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Record of Proceedings

Advisory Parks Commission Meeting - February 23, 2026

City Council — Monday, February 23, 2026
BodyEagan, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, February 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:19:07

Original source
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4:30

Good evening, everyone.

4:31

Welcome to the City of Again's Park and Advisory Parks and Recreation Commissions meeting for February twenty third, twenty twenty six.

4:41

Let's stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

5:05

All right.

5:05

Welcome everyone.

5:08

So first on our agenda is approval of the agenda.

5:12

And Jared?

5:13

We do have a change tonight.

5:15

We'll be moving item uh 7A up to presentations number five.

5:23

So that'll go 7A will essentially replace five, and then Bob will be after the playground part.

5:31

Excellent.

5:32

Any other changes to the agenda?

5:34

There is not, Chair.

5:36

All right.

5:37

Do I hear a motion to approve?

5:39

I move we approve the agenda is amended.

5:42

Second.

5:43

Second.

5:44

All in favor.

5:45

Aye.

5:46

Aye.

5:46

Hi.

5:47

Okay.

5:48

Thank you.

5:49

Next on the agenda is the approval of meeting minutes from January's meeting.

5:54

I have a motion to approve.

5:59

I'll make a motion to approve.

6:01

Do I have a second?

6:03

Second.

6:04

All right.

6:05

All those in favor.

6:07

All right.

6:09

Thank you, everyone.

6:11

All right.

6:12

So moving on.

6:13

I don't see any visitors to be heard.

6:17

So then next, Jared.

6:19

Thank you, Chair.

6:21

Appreciate the flexibility to move this ahead in the agenda tonight.

6:26

Talking about 2026 playground installations.

6:30

I brought forward last meeting the overall concept of a replacing Walnut Hill and Paradox Path.

6:38

Here to share a little bit more information with the units and the location that we'll be using.

6:45

As I mentioned last month, Paradox Path Park is currently our oldest playground in the system.

6:51

It was originally installed in 2001.

6:54

Has helped held up very well, excuse me.

6:58

But now it's time to replace it.

7:07

And so we have currently we have retaining wall blocks helping out that area.

7:13

Unfortunately, to make that site ADA acceptable would be a lot of work.

7:20

A lot of movement of dirt, a long trail, all the things which really makes it hard for us to do financially.

7:28

Fortunately for us, we do have a plot on the south side of that park that is relatively flat and great for a small playground that we're looking at for this site.

7:40

As we went through different versions of the playgrounds I got proposed, we had two that really stood out to us.

8:03

Kind of fun, had the the uniqueness here is the playhouse thing.

8:08

A lot of comments online.

8:10

We're talking talking about the uniqueness of that.

8:14

People also like the swings.

8:18

Staff looked at option two and is leaning that direction.

8:27

We have reached out to the vendor to talk about some different options to include like a playhouse situation, so it kind of could be the best of both worlds.

8:38

Um were very good in general.

8:40

We had about a little over 30 public comments that were submitted from the website for this park.

8:48

Um and really neutral as far as option one versus option two.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████10%
Arts And Culture███████10%
Workforce Development████5%
Procedural███4%
Personnel Matters███4%
Public Engagement██3%
Sustainability Initiatives█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Advisory Parks Commission Meeting - February 23, 2026

The Advisory Parks Commission met on February 23, 2026, at 6:00 PM at Moonshine Park. The agenda was amended to move the Parks Division Presentation (item 7A) to the presentations section. Minutes from the January 26, 2026 meeting were approved. No visitors were heard.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda: Approved as amended.
  • Approval of Minutes: Approved from the January 26, 2026 meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • None.

Discussion Items

  • Playground Replacements 2026: Assistant Director Jared Flewellen presented options for two playground replacements. For Paradox Path Park (oldest playground, installed 2001), staff recommended relocating the playground from the north end to a flat south end site and targeting ages 2-5 (due to proximity to larger parks). Option 2 was preferred, with modifications to include a playhouse. Over 30 public comments were received. For Walnut Hill Park (installed 2003, larger park on Lexington Avenue), nearly 100 public comments were received; Option 2 was overwhelmingly favored but noted for heavy overhead play. Staff is working with the vendor to adjust. The budget is $80,000 per playground plus a $5,000 Dakota County grant for an ADA-accessible swing. A motion to approve the staff recommendation for relocating the Paradox Path playground passed unanimously.
  • Public Art 2026: Director Andrew Pimental presented the Art on Loan program selections for the next two-year cycle. From 33 applications, five pieces were initially selected, but one was withdrawn. The four recommended pieces are: "Cherry" by Shunghi Min (Civic Center Park), "Animal Imagined" by Isaac Kidder (Wescott Library), "Shift in Harmony" by Ryan and Jim Peterson (City Hall patio), and "House Tree" by John Camrith (Civic Arena). A 30-day public comment period begins, followed by City Council approval. Installation is expected in June/July.
  • Parks Division Presentation: Parks Superintendent Chris Fleck provided an overview of the parks and forestry divisions, including organizational structure, seasonal hiring (approximately 300 seasonal employees department-wide), and upcoming capital projects. Major projects discussed: Goat Hill Park artificial turf system (palletized tiles for the hockey rink, order placed), Moonshine Park composite decking and fishing pier (with $60,000 DNR grant), Northview Tennis Court complex (11 courts, cost-share with School District 196, 11 bids received, construction to begin spring 2026), Quarry Park restroom building (four restrooms, including an oversized ADA-accessible one, near existing building), and a new female veteran statue for the Egan Tribute and Memorial Plaza (fundraising underway, goal $35,000, installation target May 2026). Spring and summer priorities were outlined.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved relocation of Paradox Path Park playground to the south end, with a new age 2-5 structure (motion carried unanimously).
  • Public art selections move to a 30-day comment period and then to City Council for final approval.
  • Noted that Goat Hill artificial turf system is on order, with installation planned for spring 2026.
  • Northview Tennis Court project is proceeding with bids received; construction will be coordinated with the school district.
  • Quarry Park restroom building design is finalized; construction will begin in spring 2026.
  • Seasonal hiring is underway; the department expects to hire approximately 300 seasonal staff.

Round Table & Staff Reports

  • Commissioners expressed excitement about upcoming projects, especially Goat Hill and the new playgrounds. Commissioner DeMart Delay thanked staff for public art selection participation.
  • Assistant Director Jared Flewellen provided a departmental update on seasonal hiring, noting a rebound in applicants after COVID, and the upcoming final phase of the Eagan Community Center construction project (expected April 2026). Spring and summer camp registrations are open with availability.

The meeting adjourned after the staff report.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the City of Again's Park and Advisory Parks and Recreation Commissions meeting for February twenty third, twenty twenty six. Let's stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. All right. Welcome everyone. So first on our agenda is approval of the agenda. And Jared? We do have a change tonight. We'll be moving item uh 7A up to presentations number five. So that'll go 7A will essentially replace five, and then Bob will be after the playground part. Excellent. Any other changes to the agenda? There is not, Chair. All right. Do I hear a motion to approve? I move we approve the agenda is amended. Second. Second. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Hi. Okay. Thank you. Next on the agenda is the approval of meeting minutes from January's meeting. I have a motion to approve. I'll make a motion to approve. Do I have a second? Second. All right. All those in favor. All right. Thank you, everyone. All right. So moving on. I don't see any visitors to be heard. So then next, Jared. Thank you, Chair. Appreciate the flexibility to move this ahead in the agenda tonight. Talking about 2026 playground installations. I brought forward last meeting the overall concept of a replacing Walnut Hill and Paradox Path. Here to share a little bit more information with the units and the location that we'll be using. As I mentioned last month, Paradox Path Park is currently our oldest playground in the system. It was originally installed in 2001. Has helped held up very well, excuse me. But now it's time to replace it. And so we have currently we have retaining wall blocks helping out that area. Unfortunately, to make that site ADA acceptable would be a lot of work. A lot of movement of dirt, a long trail, all the things which really makes it hard for us to do financially. Fortunately for us, we do have a plot on the south side of that park that is relatively flat and great for a small playground that we're looking at for this site.

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