12-10-2025 PRMIN - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes December 10, 2025 --------- Page 2 of 6 lot of the items listed in the future years have largely been used as placeholders. That is part of the reason the numbers look askew. He said they need to start working on a true working plan that they can use from year to year. Mr. Shelby said to do that some things that they have already started working on, such as the park usage survey are needed. They need to prioritize items to get this into a manageable working plan. Chair Anderson asked if they were specifically talking about 2026, but he said he knew they had discussed talking about the next 5 years. Mr. Shelby and Mr. Stremcha said primarily that is what they are discussing, but also it is a projection of 5 years to coincide with the City Council's 5-year plan. Chair Anderson expressed his concern that they had not previously discussed the items on the spreadsheets presented by Mr. Shelby. Mr. Shelby said that what is presented tonight for 2027 and beyond are items that were placed there because they were reaching the termed life expectancy. He gave the example of Country Crossing playground this year, which was on the schedule, but they did not end up replacing it because it still had life in it. Chair Anderson said there are several elements on this spreadsheet that are also in their framework plan. Chair Anderson said this plan has had very little vetting by the Commission and asked Mr. Shelby if he expected them to approve it tonight. Mr. Stremcha pointed out that the 5-year plan has already been adopted and approved by the City Council as part of the capital improvement planning process for the 2026 to 2030 plan. The 2026 plan is the priority and as the year arrives, the items listed within it should be examined to see whether they should be done, removed, or moved on to a future year. Chair Anderson asked if the Commission's focus should be the 2026 plan. Mr. Stremcha said yes. Chair Anderson said the action requested is to have a discussion. Mr. Stremcha said yes, and if they feel inclined to make an amendment, they can make a recommendation to Council to amend the plan. Chair Anderson said that he thinks it’s too late if it has already been adopted and that there are several things in the plan that he thinks are foolish, but this isn’t the venue to discuss that because they need considerable input and discussion. Mr. Shelby asked the Commission if they are good for 2026. His goal is to work with parks maintenance over the next few months to go through everything on the CIP to get a better understanding of the current condition of items on the schedule and confirm if they are still needed or can it be moved to a future year. He would then bring those items back to the Commission to discuss and decide. Commissioner Goodwin said she remembered some discussions about taking the basketball courts out at Ridgewood East during the work session, and yet she still sees it reflected in the 2026 schedule. Chair Anderson confirmed that their recommendation was to take it out. Mr. Shelby said they would have to go back and look at the minutes to confirm. Commissioner Niziolek said that he is concerned because it was a lengthy discussion, and now it just pops up. Commissioner Stewart said he also has a question about the master plan. He asked if because they skipped creating it last year would the entire bill of $100,000 come due this year? Mr. Shelby said that the $50,000 that was budgeted for 2025 will move forward to 2026, making a total of $100,000. Chair Anderson also pointed out that there is $15,000 in the spreadsheet for Hillside Park, which they agreed upon. Commissioner Goodwin also said they had discussed the turf tank so that line item is okay. Chair Anderson said that the basketball court is a duplication of community resources. Commissioner Niziolek said that the court at Salk Middle School is not far away and is a much better venue. Mr. Shelby said they can vote to make a recommendation not to pursue the replacement of that court. Mr. Stremcha explained that this spreadsheet is a planning document, and they can vote to make changes as they go along. Commissioner Niziolek said that he has concerns that they had a lengthy discussion about the basketball court being removed for 2026, and then it is still in the plan. Chair Anderson said he is