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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 15 2019 Park Board MinutesSOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING APRIL 15, 2019 The Board of Park Commissioners of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday, April 15, 2019, 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. Aimee Buccellato Mr. Dan Farrell Park Board members absent were as follows: Ms. Consuella Hopkins VPA staff members present: Jeff Jarnecke, Executive Director of Venues; Eva Ennis, Operations Coordinator; John Martinez, Faculties & Ground Director; Amy Roush, Volunteer Coordinator; Jonathan Jones, Recreation Director; Annie Gawkowski, Chief Development Officer; Karen Myers, Program Coordinator Other city representatives present: Danielle Campbell-Weiss, Assistant City Attorney; Sharon McBride, Council Member I. Call to Order President Mark Neal called the meeting to order at 5:01 pm. II. Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the minutes of March 18, 2019 by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. III. Consent Agenda 1. 1st Quarter Financials – January – March 2019 2. Use of Parks – Returning Events a. Summer of Service Block Party on June 15th in LaSalle Park b. Outreach at the Park on July 15 at Chris Wilson Pavilion 3. Arborist Licenses a. Homer Tree Service* b. Doug’s Mishawaka Tree Service* *renewal application Motion to approve the consent agenda by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Dan Farrell, motion carried. IV. Use of Parks Applications – New Events a. Just Us Music to hold The Battlefield event on July 20th in LaSalle Park Marcus Bray, 1644 N. Adams Street, explained that Just Us Music is a concert put on by the church Project 180 to reach out to community with positive message through rap music. The event will include bouncy houses, vendors, and other ministries with the intent is to show positive side of South Bend. Aimee Buccellato asked what expected attendance is. Marcus Bray responded that it is a first time event but he expects 50-100 attendees. The event will be from 12-3pm. Motion to approve the Just Us Music event by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. V. Interviewing of Interested Citizens Mark Neal opened the floor for citizen comments. There were none. VI. Reports by Organizations 1. South Bend Cubs Joe Hart, President of South Bend Cubs, shared that the baseball season is underway and the park is in good shape. Ivy at Berlin Place has occupancy in May 1 in the first building. The entire complex will be fully finished in June. The Cubs are hosting the Midwest League All-Star Game in June with aconcert on Sunday, fan fest on Monday, and game on Tuesday. 2. Ecological Advocacy Committee Steve Sass, Chair of Ecological Advocacy Committeee, issued a report at the last meeting that reviewed the activities of the EAC over the last year. Steve Sass reviewed the report that was given to the board at the last month. Dan Farrell noted that there may be information about the ownership of Mud Lacke which came up from the Elbel sale discussion several years ago. Steve Sass mentioned that the EAC minutes have not been previously posted online although the agendas have. Mark Neal requested that legal look into whether that’s a requirement for a committee to post its minutes. Steve Sass can provide the EAC minutes to the Park Board clerk to post online after meetings. The Park Board discussed a reporting schedule and agreed that the EAC should report somewhere between every 3-6 months depending on the number of topics. VII. New Business 1. Y-Rock MOU Jonathan Jones explained that Y-Rock is a partnership with YMCA which offers opportunities for older youth to perform and practice music. VPA is offering Pinhook Park as a location for these events. YMCA will run the program. YMCA is offering 20% cost sharing for this program. Dan Farrell asked if any of the participants could perform on new Boomer stage. Jonathan Jones replied that VPA was looking to partner with groups like this for performances at Boomer events. Mark Neal asked when the first 8 week session starts. Jonathan Jones replied that YMCA is still confirming but possibly September. Mark Neal noted that he is also on the board at the YMCA but does not see that as an issue for supporting this agreement. Motion to approve the Y-Rock MOU between YMCA and VPA by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. 2. Sappy Moffitt Matthew Inslee discussed a proposal to build a baseball field at Southeast Park to house the Sappy Moffit Baseball League. Sappy Moffit group recently met with SOAR about the project and was given encouragement to move forward with the project. Sappy Moffitt Baseball League has 120 players currently. The league is focused on community building and recreation and creates a sense of place and belonging for South Bend. The league is looking for a permanent home to play at and invest in and is interested in Southeast Park. The league would like to partner with VPA to help create a new baseball field at the park. It would be privately funded on public land and would be available to the public any time that the league would not be using it. The space at Southeast Park where the league is proposing the field be built is currently a relatively unused space in the park and this will help revitalize it. The league is also partnering with Cubs Foundation to mentor kids through baseball. The league is also looking to partner with the History Museum to make it a historically interesting site. Kevin Buccellato reviewed design plans for the field. The league is working with VPA to present a MOU in a month or two. Conrad Damien commented that the league agreed to talk to neighbors on Wenger street about potential foul balls. He also was told they won’t take out the walking trail which some neighbors use. He commented that there are some issues to solve with parking. Sharon McBride added that there is also discussion about lighting and requested that portion of the budget go towards lighting at the park. 3. Golf Now Contract Jeff Jarnecke explained that VPA golf courses have had an agreement with Golf Now to be tee-time management system for our three courses and upgraded to the cloud-based solution last summer. VPA would like to upgrade to Pro which provides marketing services for Erskine and Elbel. Mark Neal requested that the golf team report back in June on how this service has benefited the team so far. Motion to approve the Golf Now contract by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Dan Farrell, motion carried. 4. Pepsi Contract Jeff Jarnecke reviewed the Pepsi contract at previous meeting. This is the final contract to be approved by the board. Motion approved by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. 5. Special Events Fees Jeff Jarnecke explained that VPA is standardizing the approach to park rentals and incorporating a standard fee structure for use of parks. This structure does not include the use of park shelters (such as pavilions or building rentals) but focuses on entire park reservation. The fee structure is divided by community, private, and commercial use. There are also opportunities for scholarship to reduce the cost of the park use. Dan Farrell noted that the form should call out that commercial events are not eligible for scholarships. Motion to approve the special events fees with the noted change by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. 6. Temporary License Agreement to plant trees at IUSB John Martinez explained that VPA has helped maintain a property of Indiana University South Bend’s for several years by maintaining the trees by the boat launch near Veteran’s Memorial Park. This lease agreement to allow VPA to plant trees and maintain trees on the property. Motion to approve the Temporary License Agreement to plant trees at IUSB by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. VIII. Report by Facilities & Grounds Director John Martinez John Martinez gave the following updates: • Facilities & Grounds has started its seasonal prep for outdoor spaces. • Niles Dog Park was closed for reseeding. • The season started at Coveleski Stadium, Jon Hunt Plaza, Pools, Smart Streets, roundabouts, and parks. • Facilities & Grounds team has started playground inspections. Major inspections are done twice annually, and ambassadors check on playgrounds every time they visit parks. • Coveleski landscaping was installed • Rum Village received new displays for critters and upgrades to walking trails and disc golf tee signs • Park maintenance storage building is complete • Ravina Park renovation is complete • Martin Luther King Center will receive new front doors and entryway remodel soon • Fitness Center HVAC units were replaced • New curbs are going in at Fremont Park • A wayfinding and signage RFP for all parks is currently out for bid • Park upgrades project is underway which includes 9 playgrounds, 24 restrooms, many adding pavilions, benches and grills, and athletic courts are in design phase • Pulaski Park renovations will start summer 2019 • Pinhook Park anticipated start in 2020 • Seitz Park construction anticipated start in 2019 • Howard opening anticipated in late November 2019 IX. Business by Executive Director of Venues Jeff Jarnecke Jeff Jarnecke gave the following updates: • Amanda Jacobson started with VPA this week as the new Development Coordinator • 100 Years of Golf press event is schedule for April 18 • Best Week Ever press event on April 23 • VPA received a grant for the riverfront trail to be announced at a later date • Arbor Day event on April 27 at Fremont Park • VPA’s annual volunteer recognition event is on May 19 • VPA is reorganizing the Experience Team. Each division of VPA will now have a marketing team member assigned to that area • VPA Foundation meeting was April 11 • VPA is working on an MOU with the Boy Scouts for the use of facilities at Fredrickson Park which will likely be brought to the board next month No other questions or comments from the Park Commissioners, meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m.by President Mark Neal. The next regular meeting will be held Monday, May 20, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O’Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, Eva Ennis