8.1A PRSR 08-12-2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ji ilk _ River REQUEST FOR ACTION To Item Number Parks and Recreation Commission 8. I A Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Action/Discussion Items Au st 12, 2009 Steve Benoit, Recreation Mana er Item Description Reviewed by Appointment of Hillside City Park Trail Steward Bill Maertz, Parks and Recreation Director Reviewed by Action Requested Naming of Rich Omdahl as the Hillside City Park Trail Steward. Background/Discussion Hillside Ciry Park has been part of the Elk River Parks and Recreation system for seven years. The major amenity in the Park is seven miles of mountain bike trails. The Park has grown in popularity the past several years and is now known as being one of the premier mountain biking facilities in the region. Along with general Park users mountain bike races are also held at the Park annually. Volunteers have been a key element in the maintaining and developing of the trails system. As the Park use has increased over time, there has been in turn a need for increased involvement from volunteers. A concern that has arisen is ensuring all volunteers are conducting trail work which has been approved through the Parks and Recreation Department and follows the International Mountain Bike Association, IMBA, guidelines. In researching other comparable mountain bike facilities, a system that has been used to address this issue is the naming of one of the volunteers as the official Trail Steward. The Trail Steward serves as the primary communication link with the city staff and then directs the volunteer group. By having a clearly defined line of communication trail work is accomplished in an effective manner. Other Information to Consider Rich Omdahl has been a vital part of the volunteer group, named Dirtwirx, at Hillside Ciry Park since 2006. Rich has put in countless hours maintaining the trails as well as helping manage mountain bike races at Hillside Ciry Park. Due in large part to his efforts, Hillside Ciry Park was awarded the 2008 Land Manager of the Year from the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists group. Rich was also instrumental in securing a Minnesota State Championship Series mountain bike race which was held on July 26th at Hillside Ciry Park. Due to his efforts Rich was featured as the volunteer of the month at the June Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. S:\PARKS & RECREATION\8-12-09 PRC Packets\Hillside Trail Stcward.dcx