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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-20-2014 Minutes SOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK CONMUSSIONERS REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 21, 2014 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Tuesday January 21,2014 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: Ms. Amy Hill,Vice President Mr. Garrett Mullins Mr. Bruce BonDurant Park Board members absent were as follows: Mr. Robert Goodrich,President Staff members present: Phil St. Clair,Director of Parks; Bill Carleton,Director of Financial Services; Betsy Harriman,Administrative Director; Susan O'Connor,Deputy Director; Randy Nowacki,Director of Golf, Mike Dyszkiewicz,Maintenance Superintendent; Ray Comer,Athletics Supervisor; Keilah Ehrman,Part Time Athletic Coordinator; Mark Bradley,Marketing Director; Brent Thompson, City Forester; Nick Gaul, Superintendent IV; Todd Brill,Maintenance Carpenter III; Wes Weaver,Building& Structural Maintenance II; Cheryl Greene,Park Board Attorney L The meeting was called to order by Board Vice-President Amy Hill at 4:01 p.m. 1. Election of Officers for 2014- Mr. Mullins made a motion to retain the same slate of officers for 2014. This would retain Mr. Goodrich as President and Ms. Hill as Vice-President. Mr. BonDurant seconded the motion and it was passed. IL The first order of business was the interviewing of interested citizens. 1. Mike Dyszkiewicz-Recognition of Todd Brill and Wes Weaver for Repairs at Ice Rink Director St. Clair commended two employees in the Maintenance Division that went above and beyond expectations to repair the chiller system at the Howard Park Ice Rink. It was thought that the 55 year old system would have to be replaced at a cost of approximately $50,000. Using ingenuity, skill and dedication they determined how it could be repaired at a fraction of the cost. Mr. Dyszkiewicz commended them for their work and reported that without their efforts the rink would not have opened for the season. It is currently operating well. Director St. Clair read the plaques that were presented to them. 2. Brent Thompson, City Forester Mr. Thompson was present to address concerns the Board had regarding the stump carvings that were to take place in Potawatomi Park. Mr. Goodchild had requested permission at a previous meeting. Mr. Thompson showed pictures of a carving of an eagle that has been completed in front of the - - I - - Conservatory. A mother bear and cub sculpture is planned for an area near the entrance to the Zoo. A third is planned for the picnic area in Potawatomi Park. Mr. Thompson said he was satisfied with the progress and plans for the future carvings. 3. Steve Szalay and Chris Stackowicz-Painting of Howard Park Pedestrian Bridge Information They were here to begin a dialogue with the Park Board about painting the Howard Park pedestrian bridge. They had painted the north Michigan Street pedestrian bridge previously. They are in discussions with other city and state officials on the best way to do this. They explained what the bridge would look like after the project. III. Report By Organizations 1. Potawatomi Zoological Society-Marcy Dean a.Ms. Dean reported employees have been transitioned over to the Zoological Society. b. A contract has been signed with Ancon to construct the red panda exhibit. c. The carousel project has been signed also. She distributed a fund raising brochure. d. Accreditation work is finishing up. e. The annual audit will be held next week I. Winter Day was held recently and 550 people visited. g. Three new positions will be filled soon. 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 Use of Parks-Betsy Harriman a Summer 2014- Seitz and Sounds- Seitz Park b. April 13 —Letter Carriers Egg Hunt—Memorial Park c. April 13 —Stations of the Cross—LaSalle Park d. May 3 —Cinco de Mayo—Howard Park e. May 3 —Multiple Sclerosis Walk—Northside to Viewing Park f May 3-Food Bank- Glow in the Dark 5k-Riverwalk g. May 17—Girls on the Run—Potawatomi h. June 8 —Bike the Bend—Howard Park/Potawatomi Park i. June 13-14—Susan G. Koman Walk—Potawatomi Park j. June 21—Juneteenth—LaSalle Park k. June 21-22—Leeper Park Art Fair 1. July 13 —Ride for Kids—Pinhook Park m. July 26—Urban Adventure—Various Parks n. September 5 —Zombie Walk—Howard Park o. September 14—Alzheimer Walk—Potawatomi Park p. September 25—Veterans' Stand Down—Coveleski q. September 28 —CROP Walk—Howard Park r. October 25 —Breast Cancer Walk—Howard Park s. December 6—St. Nick's Run—East Bank Trail t. . April 12—Achievement Forum Egg Hunt—Howard Park u. June 21-FOP #36 Disc Golf Tournament-Rum Village Park - - 2 - - v. February 8- Ice Bowl Disc Golf Tournament-Rum Village Park w. May 2014- Spring Fling Disc Golf Tournament-Rum Village x. August 2- Summer Haze Disc Golf Tournament-Rum Village y. October 11-Fall Brawl Disc Golf Tournament-Rum Village Ms. Kathy Dietz gave a presentation on the Seitz and Sounds event at Seitz Park. It ran well last year and she is requesting permission to do it again during the summer of 2014. She requested that the Board waive the rental fee again this year. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the request for 2014 and to waive the fee. Mr. Mullins seconded the motion and it was passed. Ms. Harriman recommended approval of the remaining events on the list. Mr. Bon Durant made a motion to approve all the remaining requests and Mr. Mullins seconded the motion. The motion was agreed to . 2. Request to Approve Arborist License Applications a. A Cut Above Tree Service-Renewal b. Custom&Moore Tree Experts-Renewal c. Kevin's Tree & Landscaping of Michiana-Renewal d. San-Mar Tree &Maintenance-Renewal e. Trugreen-Renewal f. Envirovision-Renewal g. Mark Temple Tree Service-Renewal h. Acorn Landscaping, LLC-Renewal i. American Tree Care, Inc.-Renewal j. Miramontes Tree Service-Renewal k. Serenescapes, Inc.-Renewal Attorney Green said she had reviewed all the applications and all met the requirements for approval. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the requests. Mr. Mullins seconded the motion and it was passed. VL Approval of Minutes Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on December 16, 2013 as mailed. The motion was seconded by Mr. BonDurant and approved. VII. Approval of Maintenance Vouchers A motion was made by Mr. BonDurant to approve maintenance vouchers for December 2013 totaling$1,106,112.67. It was seconded by Mr. Mullins. There being no further discussion,the motion was passed. VIII. Business by Director St. Clair 1. Director St. Clair reported that he has received all the division head reports for the year. He felt they were very good reports and will be incorporated into the Mayor's State of the City Report. He thanked them for their efforts. 2. On January 27, an appropriation will be on the Council agenda to transfer $900,000 to be used for the zoo subsidy. Also, capital money will be appropriated from EDIT funds for - - 3 - - capital projects for the Zoo per the agreement. 3. He handed out a one page report by the EPA regarding Beck's Lake in LaSalle Park. It added the area to a national priorities list. 4. He gave the Board copies of the report by the IUSB marketing class that he commented on last month. 5. He agreed with Ms. Dean that the Zoo transition is going well. 6. He addressed the property taxes received during 2013. 7. The master plan process began today. IX. Comments by the Deputy Director of Parks 1. Ms. O'Connor introduced Mr. Comer and Ms. Ehrman to explain about the "Gone Fishing" program that just received an IPRA award for outstanding program of 2013.It is a free educational program about fishing done in partnership with the IDNR at Pinhook Park. In addition,participants receive a free fishing pole and reel and tackle box. These are the result of a donation from a member of the Park Foundation. 2. Ms. O'Connor said that she and Ms. Amanda Yasko did a three hour presentation on the wellness program that is run by the City at the Indiana Parks and Recreation convention. It was well received and she hopes to present it at the National Recreation and Parks Association Congress. 3. This week starts youth instructional programs,River City basketball league, and aquatics registration. 4. The Daddy Daughter Dance will be held February 11. 662 are registered at this time. 5. The Ice Rink is doing well because of the weather. 6. Last Sunday,the staff in the Fitness Center revived a member that collapsed on a treadmill due to a heart attack. The Fire Department EMS arrived and took him to the hospital. They said the staff did a great job with CPR and probably saved his life. She wanted to recognize them for their great reaction to the event. X. Comments by the Marketing Director 1. Mr. Bradley reported that the Park Foundation Board met last week and two new members were added. 2. The Park Foundation Board is pursuing a partnership with Skylar Diggins to promote some park and recreation programs and fund raising. 3. The final Passport to Play will take place at St. Patrick's Park on February 7. 4. We are involved with the NRPA's "10 Million Kids Outside"program. 5. Master plan meetings will begin with staff meetings and then public meetings later. Ms. O'Connor wanted to recognize all the employees that worked during the recent snow emergency days. She wanted especially to thank Jewell Davis that kept the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center open during that time as a warming shelter. XI. Comments by Golf Operations Director - - 4 - - 1. Mr. Nowacki commented that golf rounds and profitability were down for the year. One full time position will be reduced in the coming year to try to offset this. Nationally, according to the National Golf Foundation,rounds were down 13%. Our rounds were down 7%. Also 14 courses were opened and 157 closed. 2. Due to the extreme cold,there were multiple frozen pipes in the Erskine clubhouse. These have been repaired. There was also a frozen pipe at the Elbel clubhouse that needed to be repaired. 3. The memorandum of understanding with the First Tee program is being negotiated. 4. As part of the master plan for Elbel, along hole number two,the left side has been thinned of brush and small trees to open up that side to more air flow. 5. The annual open house will be held February 22 at the Erskine clubhouse. 6. Mr. Nowacki requested permission to solicit bids for chemicals and fertilizers for 2014. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the request to solicit bids for chemicals and fertilizers for 2014. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mullins and approved. XII. Comments by the Maintenance Superintendent 1. Mr. Dyszkiewicz reported that an incentive program is being discussed as part of the Teamster contract that was recently approved. 2. Park Maintenance crews have been working to repair issues related to frozen pipes and snow removal. 3. Tree damage was sustained at Erskine Golf Course and other areas. 4. Heating problems were reported at Charles Black Center and Martin Luther King Jr. Center. XIIL There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting adjourned at 4:52 p.m. by Vice President Hill The next regular meeting will be held February 17, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O'Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary - - 5 - -