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Home My WebLink About10C - Park & Rec Program Change 16200 Eagle Creek Avenue S,E. Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714 MEETING DATE: AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: AGENDA ITEM: DISCUSSION: ISSUES: CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT November 21, 2005 10C Angela Barstad, Recreation Coordinator CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A REPORT REGARDING (1) WATZL'S BEACH BOAT SLIPS, (2) LAKEFRONT SKATE PARK, AND (3) WHEEL FUN RENTALS, Introduction For the summer of 2005, the City Council directed the staff to implement several new programs related to Parks & Recreation including boat slip rentals at Watzls Beach, Wheel Fun rentals at Lakefront Park and Skatepark improvements. This report is to advise the Council of the status of the programs. Current Circumstances There were some issues with each of the programs this past summer. The staff has proposed several ideas to resolve these issues and reviewed them with the Parks Advisory Committee. Tonight we will ask the City Council for feedback and authority to implement the changes. Watzls Beach Boat Slips - In 2004, the City Council approved and installed the boat slips at Watzls Beach. A reservation system was set up for these boat slips. During the summer, 2005, we had received no reservations for these slips, however these slip seemed to be more popular on a first-come, first- serve basis. Recommendation: The PAC considered overnight rentals; the key issue would be people remaining in the park overnight either on their boat or in the park. After much discussion, staff and PAC are recommending that we continue with the current reservation system for the boat slips in 2006, with increased marketing and communication about the boat slips to the community in hopes of increasing reservations. The PAC would then again review usage of the slips in December 2006 and again consider overnight rentals. The second issue with the boat slips was that children seemed to be using the boat slips as diving boards every day, which posed a risk to both the children and the boaters. One lifeguard at Watzls is not enough to watch over the swimming area and monitor the boat slips, due to the location of each. Recommendation: We are recommending the addition of one lifeguard to Watzls Beach for a total of three lifeguards at the beach. One lifeguard will supervise the swimming area, one lifeguard will supervise the docks, one www.cityofpriorlake.com fOPPl\8nJ 9s~~9,4230 / Fax 952.447.4245 lifeguard manages the concessions, and all 3 then rotate during the course of the day. Staff and the PAC will re-evaluate the issues with the Watzls Boat slips again in 2006. Wheel Fun Rentals - Staff met with and began offering Wheel Fun Rentals at Lakefront Park during the summer of 2005. There does not appear to be enough activity to support this type of venue at this time. The company lost $5,000 and will not be returning. We could offer to pay the $5,000 deficit, plus some reasonable profit is the council wants to test this venue further. Neither the staff, nor the PAC, recommends this option. Recommendation: As the use of Lakefront Park grows we could reconsider this type of venue in the future. If the City Council has feedback or suggestions of other possible venues we would appreciate the feedback. Skatepark at Lakefront Park - We had 1763 attendees at this facility from May through September of 2005. This is a popular facility, but there continue to be issues with vandalism. The impacts of this vandalism are both in time to the staff and financial. However, we do not want to close a popular facility because of the actions of a few. Recommendation: The staff and PAC are recommending that this facility stay open but that we no longer sell concessions. The booth will only be used for sign ins and supervision of the park. The rational is that with nothing in the booth to steal, this may deter future break ins. Another option would be to remove Tier 2 equipment so that no attendant or shelter would be needed. The PAC does not recommend this approach since they believe that the removal of the Tier 2 equipment would not be as attractive to users and therefore reduce participation. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There are no significant financial impacts to the above recommendations. The addition of 1 lifeguard at Watzls can be accommodated within the proposed 2006 budget. ALTERNATIVES: The alternatives are as follows: 1. Adopt the 2006 program modifications as recommended by staff and PAC. 2. Take no action and direct staff accordingly. RECOMMENDED MOTION: Alternative 1 Reviewed by: