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Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 7 June 11, 2025 Commissioner Niziolek said they need some information on how many people are using the playgrounds. He views that information as valuable because he thinks it will need to reduce the number of parks with playgrounds. He asked staff if there was an easy or convenient way to monitor the usage of those parks over this summer. Mr. Shelby said he thinks it is not so much to monitor but to engage the public, which is something that was started during the Play My Way campaign. He said that simply asking people what playgrounds and parks they are using and how they are using them is important. This would be part of the park master planning process. He is not sure how we would go about it but doesn’t think it is as simple as counting people at the parks. It could be going out into specific neighborhoods and asking the residents. Commissioner Stewart asked if asking users about their usage of specific pieces of equipment could be added to the survey. If they have to make decisions about all neighborhood parks, should they include questions such as, do the residents want playgrounds with all swings and no jungle gym. He asked if combining two current parks into one is an option. Chair Anderson asked Commissioner Goodwin what she thought. Commissioner Goodwin said she thinks that people are using parks differently now and it is important for the community to understand that they are looking at destination parks more because primary caretakers are going with kids to the parks and not just sending the kids down to the park. She thinks it is important to get a sense of where people are using the parks and what they are using them for. What is their philosophy for using the parks? She feels the commission should cast a vision for these parks because it isn’t about if they get rid of some, it’s a when, because it is four million dollars to replace the current playgrounds. She said they should ask residents what they want destination parks to look like. She said Play My Way was a good start to surveying people but if they could continue having conversations with the community with that in mind, that they want to create destination parks that have amenities that families want to go to then they can look more strategically at the location of those and plan for the future once the sand dunes get developed and what do parks look like in that direction. Then they can plan with a new strategy in mind. Commissioner Goodwin asked how the commission should plan for this. She pointed out that things will change again in 25 years. She suggested there are already some destination parks in Elk River such as Orono, Trott Brook, etc, so how do they maximize the amenities in those parks? They need community involvement, and the reality is some of these parks will be eliminated, but what can they do to maximize the amenities in the parks that remain. Commissioner Varty asked Commissioner Goodwin if only four parks would be enough if they were all different. Commissioner Goodwin said yes, and that Elk River already has that. She and her family go to Woodland Trails Regional Park, Orono, and Trott Brook Park. Commissioner Niziolek asked what they would do if they were going to just remove playgrounds. He is concerned about how the parks will meet the needs of the residents. He also asked if playgrounds will ever become mobile. Commissioner Fermoyle asked who would remove the old playground equipment. Mr. Shelby explained that Josh Baas, the Park Maintenance Foreman, and his staff remove it and sometimes there is a company they can donate the equipment to be shipped overseas, or it is disposed of. Mr. Shelby shared that being conscious of cost, staff try to absorb the labor costs etc. as much as possible. Page 8 of 31