Recreation board re-elects chair, approves minutes and hears updates on park paving, cameras and events

The recreation board approved the previous meeting’s minutes, voted to keep the incumbent chair in place for another year and selected a vice chair, and heard a series of Parks & Recreation updates covering park paving, new cameras, event logistics and safety concerns.

Board business opened with a motion by Board member (board member) to approve the prior meeting’s minutes; the Chair seconded and the motion passed by voice vote. Later in new business Board member moved to keep the incumbent chair in place; the motion, seconded by the Chair, passed by voice vote. Members also nominated Tiffany as vice chair and approved the nomination by voice vote.

Parks & Recreation staff reported on several active projects and operational issues. Staff said the rails-to-trails crossover and a sidewalk extension across the railroad near 30th Street were advanced but that the project’s ownership had shifted within staff, and that a concrete schedule would be provided later. On park security, staff said, “We got 10 cameras approved there,” and added that the cameras should be installed within about 30 days.

On paving, staff said the paving contract was awarded at council on the 13th to contractor Massey and that contractors have proposed closing the park for a day and doing much of the work overnight beginning around 10 p.m. “So I think it's gonna be really, really, really, tight time frame and not gonna affect a lot, I would hope,” the Parks & Recreation staff member said when describing the contractor’s plan. Staff said they had sent a bid-bond request and would hold a pre-construction meeting with the contractor to finalize schedules.

Board members and staff flagged safety issues tied to electric scooters and e-bikes in park spaces and on narrow sidewalks, noting those vehicles can be quiet and fast and pose hazards to pedestrians and maintenance workers. Staff said state-level efforts to regulate scooters are underway, and that park operations were coordinating with the police chief on enforcement and safety messaging.

Staff also reviewed recent event work: the city’s Light Up/Christmas events drew strong attendance, volunteers and vendor interest, and staff reported that vendor demand has risen as nearby municipalities use fields for tournaments. Staff said lights on fields were retrofitted to LED in 2023 and that the city is exploring a utility financing program that spreads upfront costs across monthly bills; they noted maintenance was not part of that program and that some older lighting infrastructure has reached end-of-life.

A handful of operational details were provided: staff said lighting usage triggers a fee (discussed in the meeting as roughly $65 per hour), the pickleball facility groundbreaking is scheduled for Feb. 3 (staff said they believed the start time was 10 a.m.), and outsourcing full holiday light installation and takedown had an estimated vendor quote of about $30,000 — prompting a plan to do more in-house work earlier in the season to limit costs.

The meeting closed with scheduling for the next board meeting (members discussed May 15 at 5:30 p.m. as a likely date) and adjourned at 06:25.

What’s next: staff will follow up with a timeline for the rails-to-trails/sidewalk work, hold a pre-construction meeting with the paving contractor, and proceed with camera deployments and the pickleball groundbreaking.