18-01 Approved Commission Minutes
Crystal Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes
January 3, 2018
Crystal Community Center
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm by
Commission Chair Guy Mueller.
Commission members in attendance were: Guy Mueller, Lynn Haney, Erin Kolb, Lori Merriam,
David Pascoe, Andy Leipold, Tiffany Kovaleski and Patrick Rosenquist. Also present were Olga
Parsons, Council Liaison; John Elholm, Brad Fortin and Scott Berggren from the City Staff.
Ms. Hurling was also present. She is a Crystal Resident in the Welcome Park neighborhood and
was in attendance to get an update on the Park System Master Plan.
Ms. Haney removed election of officers from the table to determine Park and Recreation
Commission officers for 2018; Mr. Pascoe seconded the motion.
Commission Chair Mueller reported that he would not be running for office for 2018. He
thanked the City Council for their work on the Parks System Master Plan, and for taking major
steps forward to meet the needs of the community.
The election of officers for 2018 took place.
Ms. Haney made a motion to nominate Ms. Merriam as the commission chair. No other
nominations were made.
Ms. Merriam was elected as the 2018 Park and Recreation Commission Chair
Mr. Pascoe made a motion to nominate Ms. Kolb as the commission vice chair. No other
nominations were made.
Ms. Kolb was elected as the 2018 Park and Recreation Commission Vice‐Chair
Ms. Haney made a motion to nominate Mr. Pascoe as the commission secretary. No other
nominations were made.
Mr. Pascoe was elected as the 2018 Park and Recreation Commission Secretary.
The gavel was passed to new Commission Chair Ms. Merriam.
Mr. Pascoe made a motion to approve the December Park and Recreation Commission minutes;
Mr. Leipold seconded the motion. The Park and Recreation Commission minutes for December
were approved as written.
Crystal Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes – Page 2 January 3, 2018
There was no chairperson’s report.
Mr. Elholm provided the commission with a brief presentation on the role of the Parks &
Recreation Advisory Commission. He gave examples on how the process has worked the past
year when the commission made recommendations and provided input to the City Council. Mr.
Elholm also discussed Open Meeting Law (OML), and will invite the City of Crystal attorney to a
future meeting to discuss OML in more detail.
Mr. Elholm reviewed their 2017 Work Plan. The Commission agreed that they accomplished a
lot in 2017.
Mr. Elholm presented a draft of the 2018 Work Plan. In addition to what was in the draft, the
Commission would like to add a park tour to their 2018 Work Plan.
Mr. Elholm provided information on upcoming park projects. Demolition of the MAC park
boardwalk will be happening the week of January 8 so the new sections can be installed.
Planning meetings for Welcome and Becker Park projects are planned for January.
Ms. Parsons presented the council report. The City flag was voted best in the nation, and has
been praised for “getting it right”. The City Council voted to close the 1 block section of
Welcome Avenue, at the January 2 council meeting. The Council also approved the purchase of
new equipment for Public Works, which in part will be used to do projects for the Parks System
Master Plan. The Council is also in the process of updating their long‐term Council priorities.
Mr. Mueller gave a Crystal Fund report. They will meet in January, where they will begin
planning upcoming fundraising activities. One project they have discussed is working with the
disc golf group from Bassett Creek on potential improvements there.
Reports were given by Mr. Fortin for park maintenance and Mr. Berggren for recreation
programming. They both made reference to information presented in the commission packet.
Mr. Elholm gave the Director’s report. He reported that the city is working on a new website
design, and showed a sample of what the aquatic center page may look like. He also announced
that the Crystal Community Center and the Crystal Cove Aquatic Center were voted best in their
respective categories in 2017 by Sun Post readers.
Crystal Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes – Page 3 January 3, 2018
The Crystal Frolics committee will resume meeting in January, which will include planning for
Frolics in 2019 and beyond.
Upcoming community events include; the Light of Crystal Halfway Happy Hour and Beyond the
Yellow Ribbon Bowling.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:14 pm.
John Elholm, Recorder