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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 16 2017 MinutesSOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 16, 2017 The Board of Park Commissioners of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday, October 16, 2017 at the O’Brien Administration & Recreation Center, 321 E. Walter St., South Bend, Indiana for its regular meeting. Notice of the date, time and place of the meeting were duly given as required by law. Park Board members present were as follows: Mr. Mark Neal, President Ms. Consuella Hopkins Mr. Dan Farrell Park Board members absent were as follows: Ms. Aimee Buccellato Staff members present: Aaron Perri, Director of VPA; Eva Ennis, Operations Coordinator; Danielle Campbell, Assistant City Attorney; Adam Miller, Development Director; Amy Roush, Volunteer Coordinator; John Martinez, Facilities and Grounds Director; Patrick Sherman, Project Manager I. The meeting was called to order by Board President Mark Neal at 5:00 p.m. II. Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the minutes of the September 25, 2017 regular Park Board meeting by Consuella Hopkins, supported by Dan Farrell, motion carried. III. Consent Agenda Approval: 1. Approval of the VPA Financial Statements for the month of September 2017 Motion to approve consent agenda item 1 by Dan Farrell, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. IV. Interviewing of Interested Citizens Mark Neal opened the floor to anyone interested in speaking on a matter that was not listed on the agenda. There were no citizen comments at this time. V. New Business 1. My SB Parks & Trails – Parks Bond Financing Aaron Perri introduced the My SB Parks & Trails initiative – a comprehensive set of projects developed by public input received through the City Comprehensive Plan, Parks Master Plan, neighborhood plans and dozens of community meetings. He reviewed the website and highlighted that specific projects can be reviewed there. He also explained that the areas being invested in are geographically diverse. The City has identified underserved areas in parks and is investing in these areas to improve access in these areas. These areas were identified through ParkScore data and Trust for Public Land access maps. The financing plan for My SB Parks and Trails is created with one third private investment, one third redevelopment TIF funds, and one third Parks Bond funds. Randy Rompola explained that the confirming resolution and appropriation resolution require a public hearing. The first resolution confirms the intent to proceed to consider the bond resolution for adoption after the public hearing. Statute requires an authorizing resolution, which the Park Board approved last month, and a confirming resolution. Mark Neal opened the public hearing on the confirming resolution. Andrew Tucker, 127 S. 34th Street, South Bend, spoke in support of My SB Parks and Trails plan. He commented that the city will have a hard time finding an investment that will garner as much return as investing in the parks. Benefits include increasing property value, reducing health costs and environmental costs, and harder to quantify assets such as opportunities for community engagement and civic participation. The plan is going a long way towards economic returns and community building returns. He appealed to the board to adopt the resolution, advocate for full funding and invest in the right places in the city. He commented that the plan goes a long way towards investing in the right places and encouraged the board to invest in areas outside the downtown core. He appreciates the analysis done to identify areas with need in the city and encouraged focusing on those areas. He also encouraged the Mayor to sign on to the 10-minute Walk Campaign an initiative of the National Recreation and Parks Association to get everyone within 10-minute walking distance of a park. He reported that South Bend is currently at 63% and he appreciates the work that this plan does to improve that percentage. Steve Doniger, partner in Edge Adventure Parks, commented that as a small business Edge Adventure made its investment in South Bend because of the investments that have been made and that are coming in the City. My SB Parks and Trails secures Edge Adventure’s investment in the community and allows it to expand. He also commented that as a former parks superintendent this is an extraordinary opportunity to become a model for how other communities can do remarkable things in their parks. Rob DeCleene, 101 S. Michigan Street, South Bend, spoke in favor of My SB Parks and Trails commenting that a project like this goes a long way in enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors and also helps the city attract and retain talent. He also shared a quote from Mara Gast, “If you build a place where people want to visit, you’ll build a place where people want to live. If you build a place where people want to live, you’ll build a place where people want to work. If you build a place where people want to work, you’ll build a place where business has to be. If you build a place where business wants to be, you’ll be back to building a place where people want to visit.” He encouraged the Park Board to pass the bond and continue the resurgence of this community. Beth Sanford, 1013 N St. Peters Street, South Bend, spoke in favor of My SB Parks and Trails. She commented that she has participated in rebuilding Kelly Park in the Northeast neighborhood, Her involvement opened her eyes to see how much it costs to invest in a park. When her family was growing up, neighbors would say to avoid the park because it was unsafe but now it has been transformed. She commented that this bond will help create this community investment in other parts of the city. Vicky McIntire, co-chair of Studebaker Fountain Committee, spoke in favor of My SB Parks and Trails. Excited about everything that is planned. She shared photos of the Studebaker Fountain. The Fountain Committee has raised $500,000 for the Studebaker Fountain restoration already and $100,000 is left. Looking forward to Bringing the Studebaker Fountain to Leeper park where everyone can come together for celebrations, visiting, family outings. Karen Hahn, 50727 Shawn Court, spoke in favor of My SB Parks and Trails Bike. She explained that she participates in the Bike Michiana Coalition, Mayor’s Ride, grassroots ride, Bike-to- Work Week, and other bike advocacy in the area. The biking community is excited to see the expansion and improvement of biking trails continue to grow. Aaron Perri noted that the strength of the plan is the people who helped it come together. Mark Neal closed the public hearing. Consuella Hopkins commented that she appreciates that the plan will impact park dessert areas and she is excited about seeing this go forth. This is an investment that will benefit the city as a whole. Dan Farrell commented that it is most exciting to see the community shape this plan and good to hear back from community that they are supportive. Mark Neal thanked Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Aaron Perri for their work and noted this is the biggest bond and most attended, most discussed, most communicated initiative in parks history. He thanked people for attending to raise their voice about the plan. Dan Farrell moved to approve the Resolution 0007-2017, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. 2. Bond Resolution Randy Rompola explained that this resolution will authorize the issuance of special taxing district bonds. Bonds will be issued at a public competitive sale. The term ends in 2023 and can be redeemed in 10 years. The bond is issued to the Park District whose boundaries are coterminous with the City. The Park Bond will replace the Hall of Fame levy which is being paid off this year. He explained that Common Council must approve the bond, as well. The Park District bond limit is $15.5 million and these bonds total in $14,750,000 so it is under the debt limit. Motion to approve Resolution 0008-2017 by Dan Farrell, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. 3. Appropriation Resolution Randy Rompola explained that the board must appropriate the proceeds of the bond which is a separate action from the approval of the Bond Resolution. Public hearing would be on the appropriations of the proceeds. Mark Neal noted that all three resolutions will go to council for their own approval. Mark opened the public hearing and asked for comments. There were none. Mark closed the public hearing. Motion to approve Resolution 0009-2017 by Dan Farrell, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. Mark Neal asked what the next steps are for the bond approval. Aaron Perri replied that Common Council must approve the bond on October 23. 4. East Race Operations Steve Doniger reviewed the operations analysis for the East Race. Consuella Hopkins recommended plugging into homeschool market for educational opportunities. Dan Farrell commented that he likes the idea of defining South Bend with adventure. He also asked if they reviewed opportunities for winter adventure. Steve Doniger replied that he would like to review that more but he needs to collect a lot more data on snow adventures. VI. Report by Director Aaron Perri Aaron Perri gave the following updates: - Jeff Jarnecke, VPA’s new Deputy Director, started today. Jeff Jarnecke shared that he has spent the last 20 years in Indianapolis and 7 years with NCAA and that is excited to relocate to South Bend and participate in this community. - The Howard Park Ground Breaking was October 4. - Golf Division will give a report before the end of the year. - Aaron Perri is hosting another Ask AP Live Chat on Facebook on October 18 at noon. - The Experience Division and the Executive Offices moved into Lodge on October 2. VII. Report by Director of Facilities and Grounds – John Martinez John Martinez gave the following updates: - Reviewed the Centralized Mowing Program for 2017 - Fall tree planting has started. - Current Facilities and Grounds projects: o Erskine Clubhouse Assessment o Morris Bistro o Howard Park Demo and Construction o IUSB & Veteran’s Memorial Park Partnership o Four Winds Field Concourse Painting o Morris Roof Repair o Morris Chiller Repair o Boland Baseball Repair No other questions or comments from the Board, meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m.by President Mark Neal. The next regular meeting will be held October 16, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O’Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, Eva Ennis Executive Secretary