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IV.2. Park System Master Plan Implementation Update CITY OF HOPKINS Memorandum To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members Mike Mornson, City Manager From: PeggySue Imihy, AICP – Special Projects and Initiatives Manager Date: 08/20/2024 Subject: Park System Master Plan Implementation Update _____________________________________________________________________ PURPOSE To provide the City Council with an update on the implementation of the Park System Master Plan and upcoming projects including the planning phase of Central Park, the Pavilion and Recreation and Resilience Hubs. INFORMATION Park System Master Plan In February 2024, the City Council following the recommendation of the Park Board, approved the City’s first Park System Master Plan (PSMP) which provides a 20 -year vision for the City’s park system. This plan, which is statutorily required of cities, is in important planning document which guides park development by accounting for national best practices, population size, demographics and changing recreation trends. Completing a plan at this time was also incredibly important ahead of a projected 5 -10% growth rate anticipated in conjunction with the future competition of METRO Green Line Extension. The plan includes a vision for the parks and is built around community driven themes which highlight resident values which were heard throughout the engagement process. Some of the highlights of this were: • Parks are Essential: Parks should be viewed as a city service similar to roads and other city provided infrastructure. Investing in them as an essential service provides a better experience and promotes community pride. • Access and Equity: While 90% of residents can enjoy a park within a 10-minute walk from home, all parks are not equal in design, with some having much higher quality and variety of amenities than others and many do not have equipment or amenities for those with disabilities or limited mobility. • Investment in the Future: Hopkins is a fully developed community with limited to no opportunities for new parkland. This means that existing parks need to be flexible and planned with an eye for future demographic change. Parks should be able to accommodate more than one user group and infrastructure should be allow for multiple uses. Administration Additionally, the plan includes concept drawings for several of the City’s parks and provides policy and financial recommendations that staff have begun diving into as a part of the implementation process. Over the last legislative session Staff pursued two items from the PSMP – legislation to change the rules of park dedication funding so that the City might receive funds regardless of if a developer needs to split a lot, and a bonding request to help share in the cost to construct two new park buildings which would also serve as places for voting, community engagement and as resilience hubs in times of extreme weather. While neither of these projects passed last session – most notably there was not a bonding bill in 2024, great progress was made on moving these ahead. Many thanks to Senator Ron Latz and Representative Cheryl Youakim for their support on these projects. Earlier this year the City was awarded just under $100,000 from the MPCA to work with consulting firm LHB on a schematic design for these budlings which will help provide a firmer cost estimate and provide an opportunity for more community feedback on the buildings. Central Park and the Pavilion From an infrastructure perspective, the other most pressing park system need is investment and updates to Central Park. Located between Excelsior Blvd and Mainstreet, this 18-acre park is home to the Hopkins Pavilion, several softball fields, pickleball courts, and hosts many events such as Raspberry Fest. Through an agreement with the Hopkins Public Schools District, tennis courts, and outdoor hockey arena and play equipment are also available to the public. The park has not seen a comprehensive update and many of the existing amenities are falling apart including both of the park pavilions and the playground along 13th Avenue. For several years replacement of these items has been shown in the CIP, but have been delayed in lieu of a full renovation to the park. Central Park’s location provides a unique opportunity to invest in both the park system but also as a driver of economic development for Mainstreet. Currently, many adult leagues prefer to play at Central Park because of its proximity to Mainstreet, with m any teams visiting bars and restaurants following their evening games. The park is also located adjacent to the future Shady Oak LRT station, and many riders will likely cut through the park to reach Mainstreet Businesses. The PSMP plan for Central Park aims to capitalize on this by continuing to invest in adult amenities such as pickleball, softball, and volleyball – all of which have seen huge growth in recent years, as well as creating a destination playground with a variety of inclusive equipment which will attract both residents and visitors. Since 2021, a planning process for Central Park has been shown in the Capital Improvement Plan with an allocation of $150,000 to be paid from the Park Dedication Fund. In July, the City issued an RFP for a consultant team to assist with bringing the vision in the PSMP to life, including a feasibility study for a future expansion of the Pavilion which may be able to accommodate HYHA, girls high school hockey, and provide more community center style amenities for residents. Parallel to the PSMP process, the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District (NMCWD) begun working with their consultant engineer to evaluate more equity driven opportunities to invest in the watershed. Historically, while NMCWD has been an excellent resource to the City, they have not invested many capital dollars in the community. Using the PSMP, NMCWD began considering where in the Hopkins park system there may be opportunities for collaboration. It was determined that the major opportunity for partnership would be on Central Park, which has historically had challenging soils and field quality during rain events and is located adjacent to the headwaters of the Nine Mile Creek. The watershed district approached the City to see if there was interest in revising the PSMP plan for the park to accommodate better flood storage and create a trailhead within the park. NMCWD has also offered to contribute $50,000 to the master planning process to accommodate their requests as well staff time to pursue grants and other funding as the project heads to construction. Staff from NMCWD have also indicated that there may be a future willingness to contribute capital dollars to the project. Given the known challenges with soils and flooding in this park, this partnership and plans to help correct issues will likely make the project a great candidate for outside funding opportunities. The City received 10 responses to the RFP issued in July, and the majority of responses were between $300,000 and $400,000. While this is over the budgeted $200,000 there is sufficient funding in the park dedication fund to accommodate this. Staff also believes there will be some room to negotiate down the fee on certain items like community engagement where staff will be able to handle some of that work internally. Staff plans to bring forward the selected consultant team and a request to amend the CIP at the September 3rd meeting. Following the planning process, construction of the park could occur as soon as 2026, or could be paused to wait for grant funds or other funding sources. Currently, staff has requested the construction of the park be paid with bonds which could then be pa id off by park dedication funds contributed from future phases of the Alatus 325 Blake Road Project and/or the Trilogy Hallon Project. FUTURE ACTION On September 3, 2024, Staff plans to bring forward a request to enter into a contract with a consultant team for the Central Park Master Plan and Pavilion Feasibility Study.