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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-17-2014 Minutes SOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK CONIAUSSIONERS REGULAR MEETING MARCH 17, 2014 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday March 17,2014 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: Mr. Robert Goodrich,President Ms. Amy Hill,Vice President Mr. Garrett Mullins Mr. Bruce BonDurant Park Board members absent were as follows: None Staff members present: Phil St. Clair,Director of Parks; Bill Carleton,Director of Financial Services; Betsy Harriman,Administrative Director; Susan O'Connor,Deputy Director of Parks; Randy Nowacki,Director of Golf Operations; Mike Dyszkiewicz,Maintenance Superintendent; Mark Bradley,Marketing Director; Matthew Moyers, Special Projects Manager; Nick Gaul, Skilled Trades Superintendent; Bill Young,Plumber IV; Ray Comer,Athletic Supervisor; Keilah Ehrman, Athletic Coordinator; Cheryl Greene,Park Board Attorney L The meeting was called to order by Board President Robert Goodrich at 4:00 p.m. IL The first order of business was the interviewing of interested citizens. 1. Recognition of Bill Young Director St. Clair recognized Mr. Young for his 37 year career in the City. Over half of those have been with the Park Department. Thanked him for his outstanding work for the department. He presented Mr. Young with a clock on behalf of the department to thank him for his years of service. Mr. Dyszkiewicz also said how he appreciated all the good work he has done in his tenure. III. The next order of business was unfinished business. 1. Awarding of Chemical and Fertilizer Bids-Randy Nowacki Mr. Nowacki distributed a bid award tabulation to the Board showing how the chemical and fertilizer bids were awarded. Ms. Greene reported that she had reviewed the bids and that this tabulation reflected the lowest and most responsive bids. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the bids as recommended. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. IV. The next order of business was new business. - - I - - 1. Request to Terminate Contract with CourseTrends-Randy Nowacki Mr. Nowacki requested that the board approve the termination of a contract with CourseTrends. They provided website and online tee time booking. Due to a change in the ownership of the company that provides the software for the point of sales system used at the golf courses, CourseTrends could no longer"see"the tee sheet on the POS system,resulting in double booking of tee times. Efforts to resolve the problem were unsuccessful. This was the final year of the contract. It was determined that it would be less costly to terminate the contract and enter into an agreement with Golf Now to provide the same services. They also will provide computer servers and software to upgrade the system. Mr. Mullins made a motion to proceed with the termination of the contract with CourseTrends and give the Board attorney control of negotiations that would favor the interests of the Park Department. Mr. BonDurant seconded the motion and it was passed. 2. Request to Approve Contract with Golf Now-Randy Nowacki, TJ Mannen Ms. Greene requested that the Board approve the Golf Now contract subject to final agreement as to terms and in a form acceptable to legal counsel. Ms. Hill made a motion to approve the Golf Now contract subject to final agreement as to terms and in a form acceptable to legal counsel. Mr. BonDurant seconded the motion and it was passed. 3. Request to Approve Leeper Park Tennis Fee Change-Keilah Ehrman,Ray Comer Ms. Ehrman requested approval of a fee change at Leeper Tennis Center. She explained that they are changing sessions from Monday,Wednesday,Friday and Tuesday, Thursday sessions to Monday through Friday. The new fee would be $35 per session as opposed to $25. There would also be an option to pay $50 for the first session and receive a racquet bag and pay $25 for any subsequent sessions through the summer. Ms. Hill made a motion to approve the fee request and Mr. Mullins seconded the motion. It was passed. 4. Request to Approve Contract with PostCode-Matthew Moyers Mr. Moyers explained that this company has helped with survey software for the vacant and abandoned housing effort with the City and it was felt they could help us with the master plan surveying using City Voice. Signs are put up in parks and facilities with a location code for that place. Residents can call a telephone number,key in the code and take a brief survey as well as leave other comments regarding the park or facility. Post Code will compile the data and post it on a public website. This data will be collected through the end of June. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the contract with Post Code in the amount of $10,500. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. 5. Request for Use of Parks-Betsy Harriman a. Yoga on the Green—Howard Park—June-August(MWF 6-7 p.m.) b. Workers Memorial—Howard Park—April 28b 4-6 p.m. c. Request for 360 Motorcycle ride-Pinhook Park-May 10`s SBPD officer Jen Gebel addressed the Board concerning the 360 Motorcycle Ride. It is a fund raiser for the 360 Project. This program pairs shelter dogs and kids from the Juvenile Justice Center. The kids work with the dogs for four weeks training them. She said the results are amazing. The hope is to raise enough funding to have a rescue facility at the JJC. - - 2 - - Ms. Harriman recommended approval of all the requests. Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the requests for parks as presented. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. 6. Request to Approve Arborist License Applications a. Landmark/Solliday Landscaping-Renewal b. Cut—Rite Services-Renewal c. K&R Tree Service-Renewal d. Foegley Landscape, Inc-Renewal e. Leonard's Landscape and Tree-Renewal f. Temple Tree Curb Appeal-Renewal g. W. M. Coar, ISA Certified Arborist-Renewal Ms. Greene reported that all applications met the legal requirements and recommended all for approval. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the arborist license applications. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. V. Approval of Minutes Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on February 17, 2014 as mailed. The motion was seconded by Ms. Hill and approved. VI. Approval of Maintenance Vouchers A motion was made by Ms. Hill to approve maintenance vouchers for February 2014 totaling$639,558.10. It was seconded by Mr. BonDurant. There being no further discussion,the motion was passed. VII. Business by Director St. Clair 1. Director St. Clair gave an update on the master plan process. Sixteen meetings were held the first week of March with staff, focus groups, and the public. Two more will be held this week. 2. A statistically valid survey is also being taken. He gave the Board a summary of preliminary results. Of 268 surveys, almost 90%rated the Park Department at good or excellent. 3. He distributed a cash reserve statement for the Park Department funds. Our reserves are down this year from last because of the property tax decline we have seen over the past years. We have been using reserves to fund the capital budget the last two years. 4. Director St. Clair discussed possible upgrades at Kelly Park. We would be partnering with WSBT,Notre Dame and others on the project. A final design has not been decided. 5. He announced that there will be a country music concert in partnership with the Silver Hawks that will replace the Blues and Ribs Fest that was held the last three years. He thought that although we put on as good a show as anyone in the country,there wasn't enough local support to continue it as a fund raiser for Miracle Park and the special needs population. - - 3 - - The Silver Hawks will be a significant partner in this event. It will be held June 21 this year. Contracts have not been signed yet with any bands,but he wanted to let the Board know in case an announcement is made before the next board meeting. VIII. Comments by the Deputy Director of Parks 1. Ms. O'Connor reported that River City Basketball League ended Saturday and tournaments started this week. 2. The second session of winter classes started today and will run through May 9. 3. Camp Awareness is full. This is the 50 year of this camp. 4. Spring Fling and Kid's World enrollment is underway. 5. Ballet recital will be held March 30. 75 participants will be in the recital. 6. Charles Black youth basketball league will start March 28. 7. Charles Black and Martin Luther King, Jr. Centers are seeing strong participation in their after school programs. 8. The Charles Black Center Girl Scouts start next week. 16-20 girls have signed up. 9. The Tru Soldiers basketball teams played last weekend. The fifth grade girls team won the Shamrock Classic in Westfield, Illinois. The third and eighth grade boys teams also won their age group in this tournament. 10. The Howard Park bus trip to Mt. Rushmore has sold out. 11. Eighty-eight softball teams have signed up for the summer league. 12. The Ice Rink has closed for the season. 13. Water Safety classes have started on March 5. 14. The Board Report has started including several other types of reports. She said that it is hoped to make it more of a departmental report. IX. Comments by the Golf Operations Director 1. Mr. Nowacki reported that the recent annual open house was very successful. 2. Dave Qualls,the assistant greens keeper at Erskine,who has been there for 25 years,has transferred to the Maintenance Division as a plumber. Thirteen people have been interviewed for the position and a candidate has been selected. 3. Commercials on TV have been effective in getting people to the open house. 4. Eight outings have been booked so far this year. 5. Erskine Concessions has passed the Health Department inspection. X. Comments by Maintenance Superintendent 1. Mr. Mike Dyszkiewicz informed the Board that the Maintenance Department is picking up leaves that they were unable to get to last year. 2. Snow is also being removed from areas they were piled in. 3. The lighting in the O'Brien Center is being switched to energy efficient bulbs and occupancy sensors are being installed. 4. Remodeling is underway at the golf courses. - - 4 - - 5. Pot holes are being repaired in park streets and lots. He said he has never seen so many. There have also been a number of sewer cave ins. 6. It is being decided whether to repair or remove the tennis courts at Walker Field. Crack repair was unsuccessful last year. They will need a top coat of asphalt to bring them back. 7. Bathroom and locker room remodeling will be done at Charles Black Center. XI. Comments by the Marketing Director 1. Ms. O'Connor stood in for Mr. Bradley. The Park Foundation meeting on March 12,was not held due to a lack of a quorum. They will meet again on April 9b. 2. The Passport to Play event was held at St. Patrick's County Park. This will be the last of the winter. Attendance was great. 3. The Prescription to Play event is underway with 150-200 physicians participating. Three weekly classes are being held with our partners at the YMCA and Kroc Center. XH. There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m. by President Goodrich The next regular meeting will be held Monday April 21,2014 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O'Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary - - 5 - -