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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 16 2019 Park Board MinutesSOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 The Board of Park Commissioners of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday, September 16, 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; Annie Gawkowski, Chief Development Officer; Matthew Moyers, Standards and Community Coordinator Other city representatives present: Tom Panowicz, Assistant City Attorney I. Call to Order President Mark Neal called the meeting to order at 5:02 pm. II. Approval of Minutes Motion to approve minutes of the August 26, 2019 by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. III. Use of Parks – New Events 1. Meet & Greet with Sean Haas for Mayor | October 19 | Potawatomi Park Bridget Noonan explained that the event is open to the public and a meet and greet event with mayoral candidate Sean Haas. They are requesting use of the pavilion at Potawatomi to hold the event at. Aaron Perri noted that this is the first event with political party since VPA has put a fee structure in place for park usage. He explained the fee structure for the different types of events. Bridget noted that the applicant identified as a public event in their application. Mark Neal commented that the event seems to fit the “community use” definition best because it is not fee-based and is open to the public. Dan Farrell agreed and mentioned that we’ll need to be consistent if other applications for political events come in. Mark Neal recommended that staff further clarify the definitions of types of events in 2020. Motion to approve the Meet & Greet with Sean Haas event under the community use definition by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Dan Farrell, motion carried. 2. Fall Family Fun Fair, Covenant Christian School | October 18 | Pinhook Pavilion Bridget Noonan explained that the event is contained to the pavilion and is for Covenant Christian School, but they would like to have the option of being outdoors in the park if the weather is good. No one is excluded from the event, but it is marketed only to the Covenant Christian School. Mark Neal asked if the event falls under the “private use” definition for the fee levels. Bridget Noonan confirmed that it is being considered for private use. Motion to approve the Fall Family Fun Fair by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. IV. Interviewing of Interested Citizens Mark Neal opened the floor for citizen comments. There were none. V. Report by Organization – Botanical Society Janet Maciulski, board member of the Botanical Society, shared that the Botanical Society president will be resigning at the next meeting due to health problems and the board will reelect a new president. New musical events have been taking place at the conservatory. The first phase of DJ’s garden has been developed through volunteer work. The conservatory is looking to bring more children in through programming in the future. The Botanical Society sealed the pergola located at DJ’s sensory garden and planted wisteria. The green roof is growing well. Indoors there are concerns with the climate of the building and roof leaks. VI. New Business 1. Announcement of Application Process Opening for Ecological Advocacy Committee Membership Matthew Moyers announced that VPA is now accepting applications for new members to the Ecological Advocacy Committee. New members will be selected in December and brought before the board for approval. 2. AM General Hold Harmless Agreement Jonathan Jones explained that the AM General Hold Harmless Agreement needs to be retroactively signed for In the River event that happened several weeks ago. It was signed by the Executive Director under his administrative power in advance of the board meeting. The agreement was necessary for VPA to access the AM General parking lot for East Race operations during the event. Motion to approve the Access and Hold Harmless Agreement between SBVPA and AM General by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Dan Farrell, motion carried. 3. VLocker Rental Agreement for Howard Park Aaron Perri explained the agreement stipulations. The contract is a rent-to-own agreement, and VPA will own the lockers at the end of the agreement period. Motion to approve the VLocker Rental Agreement for Howard Park by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. 4. American Specialty Health Service Agreement Jonathan Jones, Director of Recreation, explained the American Specialty Health Service Agreement. American Specialty Health is an alternative to Silver Sneakers program because some insurances are not accepting Silver Sneakers. The program is no cost to the city. VPA would get a reimbursement through American Specialty Health Fitness for seniors under the program who become members of the fitness center. The program will be accepted at the fitness centers at Charles Black Center, Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, and O’Brien Center. Mark Neal asked what scope of services are included in the program. Jonathan Jones replied that the program provides seniors with membership to the fitness centers which includes access to the equipment and 55+ fitness classes. Dan Farrell asked if there is a difference between what the fitness center charges and what the city is being reimbursed through the program. Jonathan Jones replied that there is a slight difference, but these customers wouldn’t be able to come to the fitness center without the assistance of this program. Motion to approve the Specialty Health Service Agreement pending any legal questions during negotiations by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. 5. Leeper Tennis Facility Usage Agreement – Holy Cross Jonathan Jones explained that the Leeper Tennis Facility Usage Agreement with Holy Cross provides basic understanding of Holy Cross’ practice schedule and calculates an overall cost structure for their usage. Mark Neal asked what capital improvements have been made at Leeper Tennis Facility in last several years and if that has impacted its increased popularity. Jonathan Jones replied that having the courts sanctioned for USTA events has helped make the tennis center more attractive for high school and college teams in addition to the number of courts available. John Martinez added that Leeper Tennis has been folded into Facility & Grounds’ long-term maintenance program. It was resurfaced 3 years ago. Motion to approve the Leeper Tennis Facility Usage Agreement by Dan Farrell, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried. 6. Hero Design Goods & Services Agreement Aaron Perri explained that the Hero Design Goods & Services Agreement is for a product called Everbrite, which VPA would like to install at Howard Park. VPA will use funds from a grant we received for public art at Howard Park from Community Foundation to cover the costs of this. Dan Farrell asked if the piece will be in a public area that is secure overnight. Aaron Perri replied that it will be indoors in the community room at Howard Park so it will be available to the public during the day but locked at night. Motion to approve the Hero Design Goods & Services Agreement by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Dan Farrell, motion carried. VII. Report by Chief Development Officer Annie Gawkowski Chief Development Officer Annie Gawkowski gave the following updates: • Fundraising is at almost $400,000 for Howard Park. The board will have two agreements for naming rights at the next meeting to review. • Second City is doing a show at Century Center of October 22 as fundraiser for Howard Park. Additionally, there will be a silent auction during the event to raise more funds. Second City will also hold a workshop for youth at our centers while they are here. • Because there is a cost barrier to participating in skating, the Skate-it-Forward program at Howard Park will provide funding to help families who are unable to afford the cost of ice skating. To jumpstart fundraising for this program, VPA will do a Day of Giving on October 16. VPA is asking influencers to participate in a viral campaign to raise funds for the program on this day. VPA also plans to use the funds to provide free lessons to community members. Dan Farrell recommended mentioned reaching out to community hockey players to help provide free skating lessons. • The development team hosted the Directors’ Youth Scholarship Golf Outing fundraiser on September 6 at Elbel. 18 teams participated in the event to raise funds for VPA’s youth scholarship fund. • Best. Week. Ever. 2020 is schedule for May 31 – June 6. This year’s theme is Chromatic. • The development team has raised over $70,000 since June not including Howard Park. • VPA has used 2,500 hours of volunteer work for the entire year. VIII. Business by Executive Director Aaron Perri Aaron Perri gave the following updates: • Erksine Clubhouse is now open after renovations to reintroduce the building as community space and improve the golf operations. The grand opening was September 10. • The Neighborhood Park Projects Ribbon-cutting is September 18 at 11:00 am at Boland Park. • The Leeper Park Ribbon-cutting is October 7 at 11:00 am. • Howard Park Grand Opening is November 29 at 6:00 pm. • VPA is facing a $200,00 budget deficit for the 2020 budget, but that is much less than originally anticipated. The next public meeting about the VPA budget is October 2 at 5:00 pm. No other questions or comments from the Park Commissioners, meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.by President Mark Neal. The next regular meeting will be held Monday, October 21, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O’Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, Eva Ennis