City events coordinator asks Park commissioners to staff 2025 events; seeks at least two volunteers per event

Ava, North St. Paul’s communications and community outreach coordinator, asked Park and Recreation commissioners at the Jan. 22 meeting to help plan and staff city events in 2025, emphasizing the need for at least one backup commissioner on site for many activities.

Ava told commissioners she performs both event coordination and photography during events and cannot be in multiple places at once. She asked commissioners to be proactive in planning, attend pre-event meetings, respond to emails, and provide “physical presence there on the day, even if it's just background help.” She asked each commissioner to be physically present at a minimum of two park events per year and to sign up for specific tasks when requested.

The presentation included a draft 2025 event schedule that lists park-specific activities such as Fire and Ice (an evening skating event at Casey Lake), a spring park cleanup (Earth Day timing under review), a new spring 5K, three Music in the Parks concerts (children’s program at Houssey Park, a steel-drum performance at Silver Lake, and an adult bluegrass concert at KC), movie nights (adult and kids), yoga/Zumba/Jazzercise offerings, and Holly Jolly night. Ava said some vendor bookings are still in progress and the schedule may change.

Ava gave concrete volunteer examples: Fire and Ice runs from about 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and she requested a commissioner to staff the hot chocolate/drink station for one-hour shifts so she can handle other tasks; she also asked for one volunteer on Feb. 7 for a one-hour Bridal event. Ava said the ice rink location moved to Casey Lake because ADA constraints removed the Houssey rink.

Commissioners offered coordination suggestions. Ingrid Kohler asked that the city coordinate the park cleanup date with the Silver Lake Association to avoid conflicting cleanups; commissioners suggested shifting the cleanup to a Saturday and exploring high-school volunteer partnerships. Ben Hanson suggested contacting public works about lingering light-base installations at KC (a separate item later in the meeting). The commission and staff discussed prior community partners (Fire Department, Salvation Army) that have helped at past winter events.

Ava said she will send a Google form the day after the meeting to collect commissioners’ availability and outlined next steps: staff will follow up with exact volunteer roles and a sign-up sheet before each event.

No formal action was taken on the volunteer request; commissioners signaled readiness to assist and volunteered informally for specific dates during the meeting.