19-03 Approved Commission MinutesCrystal Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes
March 6, 2019
Crystal Community Center
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm by
Commission Chair Lori Merriam.
Commission members in attendance were: Lori Merriam, Dave Anderson, Lynn Haney, Patrick
Rosenquist, Dave Pascoe, Meredith Torres-Walsh, Terencio Safford and Andy Leipold. Also
present were Nancy LaRoche, Council Liaison; John Elholm, Brad Fortin and Scott Berggren from
the City Staff.
Commission Members not in attendance were: Erin Kolb
Mr. McCaffery was also present as a guest to observe the meeting.
Mr. Pascoe made a motion to approve the February Park and Recreation Commission minutes;
Mr. Rosenquist seconded the motion. The Park and Recreation Commission minutes for
February were approved as written.
Ms. Merriam took the opportunity to thank everyone who has worked to make the Cheers to
Crystal event happen.
Mr. Elholm gathered some input on the Becker Park project. First he presented the commission
with two color options for the playground at Becker Park. After the two options were discussed,
they decided on option #1 which included the lime green accent color. The commission also
discussed when to do the groundbreaking for the Becker Park project. It was decided it would
take place prior to the April 3rd commission meeting. The ceremony would take place at Becker
Park at 6:00 pm, with the tree board meeting to follow at the Community Center at 6:45 pm
and regularly scheduled commission meeting at 7:00 pm.
Mr. Elholm presented the commission with a couple upcoming grant opportunities. The first
was a DNR grant. The grant funding would be used to add a hockey rink at North Lions Park,
which is consistent with the parks system master plan. The grant would pay for up to 50% of
the project, with the other half coming out of the city’s parks fund. The commission
recommended the grant application also include the addition of a hard surface within the
hockey rink so it could be used for non-winter activities. This project would have to be
completed by June 2021. The city is also looking at a Hennepin Youth Sports grant this fall for
the playground at Fair School. This would be a partnership totaling $250,000, with money
coming from the grant, school district and the city.
Crystal Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes – Page 2 March 6, 2019
Ms. LaRoche presented the council report. The council voted to move forward with the sale of
land at Iron Horse Park to build three homes. The remainder of the park will be platted as park
land. Proceeds from the land sale will be around $150,000, and will go into the parks fund.
Mr. Pascoe gave a Crystal Fund report. The Cheers to Crystal event will take place at the Crystal
Community Center on March 15. Ms. Haney gave the commission members their volunteer
duties and times for the event. It was mentioned that volunteers would be able to take part in
the event at the cost of $10.
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 sent a letter to local businesses, groups and service
organizations to update them on the Becker Park project. From the letter BGD Companies of
Crystal donated $500 towards the playground.
Ms. Haney gave the Crystal Frolics report. Mr. Leipold agreed to write the clues for the Crystal
Ball scavenger hunt for 2019. Ms. Haney discussed how shuttle buses would be used to
alleviate traffic around Welcome Park that weekend. There will also be a group cleaning up the
Welcome Park area each morning to keep the neighborhood clean. As the Frolics looks forward
to 2020, they will be partnering with the City of Crystal to do more programming at Becker
Park.
Upcoming community events include; the Light of Crystal Halfway Happy Hour at the Cheers to
Crystal event.
Mr. Pascoe made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Mr. Rosenquist seconded the motion.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm.
John Elholm, Recorder