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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-16-2012 Minutes SOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK CONBUSSIONERS REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 16, 2012 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday January 16, 2012 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 Ms. Amy Hill Park Board members absent were as follows: Mr. Garrett Mullins Staff members present: Phil St. Clair, Superintendent; Bill Carleton,Fiscal Officer;Betsy Harriman, Administrative Director; Susan O'Connor,Recreation Director; Paul McMinn,Assistant Recreation Director; Randy Nowacki,Director of Golf Operations; ,Laura Arriaga, Interim Zoo Director; Richard Payton,Development Director;Mike Dyszkiewicz,Maintenance Superintendent; Cheryl Greene,Park Board Attorney I. The meeting was called to order by Board President Robert Henry at 4:05 p.m. H. The first order of business was the election of officers for 2012. 1. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to retain the present slate of Mr. Henry as president and Mr. Goodrich as Vice President. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. III. The next order of business was the interviewing of interested citizens. There were no citizens wishing to address the Board. IV. Report by the Zoological Society- Marcy Dean 1. Ms. Dean reported that the first Zoo Winter Day last Saturday had over 300 visitors despite the low temperature. Media coverage was very good for this event. 2. She is getting ready for the opening of the butterfly exhibit and applying for the appropriate permits. 3. A request will be made of the Zoological Society's Board to fund a keeper's conference trip and a donation to a Tiger Conservation fund. V. The next order of business was unfinished business. There was no unfinished business. VI. The next order of business was new business. 1. Arborist License Renewal Approval - - 1 - - a. Miramontes Tree Service b. Mark Temple Tree Service c. Sam-Mar Tree Maintenance d. Super Tree, Inc. After inspecting the license forms,Ms. Greene reported that they met all requirements. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve all the requests. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. 2. Requests for Use of Parks-Betsy Harriman a. Run Panther Run event for St. Anthony's -Potawatomi-April 14, 2012 b. Achievement Forum Egg Hunt-Howard-March 31, 2012 c. Letter Carriers Egg Hunt-Memorial-April 1, 2012 d. Arthritis Walk-Potawatomi-May 6, 2012 e. Cinco de Mayo -Howard-May 5, 2012 f. Leeper Park Art Fair-June 16-17, 2012 g. Ride for Kids -Pinhook-July 8, 2012 h. Breast Cancer Walk-Howard- October 27, 2012 i. Request to use Howard Park for antique shows -Larry Clifford (various dates) -will be doing a presentation Ms. Harriman introduced Mr. Clifford who made a presentation regarding antique shows at Howard Park in association with Downtown South Bend. They would be the first Saturday of the month in May through October. There may be conflicts with May and June due to the Cinco de Mayo Festival and the Sunburst Marathon. If there were,he would delay or reschedule the event. Ms. Hill made a motion to approve the request for First Saturday Antique Shows May through October subject to agreement with the Cinco de Mayo and Sunburst promoters. If agreement can't be reached,he would come back for alternate dates. It was seconded by Mr. Goodrich. The motion was approved. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve requests a-h Ms. Hill seconded and it was passed. 3. Request to Approve Extension of Hoosier Cutters Contract for Cemetery Maintenance-Mike Dyszkiewicz Mr. Dyszkiewicz requested approval of the extension for Hoosier Cutters' contract for cemetery maintenance for an additional year. It would be at the current amount of$39,500 per year and run through November 15, 2012. Ms. Greene informed the Board that e-verify and diversity language are required in the contract. She said she would provide it as an attachment. Ms. Hill made a motion to approve the contract subject to changes requested by the Park Board attorney. Mr. Goodrich seconded the motion and it was passed. 4. Request to Approve Master Agreement between Redevelopment Commission and Park Board for 2012,Addendum to Master Agreement for Coveleski Stadium Improvements, and Resolution 2012-1-Bill Shalliol Mr. Schalliol, of Economic Development,requested approval of the Resolution 2012-1, - - 2 - - creating the 2012 Master Agency Agreement,Resolution 2012-2, creating an addendum to the Master Agency Agreement for the Coveleski Stadium Rehabilitation project, and the actual addendum. This will allow the Redevelopment Commission to act on behalf of the Park Department on the Coveleski Stadium. Mr. Dave Rapinski of Whiteman Petrie and Mr. Bill Davidson,President of the Silver Hawks,presented the proposed stadium changes to the Board. Mr. Goodrich made a motion for the separate approval of resolution 2012-1,resolution 2012-2 and the addendum to the Master Agency Agreement. Ms. Hill seconded the motion. The motion was approved. 5. Request to Approve AEP Easement at Potawatomi Zoo-Laura Arriaga Mr. Matthew Sherman of Michiana Land Services,representing AEP,requested the Board to approve an easement with AEP at Potawatomi Zoo. This is to expand a substation on the northeast corner of the Zoo. The easement would be less than 0.25 acre for underground transmission lines.No additional structures or poles are planned. The language of the easement is attentive to the safety of the zoo animals and includes specific language regarding not using pesticides in this area. There was some confusion as whether the Park Department or City of South Bend is listed as the owner of the property. Ms. Greene said she would check this on Tuesday. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve the easement subject to final review by legal counsel. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. 6. Request to Declare Various Lights as Obsolete and Eligible for Disposal- Mike Dyszkiewicz Mr. Dyszkiewicz requested permission to dispose of 62 lighting fixtures that were replaced by higher efficiency fixtures at the centers and maintenance garage. Because of their age and low efficiency he asked permission to dispose of them. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to declare the lights obsolete. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. 7. Request to Ratify Letter Designating Robert Nichols as the Park Department's Representative for Wage Determination Meetings Ms. Hill made a motion to ratify the letter designating Robert Nichols as the wage determination representative for the Parks Department. Mr. Goodrich seconded the motion and it was passed. VII. Approval of Minutes Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on December 19, 2011 as mailed. The motion was seconded by Ms. Hill and approved. VIII. Approval of Maintenance Vouchers A motion was made by Ms. Hill to approve maintenance vouchers for December 2011 totaling $1,100,986.75. It was seconded by Mr. Goodrich. There being no further discussion,the motion was passed. - -3 - - IX. Business of Director St. Clair 1. Director St. Clair reported that Park Staff recently went over the new purchasing policies with Ms. Greene. 2. He presented some information regarding the potential partnership of the South Bend School System with Parks and their sports program. Due to the cuts they need to make,Parks would take over 3-4 sports in the middle schools. Discussions are still underway and no decisions have been made. Mr. Goodrich asked that the Board be able to have input with this process. 3. He met recently with the South Bend Community Foundation and Mr. Richard Pfeil regarding the building of a splash pad at Potawatomi Park through a grant and donation, respectively. It is hoped to move forward with it soon. 4. Parks is working with the South Bend Rotary Club on two projects. One is the playground structure at Belleville Park that burned down last summer. A new structure is planned in the near future. And they also have a 100 year project at Howard Park. They will be coming to the Board to make a presentation at a later date. 5. He has been speaking with a number of people regarding upgrades to Leeper Park. 6. The department has received a letter from Jeff Rea of the Chamber of Commerce congratulating us on our outstanding agency award. Director St. Clair thanked them for the letter and distributed a copy to the Board. 7. The Department's phone system will be upgraded soon and some numbers may be changing. 8. The IPRA State Conference will be held this week in Michigan City. The department will be receiving the award for the outstanding agency of 2011 at the awards banquet of Thursday. Director St. Clair recognized new Councilmen Gavin Ferlic and Tim Scott that were in attendance earlier, and Mr. Mark Neal the new city controller. X. Comments by the Golf Operations Director 1. Mr.Nowacki informed the Board that December was a good month for Erskine. They were open more days in December than in April. 2. They were also open two days in January and had 112 golfers. 3. The golf website is being upgraded. All three courses will be consolidated on one site. 4. Bid specs are out for 120 new golf cars. 5. Bid specs are out for chemical and fertilizer bids. He expects to open them at the February meeting. 6. Season passes are being marketed on radio. 7. Maintenance staff is preparing equipment for the season. 8. Merchandise orders are being made. 9. All sites now have internet access and email. 10. Tee boxes and sand traps are being renovated at both courses and areas are being cleared at Elbel to open up fairways. XI. Comments by the Maintenance Superintendent - - 4 - - 1. Mr. Mike Dyszkiewicz informed the Board that leaves are still being picked up in the parks. 2. There have been two snow storms since last meeting and all went smoothly with the plowing we do for the City. 3. Work at the Conservatory is ongoing. The growing houses have been demolished. Painting is going on inside. 4. Prep work at Voorde Park has started. XH. Comments by the Development Director 1. Mr. Payton said that the Parks Foundation Board met last week and will be selling sponsorships for the Blues Fest. 2. The awards presentation at the IPRA on Thursday will award the agency and lifetime achievement award to Ms. O'Connor. 3. A sponsorship and donations report will begin in February. 4. The reaccreditation process is underway and will continue for the next five months. 5. He spoke about the Healthy Communities Project and what is ongoing at this time with it. XHI. Comments by the Interim Zoo Director 1. Ms. Arriaga reported that at the first Winter Day last Saturday, 253 Zoological Society members and 60 paid visitors attended. 2. The concessions and gift shop were open and animal demonstrations were given in the Learning Center. 3. The new LED sign in front of the Zoo is now operating. 4. The otters and lions will be getting physicals this month. XIV. Comments by the Recreation Director 1. Ms. O'Connor updated the Board about some of the programs that are underway. River City Basketball League has 30 teams and will start next Saturday. 2. The City Wellness Program is busy getting health assessments in and meeting with the nurses. 3. Youth Instructional classes start next week with 22 classes. 150—200 students have registered. 4. Registration for summer camps start next month. 5. The Daddy—Daughter Dance will be held February 7. 160 have registered to date. 6. The After School Programs at the Martin Luther King,Jr. Center and Charles Black Center began last week. 7. The Food Bank has donated $4,137 in food from October to December to the Centers for the seniors and children. 8. The senior men's club had their lunch for MLK day. 300 participated. 9. The Howard Park Center is setting up a spring trip to Cape Cod. 10. Attendance at the Ice Rink has been weather dependent and up and down. XV. There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting adjourned at 5:47 - - 5 - - p.m. The next regular meeting will be held February 20, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O'Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary