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Memorandum <br />To: Parks and Recreation Commission <br />From: Jeff Shelby, Parks and Recreation Manager <br />Date: July 9, 2025 <br />Subject: Parks and Recreation Staff Report <br />Senior Activity Center <br />As of June 24, 2025, the Senior Activity Center has 533 members. Our average daily attendance is 71, which is <br />higher than it was last year at this point in the year. This month’s program highlights included live music by Diane <br />Zilberberg accompanied by refreshing root beer floats, a scenic boat trip on the Mississippi River, and a fun <br />presentation and trivia session about the Beatles. Our two new front desk volunteers started this month, and they’ve <br />already been a wonderful help to our team. <br />Story Stroll Kick Off <br />The first kickoff event was held on Tuesday, June 17 at Lion John Weicht Park showcasing the bilingual book, <br />Searching for Habitat. This free event saw steady attendance and event attendees enjoyed a presentation from <br />Sherburne Soil and Water District on pollinators, made pinecone bird feeds, and enjoyed free popsicles. Great River <br />Regional Library - Elk River staff and volunteers were present to assist with the activities on site. <br />Popsicles with Public Safety <br />Orono Park had over 500 kids attend Popsicles with Public Safety on Tuesday, June 17. Kids were able to explore <br />vehicles from Police, Fire, and ERMU while enjoying free popsicles provided by Jonny Pops. Police reserves <br />provided free child ID kits too. <br />Sports/Programs <br />We hosted the Twins Playball baseball clinic on Saturday, June 28 at Lion John Weicht Park. This event was free to <br />attend for ages 6-12. We had great participation from the community and 150 registered for the event. A special <br />thank you to our friends at Geared Up Apparel for sponsoring a meal for all participants! Each child received a <br />hotdog, Gatorade, and chips! <br />Summer programs have been running very smoothly thanks to our Summer Intern Taylor. <br />The USSSA Top Tier Summer State Fastpitch Softball tournament is this weekend at the PT Complex. We <br />anticipate over 1,500 people at the complex. We then have softball for the next two weekends at the PT Complex, a <br />2-week break, and then tournaments every weekend through October 5. Field use remains very busy on a daily basis <br />with almost all 17 fields needing to be prepped every day. This can be a concern for fields to be overused and not <br />gaining sufficient rest periods and will be monitored closely. This utilization trend does support the need for <br />additional facilities as detailed in the Athletic Facilities Framework Plan. <br />Page 20 of 31