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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 17 2022 Park Board MinutesSOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING October 17, 2022 The Board of Park Commissioners of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday, October 17, 2022, at Howard Park Event Center, 219 S. St. Louis Blvd and virtually on Microsoft Teams for its regular meeting. Notice of the date, time and place of the meeting were duly given as required by law. The public was provided with a link to join the virtual meeting. Park Board members present were as follows: Mr. Mark Neal, President Mr. Sam Centellas Park Board members joined virtually were as follows: Ms. Consuella Hopkins VPA staff members present: Aaron Perri, Executive Director of Venues Parks & Arts; Cynthia Taylor, Director of Recreational Community Programs; Matthew Moyers, Partnerships, Community, and Standards Coordinator; Hannah Teshka, Manager Pinhook Community Center; Emily Sims, Chief Development Officer; John Martinez, Director Facility & Grounds; Rachael Zeiger, Special Events Coordinator; Matt Frazier, Marketing Manager; Amy Roush, Director of Development, Other city representatives present: Jenna Throw Assistant City Attorney; Canneth Lee, City Council Member; Joe Molnar, Community Investment Property Development Manager. I. Call to Order Mark Neal called the meeting to order at 5:02 pm. II. Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting on September 19, 2022 Motion to approve the meeting minutes of September 19, 2022, by Sam Centellas, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. Roll call vote 3-0. III. Consent Agenda Motion to approve the consent agenda of October 17, 2022, by Sam Centellas, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. Roll call vote 3-0. IV. Outstanding Partner – St. Joseph Valley Disc Golf Club Aaron Perri introduced Josh DeMeester from St. Joseph Valley Disc Golf Club and thanked him and the group present for the positive additions they have added to the Rum Village Disc Golf Club Course. Some of things they have accomplished are adding new baskets and raising funds to donate to VPA through the VPA Foundation. Aaron Perri presented the outstanding partner certificate to Josh DeMeester as the St. Joseph Valley Disc Golf Club representative. V. Interviewing of Interested Residents Mark Neal opened the floor for interested residents to speak on a topic not on the agenda. There were no comments from residents, but Council Member Canneth Lee took a moment to thank Aaron and his team for their hard work and accomplishments. VI. New Business 1. 2023 User Fees Review Aaron Perri reminded the Board that they had reviewed the user fees in the previous month and had asked the team to share reasoning and comparisons for fee structure suggestions. Motion to approve 2023 User Fees by Sam Centellas, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. Roll call vote 3-0. 2. Resolution No. 0003-2022: Approval of Easement for Byers Softball Complex/Phillip St. Clair Park Chris Carroll representing NIPSCO shared slides of the projected areas and explained the purpose of the easement use for NIPSCO. Motion to approve Resolution No. 0003-2022 Approval of Easement for Byers Softball Complex/Phillip St. Clair Park by Sam Centellas, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. Roll call vote 3-0. 3. MLK Center LWCF and Kennedy Project ORLP Document Signing Matthew Moyers presented these documents for signature to meet the standards for grant applications. 4. EAC Membership 2023 Cohort Application Announcement Matthew Moyers publicly announced that the application was open and available to the public for the 2023 Board of the Ecological Advocacy Committee. The EAC board is a two year term commitment. 5. Community Tree Nursery Collaboration Amended and Restated Agreement Joe Molnar, Community Investment Property Development Manager, gave a brief history of the collaborative agreement between multiple City of South Bend departments to utilize vacant city lots to increase the tree canopy for the City of South Bend. This is an agreement that is renewed on a five year basis. Motion to approve Community Tree Nursery Collaboration Amended and Restated Agreement by Sam Centellas, supported by Consuella Hopkins, motion carried. Roll call vote 3-0. VII. Report by Director of Recreational Community Programs Cynthia Taylor Cynthia Taylor, Director of Recreational Community Programs, started her report by stating that this report will give an overview of what has happened in the last six months at the centers that are under the Community Program domain which includes: Charles Black Community Center, Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, Pinhook Community Center, and Rum Village Nature Center. She then went on to thank Hannah Teshka, Pinhook Community Center Manager, for the very successful Treats on the Trail event. Cynthia then went on to share specific numbers for attendance at events, rentals, programs, and after school activities. She ended her report by sharing with the Board how the MLK team is transitioning to be able to provide services while the new facility is being built. VIII. Business by Chief Executive Director Aaron Perri Aaron Perri gave the following updates: • Aaron started by highlighting the recent Harriet Tubman ribbon cutting that was held in Howard Park. It was a moving event that showed wide community support. • He then went on to share that there were ribbon cuttings at Randolph Park and at the O’Brien Center. • The Plaza Park interactive piece is being installed. • The building has been removed that was in the skate park area of O’Brien Park. • At the meeting next month there will be a report relating to Potawatomi Pool. • BWE – Morris Fest had an attendance of 18,000 people over all events. • The team is meeting with people to discuss an Ethnic Fest in 2023. • On the Facility and Grounds side: o Forestry is planting three times as many trees in 2023 o There will be a 2nd Shift Supervisor position added in 2023 o The Athletic Courts should be completed by summer of 2023 o Four Winds Field is upgrading scoreboard • Howard Park Ice Trail Winter Open is set for November 25th. • He ended by sharing that there will be an official celebration on November 10th to publicly acknowledge VPA being the Gold Medal Winner on the 75,001 – 150,000 category. Mark, Sam, and Consuella all congratulated Aaron and his team for this prestigious accomplishment. IX. Adjournment No other questions or comments from the Park Commissioners, meeting adjourned at 5:59 pm by President Mark Neal.   The next regular meeting will be held Monday, November 21, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. at Howard Park Event Center and virtually. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Roush