Agenda Packet Cc - work session 6/9/2025

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6.0 PARKS AND FACILITITES. 6.01 Overview. The City of Orono features over 260 acres of maintained parks, trails, and open space. There are twenty-one parks that range from small pocket parks, playgrounds, an off -leash dog park, and a nine -hole golf course. The parks department oversees operations in the parks, golf course and city owned facilities. In addition to our own properties, the City of Orono also maintains the parks system for Spring Park. The parks department consists of five full-time employees, and up to 20 seasonal employees throughout the year. 6.02 Organization and Staff. There has been a lot change to the Parks Department this past year, but even with the staff challenges the dedicated and talented employees have risen to the task. Greg, came aboard in April as our new Golf Course Superintendent, and Mitch joined the team in June. Jake and Zack, our two interns from last year, came back as seasonal help for Parks and the Golf Course. Kim is responsible for managing the golf course clubhouse and coordinating events like the Annual Tree Lighting. Julie who joined the city in December of 2023 is responsible for building maintenance and custodial services for city owned facilities. This team all shares the same goal of making the City of Orono the best that it can be! 6.04 Parks and Trails. 6.04.01 Park Usage. Sports Fields - The sports fields at Bederwood and Hackberry were busy throughout the year. The soccer field at Bederwood, along with t-ball and flag football at Hackberry, saw heavy usage. • Lurton Dog Park —The dog park continues to be one of the busiest Orono parks. 456 parking passes were purchased with more than half of the passes being sold to nonresidents. A project to expand the parking lot was completed and was welcomed greatly by the park patrons. Access to the dog was disrupted for most of the year due to construction on Wayzata Blvd, contributing to the slight decrease in parking passes in 2024. 6.04.02 Parks Turf Maintenance and Improvements. 2024 was an excellent year for park maintenance. Our team concentrated on addressing some overdue maintenance in the parks, and we were thrilled with the results. • Playgrounds - Several playground areas were pruned to improve light, airflow, and visibility. All playgrounds were thoroughly inspected for safety and pressure -washed. This provided a great opportunity to add new mulch to the playground containers. • Continuing Education — The Parks Department staff were trained and licensed as pesticide applicators. As certified applicators, we remain informed about regulations, safety, and environmental impacts. Lurton Dog Park: An additional 14 parking stalls and one additional ADA stall were added to the parking lot, as well as re -striping and new fencing. Staff enhanced the landscaping at the park entrance and around the dog bone sculpture. 22 32