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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNovember 18 2019 Park Board Minutes SOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 18, 2019 The Board of Park Commissioners of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday, November 18, 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. Consuella Hopkins Ms. Aimee Buccellato VPA staff members present: Aaron Perri, Executive Director; Bridget Noonan, Special Events Coordinator; Jonathan Jones, Recreation Director; Amy Roush, Development Director; Matthew Moyers, Standards and Community Coordinator Other city representatives present: Clara McDaniels Assistance City Attorney I. Call to Order President Mark Neal called the meeting to order at 5:07 pm II. Approval of Minutes Motion to approve minutes of the October 30, 2019 by Consuella Hopkins, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried III. Consent Agenda i. Financial Statements – October 2019 ii. Use of Parks Return Event – Cinco de Mayo Festival Motion to approve consent agenda items by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried IV. Interviewing of Interested Citizens Mark Neal opened the floor for citizen comments. There were none. V. Reports by Organizations i. Potawatomi Zoo – Josh Sisk Executive Director of Potawatomi Zoo ha power point presentation for the Park Board. Overview of what is happening at the zoo. 22,857 children through field trips and reaching out to the community $17,000 grant and used to have children from schools that are underserved to be able to come to the zoo for field trip. For 2020 has family pass that will be located at the SJCPL and will allow a family to come to the zoo for the day. IT is a 24 hour pass that is checked out like a book. Had 3 different discounted days throughout the year. Attendance up 2 % over the 2019 year. 201,000 currently should hit over 230,000 with the Holiday Light events. They are reaccredited and invited Josh to be on the team of accreditors to (4 people attended the reaccreditation). 2.2 million in upgrades that were done at the zoo to help prepare for the accreditation and the team who were on site were impressed with all of the changes that has happened in the last 5 years. Furnishings haven’t arrived yet for the new entrance and the gift shop. 3-year-old male Rhino just arrived. Will debut next year. Would like banners across town to help publicize the arrival. The Rhino enclosure was done by donations both service and supplies. Female camel was sent back to Minnesota and the male donated to another zoo in Minnesota. Red Barn is to be renovated. There is a STEM classroom being added to the main floor and offices upstairs. Finished by opening April 1st Adding giraffes by 2021. Metal work of Acacia tree 5 giraffes are proposed. Extended hours in the summer June – August 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. but would like to close in November to offset the overall hours for the zoo. Gift of Lights 11/29 – 12/22 Friday thru Sunday 5 -9 p.m. Changing the lion exhibit. Would like to bond out some space and is working on parking for next year. Consuella asked about the Gift of Lights event and if there are very many animals out. Josh said mainly lights. Mark asked about the hotel/motel tax. Josh stated that donors have stepped up and that they are moving faster through the 5 year master plan than anticipated. Consuella asked about closing in November and Josh went into more details on why it is better for cost effectiveness for the members. 12,500 attendance at Zoo Boo. VI. New Business 1. Ecological Advocacy Committee 2020 Recommendations – Matthew Moyers spoke meeting of selection committee met and that there were 10 applicants. Three open spots to fill. Student member, and staff from multiple departments to help advise the committee. Asking for approval for the recommendations so that they can notify the ones chosen and those who were not. Mark asked if the student was High School or College. Matthew confirmed that they are from college. Steve added that having one-year terms causes concerns over getting everyone up to speed so they are having an orientation meeting for the new members before their first meeting. They are also increasing the time of the meetings to make sure they can cover everything. Consuella asked if it is once a month and Steve said that the meetings are now every six weeks. The three retiring committee members are Rachel Novick, Sarah Nerenberg, and Allison Egan. Motion to approve Ecological Advocacy Committee 2020 Recommendation by Aimee Buccellato, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried 2. ND 1970 Alumni Class Installation Concept – Amy Roush spoke the alumni class of 1970 from Notre Dame approached Venues Parks & Arts about doing an art installation/park improvement to acknowledge their 50 years. Amy reached out to Community Investment and Public Works to make sure that the parcel is not a part of any other projects along the river in that area. It is near the trail head for the future Coal Line Trail. It is a simple design with three trees, a stone that can be a seat, and an art piece. That creates the feeling of a compass pointing toward the Notre Dame campus. Motion to approve concept of ND 1970 Alumni Class Installation by Consuella Hopkins, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried 3. Amended 1st Source Zamboni Agreement – Aaron Perri spoke about the amendment that 1st Source requested to include an additional sign on the support building for the 1st Source Bank sponsored Zamboni. Motion to approve by Consuella Hopkins, supported by Aimee Buccellato, motion carried VII. Report by Director of Recreation Jonathan Jones started by talking about the new staff Tamila Weatherspoon full time at Charles Black Community Center. Darrell Pargo added as head custodian at Howard Park Community Center. Jonathan talked about service training, 30 part time people are currently going through training for the ice trail and pond. Jonathan talked about community partnerships the South Bend Code School had 20 students participate from Martin Luther King, Jr. Center. Charles Black Community Center will have Code School in the Spring. St. Joe Health System is hosting the annual senior luncheon at the Charles Black Community Center this year. It has been traditionally at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in the past. Wednesday December 11th at 11:30 a.m. Mark mentioned that we should reach out to Sharon Vaughn to see if seniors that are close to Charles Black Community Center can attend. Jonathan then talked about the partnership with South Bend Community School Corporation. NaVarre school has a first Friday specialty training for teachers and this has allowed CBCC to do some outreach for those students. 127 students have attended the first two first Fridays. Tomorrow Jonathan will be speaking at the Resource neighborhood Center about Boomer and bringing the neighborhood associations into the planning to include multiple neighborhood associations. He ended with talking about Howard Park, more than skating although there will be 13 weeks of a DJ Friday with different genres of music and appeal to all ages. First one December 6th. Yoga twice a week at Howard Park, local bookstore will be doing a wine/book pairing once a month. Forever learning will be doing classes for adults (3-4 different) classes starting in the Spring. He talked about Pickleball meeting three times a week and are looking at ways to have more spots for Pickleball outside. Jonathan spoke about Rum Village Treats on the Trail and that there was almost 700 people in attendance even though it was raining. Still offering Spanish led programs on some Sundays at Rum Village to enhance the Sunday program offerings and it has had a small attendance. Ended by stating that the overall attendance at CBCC up 7% in participation compared to 2016 which was the last year that there was full use of the pre-renovated facility. 35 families will be served thanksgiving meals that the students have learnt how to make and will make for them. Jonathan showed a short YouTube clip that was in partnership with SBI. VIII. Business by Executive Director Aaron Perri started by talking about where we are with the fundraising for Howard Park. What is confirmed, what is pending, what is available. He then went over a timeline for the Grand opening of Howard Park for the Board: 4 p.m. Reception starts 4-5 p.m. recognition 6 p.m. ribbon cutting Aaron made note of that fact that all meetings in 2020 and going forward will be at Howard Park in one of the program rooms. He is working with the new administration on an art commission that will help identify the proper way to incorporate more art into the spaces and parks that VPA has stewardship over. He ended by stating that after the conclusion of the board meeting he is going to stop in at the training for the ice employees and new staff to speak with them. No other questions or comments from the Park Commissioners, meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.by President Mark Neal. The next regular meeting will be held Monday, December 16, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O’Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Roush