HomeMy WebLinkAbout20220118 - CC Workshop MinutesHastings, Minnesota
City Council Workshop
January 18, 2022
The City Council of the City of Hastings, Minnesota met in a workshop on Tuesday, January
18, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Room at the Hastings City Hall, 101 East 4th Street,
Hastings, Minnesota.
Members Present: Mayor Fasbender, Councilmembers Braucks, Folch, Fox, Leifeld,
Vaughan
Members Absent: Councilmember Lund, Leifeld
Staff Present: City Administrator Dan Wietecha
Assistant City Administrator Kelly Murtaugh
Chris Jenkins, Director, Parks and Recreation Department
Mayor Fasbender called the workshop to order at 5:36 p.m.
Jenkins provided the priorities and initiatives of the Parks and Recreation Department, as well as
the challenges. He reviewed the structure of the department and the number of staff. He outlined
the infrastructure and equipment under the responsibility of department. The City has 37
parks/public spaces with 400 acres maintained and over 650 acres of parkland. The department
covers a number of buildings, including the Civic Arena, Family Aquatic Center, and the Joint
Maintenance Facility.
Heavily used, highly visible parks and facilities are a priority of the department. Some of the
challenges include a need to get back to staffing of 10 years ago. The City is well above the
national standard of acres per full-time equivalent and do rely on seasonal staffing. Athletic
facilities are spread out throughout the City and the Comprehensive Plan requires neighborhood
parks within .5 miles of every home. Staff work as not only parkkeepers, but also mechanics,
carpenters, plumbers, roofers, and painters. The Aquatics Manager is a seasonal position that
could benefit from being full-time.
Additional challenges to maintaining is in redevelopment. There has not been consistent, reliable
funding for park development and redevelopment. Plans indicate that park update/redevelopment
should be every 20 years, but is now taking nearly 25. The Civic Arena and Family Aquatics
Center are aging facilities and continue to need maintenance to provide the high-quality service
to the community.
Council discussion on the need to review Park Dedication fees and a larger discussion that looks
at overall plan for funds for all park development and redevelopment. Earlier discussions with
developers indicated that the developers would only pass along the increase in fees to the new
home owner. The City infrastructure costs have continued to increase and there needs to be a
systematic approach to funding these projects. Further discussion on the need to educate
residents about the costs to maintain the resources of the City.
Discussion on the significant amount of community (residents, local user groups) input into
Parks & Recreation section of Comprehensive Plan and the other plans. Discussion of the role of
the P & R Commission in the implementation of the Comp Plan. Council discussion on the
Arena project making the Governor’s list for State Bonding. Discussion on staffing and some of
the needs be addressed by reviewing the current roles as well as review of the facility manager
role.
ADJOURNMENT
The workshop adjourned at 6:47 p.m.
____________________________ ______________________________
Mary D. Fasbender, Mayor Kelly Murtaugh, City Clerk