Parks & Recreation Commission - Regular Meeting

I don't know. I'm not a snow removal expert by any means. I was um talking to Chris and it sounds like you guys have got like a a stay at home dad crew. Totally. I think that's the coolest. Hey, Patrick, we made it. We made it. All right. We're good to go.

Cooperating now. So, I suppose I should call the August 25th, 2025 Parks and Rec Commission meeting to order. It is 6:03. Do I I guess I'll do that. All right. Um to start us off, uh so first agenda item, we have a uh is public comment by persons in attendance. And seeing none, I will close the public comment period. Um let's see. Next item, introduction of new parks and recck commissioners. Yes. We like to you guys want to start?

Sure. Yeah. Yeah. I'm Steve Kroman. Um, just super excited to be on here and serving the the parks commission. Thanks. I'm Paul Brat. I am a father to a four and a two-year-old. So, we get a lot of time in the parks and playgrounds doing the races, uh, and a lot of the programming the city does. So, the parks rec department is well loved in our household. So, I'm honored to honored to be a part of this. Excellent. Cool. Cool. All right. I think that brings us to report the fourth item on the agenda which is report of commissioners. And we'll go ahead. We usually start left to right. So we'll start with Paul.

Sure. Um we've been to Manhattan Park a few times um with the upgrades. Love it. Uh kids love the splash pad especially. um one of my friend one of my son's friends at a um a birthday party there with uh some kids from his daycare and it was cool. They there's a lot of different activities for the kids to do so they could all gravitate to different things and it was a lot of fun. Um and then we also went to the bike race that this past weekend and that was a fun event. Um it's cool to see uh all the bikes flying around Gaslight Village. Um so that was a cool event. I know it was a returning event from the past, so it been a few years. So, it was it was a good event. I liked it.

Yeah, I think I'll echo Manhattan Park. I've really enjoyed the uh um the amenities there and just seeing how wellreceived it is and and it being used. It was uh definitely time for an upgrade and uh I'm I'm really enjoying it. So, and I will add an echo of congrats to the staff on everything in Manhattan Park. Um, everything I've seen and heard has been great. So, look forward to the future. Same with me. Yeah, it's a beautiful park and I've I've been out there on Sunday and I've seen the crew come by to pick up trash. So, just I mean that's above and beyond to keep that looking really nice and clean for everyone.

Um, first I want to welcome Stephen Paul. Nice to meet you guys today. Um, I'm glad that you guys are taking some time to serve. It is hard to put into words um what it takes to find people that are willing to sacrifice their time, especially at a time when you're putting kids to bed um so selflessly like and I really appreciate that you guys willing to step up and do that for the community. Um on top of that, uh I want to thank Parks and Wreck for making great weather for the rally on Reeds. That was incredible. It was perfect. Um what else? um from the city commission, we are um still like fairly significant push back from the community um that was nervous about the change and they were nervous about doing something to that area that hadn't been done before. And I want to thank the commissioners that are still here and the ones that were here in the past that we had the courage to trust our city ga city staff and to trust um all of the information that we were getting and stick by our guns and do the right thing because in the end what came out has been universally praised. I don't think even our strongest critics have um had any problem with with how great that has turned out. And um all of those people that are up there every day and it is full. Um they weren't here to thank us that we were doing it back when we were building it, but they're there now. They didn't even know that that how great that that was that that that was going to be a thing until it's there. So when these things come up and they'll come up again, remember that. Remember that we're not only doing it for the people here now, but we're doing it for the people that don't even know that it's a thing that's happening, that aren't here yet, that aren't in our town. um that are coming in and visiting uh because we can do really good things when we all work together on that. So, thank you uh city staff. Thank you uh

parks and rec commission and city commission for that one. And that's all I've got.

I want to thank the city staff for uh an amazing ribbon cutting uh ceremony for Manhattan Park. That was a lot of fun and um a lot of heartfelt comments and a a really good representation from the different teams that all worked together to make it happen. Um, and then for me, we had uh we utilized the summer programming pretty extensively and and I'm so very pleased with the number of um number of camps and activities, but in a a really breadth of um types of interest um from sports to arts to um some really creative things. Um, so thanks thanks for a great summer there. And then uh the last one that I'll mention is uh taste of uh it seemed like it uh went exceptionally well and u my family also got to enjoy um the name of it slipping my mind but the you had just said it rally reads

rally on reads the volleyball which is really really exceptional. Yeah. So thanks All right, I think we are on to item number five, which is the approval of the June 23rd, 2025 minutes. So moved. We have a motion. Do we have a second? Second. Have a motion, a second. Any discussion? Motion. Uh, let's see. All skipped ahead of myself here. All in favor? I. Everybody's in favor. All right. Motion passes.

Um for the next item on the agenda, I think we just have the special event calendar enclosed as information only, right? Um that that is correct, Patrick. Information only. Um and just maybe just a point of um information for some of our new commissioners here tonight. So we do um track the special event permits that are issued through this uh commission. Um so certainly we do um like birthday parties and pavilion rentals and athletic field rentals and all those sorts of things administratively, but when something rises to the level of be being considered a special event uh whether it uh takes over a park space um or potentially road closures involved, we bring that to the parks and recreation commission for their review. Um, we also have some guidelines um that had been updated, I'll say within the last year or so. Um, um, so in the past we were only allowed to have eight road closure events for the entire year. Um, and then and then also there is a limit of two events per month. Um, so we still have that two event per month limit, but um, now if an event is fully contained within the Gaslight Village, um, such as like the Taste of East, for example, um, that wouldn't, um, necessarily count towards the limit of eight events per month. um that recently, as I noted, had changed um because um the thought was that having that limit um might hamstring some of the abilities of uh the Gaslight Village business district or business association to do some fun events that would um you know, draw people into Gaslight Village. So, Taste of East certainly is on the larger scale of those types of events. But in the past, we've had um there was the evening artisan market that they tried a couple summers ago that you know, smaller scale um small road closures. Um so even though we um do allow for more of them, those still do come before this commission. So, we um try to keep the um

normally you'll just see one month, but since we're getting close to 2026, we'll um we'll keep these in the pocket just to help you number one stay informed, but then number two, if I'm asking you to approve a permit, you could look at it and say, "Well, we already have two for October." And of course, in that case, I shouldn't be bringing it to you, but um just to help you um you know, stay aware and um be familiar with what's going on. So, But since we're on the topic of special events, could I ask about the road closure on the 4th of July? And because we did a little bit different, a little closed a little bit longer. Have you had any feedback from that, positive, negative, or otherwise? you you know I'm quite surprised that um the feedback that I received was really limited to that day like talking to people and talking to vendors and um different community members that were there. Um I I had anticipated getting some emails either either for or against uh postevent um but had received none. Um but um during the course of the day and talking with public safety and our food truck vendors that are um supporting the festivities in the park um and then just a general um Fourth of July spectators, the the feedback um was quite positive. Um felt like it was a a nice safety improvement um especially when dealing with um boats coming in and out of the boat launch. Um, as and for those of you that might not be as familiar, in the past we really only closed um Lakeside in front of John Collins Park uh for the parade. Um, and then later on in the day it was open. Well, for this year, we of course closed it for the parade, but then when the festivities were happening down in the park, um, that stretch of road was closed. Um, and it only opened for about

a two-hour window from I believe it was 5:30 to 7:30 or somewhere thereabouts um to allow for boat traffic to either get their boats off the water or for people to put um their boats in the water for the fireworks show. Um and then it closed again until um essentially until town was cleared after the fireworks. Um and again, lots of positive comments, but if there's um other feedback that people would like to share, certainly uh send it along. So,

I um received uh I received various feedback from the neighbors in those apartments across the street from there on a variety of topics. Um and I can say that that did come up with a few of them and it was all very very happy. They were they thought it was a good change. Great. Yeah. But if you if you are talking about it with someone and they say they either liked it or didn't, say there's still time to give feedback because the next Fourth of July, we got a little bit of a runway before then. So So we can anticipate probably doing something similar. I

I I would suspect that unless there's um some information comes back to us that um would um lead us to believe it wasn't successful, unless that happens, the u we would repeat what we did um this past year. Fantastic. Yeah. Do we have any other feedback, comments, etc.? No. No, doesn't sound like it.

All right, moving on to the seventh item on our agenda, the election of parks and rec commission officers. Yeah, I can speak to that a little bit. So, um obviously Patrick is uh filling it in for us tonight. Um but, um typically every year at the July meeting, uh the parks and recreation commission elects a chairperson and a vice chairperson uh to do exactly as Patrick is doing this evening to help lead the meetings and um you know, facilitate the conversation. Um and u so last month or the first meeting of the fiscal year is when that happens. Um obviously Nick um um had chosen uh not to be reappointed to the parks and recreation commission. Um and um but um so for this evening we um are asking for an election of a chairperson and and a vice chair. And essentially the way that it works is um if anyone would like to nominate someone or themselves uh for the uh the chairperson uh position um when I um when I hand it the the microphone back to Patrick, he can ask you that if anyone wants to um either nominate anyone and there'll be a nomination period um for the chairperson and then um once that closes um we can have a separate nomination period for the vice chairperson. Ultimately, um once the uh nomination period closes for both, we'll do a vote uh one at a time. So, starting with the chairperson uh voting um and if there's um multiple people that have been nominated, um you start with the first one and uh once someone has a majority of the votes for their position, uh then they would be uh elected that um in that position and then we would move on to the the vice chair position next. Um, so with that, unless there's any questions from anyone, Patrick, you certainly could open the nomination period and um, Sarah and I can um, write down who's been

nominated in case um, that we start hearing lots of things, we'll we'll keep track of it here. All right, sounds good. And so with that, we will open the nomination period for starting for with chair. Correct. Correct. Um, anyone interested in nominating? I would like to nominate Patrick for chair. I was going to say the same thing. Okay. first. Thank you, my friends. I appreciate it. If he wants it, I suppose unless anybody else wants it, I would be happy to entertain other nominations as well, too. Um, but if you would like me to serve, I'd be happy to serve.

Hey there. Oh, right. in for Larry, you came in at a great time. Um, if it's okay, Patrick, I'll just catch Lar Larry up to speed. We're doing the um the chairperson um elections and we're starting with chairperson and we're the nomination period has been open um and it sounds as though Patrick um has been nominated um as a chairperson and and he's accept he's he is accepting other nominations until he closes the nomination um within a reasonable amount of time.

Yes. Are we sure? No other interests. Do I third or fourth or fifth endorse Patrick? What What would it be? You guys are too You guys are too kind. Too kind. No more nominations. All right. I guess we will open the nominations for vice chair. I would like to serve as vice chair if you guys would have me. I would second that. 5:30. Yep. That definitely works for me, too. Works for me. Me, too. Great. Do we need to have a motion?

We uh we will um actually we'll do a vote. So, if um if Patrick, if you think the nomination period is is complete, you could close that and then we'll go back to the uh chairperson for voting. Perfect. Any more nominations? It looks I think we're think we're closed. So, we'll go ahead and close the nomination period and move to vote. And you can start with the chairperson voting. All right, we'll start with chairperson. Do we just go? Do you need a motion?

Um, we we do not need a motion. So, we have um the chairperson. We have uh one nominee of Patrick Parks and so it would be all those in in favor of Patrick being the chairperson. Um but I I I shouldn't be the one saying it though. I feel weird saying it for myself, but all in favor I Any opposed? Do I raise my hand? Yeah. So, that motion carries and or that vote carries and then we'll have to do the same for the vice chairperson. And all in favor of Michelle as vice chair? I I

I No, I didn't hear any oppose. I think everybody I So, we're good. Perfect. Congratulations. Yeah. Congrats, guys. Thank you for serving.

All right. So, let's see. So, we've got eighth item on the agenda. So, we have a request to approve it looks like the 2025 EGR Harvest Festival.

Yes. So, um, as you may recall, the the EGR harvest and and beer festival was a new event last year, uh, that utilized, uh, portions of Wealthy Street, uh, uh, down in Gaslight Village, um, and consisted of a variety of, um, adult beverage type vendors and kids games and crafts and with a harvest theme um, in conjunction with the the Hearts of hold weekend uh football game at at the high school level. Um I'm sure that some of you had the opportunity to participate in that event. Uh from a staff perspective, um I can say that I I felt like it was one of the better organized events. Um especially for a first year event, um sometimes um there's um learning curves and um this event organizer and the team that they assembled um really you can tell has a lot of event planning experience. even some of them have worked with Irish on Ionia downtown and have um some really good safety considerations. So because of the uh success that we had noticed last year um um combined with their intent to offer a very similar event again this year um the staff is um recommending approval of this event. Um one note I would like to point out is that in their application the the time frame um there's an error on the time frame. It it said 10:00 a.m. to I I wrote over I think it said 3:00 p.m.

Um in actuality the event is actually from 12 to 6 and they do start setting up at 10:00. So it's an earlier morning setup. Um and and last year we did find that actually we um even after the event people were still hanging out longer. So which is a great thing for for Gaslight Village. Um but their their intent would be to offer a very similar event again this year um with um some of the same nonprofits um being involved, but also I know they're um they're intending to reach out to add additional nonprofits uh to help um uh just to help spread um the support for some of those groups. Um and I guess just last um just another thing um when as I talk about the event organization the uh the Taste of East and the Rally on Reeds event that went so well LA last week uh there's some of the same event organizers uh for for those events um as part of this event. So, I think we'll start to see um some of our events like the setups and things starting to be a little bit more consistent and so um people attending and participating will have um like just expectations of what to what to expect when coming to some of the events. Uh but with that, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Derek, was there um any talk of some of And maybe this is not the exact time to to discuss some of this, but I know we had some feedback last time just around different um I think just I forget which line maybe an extra ticket line or extra maybe it was drink line or something. Was there um talk about some changes in layout with that as well too and just plans to add that extra accommodation there?

Yes, there you do recall correctly, Patrick. The um the way that they had the setup, the ticket booth was kind of incorporated into the setup, so maybe didn't stand out as much as it as it could have. Um that actually came up during the the Taste of East uh planning. Um and so that's why Taste of East did two separate ticket booths. Um, and I I do believe their intent is to I don't know if they're planning to have multiple um but their intent is to make it stand out more uh so it's easier to find. And um although I from what I could tell quite a few people did uh find the ticket booth, but there was some sometimes it was people that maybe had paid ahead of time and had to go pick up stuff and just uh wanting them to to find exactly where they're going. And and that's the type of thing that um like when I hear feedback about things like that um I'm able to relay that to the event organizer and and help them cuz they know that we uh probably get more uh postevent feedback than they do. They hear it the day of, but it's it's nice we can have that relationship to say, "Hey, we're hearing these things. These things worked really really well at this event, but not maybe not so much at this one." And and help them kind of um you know, just raise the bar across the board. I'm hoping you can trigger my memory for this event. Are there boos? And was this the first one where they said, "Let's put them in the middle of the street so that we can have the sidewalks and the business existing businesses better access."

Yes. So, the um for this event, they contract out their their tent setups um for majority of of the booths. And so um it's like a consistent size tent and and um and then of course once the tents are set up the u the vendors utilizing it do all their branding and and things of that nature. But yes, it was um more central to the street with the the hope that the gathering would take place on the business side of the of the street as opposed to the gathering taking place in the street. um just as a a nod to the businesses that are in that stretch to hopefully they would receive some additional traffic that day from um like shopping uh traffic if um people could more easily get to and from their um their storefronts. Um and that was similar to the the intent for Taste of East. Um and and sometimes um when you have everyone bringing their own tent when there's different sizes and then also there's a um we always um preserve a public safety corridor for any emergency vehicles. So if if you came to Taste of East that's why the um the north side of the road had such a big gap in case we did have to have an ambulance or fire truck get in there without having to move all the tents. Um but so we're that's one of the things we're working to refine of um having like layouts on the street that um our event organizers must stay within these confines because even a couple feet this direction or this direction could um cause some disruption to setups if we say hey you have to move a foot this way uh to for public safety purposes.

Okay. But they were the ones that started the um the tents in the middle and and um pedestrians on the outside. It flows so much better and pedestrians can enjoy the shade. It just has a really nice flow and I have every expectation that they're going to continue to do it be perfect. Any other questions, comments? No. Do we have a motion to approve? So moved.

And I will second. Um, any further discussion? Nope. Um, all right. All in favor? Yes. I. Uh, any opposed? All right. Motion passes. All right. Moving on. We have the Manhattan Park uses usage update.

Yeah. Well, it sounds like um most if not everyone's had a chance to go and sper experience the the new amenities at Manhattan Park. Um as noted, we had that great um grand opening celebration. Uh and I think after that, the attendance has not gone down at all except for maybe on a rainy day. Um it's um one of the stories that I share with uh people when they ask how it's going. I say, "Well, when I was there setting up for the grand opening, two buses from Woodcliffe pulled in. Um which really um kind of jumpstarted the my understanding of how often this was going to be a loved space. Um and as outlined in the um the memo that I put together, just again forformational purposes, um the pavilion usage has just been really through the roof. I I think um in hindsight, it's really nice that we did decide to um to replace the existing pavilion um that was there previously um because I think this new one just ties into the site so nicely and as um as noted for the birthday parties and and the different things. Um we've like almost daily from the start we're getting rentals. Um so we did and that was one thing that we noted. So, in the past, we always did pavilion rentals, but never really had that conflict of um a pavilion renter showing up and um there maybe being people underneath the pavilion and even though we have signs in place, them feeling the the angst of having to displace these folks from um the pavilion space. Um and so we did uh purchase some additional picnic tables um because we noticed right away that that was going to be uh uh troublesome. So, um they're just kind of placed um on the periphery of the playground area now, but we are looking at uh finding permanent homes um with like concrete pads for and for ADA accessibility uh for some of those other picnic tables.

Um and then we'll continue to monitor that. Um but definitely very high frequency of use. Um PE and again we we're looking at like almost double what we used to do for pavilion rentals. And u when I started thinking about that, I I thought, well, that that's, you know, the the newness of the pavilion, yes, is part of it, but um what I was wasn't thinking about is that we also have pavilions at the other school sites as well. And so it's um and we're still having some pavilion rentals at those locations. So, it's just overall as a community, um pavilion, uh rental use is up. Um and we'll continue to monitor that. Um, al also we've, um, noticed for the pickle ball usage, uh, you may recall that, um, when we were getting ready to roll out, um, the the grand opening, we had a discussion here at Parks and Rack about, um, the pickle ball court usage and how historically we have, um, rented or allowed the rental of, uh, the courts to, uh, so folks could reserve it instead of having to u, show up and figure out if it's um, open or not. Um we've um been as as noted in the memo, we're we're seeing between 12 and 18 pickle ball court rentals each week. And so I would count like for each court that's rented, that's one. So of the four courts um that are there at the park, each one's getting rented three to four times a week, which um is is nice. People are um utilizing that, but then also there's there's still quite a bit of open time that's available. So, it's not as though um there's necessarily a monopoly on the courts as far as usage goes. Um we and we also did uh work with our software company and our um it's called Wreck One um to allow for people to reserve the the pickle ball courts on their own. Um cuz what we were getting is um like people would be looking at

the weather for the weekend and maybe Friday at 5:05 right after our office closes. Someone might want to rent it for the weekend. And in the past we wouldn't have had that ability to do that, but now we do. Um and so it um just helps hopefully reduce some conflicts on the courts. Um, as noted in the memo, we have uh received some uh feedback um uh um both in support of the rentals and also um some thoughts that maybe we shouldn't allow rentals and should keep them all first come first serve or or have one court that's dedicated as um first come first serve. Like there's challenge courts at some parks where you you can show up and put your paddle down and um get in line and try to um like kind of a king of the court type scenario. If you win, you get to stay. Um and and we're collecting that feedback. Um we haven't received a lot of it, but just like to acknowledge that there are uh we are receiving feedback that isn't necessarily um in support of of what had been approved. And what I would um suggest is that we just continue to collect that feedback through the end of this first season um and see what kind of trends are there. Um, but the reason I wanted to bring it to all you tonight is um, number one to to hear if maybe you're hearing um, additional feedback that we're not. Um, but then also so if you have heard this level of feedback, you can share that yes, it's being collected, we're monitoring it and can make some informed decisions um, down the road if if that's the desire. So, um that that was my point of putting this on the agenda. Um is to to share some of the good things that are happening, but also some of the um uh you know, some of the bumps in the road that come with a busy park and and new things. Um but also to have that opportunity for u anyone to share

feedback they might have. So,

I have a question about um have you guys thought about what how you would use the splash pad in the fall because I know when that was some discussion there was talk, you know, the some of the rationale for having as like a have the water coming from the ground instead of an overhead structure is that you could repurpose the splash pad in the fall or do you have any programming ideas of how that space can be used once the season is over for the for the water? So yeah, so we specifically don't have any programs that are slated to use that space. One of the things that I was thinking that it would be a really good spot for um is from time to time we'll have like yoga groups or small group fitness trainings that are looking for a space to to utilize and um in the past we um we had a larger grassy area next to the pavilion which some of it's still there but not to the same extent. Um and so we had thought that that might be a good space for some of those groups and we're talking like you know 8 to 10 type people, not a big huge class. Um but um we haven't internally um kind of had any ideas that would be utilized for that and um we'd be open to suggestions on that as well. So,

it's just a really nice space. The way you've done the splash pad with like the seating and mixing that in organically with the rock and the and the landscaping. So, it seems like a great spot that could be utilized in the fall for classes. I just kind of curious what you were thinking. I had a question on the pickle ball courts. I know you know in previous meetings last year and maybe even prior is there were some concerns around the noise. Have we received any feedback on noise from neighbors?

Uh so we uh we have not uh to my knowledge I um and and generally I would hear about that that type of thing and no pun intended. Um but I I think a lot of that can be said for the um the noise curtains that were put up. I I'm certainly not a scientist and my my ears are not um you know as good as the equipment that they utilize. But just for me um like going out there and hearing what it sounded like from different points vantage points on the site before those curtains went up and then now that they are up um there is a significant difference. Um and um you know some of the feedback actually when we were putting them up was from some of the players that were concerned that it was going to negatively impact their playing experience from either a sound perspective or a heat perspective of kind of trapping some of that that heat in.

Um and we had a couple of stretches there right after the park opened that were like those heat index days um that were extremely warm. Um, and we h we haven't had any um complaints about um either of those issues, either the sound for the players or the um the heat uh for the players um being a negative um issue for anyone. Um one thing we are um do need to get dialed in a little bit is when it's really windy out um our irrigation actually will blow across the sidewalk and find its way into the corner of the the pickle ball courts and um so we um need to find a small solution for that. But um no Patrick I can't think of any negative comments we've heard and but again that's non-scientific Derek uh study but

no it's helpful it was noticeable and and actually one um one time I called someone that was on the court so I'm like standing you know over in a direction I call them um and I wanted to hear it's like hey are people actually playing cuz I can't hear anything and as soon as they answered I heard the thwack thwack um so I knew that there was noise that was happening cuz they were standing right on the courts, but I couldn't hear it a couple hundred feet away on the park property. So, it that tells me that those those barriers are doing um what they're designed to do.

Very cool. Very cool. Any other comments, feedback? No. All right, I guess we can move right into our next agenda item, which is report of the director.

Yes. So, um just a couple things to add. Um in addition to the the memo that I put in there, um I do need to get over to the dog park. I think we'll be opening that. Um maybe tomorrow even after that restoration project that we did with the with the turf. Um it it um was a value um a good value for the improvement but also um has um really um I think is really going to improve that space. Um the uh so the Taste of East as noted tonight was a really great event. I heard lots of really good feedback from the the businesses that were involved. Of course, it's not a, you know, it's a a fundraiser for uh for nonprofit groups, but um they certainly want to um raise as much funds as they can, and from what I've heard, at least from the businesses involved, is that having it um paired up with the Rally on Reed's event was a a really great improvement. Um so, you you might not have seen the steady or regular crowds um that you used to at Taste of East, but overall the numbers were still quite high cuz people were going back and forth between the two events. Um and I think that um if that last game um of volleyball game of the night, it it didn't end till about 8:45, it was um they went um the full five games of of their match. Um and so I I think in the future maybe depending on if they um adjust times at all, they might get another wave of people coming after the last volleyball match. That that just didn't quite happen this year. Um and and also partially because some of the businesses were selling out of their stuff which is um another good problem.

Um and then yesterday was the um the gaslight criterium um which was part of a weekend series. There was an event in Ionia on Saturday and then the um East Grand Rapids event here on Sunday. Um I I'm told that um so in 2018 I believe was the um excuse me 20 I think it was 19.

Yeah. Okay. I I thought I was going to saying like 20 years off but no yeah 20189 right around there was when the last time uh they had um the same event. Um and but so it was the first time for me to see it in person. Um there was it was just an interesting day. Um, you know, there's lots of really good positivity around the event. Um, I learned that there are some really big Pokémon Go crowds that travel through the community. Like, I'm talking like 50 to 60 people, which um, again, when you're creating events that are for the community, it was really neat because the announcers were pulling in all the Pokémon Go people to cheer at the finish line as they're walking by. And so it was, you know, just a lot of positive things um as far as um you know, community building and and supporting each other. Um certainly if anyone has feedback or anyone from the community um has feedback, have them send that to us. We're planning to do a postra debrief with the event organizer just to talk through some things um that and again they did a fine job but um as noted with the um like the harvest festivals we're always trying to level up and do things a little bit better year after year. Um so we're we're open to that feedback and I know the event organizers are as well because they want to be um you know welcome back with open arms um to to the communities that they're participating in. So,

I I've got to ask, were there any injuries from the crit? There were zero crashes. Um, so there may be some tweaks and sprains and things today, but um so the hay bells that they brought in were for for not. But um I'm very very glad for that. It's so fun. But then though you see all that straw, I'm glad that they didn't need to be used. Yes, they were definitely moving um like 30 miles an hour. um around corners. So, precision.

All right. Did anyone have a chance to go to the I I think Paul, you said you were there. Yeah, we we got the last two. Yeah, that was fun. The corners were impressive.

All right. Oh, yeah. Uh Sarah has um graciously taken over helping run the farmers market for us and so this week Thursday is our last um market for the season. Um so please come on by. Um we're hoping to finish strong and um same thing with that. Just um taking all the things that we're learning in year two and um you know got some ideas for adjustments for year three. How has year two been in comparison to year one? Good second year.

I would say that I would um and nothing to do with Sarah being involved at all because this it started off slow and she came in to help out when we had a market manager who um couldn't complete the season with us, but I would say it was sophomore slump. U so year two wasn't quite as as great as year one. Part of that being some of our pretty regular vendors from last year um just chose not to come back and it wasn't because they didn't have successful seasons here. It was they just you know life changes, things like that. So actually the person who used to run the farmers market before they handed it to us last year um they were um they didn't come back and there was a couple others that uh didn't come back as well. And so, um, we're looking at ways to kind of boost the, um, market attendance, um, outside of just with the vendors that are there. So, um, we've been, like Sarah's been doing like coloring pages and different, um, we're trying to collaborate with the the library, um, and once we have a little bit more runway to do that for next year is trying to have those on the calendar along with the, um, farmers market dates. So PE just to draw in more people um because I think a lot of the business we had last year was either organically just people walking by or um some of those long um long-standing businesses that were at the previous location had their following and when people aren't coming specifically to get their PA pit stop uh um bread and those types of things, they're not they're not coming to the market at all. Um, so we need to find ways to to draw in people for other reasons as opposed to just a specific vendor they're they're going for.

I'm still wondering if that's a difficult I think it's a difficult location up and down the hill. There's some people can't handle that. There's just no other site middle school park anything a little more visible. Um, I know we have construction going to be a problem at the high school. Um just wondering I don't I don't have a suggestion of where it should be though. I have to tell you.

Yeah, I I do think that uh some of the other um like maybe some other locations are one of the things we're going to scout out for for next year. Um I agree. It's um not the most visible of locations. And if you're not looking for it specifically, it's um you might drive by it, which is why Sarah's has like 15 different signs that get put out um the every market day. I see. Um part of the challenges are um you know we try to start the week right after school and then we're so we're continuing on through the school year if we did find another location um that um it might have more restrictions on dates. But I I think that will be kind of the pros and cons that we weigh of well, yes, we can only have a a nine or 10 week market. But if it's bigger, then we can maybe have more people um in those nine or 10 weeks. And I I think people would be okay with having two extra weeks off if their summers were a little more um I guess fruitful for a farmers market.

School year seems to end earlier and earlier. I mean, we were out end of May this year. I mean that that doesn't that isn't the way it used to be. I mean I'm an old guy. I get it. But Sure. Any other

That's that's all I had for for my report. Um and then if I could just I'll make a quick comment on the communications piece. So um this is um a standing agenda item that we keep on the agenda. Um, we have an a special email address. It's input eastgr.gov um that community members can um send feedback to if they if maybe they don't know who to target it to directly um or or if um or if that's just the email address that they choose. Um so if we get um parks and recreated feedback specifically also like if we have let's say we have a discussion about waterfront park coming up in the near future when we hear from the DNR about our grant applications this will be in like December January um that's a good place for us to say hey send an email to this email address we'll collect the feedback and then we'll put those emails from the community members in the pockets um or if someone emails me with something and they want me to uh push it forward to the commission. Um that's where those um that's where that information will go. Um we don't always have um that communication um to share and and tonight is one example. There was no um communication received, but um we we do keep it on there um in case we do receive something.

All right, I think that brings us to the end of our agenda. Do we have a mo do I need a motion to adjurnn? I forget. I should know this. You just bang that gavvel, don't you? No charge. All right, we are adjourned at 6:48 p.m. Oh, you can bang it. I mean, I should have made a channel more of a Nick. Nick was very enthusiastic.