Discussion:
Following the construction of the Community Center and Ice Arena, City Council has focused on ensuring that the Parks and Recreation Department is managed as efficiently and economically as possible. This includes specific direction to increase/diversify revenues and to decrease expenses, while maintaining a high expectation of customer service. To that end, the Parks and Recreation Department is the only part of the city that has its revenue/expenses reviewed by the City Council each month and has regular Council inquiries into efforts to increase revenues and decrease expenses.
Recently, the City of Shakopee developed a long-range Parks, Trails and Recreation Master Plan (Master Plan) for the city’s parks and trails infrastructure and recreation programming. Over the course of the year-long comprehensive planning process (July 2018 to August 2019), city staff and consultants received feedback from thousands of Shakopee residents about the future of Shakopee’s parks and trails.
In addition to the public outreach at various city-wide events over the year, fourteen stakeholder meetings were held at various places in the city to reach out specifically to residents regarding the plans and to garner both input and feedback. In order to provide even more resident input, an ad-hoc Parks and Trails Steering Committee was formed with sixteen members which met publicly over the year period to openly discuss the plans and steer the overall effort. An online survey was also incorporated into the process.
Based on the feedback, the consultant team, city staff and steering committee identified key themes for Shakopee’s parks and trails system: riverfront connections, public/private partnerships, new and innovative facilities, premium athletics, restoration and expansion of natural areas, trail and sidewalk connections and park accessibility and programming. (Attachment 1 has an overview of the Parks and Open Space System.)
The Master Plan was designed to 1) set expectations for the future improvement and expansions of the parks, recreation, and trail systems; 2) provide guidance on prioritizing planned improvements; and 3) set a framework for projects moving forward.
The Master Plan aligns with the goals set forth in the 2040 Envision Shakopee Comprehensive Plan, and specifically address the following Big Ideas as outlined in Envision Shakopee:
• Create a Fresh Impression
• Rediscover the River
• Connect People to Nature
• Knit the Community Together
• Foster Civic Life in Civic Spaces
• Celebrate Big Fun
Specifically, in regard to the outdoor skating rinks, the Master Plan noted that “… the rinks located in neighborhood parks, especially new neighborhoods to the south and southeast, were sparsely used and likely difficult to justify the cost/benefit of the investment.” The plan determined that facilities should be reduced and concentrated and focus on the quality of the experience as opposed to the number of facilities available with establishment of Lions Park as the primary outdoor hockey and skating area in the system.
As such the plan initially recommended consolidating outdoor ice facilities by reducing the geographical areas to three in order to reduce maintenance needs and provide a critical mass for use. The three initially slated to remain active were Lions Park, Green Meadows and Southbridge to ensure access in the East, West and Central parts of the community (Attachment 2). Recognizing the impact of closing some outdoor rinks, the Park and Recreation Advisory Board (and subsequently the City Council) passed the implementation of the Master Plan with the addition of Westminster rink since it was one of the most used facilities (following Lions Park and Green Meadows).
As part of the consolidation effort, Riverside Fields would be closed, and lights and boards moved to Lions Park for a full-use second sheet in order to better activate/program the space (i.e. broomball leagues/youth hockey practices and games/outdoor tourneys/etc.). This would reuse the initial $85,500 investment for those items. Other construction expenses including site grading for the whole area including the basketball/tennis/trail and rink was $46,149.73. The warming house will continue to be used for programming and rental space in connection with the new Ridge Creek Park which will border Riverside Fields Park (Attachment 3 Ridge Creek Park Overview).
The seven-member Planning Commission approved the Master Plan on August 8, 2019, followed by the seven-member Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on August 12, 2019. City Council Approval occurred on August 20, 2019.
Attachment 4 is the resident request and petition for the ice rink at Riverside Fields to remain open.