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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-19-2013 Minutes SOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 19,2013 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday August 19,2013 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. Robert Goodrich, President Ms. Amy Hill, Vice President Mr. Garrett Mullins Mr. Bruce BonDurant Park Board members absent were as follows: Staff members present: Phil St. Clair, Superintendent; Bill Carleton, Fiscal Officer; Susan O'Connor, Deputy Director; Paul McMinn, Assistant Recreation Director; Randy Nowacki, Director of Golf Operations; Laura Arriaga, Interim Zoo Director; Richard Payton, Development Director; Mike Dyszkiewicz, Maintenance Superintendent; Sharon Smith, Gift Shop/ Concessions Manger, Potawatomi Zoo; Mike Bueno, Youth Supervisor; Laurence Meteiver, Park Board Attorney L The meeting was called to order by Board President Robert Goodrich at 3:58 p.m. IL The first order of business was the interviewing of interested citizens. 1. Mr. Anthony Pedraza addressed the Board to request permission to raise money to renovate two basketball courts in Walker Park. He said he grew up on the south side and wanted to have the kids in that area to have the same opportunities for recreation and friendships that he had. Mr. Goodrich thanked him for his offer and asked that he contact Mr. Dyszkiewicz. He said he had spoken to him. Mr. Goodrich said they should work out the details and thanked him again. III. Report By Organizations 1. Potawatomi Zoological Society- Marcy Dean a. Ms. Dean reported that the Zoological Society had the Zoo to Do fund raiser at Juday Creek on Friday and it was very successful. Over 150 people attended. b. Zoo Brew tickets are on sale for the September 7 event. Sales are going well. c. Train ridership has been steady this season. d. The Butterfly Exhibit will close Labor Day weekend. Attendance is down this year and discussions will be held to determine what to do next year. e. Zoo Boo and Jack o' Lantern Spectacular Holiday Party planning has started. f. Carousel planning is underway. g. AZA accreditation planning is underway with Zoo staff. - - I - - 2. Potawatomi Zoological Society- Jim Martindale a. Mr. Martindale, Zoological Society President, and Ms. Dean gave the Board an overview of the planned carousel project including the time line. b. The project includes the addition of an ADA compliant ramp up the hill from the Learning Center, additional outdoor accessed bathrooms, moving of the red panda exhibit to north of the Learning Center, and a large gathering space for events. c. They are predicting a 5-7% increase in attendance, based on industry standards. Ridership is estimated at 15-20% of admissions. She received no feedback on negative impacts of the carousel from colleagues she contacted. Staffing and maintenance expenses will be minimal. d. Ms. Dean went over the phases and costs for installation. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the request to begin the Carousel project as outlined. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. 3. Ms. Arriaga requested the Board to approve the Zoo Notes event. It is sponsored by Brown Mackie College and the Zoological Society and will benefit the Zoo, the Zoological Society and Brown Mackie College's veterinary technician program. It will be held in December. Ms. Hill made a motion to approve the request to hold the event. Mr. Mullins seconded the motion and it was passed. IV. The next order of business was unfinished business. There was no unfinished business. V. The next order of business was new business. 1. Request for the Use of Parks-Bill Carleton a. Chili Cook Off—Potawatomi Park—August 31,2013 b. CROP Walk—September 29,2013 —Howard Park c. Rabies Clinic- Coveleski Parking Lot- Humane Society- October 6, 2013 d. Parade- Pulaski Park- South Bend Council 5001- September 14, 2013 Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the requests for parks. Mr. Mullins seconded the motion and it was passed. 2. Request to Declare Exercise Equipment in Fitness Center Obsolete-Bill Carleton Mr. Carleton explained that a bicep exercise machine that was originally purchased when the Fitness Center was opened is still functioning, but parts are no longer available to maintain it in the future. He requested that it be declared obsolete. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the request to dispose of the exercise machine. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was approved. 3. Request to Approve Schedule of Fees for 2014- Susan O'Connor Ms. O'Connor made a request for the Board to approve fees and charges for 2014. A schedule was provided to the Board. Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the request to approve the 2014 fee schedule as requested. Mr. BonDurant seconded the motion and it was passed. VI. Approval of Minutes Ms. Hill made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on July 15, 2013 as mailed. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mullins and approved. - - 2 - - VII. Approval of Maintenance Vouchers A motion was made by Mr. BonDurant to approve maintenance vouchers for July 2013 totaling$1,075,565.78. It was seconded by Ms. Hill. There being no further discussion, the motion was passed. VIII. Business of Director St. Clair 1. Director St. Clair distributed statistics from the 311 call center that concerned the Park Department. Most calls involve an issue with trees. He pointed out that these calls were all resolved at this time. 2. He attended the International Softball Congress in Iowa to attend the World Championships last week along with Ms. O'Connor and Mr. Comer to investigate bidding for the 2015 tournament. 3. The Parks Foundation will be attending training along with other foundation boards from the area at St. Patrick's Park that will be put on by the Eppley Institute. 4. Director St. Clair is also still involved in negotiations with the Teamsters Union over the City's contract with the union. He feels it will be a good contract. 5. He distributed summary sheets of the 2014 Park Department budget. He expressed his concern over the loss of property tax revenue and the increase of administration transfer fees. These fees are to reimburse the City Administration and Finance Department for services such as payroll, legal, GIS, human resources, etc. Two full time positions will be eliminated to reduce the funding deficit, in addition to decreases in budgets for supplies and outside vendors. He hoped a park bond could fill the need for capital spending that has eroded over the past years. He went through a summary of all Park funds. IX. Comments by the Maintenance Superintendent 1. Mr. Dyszkiewicz reported that the renovations to the Charles Black Center entrance are complete and it looks very good. 2. Tennis court repairs are underway. Several are already completed. A new patching system is being tried at the King Center. A fabric material is used and offers a longer life. 3. The East Race season is over. It was a successful season. He congratulated the crew for their hard work. 4. Mulch is being added to playgrounds. 5. A new chiller may be needed to open the ice rink this year. 6. The Keller bathroom repairs are finished. The sewer lines have been cleaned of roots. 7. He distributed pictures of Boehm Park showing the areas that were discussed at the last meeting regarding the areas that aren't being mowed. X. Comments by the Deputy Director 1. Ms. O'Connor reported that the summer programs are wrapping up this week. Community games will be held on Wednesday and the final concerts will be held at - - 3 - - Potawatomi and the East Race on the weekend. 2. The men's major national softball tournament was held earlier this month. Sixteen teams participated. 3. A bid for the world softball tournament will be submitted next month. 4. The Celtic Fest will be held September 1 at Howard Park. Fiddler's Hearth is cosponsoring this event again this year. 5. Fall softball leagues started last night. Thirty-five more teams have signed up this year. 6. A supplemental flyer with fall programming is being distributed. She complimented the Marketing division for their work with social media. 7. Registration for flag football is down this year. Competition with Notre Dame and the Kroc Center's programs seem to be affecting the program. This will be evaluated going forward. 8. After school programs will start Monday at the King Center and September 3 at the Charles Black Center. 9. River City Basketball Leagues start registration September 3. XI. Comments by the Zoo Director 1. Ms. Arriaga commented that advertising for the open veterinarian position closed on Friday and interviews will begin after all the applications are received and evaluated. 2. Security cameras will be installed soon to monitor animals and other areas for security. 3. The flamingo exhibit is being improved. 4. Pony rides and the Zoo Farm will close over Labor Day. 5. Repairs are ongoing for the AZA accreditation. XII. Comments by Golf Operations Director 1. Mr. Nowacki commented that the golf event of the Community Olympics will be held at Studebaker. 2. Comments from the Men's Metro Golf Tournament were positive and the event went off well. 3. Mr. Nowacki gave the Board a demonstration of how stimp meter readings are done to measure the speed of the greens. 4. The geese population has started to increase over the last two weeks. He counted 83 this morning. 5. Liquor sales have begun and are selling well. 6. He will bring a rate proposal to the Board in October. President Goodrich commented that a group of people have asked if the Park Department could take over the operation of the Men's Metro Tournament. Mr. Nowacki said he hadn't been contacted about it, but he would like to discuss it. - - 4 - - XIII. Comments by the Development Director 1. Mr. Payton reported on the Parks Foundation meeting that was held the previous week. Board members were present at the Kid's Tri and helped at the finish line. 2. He distributed a sponsorship report to the members. 3. He thanked sponsors that helped with the golf outing. 4. The "What's Up"newsletter is going out every week and helps promote upcoming events and programs. Regular postings on Facebook are also highlighting events and recent photos. XIV. There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting adjourned at 5:28 p.m. by President Goodrich The next regular meeting will be held September 16, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O'Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary - - 5 - -