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Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes September 10, 2025 --------- Page 6 of 14 into that survey was not going to give them the results they needed and that it would muddy the waters. Chair Anderson stated, so what they say doesn’t mean jack. Mr. Shelby said he would say that isn’t true. He thinks they take into account all input and opinions, but ultimately, staff has to be the decider as to what things look like when they go out and there were multiple concerns about including Orono in that survey. They always want input and feedback, and sometimes they may need to agree to disagree. Commissioner Niziolek said that staff should come to their meeting then. Mr. Shelby said that some of the staff were there and some of the concerns were expressed before, but he also doesn’t know that they can continue to just kick it back and forth without finally making a decision. Mr. Shelby said, ultimately, staff and Council are the deciders of what goes out. He knows that Council has now seen this version of the survey and is supportive of it. He will always take input and recommendation into any decision-making process, but sometimes decisions are going to be a little bit different from what any of our commissioners would like to see. Commissioner Niziolek said he is questioning their purpose and the policy that they are setting as a city. He said they were there volunteering their time, spending numerous hours voting, and then they found out that it is a done deal and there was no conversation between staff and the Parks and Recreation Commission. It is a big slap in their face because they are trying to do good things for their community, and they need to have that dialog before they decide. Mr. Shelby said some of the concerns were put forth in the meeting in July. He thinks they were brought forward and shared, so there was a dialog. He said then when the communications department got involved, they said that they have to get this out and there were two large concerns. One is, if the goal of the survey is to get feedback on the usage of those three small parks, adding Orono muddies those waters. Number two, the confusion that could potentially be provided to citizens in terms of the usage of Orono, and how money is being spent there, is a legitimate concern to staff coming out of the Active Elk River campaign. Again, Mr. Shelby shared that the staff appreciate the time and the effort and the thought that goes into all of this. That isn’t what he thinks this is about. He thinks ultimately there is a body of experience on the staff side of the city that decided this version will work better. Commissioner Niziolek said he thinks that would have been fine had that conversation occurred before they knew it was going out. He said in other words, the door is shut on conversation, staff didn’t come back and say this is really what we have to do and explain, and then they move forward after they acknowledge staff’s opinions and vote and then pass it on to Council. So, there is a step missing. Commissioner Niziolek said they decided on something, it went to staff, staff changed it and moved forward. He said staff should have brought it back to us, discussed it with us, and then they should have proceeded forward. He said they are very receptive to ideas, but that has to come back, and he knows there would have been a time delay on it but that is an important part of the process. They need to have strong communication between staff, Parks and Recreation Commission, good things are going to happen then. Commissioner Niziolek said now there is a bitter feeling because staff just did something different than the group decided upon as a majority. Chair Anderson asked if it went to Council. Mr. Stremcha said we respect Commissioner Niziolek’s opinion on the matter, totally understand where he is coming from, also recognizing that the commission is there to provide recommendations and feedback, but ultimately, the buck stops with Council. He said staff have shared the survey as part of their weekly communications from staff to Council. Mr. Stremcha said revisions that they had received from the commission’s recommendations in August were then discussed with the