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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-20-07 MinutesSOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 20, 2007 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday the 20th of August 2007 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. Robert Henry, President Mr. Robert Goodrich, Vice President Dr. Thomas Kelly Mr. Garrett Mullins Park Board members absent were as follows None Staff members present: Phil St. Clair, Director of Parks; Bill Carleton, Director of Finance; Betsy Harriman, Administrative Director; Susan O'Connor, Recreation Director; Terry DeRosa, Zoo Director; Matthew Moyers, Special Projects Manager; Matt Bellina, Fitness Supervisor; Mike Dyszkiewicz, Maintenance Superintendent; Mark Bradley, Director of Marketing and Promotions; Thomas Bodnar, Park Board Attorney L The meeting was called to-order by Board President Robert Henry at 4:02 p.m. II. The first order of business was the interviewing of interested citizens. 1. Botanical Socieri~ Report- Matthew Moyers Mr. Moyers reported thata full time volunteer is being used to cover the front door and greet visitors. A ~~roup~ has expressed interest in doing community gardening. 2. South Bend Professional Baseball- Terry Coleman Mr. Terry Coleman of South Bend Professional Baseball reported that they are encouraged as the season ends. The Chicken was back in early August and Ryne Sandberg;,was in coaching for an opposing team and was well received. Pops at the Cove will be-back again this year this coming Sunday. The_ schedule for 2008 is better than this year in that there are only 10 games in April as opposed to 17 this year. Actual attendance thus far has surpassed last year's total attendance The team is in the playoffs. President Henry requested monthly attendance figures be reported to the Board. III. The next order of business was unfinished business. 1. Request to Award Quote for Splash Pads- Mike Dyszkiewicz --1-- Mr. Dyszkiewicz reported that St. Clair Recreation withdrew their bid because of time restraints. Mr. Dyszkiewicz requested the award of the splash pads at both O'Brien Center and King Center to RecSource based on their design for $74,000 each. Dr. Kelly made a motion to award the contacts as proposed to RecSource for $74,000 each. Mr. Goodrich seconded the motion and it was passed. The completion date is to be 10/31/07. IV. The next order of business was new business. 1. Report by John Drew, Program Manager, Eppley Institute Mr. Drew presented the results of the study done by his group for the South Bend, Mishawaka, and St. Joseph County Park Departments on alternative funding ..options. They looked at the impact of the circuit breaker on revenues and ~N~hy neighboring counties aren't affected as severely. It is because St. Joseph County has the second highest property tax rates in the state. Elkhart County distributes more from other taxes. They looked at merging park departments, but that hasn't been successful because of political problems. Secondly, they researched developer impact fees. However, they aren't successful unless there is a high rate of population growth and St. Joseph County doesn't meet that criterion. Thirdly, they looked at a.food and beverage tax. They felt this would be more suitable to our area. Finally, a nonprofit foundation seemed to be the most promising. 2. Arborist License Renewals- The following license application was presented for approval by the Board: A. Leonard's Landscape and Tree Mr. Goodrich made a motion to accept the renewals of the Arborist Licenses and Mr. Mullins seconded the motion. It was gassed 3. Request to Declare Fitness Equipment Obsolete- Matt Bellina, Fitness Supervisor Mr. Bellina requested that a number of dumbbells and treadmill casters be declared obsolete and he be allowed to dispose of them. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to declare the items obsolete and Dr. Kelly seconded it. The motion was passed. V. Approval of Mist>utes Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on July 16, 2007 as mailed. The motion was seconded by Dr. Kelly and approved. VL Approval of Maintenance Vouchers A motion was made by Mr. Goodrich to approve maintenance vouchers for July 2007 totaling $1,039,971.73. It was seconded by Dr. Kelly. There being no further discussion, the motion was passed. VII. Business of the Superintendent --2-- 1. Superintendent St. Clair reported that the Mayor has redirected $1,000,000 from unspent funds to Potawatomi Zoo to go toward repairs to meet accreditation in 2009. This money will be appropriated by the Common Council in the next month. In addition, this Saturday, we will be going before the Council's Personnel and Finance committee to present our 2008 budget. Included is an additional $400,000 in capital for next year. A committee of Park staff will be meeting to address priorities for the Zoo capital. 2. Superintendent St. Clair commented that the Zoological Society is not in a postian to take over the operation of the Zoo, despite reports by reports in the media. 3. He discussed the 2008 budget with the Board. In addition to the operating budget, 'a capital budget is also being submitted. This will allow us to get going on capital projects much sooner than in the past. A Development Director is being added to address fund raising and the possibility of setting up a park foundation. The Park Department will take over the city-wide mowingprogram for all City owned lots, as well as privately owned overgrown lots that arecitedby code enforcement. Revenues will come from billings of departments responsible for the properties. The Department is also taking over two grant presgram~ from Community and Economic Development, the Afterschool Program and BuildingBlocks. VIII. Comments by the Recreation Director 1. Ms. O'Connor updated the Board on the pro~~ress at the Leeper Tennis Complex. 2. Ms. O'Connor related that the national men's and women's major fast pitch tournament was played the first week of august. There were seventeen men's teams and twelve women's teams. It was a very long; l~at week. Because of adverse weather the women's tournament was not finished and the winner was chosen by the ASA using criteria from the tournament rule book. She thanked all the maintenance staff for their long hours and dedication. 3. Fall softball leagues hive started with 58 teams. 4. This summer 1, I ?? breakfasts were served at the playgrounds; 27,6101unches were served; and there ~~ere 51,496 participants used the playground program over the summer. 5. Attendance at Potawatomi Pool was 9,097, 6,539 at Kennedy Water Playground, and 8034 at the East Race. 6. The concerts were rained out last night and the last concerts will be held next Sunday. 7. The Kid's Triathlon had 537 participants. 8. The Skate Park competition last weekend had 24 competitors. Attendance is being affected by the construction along Michigan St. IX. Comments by the Zoo Director 1. Mr. DeRosa thanked the Mayor, Councilwoman Puzello and Superintendent St. Clair for the $1.4 million for the Zoo to help repair the infrastructure. --3-- 2. The Zoo is hosting "A Walk on the Wild Side" this Friday. It is a fund raiser sponsored by the Zoological Society. 3. Richard Diesel has completed his work at the Conservatory/Greenhouses. The motors on the vents have been replaced and it is much easier to control the temperature inside the building. Superintendent St. Clair thanked Ms. Puzello for her coming to the meeting... As' chairman of the Common Council's PARC committee, he appreciated her interestand involvement. X. Comments by Maintenance Superintendent 1. Mr. Mike Dyszkiewicz informed the Board that he had resolved the list of problems listed by Mr. Borowski and Mr. Holmes at Tarkington and_Boehm Parks.'`He presented a list of their concerns that was compiled during a walk through. of the park and how they were addressed. 2. The Leeper Tennis prof ect is moving along well ~ °'I~h~ Street, Sewer, and Water Departments all helped in the removal of the asphalt o~-~er two days. The contractor is in place and removed the old lights and poles. Mr. Goodrich commented on the number of trees that have been planted at Rum Village. Mr. Dyszkiewicz replied that the Forestry crew had planted over 200 trees to replace the ones lost in the storm. XI. Comments by the Director of Marketing & Promotions 1. Mr. Bradley presented the Board with-'a copy of the accreditation workbook and a copy of the Administration and Policy Manual. The Administration Manual is a requirement for accreditation and he asked the Board to review it for action at the September meeting. The preliminary report from the CAPRA Board was encouraging. The final review will be at the NRPA national .conference in Indianapolis on September 25. 2. The Superintendent's Outing was a successful event thanks to all the staff that participated in its planning and execution. 3. A USTA grant will be submitted soon to offset some of the expense of the renovation at Leeper Park Tennis Center. It is for $50,000 and will be awarded in November. XIL There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting was adjourned at 5:33 pm by President Henry. The next regular meeting will be held September 17, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O'Brien Administration Center. --4-- Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary -5-