HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecember 11, 2023 Meeting MinutesSouth Bend Board of Park Commissioners
Regular Meeting
December 11, 2023
The Board of Park Commissioners of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday, December 11, 2023, 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
Ms. Consuella Hopkins, Vice President
Mr. Sam Centellas
Ms. Georgianne Walker
VPA staff members present: Jordan Gathers, Interim Executive Director; Officer; Anastasia Smith-Davis, Executive Assistant; John Martinez, Chief of Park Operations; Maurice Scott, Chief
Community Officer; Maggie Sullivan, Marketing Manager; Macey Hanna, Director of Recreational Experiences; Kelli Notteboom, Ice and Aquatics Manager; Cameron Harris, Superintendent
Other city representatives present: Michael Schmidt, Assistant City Attorney; Troy Warner, 4th District Councilmember.
Call to Order
Mark Neal called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm.
Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting held on November 20, 2023.
Motion to approve the meeting minutes of November 20, by Consuela Hopkins, supported by Georgianne Walker, motion carried. Roll call vote 4-0.
Consent Agenda
Motion to approve the consent agenda of December 11, 2023, by Sam Centellas, supported by Georgianne Walker, motion carried. Roll call vote 4-0.
Before moving on to Outstanding Partner, Mark Neal asked the council to make a comment to prepare for next year. Michael Schmidt reminded the Commissioners they can legally only miss
two meetings in a row.
Outstanding Partner: Comcast Xfinity
Jordan Gathers introduced the outstanding partner Comcast Xfinity. He shares that Xfinity and VPA are currently in partnership through the 2500 square foot gaming center in the Century
Center. Jordan notes that not only has the gaming center expanded the venue side of VPA, but it has also expanded programming engagement activities with youth in South Bend. He continued
to say he looks forward to continuing to champion E Sports and positioning South Bend as a National E Sports hub.
Jordan asks members from Xfinity to come up for a few words. Phil Goodrich thanks the board and Jordan for recognizing Xfinity as a partner. He shares his appreciation for the recognition
and recognizes the Xfinity employees that work and live in the South Bend area.
Interviewing of Interested Residents
Old Business
2024 Member Approval for Ecological Advocacy Committee
Jordan Gathers presents the applications of six new members. The member list includes Kevin Price, Lori Checkly, Brian Will, Ronda Spaulding, John Hamiliton, and Bruce Schwind. Jordan
shares his thoughts on applicants seeming well balanced and turns it over to the board for their approval of the new EAC members.
Motion to approve the recommendations by Sam Centellas, supported by Georgianne Walker, motion carried. Roll Call vote 4-0.
Sam Centellas adds he thought applicants were a great looking group with a wide range of experiences.
New Business
Potawatomi conservation: Operations & Management Proposal Score – John Martinez
Resolution No. 0004-2023- Dru Cash – Jordan Gathers
Resolution No. 0005-2023- Michael Schmidt
Mark Neal rearranges the order of new business to put Resolution No. 0004-2023 first.
Jordan Gathers reads the resolution recognizing Dru Cash for his service as Chair of the Venues Parks and Arts Foundation. After 10 years of volunteer service, Dru is leaving the Foundation
on December 31, 2023. Jordan gives his thanks to Dru for his service and offers him a moment to share.
Dru Cash gives his sincerest thanks and says it was his privilege to work alongside a great group of Directors and community.
Consuella Hopkins recognizes Dru for his phenomenal service and states she admires his many levels of leadership. She continued to share that his innovative thinking and spirit has carried
the city forward; along with his contagious love for the city has made her time with him enjoyable.
Mark Neal concludes by sharing his great admiration for Dru’s vision, service, and contribution to the city. Mark recognized Councilman Troy Warner, who uses Council privilege to speak
on behalf of Dru Cash. Troy mentions that all the Council members celebrate Dru for all his hard work and commitment to improving our city.
Motion to approve Resolution 0004-2023 by Sam Centellas, supported by Georgianne Walker, motion carried. Roll Call vote 4-0.
Mark Neal continues with New Business Item #2- Potawatomi Conservatory: Operation and Management Proposal by John Martinez.
John Martinez, Chief of Park Operations begins by thanking the Commissioners and the Botanical society for their proposal and their continued presence at the Greenhouse. He gives details
on the scoring process and committee; the scoring committee is made up of Chaise Cope, Senior Planner at Department of Community Investment, Maggie Sullivan, Marketing Manager Venues
Parks and Arts, Mary Wojcik, Horticulturalist Venues Parks and Arts, and Albert “Brad” Ennis, Facilities Manager Venues Parks, and Arts. The criteria covered in scoring covers marketing,
fundraising, strategy, programming and collection management, volunteer program strategy, and new world business model and organizational structure.
John clarifies that his report will cover the final score in detail and will open for questions from the Commissioners. The Botanical Society scored a total of 35 points with breakdown
of scoring rubric provided. While scoring happened the week prior to the Park Board meeting, John’s recommendation is for the Leadership team to process, evaluate, and review those
scores and submit them in a staff report. He asked Michael Schmidt to remind the public and Board of the RFP process.
Michael Schmidt gives a crash course on the RFP process. The Committee scores the RFP and then presents the scores to the Park Board as a review Committee, the Board could table, accept
score or reject. If the Park Board agrees to move forward, then they will make a recommendation to accept the findings, then legal will be able to work with the Provider. If the recommendation
is to be rejected, then another RFP will be proposed.
John provides more clarity on scoring categories. Each individual category is worth 20 points and each criteria section is scored by group with the person with the disciplinary expertise
towards it leading that section. The Commissioners then ask if John’s recommendation is to table scoring, he states that his recommendation is to just publicly announce scores. Michael
Schmidt recommends rejecting the proposal and supports a motion for another round of RFP. He states this will allow the administrative team to get together and decide the best action
for the New Year, whether it is to pursue a service agreement with a private organization.
Motion to reject the proposal and send it to the administrative team for review and next steps by Sam Centellas, supported by Georgianne Walker, motion carried. Roll call vote 4-0.
Motion to receive recommendation on next steps at January meeting by Mark Neal, motion carried. Roll call vote 4-0.
Mark Neal continues with last item of new business #3- Resolution 0005-203
Michael Schmidt opens with Resolution 0005-203, proving additional park requirements. Adds a 45-day window for park request use. The hope is that this resolution will provide more structure
for park requests and events. This resolution sets in place enough time for events to be properly approved by the Board and staff.
Macey Hanna gives an example that without this resolution constituents could send in a park use request form on the Monday of a Park Board meeting for approval for an event that Friday.
This leaves no room for the event and park staff to prepare and get the necessary documentation before said event.
Consuella Hopkins questions how we notify the public about the new 45-day ask. Macey mentions that it will be a learning curve for the public and staff, but efforts will be made to notify
the public immediately after resolution is passed. Consuella continues to ask why 45 days opposed to 30. Michael answers that it is based off recommendation of staff.
Motion to approve Resolution 0005-203 by Georgianne Walker, supported by Sam Centellas. Motion carried. Roll call vote 4-0.
Report by General Manager of Golf Operations – Tony Stearn
Tony Stearns, General Manager of Golf begins report by stating golfs revenue has hit $2M in the last year. Not only has the revenue amount increased by 60% since 2016, attendees have
left 4.0 star ratings on Google Reviews for every golf park including, Elbel, Erskine, and Studebaker.
Tony shares Golf’s 2022 goals of having 65k rounds played, while exceeding this goal by another 5k. By December of 2023 over 69k rounds were played, along with Kids play free rounds
which increased participation by 20% and Kid memberships increased by 19.5%. He continued to share other changes to the golf experiences such as slight increase in food/ beverage sales,
along with increased season passes purchased.
The Board commends Golf for its incredible revenue increase for 2023.
Mark Neal turns the meeting over to Interim Executive Director, Jordan Gathers for Business.
Jordan Gathers opens with a moment of silence for Bob Goodrich, whom served on the Borad for 20 years.
Jordan Gathers gave the following updates:
Seitz Park is a project that team is working diligently with other departments to ensure it’s ready for completion in 2024.
He then mentioned that VPA has been working with a design firm-Lakota Group, who has done a phenomenal job finalizing concepts for the expansion and enhancement of Potawatomi Park.
He moves on to the Conservatory and says expansion will take place to make it more attractive.
Jordan shares the MLK Dream Center has been 50 years in the making and encourages the public to drive by the site to see the construction taking place.
Shares the 2023 VPA recap video with the Commissioners and meeting attendees.
Mark Neal asked if there were any questions for Jordan.
Adjournment
No other questions or comments from the Park Commissioners, meeting adjourned at 5:59 pm by President Mark Neal.
The next scheduled meeting will be held Tuesday, January 16 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at Howard Park Event Center and virtually.
Respectfully Submitted,
Anastasia Smith-Davis