PARKS AND RECREATION
The Parks and
Recreation Department is responsible for the planning organization, and
maintenance of a wide variety of recreational programs, activities and
facilities for the citizen’s of Albert Lea and the surrounding area. I want to take the opportunity to recognize
the entire staff of the Parks and Recreation Department. They do an outstanding
job in providing the community of Albert Lea with quality programs and attractive
parks and facilities. I also want to recognize the ten members of the Park and
Recreation Advisory Board, who give of their time and energy to enhance the
quality of life in Albert Lea. They
are: Ron Sorenson, Heather Benda, Kevin Dulitz, Sue Zimmerman, Thelma Foss,
Davis Gilbertson, Jay Doppelhammer, Ray Madrigal, Jan Mattson, Brian Paul.
2001 was the eighth consecutive year the City of Albert Lea qualified for the designation” Tree City USA”. The city parks department is responsible for tree care; tree maintenance and hazard tree removal on city owned land. Approximately 100 trees were removed and well over one thousand were pruned. As in the previous years, park department employees did the majority of work. Large tree removals and a portion of the tree trimming are contracted out. The park department planted approximately 250 trees during the 2001 calendar year. This included boulevard tree plantings, miscellaneous park plantings, and shoreline restoration tree plantings at Edgewater Park. In the spring of the year the staff plants hardy bare-root stock to help defray cost. The city forester and parks department staff also assists citizens with tree and landscape questions.
The park department staff is busy year around with regular
maintenance. During seasonally warm weather this maintenance includes mowing,
trimming, noxious weed control, bike trail maintenance, road right-of way
mowing (such as right-of-ways on bridge avenue, highways 13, 69 and 46),
landscaping, city-wide garbage removal, painting park buildings and sport
courts, soccer, baseball and softball field maintenance. During the winter months the staff is
normally busy with snow and ice removal, building repair and maintenance, ice
rinks and grounds equipment repair and maintenance. Some of the projects that were completed in 2001 are as follows:
The parks department added new playground equipment at Edgewater and Oakwood
Park. Installed new bleachers and
cement pads at Snyder Field, tiling and drainage work at Snyder Field,
Sondergard Park and Hayek Field. Construction of new skateboard park at the
city beach.
Lake Improvement
The park department is also kept busy managing shoreline activities. This includes issuing permits for dock spaces, managing public boat ramps, public fishing piers, operating two winter aeration systems, debris removal, public swimming area (beach), chemical treatment of Fountain Lake, rip rapping and natural shoreline restoration management.
The 2001 swimming season at the Aquatic Center was
an ever better year for attendance, weather and concession sales than
2000. The season began on June 6 and
ended on August 31 with only two rain days. The main pool was filled on May 15
to accommodate the transfer to the American Red Cross lifeguard certification.
The entire lifeguard staff should be certified by the beginning of the 2002
season. Once again nearly 35,000 swim
pass tickets were sold for the 2001 season.
There were 15 private rentals.
There were 720 registered for swim lessons. A team of lifeguards competed for the fist time in the lifeguard
Olympics and brought home a gold medal.
The Pool Jam Party was held the same day as the Gus Macker and was a
wonderful opportunity to show our facility to people for out of the area.
The City Arena continued to offer Learn to Skate, public skate, and open hockey on a daily basis, Monday – Friday. We registered over 200 for in-house hockey and started a new co-op program with the Hockey Association/City/High School Coaching Program for 9 and 10 year olds with over 80 kids in the program. The arena was rented out for a concert and tool show in 2001. The staff continued to clean , paint and update the mechanical systems. The drainage ditch was cleaned out and landscaped with a FEMA Grant. The arena has seen growth in all programs last year.
Once again, a highlight of the year included our
nine week summer Playpark program with trips to the MN Zoo, Campy Snoopy,
Beaver Mountain, Old Log theater and Chutes and Ladder Playground
Area,,ValleyFair and. Special events for the Playpark program include the Penny
Carnival, the Crazy Days Kiddie Parade, Air Jam, Anything Goes at the Beach,
Bed Races, and a Mystery Movie at the Civic Theater. Other summer programs offered with no changes were Cheerleading
Camps, Tennis, Youth Baseball and Softball, Adult Sand Volleyball, Adult Softball. Preschool Sports Spectacular, Preschool Kinder Klub, Edgewater
Park Adventure Camp, and Craft Camps.
An effort was made to provide a place to go after school and on
non-school days, making two parks open after school, bowling at Holiday Lanes
three times a week with an average of 25 kids/day. Open Gym was moved to
Halvorson Elementary on Monday and Wednesday Evenings. Activities at the High School include the
weight room, floor and water aerobics, and lap swim.
2001 was a great year at the Albert Lea Senior
Center with membership totaling 1425.
We had 22,737 visit the Center to play cards, pool, bingo, attend an
event, watch TV, read the paper or have coffee and visit with friends. There were 56 different groups that rented
the Center for anniversary, birthday, graduation, confirmation, family
reunions, seminars etc. A.A.R.P. held
sixteen 10 Alive Driving Classes with 336 people attending. Income Tax Aides offered free assistance
from February to April 15 helping 228 seniors with taxes or rent credit. We hosted two Will and Legal Advice Clinics
by Southern Minnesota legal Services.
824 people received flu shots, given by the Freeborn Country Public
Health Department. We co-sponsored with
Freeborn County Ag Society the Outstanding Senior Citizens Program of Freeborn
County. 1,644 people participated in 26
one day trips. Senior Aerobics has
become a real hit at the Center and now we have a walking club, to encourage
people to walk for their health, this year they walked a total of 4,050 miles.
The
following is the attendance statistics of Parks and Recreation Activities:
REGISTERED ACCUMULATIVE
ATTENDANCE
2000 2001 2000 2001
|
Play-Parks |
378 |
309 |
24,280 |
22,968 |
|
Trips
and Special Events |
|
|
1,021 |
1,184 |
|
Playpark
classes |
238 |
246 |
952 |
966 |
|
Ice
Skating, Warming Houses |
|
|
9,085 |
10,587 |
|
Swimming
(Pool) |
|
|
54,365 |
55,132 |
|
Swimming
Lessons |
900 |
720 |
9,000 |
7,200 |
|
Aerobics/Water
Exercise |
68 |
65 |
2,874 |
2,838 |
|
Senior
Citizens Center |
1,420 |
1,425 |
23,683 |
22,737 |
|
Men’s
and Women’s Softball Teams: 17 teams |
285 |
|
4,485 |
3, 570 |
|
Fall League: 6 teams |
90 |
-0- |
98 |
-0- |
|
Tournaments: 1 tournament |
|
|
540 |
620 |
|
Park
League Baseball |
|
|
|
|
|
T-Ball 9 Teams |
154 |
135 |
2,618 |
2,295 |
|
Mites 8 Teams |
123 |
120 |
2,091 |
2,040 |
|
Squirts 4 Teams |
87 |
64 |
1,792 |
1,152 |
|
PeeWees 4 Teams |
50 |
61 |
752 |
1,098 |
|
Bantam |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Girls
Softball |
|
|
|
|
|
Squirts 3 Teams |
45 |
37 |
896 |
666 |
|
PeeWee 4 Teams |
60 |
33 |
800 |
594 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Volleyball
(two seasons) |
|
|
|
|
|
Women’s - 61 teams |
410 |
397 |
4,910 |
4,764 |
|
Men’s - 26 teams |
202 |
169 |
2,230 |
2,028 |
|
Co-Rec – 24 teams |
130 |
156 |
1,430 |
1,872 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summer
Volleyball |
|
|
|
|
|
Women’s- 6 teams |
24 |
36 |
288 |
432 |
|
Co-Rec – 10 teams |
45 |
50 |
540 |
600 |
|
Halloween
Carnival |
|
|
1,100 |
1,025 |
|
Tennis |
63 |
89 |
520 |
716 |
|
Cheerleading |
60 |
67 |
600 |
603 |
|
Open
Gyms incl.
weight room, H.S. & Brookside |
588 |
564 |
1,470 |
1,128 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CIVIC THEATRE |
|
|
|
|
|
ACT
Attendance |
|
|
6,542 |
4,733 |
|
Minnesota
Festival |
|
|
7,908 |
4,637 |
|
Rentals
(one act plays, recitals) |
|
|
2,567 |
1,535 |
|
Park
& Rec Youth Acting Classes |
54 |
61 |
|
|
|
CITY ARENA |
|
|
|
|
|
Number
of hours used by High School for practice and games |
293.75 |
286 |
|
|
|
Number
of Youth Hockey games and practices |
731 |
663.75 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2000 |
2001 |
2000 |
2001 |
|
Hockey
Association Tournaments 4 Tournaments |
|
|
3,100 |
4,200 |
|
Number
of Private Rentals |
122 |
212 |
|
|
|
Adult
Hockey Activities |
88 |
108 |
|
|
|
Figure
Skating Club |
364/hrs |
319/hrs |
|
|
|
In-House
Youth Hockey |
200 |
237 |
|
|
|
Learn
To Skate |
170 |
216 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
Number of Hours of Ice Related Activities |
3,100 |
3,195 |
|
|
|
Total
Number of Days Ice Used New Arena |
298 |
260 |
|
|
|
Total
Number of Days Ice Used Main Arena |
145 |
158 |
|
|
|
Total
Number of Days Off Ice Usage – Main Arena |
220 |
204 |
|
|
|
Total
Number of Days Off Ice Usage – New Arena |
-0- |
91 |
|
|
|
Fall Hockey League games or practices-City Program |
69 |
65 |
|
|
A T T E N D A
N C E
|
|
2000 |
2001 |
|
Recreation
Programs |
51,731 |
48,969 |
|
City
Arena |
180,000 |
220,000 |
|
Swimming
Pool |
54,365 |
55,132 |
|
Softball
Complex |
5,115 |
4,190 |
|
Civic
Theatre |
17,562 |
10,905 |
|
Senior
Citizens Center |
23,683 |
22,737 |
|
TOTAL |
332,456 |
361,933 |