Board of Commissioners Meetings

The agenda for the July 21, 2022, Regular Board Meeting is available here.

The Board Meeting will begin at 5:00 PM in the Board Room of the Three Rivers Park District Administrative Center, 3000 Xenium Lane N., Plymouth, MN.

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

NO ACTION REQUIRED; THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.

Background:

Commissioners and/or staff are encouraged to report any special matters, awards, recognitions, or other acknowledgements at this time.

Acknowledgement of Donations

The Board wishes to acknowledge the following donations to the Park District of $500 or more during the month of June 2022.

Jessica Berglin: $500 to plant a tree in memory of Bob Herman

Jenna Johnsen: $500 to plant a tree in memory of Jim Hadley

Emily Nordick: $500 to plant a tree in memory of Kim LaBerge

NCTA – The Internet and Television Association: $500 for wherever it is needed most in honor of John Gibbs’ retirement

Russell McCandless, Robert W. Baird & Co Inc.: $2,000 for The First Tee

Anuj Gupta: $5,000 for a Tribute Bench at Mississippi Gateway Regional Park in memory Dr. Satya Gupta and Bhag Gupta

The Three Rivers Park District Foundation provides ongoing support to the Park District through partnerships and directed donations. In May, the Three Rivers Park District Foundation conveyed $1,000:

Mary Seabloom: $1,000 for Silverwood Park in memory of Jim Seabloom

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

- ROLL CALL VOTE REQUIRED -

MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 22-09; A RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO JOHN WEDIN UPON HIS RETIREMENT FROM THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT.

The following information was prepared by Doug Berens, Director of Maintenance, and Pete Hill, Park Maintenance Supervisor.

Background:

John Wedin served the Park District for more than 16 years, starting April 25, 2006. His last day of work will be July 29, 2022.

John spent his entire career with the Park District in the Carver Work Cluster where he took meticulous care of popular and highly used facilities including Lowry Nature Center, Gale Woods Pavilion, and Gale Woods Educational Center, among others.

The attached Resolution of Appreciation (Reference 4A-2a) is being presented for Board consideration, recognizing John’s service to the Park District.

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

NO ACTION REQUIRED; THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.

Background:

• Reference 4B-1: 2022 Proposed Study Session and Board Meeting Calendar
• Reference 4B-2: Calendar of 2022 Meetings and Events

Updates:

• Natural Resource Update
• Monarch Singletrack Project
• Construction Update
• Partnership Parks pages are on the website

Any individual wishing to address the Board on subjects which are not part of the meeting agenda may do so at this time. Such items will typically be referred to staff for review, action and/or recommendation for future board action. The public will also be provided an opportunity to address the Board on items which are on the agenda at the appropriate time.

If you would like to submit written comments in advance of the Board Meeting that will be shared with the Board, you may post them below in the comment box under the agenda item you wish to address or under Citizens Wishing to Address the Board if it's a topic not on the Board Meeting agenda. Comments received by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday before the Board Meeting will be shared with Commissioners at the meeting.

All matters listed under Routine Business are considered to be standard items by the Board of Commissioners and will be enacted by one motion. For background information about any of the items listed below, visit this link.

Item 5A. Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail Local Trail Connection Request: City of Shorewood

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

MOTION TO ENTER INTO A LOCAL TRAIL CONNECTION PERMIT AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF SHOREWOOD FOR A LOCAL TRAIL CONNECTION AT THE SMITHTOWN PONDS ON THE LAKE MINNETONKA REGIONAL TRAIL.

Item 5B. Cooperative Agreement with Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to Cost Share Design of the Lake Auburn Public Water Access Improvement and Shoreline Stabilization Project

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

MOTION TO APPROVE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES (DNR) TO COST SHARE DESIGN OF THE LAKE AUBURN PUBLIC WATER ACCESS IMPROVEMENT AND SHORELINE STABILIZATION PROJECT, WHERE DNR WILL CONTRIBUTE HALF OF THE CONSULTED DESIGN COSTS, UP TO $15,000.

Item 5C. Minutes of the June 16, 2022, Regular Board Meeting

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 16, 2022, REGULAR BOARD MEETING.

Item 5D. Minutes of the July 14, 2022, Joint Board Meeting with Scott County

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 2022, JOINT BOARD MEETING BETWEEN THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT AND SCOTT COUNTY.

Item 5E. Approval of Claims for the Period Ended July 14, 2022

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

MOTION TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF CLAIMS AS RECOMMENDED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED JULY 14, 2022, IN THE AMOUNT OF $6,884,111.00.

Superintendent's Recommendation:

MOTION TO REQUEST THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT ISSUE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR AUDIT SERVICES FOR 2022-2026 AND PROVIDE THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING WHICH FIRM TO SELECT.

Background:

The Park District annually contracts with an independent auditor to perform an audit of the Park District’s financial records in order to provide a measure of assurance to Park District taxpayers and users that the Park District is managing its public funds in a responsible manner. In the past, the Park District used a Request for Proposal (RFP) process managed by the Finance Department to select the auditor. While Finance Staff work directly with the auditors, the auditing firm actually works for and reports to the Board of Commissioners.

For many years, the Park District has utilized the following procedure regarding auditor contracts:

1. The initial agreement with a firm is for three years.
2. The agreement includes a provision for three one year extensions.
3. At the end of the six-year period, a new RFP process is initiated.

Our current auditors, Redpath and Company have audited the Park District for the past ten years. They initially had a three year agreement with three one year extensions. Major changes to accounting standards resulted in Finance requesting the Board extend their agreement for four extra years.

Finance staff is recommending changing the existing procedure by making the initial agreement a five year agreement with the possibility of five one year extensions. The original procedure was based on six years being the point where Commissioners and/or the public may perceive that the auditor’s objectivity and independence are compromised. Experience has shown this to not be the case. By increasing the term of the contract, the Park District hopes to receive more and better bids as auditing firms can more easily recover their start-up costs with a longer contract.

If the Board of Commissioners approves the requested motion, Finance Staff will issue the RFP, review submissions, interview firms and report back with a recommendation of which firm should be awarded the contract for auditing services for 2022-2026.

Relationship to the System Plan

The Request for Action supports the System Plan by ensuring the Park District’s finances are managed responsibly.

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

NO ACTION REQUIRED; THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.

Background:

The Superintendent (or designee) will provide a verbal update to Commissioners on current Park District legislative initiatives. A copy of the 2022 Legislative Platform is attached (Reference 6B-1) for Commissioners’ reference.

Relationship to the System Plan

The Request for Action supports the following goals(s) of the System Plan:

• Goal 1: You Belong Here
• Goal 2: Parks Matter
• Goal 3: Lead by Example

Superintendent’s Recommendation:

MOTION TO CLOSE THE JULY 21, 2022, REGULAR BOARD MEETING PURSUANT TO MINNESOTA STATUTES SECTION 13D.05, SUBDIVISION 3, TO EVALUATE THE SUPERINTENDENT’S ANNUAL JOB PERFORMANCE.

Background:

The Board Chair will review the Superintendent’s Annual Job Performance Evaluation with Commissioners.

Following the Closed Meeting, the Board will summarize its conclusions regarding the evaluation. These procedures comply with Minn. Stat. §13D.05 subd. 3.