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City Council Minutes <br />May 30, 2018 <br />Page 3 <br />A youth sports commission member stated he recently spent $1,100 at Adrenaline but <br />he would rather have given the money to the city. <br />A youth sports commission member questioned why improvements haven't been <br />discussed sooner with the youth associations, noting if everything is added together it <br />could be an amazing facility. <br />Mayor Dietz stated most communities with these types of improvements are <br />completed through school districts. He stated communities like St. Michael have a <br />different population because they have younger families while Elk River has an older <br />demographic. He noted St. Michael is now talking about developing a new $5 million <br />park. <br />Councilmember Wagner stated youth groups were involved into the process in 2016 <br />and Council was told at the time there was not a need to add a larger facility with extra <br />indoor courts/space so it was removed from plans. <br />Mr. Williams stated he gets beat up constantly by parents who complain about <br />fundraising and paying for "this or that" items. He also stated school funding by the <br />district is split three ways due to having three high schools, including Rogers and <br />Zimmerman. <br />There was discussion on equity between the schools in regard to new purchases and <br />continual maintenance. <br />Cory Franson, Director of Community Engagement for ISD #728, stated St. Michael <br />was very concerned about losing students and made changes to attract families. He <br />stated youth groups all want the same nights reserved and noted there are many other <br />hours when courts/space sits empty. <br />Mr. Franson stated the new trend now is the construction of performance gyms. He <br />state these are gyms with one focus designed for a unique experience, like a mini <br />Target Center. He stated these gyms are still a multiuse facility and can be broken up <br />into many rooms. Mr. Franson stated the School Board supports any facilities that will <br />be an asset to kids. <br />Councilmember Oval] stated he has more questions and concerns. He stated many of <br />the listening sessions were attended by pro -referendum community members and were <br />biased. He stated Council hasn't addressed what it needs to do to get to the next level. <br />He stated he has heard many more comments from the community about people not <br />wanting a facility and property taxes raised, but has also heard some say the city can't <br />keep kicking the can down the road. He still struggles with Option 2, the multipurpose <br />facility, because it doesn't address other needed maintenance and projects, such as the <br />activity center. <br />NATUR� <br />