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02.24.2026 PRC MinutesCHANHASSEN PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 24, 2026 Vice Chair Morgan called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Rob Swanson; Sean Morgan; Emily Nagel; Kurt Scheppmann; Clara Christenson, youth. MEMBERS ABSENT: Michael Leisen; Kristin Fulkerson; and Nora Nashawaty. STAFF PRESENT: Jerry Ruegemer, Park and Recreation Director; Priya Wall, Recreation Manager; and Kelly Grinnell, Finance Director. PUBLIC PRESENT: Jen Desrude, SEH APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Commissioner Morgan moved, Commissioner Scheppmann seconded to approve the agenda as presented, with the addition of an Update from the Civic Campus Grand Opening Sub-Committee under the Commission Member Committee Reports. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: None. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS: None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 1. Approve Park & Recreation Minutes dated January 27, 2026 Commissioner Swanson moved, Youth Commissioner Christenson seconded to approve the minutes of the Park and Recreation Commission meeting dated January 27, 2026 as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0. GENERAL BUSINESS: 1. Park Renovation Fund Budget Overview Jerry Ruegemer, Park and Recreation Director, introduced Kelly Grinnell, Finance Director, to give a presentation of the Park Renovation Fund Budget. He provided a history of how the Park Recreation Fund had been funded since 2018. Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – February 24, 2026 2 Kelly Grinnell, Finance Director, provided a summary of the Park Renovation Fund and the Park Dedication Fund. She explained how the Park Renovation Fund received revenue and noted that there were multiple projects over the last five years. She summarized the fund balance until 2033. Commissioner Swanson asked about how the fund balance jumped in 2028 and if the amount had already been approved in the levy. Ms. Grinnell answered that the 2026 levy had been approved, and the City Council had seen the levy number projections for future years. Ms. Grinnell said another potential funding source would be for the Lake Ann Park Preserve Trails. They would need to discuss potential projects. Commissioner Nagel asked what year the decision would be made. Ms. Grinnell thought it would be made in 2026. Mr. Ruegemer shared that they were hopeful that the City Council would dedicate the extra funding to extra park projects. Ms. Grinnell reviewed potential projects that could use the funds. Commissioner Nagel asked if there were projections for the Park Dedication Funds. Ms. Grinnell answered that they project roughly $200,000 a year that was not dedicated to the Community Center. Mr. Ruegemer said that the development had slowed, but any money coming into the Park Dedication Funds was earmarked for specific projects. Commissioner Christenson asked if the funds were open for donations. Mr. Ruegemer confirmed this information. 2. Lake Ann Park Preserve Next Steps for Southern Trail Segment Mr. Ruegemer reviewed the next steps for the Lake Ann Park Preserve. He introduced Jen Desrude from SEH. He summarized the project progress and discussed the three archaeological sites identified. He explained the plans submitted to the State Historical Preservation Office for the archeological sites and discussed the cap-and-fill approach. The city moved forward with bidding for the North Trail and the parking lot with Greenwood Shores, and they received numerous bids for the projects. He said many of the trees being removed were scrub or ash trees to clear space for the ten-foot trail. Vice Chair Morgan asked about park closures during construction. Mr. Ruegemer answered that during boardwalk construction, they had signage out there. They would close the areas with construction activities. Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – February 24, 2026 3 Commissioner Scheppmann asked if the savings were due to the reduction in scope. Ms. Desrude answered that it was just for phase two of the project. Mr. Ruegemer said that phase three was open-ended and would require at least $30,000 to develop a plan before submitting it to the State Historical Preservation Office for approval. He said this could be a potential recommendation to the City Council, and the Park and Recreation Commission would like to move forward with phase three. They could also pave up to the archeological area and leave it natural at the site, but that would make maintenance difficult. They could explore additional routes to avoid the archeological artifact area, but would have to restart the project plans. Vice Chair Morgan asked for an estimate of the total costs associated with the southern trail segment and the process with the State Historical Preservation Office. Mr. Ruegemer answered that the process significantly delayed the project by up to two years, and they spent a significant amount of funds on consulting fees. Commissioner Swanson asked if they got any feedback from the State Historical Preservation Office. Ms. Desrude answered that they do not provide ideas to move forward. They were hopeful they could have a conversation about the cap-and-fill approach, but they needed to submit information in a letter for approval. Mr. Ruegemer said that they still had a goal for a trail to go around Lake Ann Park Preserve, but they did not know the timeline. Commissioner Swanson asked if they paused the project and if they could pick up where they left off. Mr. Ruegemer answered that for new sections of trail, they would not seek grants for the project. Commissioner Nagel asked if working with the State Historical Preservation Office in the future would apply. Mr. Ruegemer responded that he hoped that the State Historical Preservation Office for new sections would not apply if it was completed through city funds. Commissioner Nagel asked if there were any financial impacts other than reallocating funds from the project. Mr. Ruegemer answered that there would not be any other financial impacts. He said any work moving forward would be on the city’s dime. Commissioner Scheppmann asked if they paused the south section of the project, it would not be contingent on the grant. Mr. Ruegemer responded that since they received the grant funds, it was an open-door for other state agencies to review the project. Vice Chair Morgan asked about the option to pave up to the archeological site and the problems with access and maintenance. Mr. Ruegemer answered that the boardwalks were built to a certain Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – February 24, 2026 4 spec, and they could all handle pick-up trucks. He noted that the difficulty would be maintaining a three-foot natural trail in the winter. Vice Chair Morgan discussed the difficulty of making a recommendation to move forward because the alternative options were budgetary abstract. He discussed the risk in the context of the current significant financial investment. Youth Commissioner Christenson agreed with Vice Chair Morgan and did not want to invest more money in the project at the time. Commissioner Scheppmann said that they could not discount the current natural trails. He suggested pausing the project. Commissioner Swanson said that they did not want to slow down progress on the north trail or the parking lot, especially since there would still be an unpaved trail that residents could utilize. Commissioner Nagel suggested revisiting the conversation when the future of the south part of the property is clearer. She said it would be beneficial if maps would clearly mark unpaved trails. She asked if a paved trail had to be maintained in the winter. Mr. Ruegemer responded that it was the desire of the city for it to be maintained, but it was not a requirement. Commissioner Scheppmann asked if it would make sense to earmark $75,000 to $100,000 for the potential to reroute the project in the future. Mr. Ruegemer answered that if they rerouted, they would go more north. He said the current section was costly and the extra funds could be reallocated to other projects. Ms. Desrude said she did not know if it was a true savings for the cost estimate in 2026, since there was inflation since 2024. She stated that the rerouting would entail starting over with the survey and design. Commissioner Scheppmann moved, Commissioner Swanson seconded to delay the portion of the southern trail and put that to future City Council and Park and Recreation Commission decision. Mr. Ruegemer asked if they would like to put anything into the motion about revisiting the project when the Lake Ann Trail was going along the lake. Commissioner Scheppmann moved, Commissioner Swanson seconded to delay the construction portion of the southern trail and leave the decision to future City Council and Park and Recreation Commission decision at the time the trail continues along the entire length of Lake Ann, and to leave the current south trail in its current existence today. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously 5 to 0. Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – February 24, 2026 5 REPORTS: 1. February Festival Evaluation Priya Wall, Recreation Manager, evaluated the annual February Festival on February 7th. She reviewed the ice fishing contest, the fishing contest marshals, the food and drink concessions, the t-fiber title sponsor, the door prizes, bonfires, s’mores and bait sales, snowshoeing demo hikes, kids’ bingo, skating rink, horse-drawn wagon rides, snow-ga, and medallion hunt. She discussed the different advertising approaches since the Sun Sailer was no longer an option. COMMISSION MEMBER COMMITTEE REPORTS: Vice Chair Morgan discussed the issue-specific subcommittees discussed in January. They plan to use the Commission Member Committee Reports item to provide updates. Commissioner Nagel reviewed the discussion to consider grand-opening activities for the Civic Campus. Youth Commissioner Christenson said they wanted to ensure the community had buy-in for the grand opening. They suggested a donation that people could complete for a memorialized brick or tile. She discussed the potential of a pickleball tournament to get residents involved. She discussed a ribbon-cutting for the splashpad with ice cream for families. She suggested tours for residents. Commissioner Nagel suggested collaboration with the library and additional events to memorialize other holidays. She also suggested considering a National Night Out Event and a fall festival. Vice Chair Morgan thanked them for considering ideas for the Civic Campus. COMMISSION MEMBER PRESENTATIONS: Commissioner Scheppmann asked if they would discuss replacement projects for the Park Renovation Fund Budget. Mr. Ruegemer suggested that when there was a full group present, they would revisit the conversation. He encouraged them to look at the playgrounds and when they were scheduled to be replaced. Commissioner Scheppmann asked for clarification on the budget. Mr. Ruegemer answered that they could have priorities a and b. If they have extra park dedication fees, they could utilize those funds for new projects or equipment. He suggested starting with the identified tax levies. He did not know how the City Council would spend the extra funds from the Lake Ann Park Preserve, because it was general fund money. He said if they want to do playgrounds in 2026, those decisions needed to be made sooner because of the lead time. They would still have time to go Park and Recreation Commission Minutes – February 24, 2026 6 through this process for 2026. They had time to identify the priority list before the budget process in the summer for the City Council’s consideration. Commissioner Nagel asked if there was any public input when considering the priorities. Mr. Ruegemer answered that the list provided was developed during the Park Referendum Task Force. He suggested asking neighbors and acquaintances for additional feedback. ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATIONS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Swanson moved, Commissioner Nagel seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0. The Park and Recreation Commission meeting was adjourned at 7:42 p.m. Submitted by Jerry Ruegemer Park and Recreation Director