that year and then of course Co happened and so everything kind of shut down for a while um when we were just trying to or just gaining some awareness and some momentum so it took a little while for us to kind of get things um back off the ground um but over the last few years you can kind of see with these numbers um then that's why I kind of went back to 2022 I'm kind of erasing before that um but really since since 2022 we've just seen so much growth in terms of the programs that we're offering uh in terms of enrollments just different individuals that we're serving I think you know we started in 2019 with those first few programs with like four people signed up for one of them and maybe then we were up to six you know and things like that and now you know we've had up to you know 25 maybe 26 people signing up for an Adaptive basketball program um but the other thing that we've really been working you know we those first few programs we started with were really kind of uh geared towards like gym programming Sports kind of more the physical fitness um but we were just starting to get a lot of feedback from people that it would be great to have you know some other types of programs you know more of the Arts and the dance and things like that so um we've really worked hard to kind of broaden that variety of things that we're offering um it really kind of ties into when you see the the growing support and I mentioned the Partnerships I think there's kind of a theme here with with our you know our team and our department Is We I think we're really great at partnering with different groups and looking at that those win-wins when somebody can bring their expertise and your expertise and it just makes makes a better program um so we've really I've really been working with like the chasa Dance Center um their directors doing an Adaptive dance program for us for the last few years um you know a music program I'm working with an awesome chasa Middle School music teacher uh he did a camp for us this summer um you know an archery program I am not an expert in archery at all um but Carver County Parks they are wonderful with outdoor recreation so working with them to provide some of these programs um and then you know I mentioned the broad reach just with um and I have the 25 different cities so we have 72 individuals that we've served um you know this year so far and out of those 72 individuals they're coming from 25 different cities and I think that there's a couple reasons for that I think one is that the word has really gotten out that chasa is has a lot of um opportunities and I think doing some great things in this area so people are hearing that and the word is spreading so um we're we're capturing people from different areas and the other is just that some of these other communities just don't have um don't have the programs or the opportuni so it's pretty cool we've got people coming from Plymouth and exceler and Minista and just all over the place um let's see and then as far as just the support too I mentioned the Partnerships but with all of this growth and I think that you know this is an area that could just kind of keep going Leaps and Bounds with enough resources and time so I'm hoping that we'll be able to continue to to grow but with all of that it's really uh the volunteers like Zach mentioned these volunteer coaches for for the Adaptive programs it's um having those extra set of hands those extra people um you know some of these participants that are coming do really need one-on-one support you know so um it's trying to to build those uh volunteer groups and those relationships and then I mentioned our part-time staff so we have a group of part-time staff that are called Recreation assistants that are really hired to kind of work across all different areas um and we've started to tap into that group and we've had a few of those staff that have come and helped with an Adaptive program and you know I think they're a little bit nervous right away and I'm not sure I'm not really qualified I haven't worked with you know someone with a disability before and we've had a few people now kind of jump into that and have just loved it and and had a blast but I think we have a lot of one of my goals for this next year is to really develop more of a training um for volunteers and staff so that if we have people who aren't familiar haven't worked with people with disabilities before um they just have a little bit more you know tools and tips and strategies uh ahead of time so that they can go in feeling feeling more comfortable so all right testimonials I won't read all of these either but I'm going to read the last sentence of testimonial number three which always gets me a little bit um gives me goosebumps sometimes I want to cry but anyways um i' this is the first time I'd seen my 10-year-old thrive in an extracurricular activity I think that is just such a very cool statement I mean I think about and I'm a parent and um I feel like I've seen my kids Thrive a whole bunch before they were 10 years old so for this parent to say that this program that we provided um you know gave them the opportunity to see their 10-year-old Thrive was is pretty amazing so some of the pictures there just kind of highlight some of the programs we've done um we have Tanya and Tyler Tyler's on the stationary bike but that was a a triathlon program so it was a three- week we um swim run bike um another program going back to the lodge again um is a group of program participants with parents grandparents aunts neighbors it was a football watch party Vikings party we've had a couple of them um but it's been really cool because you just sign up as a group and it's like bring whoever you want and we just have food and we have the game on and it's just a very social um fun opportunity so and then we have Aiden and his mom that was the last day of our one of our adaptive dance programs where um they finished that last day with a performance in the theater at the community center so think that questions for oh any questions you said that 25 different cities are represented how is the word getting out is it just organic or are you partnering with other cities with their community centers or programs you know it's kind of a mix so a lot of these families I mean that they're they're close right so and they have maybe kids who are in different programs or different schools and so then they'll spread the word to another family that their child goes to school with um you know there's uh there's a Facebook group that um one of the parents who's got a son with a disability who lives in chasa she's the admin for that Facebook group um that's kind of a whole network of families uh she'll spread the word on our programs um I have a big email list that I a contact list of like 140 or so people and a lot of people a lot of the people on the list are parents um but I've added you know um different people who work work for other organizations that serve uh people with disabilities we've got some of the special ed um department or teachers with the schools are on that list so they'll share the word out um to their families that they know so it's kind of a kind of a mix a cool Community I I volunteer with top soccer through CC United and that's that's such a rewarding program to be able to do that with you know my soccer team to have those girls go and volunteer there so pretty cool and just um you know with with like even just talking going back to our um discussion on like volunteers I mean we have really made some good connections with um you know the high school and the middle school a lot of students need some of them need volunteer hours or service hours as part of their school workor so um you know I think we've had recently had some um seventh graders that you know middle school students that have come and volunteered at some of these programs and they're needing to get their hours in but somebody just came recently to one of our programs and the other two kids needed me to sign that they had done their hours and this this individual said I've already completed my hours but I just came to to help or you know he had come before and had a good time so um yeah it's it's been pretty cool s yeah thank you Aon for everything you do we need to come here every night hi I'm Joan zorf um as Aon mentioned I've been here 23 years serving the city um what she failed to mention was I was the youngest hire at zero I don't know how you forgot that part so as you c as you would know through 23 years of of service I've I've been working in a lot of areas but where I've most recently landed um has been in the lodge area with our active older adult population but even before I get started because you're saying there's so many Feelgood but um I was hired originally to work with teens and actually one of the teens I worked with was my colleague Sydney so have her be up here doing a professional presentation talking about how she managed an event for 12,000 people is just so amazing so um you know this position has led to a lot of opportunity and a lot of chances to to work with a a div diverse uh group of people and ALS Al a wonderful wonderful team so but yes I've worked for the city of chasa for 23 years um The Lodge uh for active older adults if you're unfamiliar um with kind of where it's located or or its history um it was a new construction but an add-on to the already existing Community Center so it's on the the Far West End of the building door number 11 is our main entrance um and it opened the summer of 20 07 um we host primarily daytime hours but then we have an extended day on Thursdays so we're open in the evenings till 8 um and then we're also open on uh weekends or other evenings when we have special events or programming so there's some flexibility um currently there is no membership needed to participate or be in the lodge um some of our programs are obviously fee based and um require registration but we offer many opportunities that are for free um and they are primarily designed for ages 55 plus so um we are fortunate um to work with many sponsors and partners Sydney showcased a lot of those um on her slide um but they are a big reason why we're still able to offer a lot of those programs for free or at a really reasonable price point um so we are just lucky that we've been able to to grow that sponsorship base and the Partnerships that we have to be able to continue to do that because then I think it keeps people involved and engaged and there isn't the barrier that could be um with the with the pricing so we're we're glad to have that um we have daily regular users we have people that come in the morning and they come back in the afternoon um and they're here like I said daily so they're here Monday through Friday but we also have onetime users one time a month or one time users one time a week that are specifically coming in for something that they love to do whether it's they come every Tuesday afternoon because they are a bridge player and that's what they want to do or uh today we hosted coffee with a cop with officer Martin and there is a couple that I don't see really frequently but you bet I'm going to see them on coffee with a cop day so or if it's our birthday celebration so there's a real diverse selection of of participation you know it can be super regular and consistent and it can be one time or it can be just for programs or people that just love to do day trips so I feel like what it's doing is is serving uh what people love to do and they're finding it and so it could be often or it could be infrequent um we um we also are serving uh patrons obviously from Chas and Carver but um we have very consistent people driving from cologne blano Shor view exceler Shaka and many other cities as well so we're also um H we have a reach so that's also exciting um throughout the years there been uh growth in our usage and programming and now postco we're really seeing participation numbers again growing so we're we're excited about that what we're showcasing here on the AOA programs this is our famous Lodge chicken dinner um and just to kind of give you an idea of the numberb so in 2022 there was 63 participants 2023 105 this year 2024 120 so it's just continuing I'd say if you want something to grow you put the word famous in front of it you're good to go and you have Elvis and Elvis yes Elis is that really Marshall or is it [Music] thank you thank you oh sorry I forgot my C thank you thank you um so this showcases um The Lodge offers a variety of programming um it's really important although we love our bingo at the at the lodge and we definitely offer bingo in different forms we certainly don't want the lodge to just be known for Bingo because that's kind of like the stereotype for senior centers but although we love our Bingo we have a diverse range of programming and we're trying to Showcase um some of this in the next couple of slides um we have a focus even when we kind of built the lodge and we're looking at what our programming we're really trying to hit very different components whether it's for their physical well-being for their health for their social um for their um educational needs or for their vocational or work purpose so um as we showcase some of the things that are going on um we're trying to kind of hit those different marks um I on this one we have special events we have holidays uh theme parties travel shows um we have our daily and monthly things that are just on a regular basis those are consistently things like the cards the Bingo the coffee with the cop book discussions we do things that are very consistent on our schedule but then we're always trying to intersperse different special events um one of the best Partnerships that we have and this is just an easy one to talk about it's an internal part partnership but we partner with the CCC team um and we are very lucky because we are in a building where we have access to the chesa community center and their staff so um what has made the Lodge so successful is this partnership between the two teams because um many of our patrons that come to the lodge although they don't need a membership they end up having a membership to the community center and having that physical fitness component where they are participating in Silver Sneakers programs um they are qualifying for this membership oftentimes through their insurance premiums and so it has brought a big draw of participants um um and then with the part with the partnership between the uh Fitness Team U Missy goof and her team we've been able to offer specialty workouts which is showcased here that was probably our our Valentine Cupid Shuffle in the gym um we've been able to offer um special nutritional workshops we've offered a wellness retreat in Carver and um different walks in the park so you know again it's it seems so natural and it's just happened from the start but for sure that's one of the Partnerships that I can just s Rave about because um again i' I've got a awesome team and it that that just works for us um we can go ahead and switch other highlights or parts of our programming is our Daye trips we usually go on day trips outings uh one to two times a month often times we are traveling by motor coach so we are not doing the school bus anymore we're past the school bus we're on a motor coach um and then we're just trying to get experiences within our local community or extended community in the metro area or we'll take trips to St Cloud area um but we're always looking for variety and and different um events to go to we are also hitting that education component with driver safety classes uh financial literacy classes coffee with a cop always a highlight and then um we do one-on-one Medicare counseling which is also just a nice service for for our patrons and then lastly and two of those pictures are showcasing it we feel really important about volunteerism within our space because if you do good you feel good so we are trying to always capture um monthly different opportunities for our group to do uh things with a purpose um and two of those that our showcases one is we oftentimes will go to Feed My Starving Children um and then the other one is uh our uh partnership with trxs and trails Miss Sandy and her teachers they um come up to read with our um volunteer readers in the lodge so and we have other opportunities with tracks and trails it's just a natural again a natural tie in tomorrow they'll be singing at our um holiday party so we're just really lucky again to have so many um contacts within our our own space um but there's several opportunities one is that people volunteer in the lodge they might be a greeter or um you know they just help with tasks that just can be timec consuming whether it's loading the the dishwasher or um you know cleaning tables and things like that but then we also provide volunteer opportunities outside of our space like going to the humanity Alliance or feed my sty children this was just kind of my way to to Showcase some of the uh you know one it's always our vision is right front center we're creating lifelong memories and healthier Community for all that is our focus when we are planning these events and these trips it's just wanting to you know step it up a notch or enhance it and um just to point out just a few of the things that we're doing so the first one says memorable experiences we're trying to always think out of the box that was an 80 piece band that we had which seems simple but let me tell you it is not but once we got them there the impact of the sound of an 80 piece band and how moving it was to not only me but the guests there it was like so worth it um we tried to create a warm and inviting and able environment that's the outside of the lodge from the the the highway from the road outside angler but that's showcasing um February when it can be kind of gloomy so we sent had a motivational me message in the window um shine as people were driving by when we're having special events or parties we are always trying to step it up a notch with unique games and activities um and this is the perfect time to introduce um someone who who has been recently added to full-time to our staff is Nikki um she has worked part-time with us for three years and she just recently in the last couple of weeks has been made full-time and she has been key in thinking outside of the box when it comes to Decor new entertainers um unique games um she is just wanting to make sure that the experiences that are being had by our customers is the best that it can be so welcome to the team Nikki um and then the last picture on the right hand corner is uh the cherish memories that's showcasing we recently had a veterans program within the lodge space and we were able to recognize 20 veterans that are a regular part of our group um we were able to um you know very specially recognize them have a have a moment for them and then we also had um a patriotic um program during that time frame and again it was just something where afterwards we had so many people come up to us and just let us know that it was something that that moved them and it impacted them in some way so and then The Lion King is just said we're always looking for new ideas we have gone to some premiere shows we've gone to Wicked Hamilton we are really trying to access anything that is a little more unique or difficult to do because it's not easy to get tickets to the wicked but we did so um we are gonna keep working hard to provide those experiences that our group may not be able to do on their own and then lastly quality entertainers you know and uh we're just looking for new and different and something that just uh again is memorable little delay with canva it doesn't like all my tumbling pictures and then lastly this is a sh shot of one moment from one activity from each month from this year um and hopefully I'm just showcasing the greatest thing about the lodge which is the networking the experiences the connections made and most of all the friendships thank you if you have any questions you seen an increase in Lodge participation with the um building of delw web Community yes and funny in recent weeks in particular so I think people in the community are probably getting more familiar and comfortable in their own space and now they're they're looking for opportunities outside as well and then like I even heard today because I was just down in the locker room and I think there's new people um coming that became members and they're taking part in like Splash class we've had him in maang and then also participating in our special events so I think word is starting to to to spread and then we've also had some connections with the staff there as well but um as they grow yes I've definitely seen that and it really seems like I said in recent weeks uh even yesterday when I talked to someone they said they were from there and I said oh do you happen to live on Robin curve and they did because I was I knew there're all bird names up there and by by chance I guess the right address so no it's really exciting and there are you know with Nikki on board now too there's just going to be so many more opportunities and time to do even more Outreach because I know that there are many many more active older adults that might not know where we are what we do or what opportunities they could have so we can spend more time doing that and eventually here in the next couple years we'll have um they could walk and not cross 41 um and safely get to the community center yes they're able or or take a ebike very [Laughter] fast thank you um just thank you very much um for your years of dedication and your and your obvious influence in in our community um and I know I don't ever plan on getting old but just to have these these programs is so crucial so thank you very much for all that you do you're welcome thank to be a good spot for you when you get [Laughter] there all right we have made it to the end uh finally a little bit long um so this slide just kind of showcases a a couple new things there'll be a lot more than this but just a few new things that we have coming in this um next year um for programs and events and just things that we're looking forward to so um look for an information actually I think registration is open for a new puzzle Bowl so a um puzzle challenge um signing up as a group um we're talking jigsaw puzzle on Super Bowl weekend um in Carver and I know um somebody mentioned City Carver and having Sandy did with um some of our programs there and so just a reminder too that um our team does um program for the city of Carver so with that agreement that we have with them um so we are really um you know putting a lot of effort and thought into providing things in the city of Carver and they have some good spaces to use um we have received a small Grant from the DNR outdoor recreation so a winter outdoor uh Recreation event um will be coming later this winter and a youth fishing camp that'll both be kind of supported by that Grant um and Sandy is going to be helping um with those um you know the summer concert series and Community Market so not new but um we are hoping to really work some more with uh the the Southwest um chamber for um building up like Sydney had said building up those um concert nights in conjunction with the farmers market as well um you know we're looking at if if a different night of the week makes sense to move things or if it's going to stay on Wednesdays but um we'll be looking forward to um partnering with them and hopefully really trying to build up those those nights with a lot of fun stuff to get um some more uh participation um and then with with onboarding um Katherine and having her here to really just focus on those tricky teenagers um you know I see a lot of expanded opportunities uh coming in this next year for them especially if we can uh connect and with an Advisory Group and kind of get some input from those teenagers themselves um and then like I said the Adaptive programming as well um we're going to try a few new things um Nikki actually is going to be helping with some um open art programming which will be new and then we are going to be using um The Village Hall and Carver for a game night and social uh for the Adaptive um program participants as well and then Zach mentioned the pickle ball courts and there is a picture it's kind of small but of the five new Courts at Lions Park we are just super excited for that to have 11 total there um the players are even more excited than we are um for sure so that'll be a great uh a great uh space to have and you know being big enough to to have some more tournaments or expanded options down there um and then with the new community park um that I think is maybe being called Bigwood park right now but that'll be really exciting um with all that will come with that Park and as that master plan is um is starting to develop um but the Miracle League field and Universal Design playground will be great um additions to the community as well um we are excited I know Joan mentioned that um s well Sydney was a one of our teens that was in the programs when Joan was doing teen programming and then Sydney turned into uh an intern you know for us and then she was a part-time staff and now she's been a full-time staff for for a number of years but um we're excited to um hopefully have a park and wreck intern join us for this summer um so we'll be uh putting together kind of a description of what that will look like and then getting hopefully recruiting for an intern starting even um in early January we haven't had an intern for a while so that'll be exciting and then um you know we really have gone more digital with our marketing uh especially after covid so you know we used to mail the activity guide to all the different homes it was a lot um so we've really scaled back and gone more digital but we are looking to do a little bit more of the print marketing this year with a postcard uh probably three times throughout the year that will kind of um either go before you know right before the activity guide letting people know it's coming um or after you know those types of things um so that's kind of exciting I think we we just did a postcard um that was highlighting a lot of the community center um Fitness updates and things like that and you know the announcement of our our latest activity guide coming out and I think we saw some some some success with that so be excited exciting to kind of um bring back a little bit of that this year so we hopefully have a good mix of ways to get the word out to people so the heads up but when the preview was coming out and then that the registration was staggered but the advanced warning of when it would be available for preview was really helpful this year I think that's it the next slide is just kind of a fun a little collage of some fun pictures to really show um kind of all that that we have been doing awesome any last final questions comments for Aon and her team just want to thank you guys for all of the time um and having us here tonight it's been super fun to kind of talk through all that we do and I think as we put some of this information together even for us who we're we're doing this every day but when you put it all together it's kind of exciting to see it's like oh that is a lot yeah it's a great annual report thank you for your time truly everybody was so helpful you know this is after work hour so thank you guys for coming and taking the time to everyone showing up this is awesome yeah it's really impressive the breath of programs that you guys do and I think I'm like oh I got this great idea and you know go to you and your team tonight and you're like yeah we've already done that like it's just amazing so thank you everyone great job and the whole team I mean I'm the fortunate one that gets to go to work with all these individuals day in day out and um you know I I kind of think about you know what Aaron said there's all these great facilities we have in chasa but they're just facilities and without people and without programming they would just sit there and so it's a real Testament to this staff and just their creativity and their passion and just their motivation to want to involve as many of our community members as possible from one year old on up to 100 plus it's it's just amazing the diversity and like I can't even keep up hardly so um so it's it's really cool I obviously interface more with Aaron just you know as a direct report but it's just really neat to see you know what she's been doing with her team and all the different things we do and with your support and city council support so we thank you okay that moves us on to item eight um and if at any point this is probably a good time to escape if anybody would like to it's been a long one so feel free no feelings hurt we understand it's late it is um so that brings us to discussion items 8 a marshall all right so we've got to talk a little bit about the park and wreck commission appointments um so it's always at the end of the year where some terms are coming due so [Music] um currently where we sit we've got Elizabeth weing here coming up at the end of your second third-year term with the option of renewing for another three years um Michael Huer you're at the end of your first three-year term um and then Terry schworm is at the end of his um three-year term and so um I think from what I understand Terry has uh reapplied um but they're still up till December 20th is the deadline so Mike and Elizabeth we'd love to have you back um you should have an email with the link to the application um if you'd like to go ahead and renew for for another term I would encourage you to do that and then we also have a youth representative that's still open too um so we have um you know some messaging out to the school district to try to recruit um for that position as well um like I said the deadline is December 20th and then my understanding is that city council will be conducting commissioner interviews as part of their work sessions during their second meeting in January and PRI proba their first meeting in February and then they typically make their appointments in that second meeting in February so there's that component and then next month uh when we meet in January um I'll be seeking your recommendation to City CC for who you would like to serve as chair and vice chair um throughout the duration of next year so we'll have that discussion um next January and then we'll put that into a staff report and submit it to city council um at the meeting where they'll do the rest of the um appointments uh at that second meeting in February so just a heads up on that to give you some things to think about going into next month any questions comments discussion on that no okay anybody no all right um next up sorry I'm kind of jumping on you Jason he didn't even notice what what I miss oh I apologize 8 B Bar show Park updates so I'll pretty good progress from the last time we meet but maybe we're not quite as far as long as I had hoped um shortly after we met in our last work session I did end up getting called in for jury duty on a criminal case multi-day deal so I was taken away from work from a while then it kind of LED right into some planed time I had off had time off I had planned for Thanksgiving so some things has kind of got a little on hold and playing some katchup but um with that some information on the metal Park um so this would be the neighborhood park that's adjacent to the um Public Safety campus back on November 5th we met as a steering committee um with other staff across City departments um along with two residents that I made you aware of that are um serving on the steering committee to sort of lay out the project and talk a little bit about what some of the challenges and opportunities uh that exist with the particular site and then generally getting some feedback um from those residents so that um our consultant which is H KGI could then go back and develop some Concepts so they have um since um sent Ashley and I some sketch Concepts that we've had a chance to review um I think it was a decent start but um we definitely had some feedback for them so we met with them just the other day to provide that feedback they're going to um sort of revamp those uh Concepts and then we'll be preparing ultimately for a meeting on January 7th to reconvene that steering committee um along with the residents to review those Concepts gather any additional feedback if we need to have HGI make some revisions we will but ultimately it's preparing from there to take the concepts out to the residents that live within that neighborhood um for some feedback so that's kind of where we're at in that process um and then glad Ashley is here with us tonight just to make you aware as it relates to the Meadow Park project she's actually going to be serving as the project uh manager for that um so we're working conjunct on that and you'll just be seeing more of her which is a great thing at our meetings going forward I'm glad you're smiling um so and then next we'll transition to the southwest community Community Park master plan which you heard Aaron allude to or maybe dubbing that as Big Woods Park yeah I heard that like Southwest Community Park is just a mouthful and it's a lot to type every time and we already have a community park in chasa so just as we go I thought let's not create confusion so it's going to kind of dub it Big Woods but technically that's not you know we still will have a naming process but I think just reference based on the road and the remnant of the woods it makes sense just want to point out if that ends up being the name that sign vandalization will happen every week not a great name for yeah what what am I missing cross yeah what if you cross talk about later oh really come on give me a break I mean it would happen people would report it every week it would happen not trying to make a joke I'm like actually legitimately so also um same letter I'm glad Aaron is here too so with the Big Woods Park master plan process both Ashley and Aaron will be serving on the project team for that I'll be serving as the project manager for that particular one but those two will be heavily involved along with you know other staff and other departments um but they'll be coming to um future work sessions that we'll have with the Consultants um and you as the commission serving as as the task force going forward um so as it relates to that project we've recently um executed the Professional Services agreement with Confluence um so they'll be serving as the landscape architect and kind of the Project Lead um throughout the planning process um they're going to be utilizing Pros Consulting um as a subc consultant and what they'll ultimately be doing is evaluating our current Park system and sort of identifying whether or not there's any gaps in our system and then uh analyzing that also in comparison to our bordering communities in what exists within the general service area and then kind of another look at kind of the metro area and other similar siiz communities you know and what they typically have for amenities as a comparison so it it gives us a little bit of a benchmark in some context um as we start going through the community engagement process um going forward so they'll be they'll be doing some work for us and then Stant will will serve as the engineering um Consultants on this project um they are already our contracted engineering firm within the city of chasa um they have a lot of familiarity with the site in that region so um I think that's going to be a great team for us to to move forward with um Next Step there uh we'll be meeting with Brad from Confluence this coming Thursday he's going to be kind of their Project Lead that um I'll be interfacing with on a regular basis to kind of revisit the project uh timeline since we' have been a little bit delayed kind of re-calibrate our approach to the community engagement and start identifying some of the next steps um which I see those being um getting Pros consultant the pros Consulting Group going on the kind of the market study in the in the system study um there are Confluence is already doing um some analysis of the site so uh Aaron and Ashley and I met with their staff back in November and did a site visit um they they took some Drone footage and pictures and just starting to kind of wrap their head around the site and working with stantech to develop mapping um I think we'll likely work towards getting a community survey out you know so I think we're going to start with kind of casting a wide net um and just generally understanding what people um see in that part um and then that's going to provide us some context where I'm I'm hoping we'll be prepared to come back to the um February meeting and have a work session where I'll bring Confluence in and sort of Kick It Off off um with the commission and the task for as as a task force so we'll have some cont some context to share with you and then kind of what the vision is going forward so we can get your feedback and kind of talk about where to where to take it from there um I thought I'd just quickly share a couple of Trail updates um just because we haven't really highlighted it um publicly but uh the Creek Road Trail is now complete to be heading had a chance definitely recommend you check that out so you go right out of the parking lot of the curling and event center and head up towards um Veterans Park and the VFW and go up the hill the former Creek Road is now a trail through that whole Western Ravine aome super ultimately then connects up to Angler Boulevard up at the top of the hill so that's a going to be a super cool connection within our trail system um and then you've also probably seen uh quite a bit of progress along um chasa Boulevard in the trail that ultimately is the Minnesota River Bluffs Regional Trail connecting to the new underpass under Highway 41 so the majority of that is complete um it's just going to be the bridge will be that last component which they're um fabricating over the winter and then that'll get installed sometime next spring um for that so look forward to more programming along that trail segment as well um and then next um next spring and through summer and fall will be the um reconstruction of angler Boulevard Highway 10 along with the 41 intersection it's the four roundabouts coming through um but there's going to be a trail segment along the whole Northern side of angler Boulevard and then um we were able to work with the county on that project as a city to extend their project to include a trail extension from Park Ridge Drive which is the entrance into the community center going further east down the hill over to rivo Road all right which has been a pretty big missing Gap within our system um um and then as you know as part of that Highway 10 and 41 intersection there's going to be two underpasses that will be included as part of that project as well so um be a lot of travel disruption throughout next year um we're going to have to you know be good at communicating everything as it relates to people trying to get to the community center and whatnot um but I think it's going to be a really nice project when it's all all said and done which are the four intersections that are being redone uh they'll start on the west side with Bavaria and then it'll from there it'll be White Oak and then you got angler and 41 okay and then the last one will be Park Ridge okay it was a deal it was buy three get one free you're gonna let Aaron work from home now right she won't be able to get there here she's got an underpass [Laughter] all right so that's all the updates I have for that okay Creek Ro the Creek Road Trail also connects into the extension of Savannah where you've got a trail on one side and a sidewalk on the other that will take you right to Savannah HS Park as well so oh yeah that's PR because that road is now open yep yep it's kind of the new collector now Road yeah it doesn't feel like it but because it it's running into Creek Road where it sort of dead ends sure at that roundabout so I mean it doesn't dead end but that's where the trail comes in where the trail comes in yeah y yeah but it's it's a it's a nice link into the neighborhood [Music] so okay uh HC Department happenings all right um share some other highlights happening um so back on November 18th through the 24th at the community center we held a free trial week uh first time we've done that and it was highly successful um big kudos to all the staff that were involved and the marketing efforts that went into that but we ended up seeing over 1200 visits um from new new people coming in that week and then we ran a sale the weekend after which resulted in almost 100 new members um joining the community center so that was awesome to see um curling activi has really been ramping up um as we um get into the winter the winter leagues are up and running um we put some effort into trying to develop um a beginners league on Friday nights um we've seen that um League spot kind of dwindle you know coming out at 8:00 on a Friday night it's difficult for adults we tend to be tired however um we've got now 11 teams that have recently signed up to form this new beginners league on Friday night so excited to see that because I think um you know over time it's going to take some more strategy and effort to kind of continually integrate new people into curling yeah because it was a such a it just took off right from the Geo and was kind of full for the most part and now that it's almost 10 years old we are seeing you know some Fallout and so we got to figure out how to welcome new curlers um into the mix um staff at the curling Center have partnered with the Twin Cities curling Association to put on a skills Clinic coming up um that will um go through the delivery of the stone that that completely filled with 24 participants and then we we're seeing just a lot of um activity with corporate and holiday learn to curls um this time of year um on January 9th through 12th we'll be hosting the big Spiel um so that's been going on for a while but that will be 96 teams um it's completely full already it it filled the quickest it ever has um but that is a uh program or a bond Spiel in partnership with the St Paul Curling Club frog frog town and Four Seasons um so across all those days each team curls at each of those facilities so it's kind of a competition to be the coolest host site you know on say once they get there um and then our marketing manager Chris lindall has been working with staff at the curling Center along with our it Department um and our facilities um Team to incorporate streaming within the uh Curling Club so we're doing this all inhouse um saving quite a bit of money by doing it um we're kind of in beta mode but if you do go to YouTube you can access uh the the stream live stream at the curling club um across all six sheets um and then we've got some funds allocated uh for the budget next year to kind of build on that and enhance it um so we're looking forward to that uh this Thursday first time ever we got the Dueling Pianos event taking place at the Event Center um that filled I think last I heard we got about 175 people um that have signed up so our staff are working collaboratively with the Crooked Pint staff to to put on another fun event there next next Tuesday um December 17th we're going to be putting on a firsttime event at the um Event Center was called a one night choir and so this was an idea that was shared with me by one of our city council members Mike Wong and it's really this opportunity for anybody all all ability levels it has come together and sing and be a part of a really cool experience and so we're partnering with the former um choir director uh from the chasa high school Shelley Klein who was there for 39 years she's going to sort of lead us then there's also Leslie um uh let's see here Leslie Hercules who own the chasa music um Studios is going to be part of the planning along with Mike Wong's daughter Kylie and then Kevin Wright um within our Communications and Community engagement so um so we'll see we're going to be um singing the song um Seasons of Love from the production rent along with a few other so if you don't have anything going on I encourage you to come on down it'll be from 6 o'clock to 8 o'clock on Tuesday the 17th um we're partnering with the Southwest Metro Chamber of Commerce to put on a health and wellness Expo at the chasa community center and that's going to be on Saturday January 11th from 10: in the morning till 1:00 p.m. what we plan to do there is create sort of a open house event is it relates to the community center so people can come in for free go get a workout go swimming and we'll you know basically access everything that we have going on um the Southwest Metro chamber is going to be working with the local businesses that are kind of Within the health and wellness realm to put on an expo that will occur in the upper level gym then we'll just be featuring a lot of different things that our department does I think you know Zach's doing some pickle ball down in the lower level the lodge is going to be open to Showcase you know the variety of things we can do in there for our active older adults and just kind of showcase all the opportunities people have within our Parks and Recreation Department um so we look forward to that a first kind of First Time Event um but I think it's a great great partnership with the Southwest chamber and our local business Community to showcase the community County you know in January on a Saturday when it's kind of top of mind for people to you know start new healthy behaviors um and then next week Wednesday um Santa is going to be coming to town I heard that Buddy the elf and the Grinch is going to be there too families um so that starts at 4:30 uh the route is out and there is the you know the Santa Tracker so you can follow in real time where it's going um Elizabeth I was able to talk to Santa and not able to quite get all the way through autumnwood but we're we're getting sort of in there I'll get you the map okay um but it was sort of a last minute request so he's doing the best he can but next year I'm told we're going to do the full aumn oids so looking forward to that I'll have to make good on my promise to you stay off the a list um Buddy the elf and then last but not least I I just want to take an opportunity to share um a personal kind of update in that and it relates to park and wreck but it's to honor my father-in-law Dave Carlson um he has recently been inducted into Wisconsin's conservation Hall of Fame for the 2025 class of inductees so if you didn't know my father-in-law um has done a lot of conservation work um he produced an outdoor hunting and fishing show just kind of a general Outdoor Show he's produced over 3,000 segments he's been a regular contributor to um Wisconsin's outdoor news he's volunteered for all kinds of organizations to try to preserve land and you know Waters to you know make sure there's that public access and was just very passionate about you know getting new people to explore it um children and women um so he's he's currently um working through Parkinson so it's kind of tough you know to see he's not able to do a lot of the stuff that he liked to do but it's pretty neat to see him being rewarded for the lifetime of work he's done and I'll finish with just a fun story you know a fishing story because I got to go fishing with him quite often and uh for several years he would invite me to the Wisconsin Governor's opener you know and so it was kind of shooing with all these you know politicians and whatnot but there was one year when I brought uh my oldest daughter at the time but she was only five Gabby with um to go fishing and Dave was just so so happy about that and so in the morning we go to the local bait shop right cuz that's where the action is you got to find that lure you know that hot lure your bait and just everybody's excited and um bunch of people were kind of gathering around and Dave was always good about introducing me and you know anybody else he was with and I think he was more interested about introducing Gabby than he L me he was so so excited and I'll never forget the these group of guys are standing around and so they asked Gabby like what are you going to go fishing for today and she just kind kind of had this look like she didn't know how to answer and so they're like you know bluegills or walleye or Bass and she kind of looks a little more and she looks up and she goes I'm going for Keepers that's because when we're in the boat with Grandpa he would always go that's a [Laughter] keeper awesome always be with me so that's it thank you okay that brings us to 9A the round table very short nothing I don't have anything for once what a year it's December and I'm really excited to see what next year brings it will bring a lot of construction but wow what a year it's been that's all thank you uh just a reminder to shop local if you're out and about buying things for the holiday season and uh take this time to rest and recharge your your batteries and like to um then I'll said look forward to the next year nothing for me Tre lighting the park presented itself exceptionally well thanks to all Park and wreck who made it so beautiful all the lights all the activities tons of people there High School wire it was it was magical as it is every year but this year I don't know maybe because it was warmer than last year I totally uh our family took full advantage of the free week at the community center we passed members and have kind of lapsed just because of the age of our kids but in the last like two months we've decided to make it a point to give each kid like a one-on-one date with a parent and two of our five kids chose to go to the community center to swim so that was special fun date with them very cool and uh nothing from me this week so uh that brings us to item 10 um to have a motion to I so move I all in favor say I hi meeting is adjourned for