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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 15 2019 Park Board MinutesSOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING JULY 15, 2019 The Board of Park Commissioners of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday, July 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 Mr. Dan Farrell Ms. Aimee Buccellato Park Board members absent were as follows: Ms. Consuella Hopkins VPA staff members present: Aaron Perri, Executive Director; Eva Ennis, Operations Coordinator; John Martinez, Faculties & Ground Director; Bridget Noonan, Special Events Coordinator; Jonathan Jones, Recreation Director; Amy Roush, Development Director Other city representatives present: Clara McDaniels, Assistant City Attorney I. Call to Order President Mark Neal called the meeting to order at 5:06 pm II. Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the minutes of last regular meeting on June 18, 2019 by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. III. Consent Agenda Motion to approve the consent agenda by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Dan Farrell, motion carried. IV. Use of Parks – New Events a. Zips & Sips at Edge Adventure Michael Marek, manager at Edge Adventures, 2626 S. Gertrude Street, presented the Zips & Sips event for Edge Adventures. Participants in the event will be offered beer samples at a beer garden every Thursday of August. Motion to approve Zip & Sip at Edge Adventures at Rum Village by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. V. Interviewing of Interested Citizens Mark Neal opened for comments from the public. There were no comments. VI. New Business a. Endorsement of City of South Bend CBD Zoning Changes Aaron Perri explained the reformatting of zoning ordinance in the Central Business District. He requested the Park Board’s endorsement of the riverfront setback portion of the Central Business District zoning changes. Tim Corcorran from the Department of Community Investment explained that the the zoning change proposed 15-foot setback to the riverfront and East Race. The zoning change would prohibit building up to the riverfront property line. He explained environmental and safety issues with sinkholes and bank erosion along the riverfront. Dan Farrell asked what the narrowest property line along the river is. Tim Corcorran replied that the city is still investigating where parcels of land are located but they expect that the narrowest property line is 10 feet. Dan Farrell asked if the change affects the Notre Dame hydroelectric turbine plans. Tim Corcorran replied that the only above ground building will be set back further than 15 feet, so it does not affect the plans. Motion to endorse the CBD zoning changes specifically regarding the 15-foot setback to the river by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. Dan Farrell requested that the memo state clearly that the board is specifically endorsing the 15-foot setback portion of the zoning changes. B. Leeper Tennis Facility Usage Agreement Jonathan Jones, Director of Recreation, explained that the Leeper Tennis Facility Usage Agreement is a renewal of the agreement between IUSB and VPA that was approved last year to allow IUSB access to Leeper Tennis Facility for their regular season games and practices. The main points of that agreement included a 1-year lease and a bulk payment based on their annual schedule. Mark Neal asked if IUSB’s usage of the courts has remained the same or increased. Jonathan Jones replied that IUSB is expanding their program so they will be using the courts more as time goes on. Mark Neal asked if there is still good availability for residents. Jonathan Jones replied that there are no concerns about availability, and VPA needs to continue to communicate to the public that it is available for public use. Motion to approve the Leeper Tennis Facility Usage Agreement by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Dan Farrell, motion carried. VII. Report by Facilities & Ground Director John Martinez John Martinez gave the following updates. - Park Upgrades: VPA is installing 9 playgrounds in parks. 8 of the 9 playgrounds are complete with only Leeper Park remaining. The playground equipment is being well received. 11 park restrooms are receiving upgrades to make them all ADA compliant. The contractual completion date of 8/30. 5 restrooms are open currently. - Bids came back extremely high for the Muessel Grove restroom upgrades. The city is reevaluating the bid structure to attempt to get lower quotes. - Facilities & Grounds has a new employee, Brian Garner, who will serve as the department’s safety coordinator. - Facilities & Grounds is committing to increasing education and training for employees. Several employees will participate in NRPA’s maintenance program which is a 2 year course. They are also taking heavy equipment classes and other trade-specific classes. - Howard Park is progressing well and on time. - Leeper Park is also progressing well. Design of the second phase is moving forward as well. IX. Business by Executive Director Aaron Perri noted that the Studebaker Fountain Grand Opening Event date has changed to August 21, and the board needs to approve the new date for park use. The event was previously approved for July 21. Motion to place the Studebaker Fountain Grand Opening on the July 15 Park Board agenda under New Business by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. Motion to approve the Studebaker Fountain Grand Opening date change to August 25 by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. Executive Director Aaron Perri gave the following updates. - Proposed 2020 fee changes will come to the board at the next meeting. - There is an expected budget shortfall in 2020 due to property tax caps. To address this, VPA is looking at potential personnel changes and is also looking for general fund support. Dan Farrell asked about how much revenues can be adjusted as opposed to just removing expenses. Aaron Perri replied that VPA has taken a look at many programs and made adjustments over the last several years but want to keep them accessible to the public. - Directors’ Youth Scholarship Golf Outing is September 6, 2019 at Elbel Golf Course. - Studebaker 100 Years of Golf celebration is on July 21. - Pulaski Groundbreaking is July 31 – Time TBD - Howard Park Grand Opening will be on November 29. - VPA held a lunch for Howard Park contractors 2 weeks ago to thank them for their work on the project. - Notre Dame anticipates mobilization at Seitz Park for the hydroelectric turbine construction the first week in August. X. Adjournment No other questions or comments from the Park Commissioners, meeting adjourned at 6:03 p.m.by President Mark Neal. The next regular meeting will be held Monday, August 19, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O’Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, Eva Ennis