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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-16-2015 MinutesSOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 16, 2015 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday February 16, 2015 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, Director of Parks; Bill Carleton, Director of Financial Services; Susan O'Connor, Deputy Director of Parks; Paul McMinn, Assistant Recreation Director; Randy Nowacki, Director of Golf Operations; Mike Dyszkiewicz, Maintenance Superintendent; Mark Bradley, Director of Marketing; Maurice Scott, King Center Director; Cindy Piech - Miller, Fitness Director; Garry Harrington, Nature Center Director; Rose Kaufman, Howard Park Center Director; David Firestone, Erskine Golf Pro Manager; Michael Schmidt, Park Board Attorney L The meeting was called to order by Board President Robert Goodrich at 4:05 p.m. IL The first order of business was the interviewing of interested citizens. 1. Recognition of Ms. Bettye Green - Ms. O'Connor and Paul McMinn recognized Ms. Green for her fifteen years of work as a health care worker with the senior citizens at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in conjunction with the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. Mr. McMinn presented her with a plaque that thanked her for her good works over the years. 2. South Bend / Mishawaka Chamber Of Commerce Leadership Team- Construction of a Gaga Pit in Marshall Park Mr. Zachary Klipsch of the YMCA showed a video on what a gaga pit is and how it is played. They wish to construct four pits, at O'Brien, the Charles Black Center, Madison School and a portable pit. All costs will be covered by sponsorships. Ms. O'Connor added that they will be working with Park Maintenance to determine the exact locations. No additional surfacing is necessary and they hope to have them finished by the first week of May. She thanked them for their efforts. Director St. Clair also thanked them for their creativity. 3. Notre Dame - Leeper Park Garden Project Mr. Gary Gilot former Public Works Director spoke regarding a community engagement project with the Notre Dame College of Engineering. He has been working with Ms. Deb -1- Martin, the principal at Madison School, to propose a project that would build a garden across the street from the school south of the Leeper Park Tennis Courts. They presented their plan to the Board, but said that they did not want the Board to act on anything today. He indicated that they would be back with formal documents next month. President Goodrich asked for a copy of the drawing to look at prior to next month's meeting. Director St. Clair added that the opportunity to partner with Notre Dame, Beacon Health System and the School System presented an opportunity to explore further improvements in Leeper Park. III. Report By Organizations 1. Potawatomi Zoological Society- Marcy Dean Ms. Dean presented a State of the Zoo report to the Board. a. The public /private partnership is going well. b. The employee transition was smooth. Only three employees stayed with the city. Two have since transitioned to the Society upon reaching vesting in the Public Employee Retirement Plan. c. Almost all prior vendors have switched to the Zoological Society for payment. d. Seasonal staffing costs have been streamlined, cutting cost without cutting positions. e. An employee communication plan has been implemented. f. Visitor customer service has been renewed in all areas. g. She feels the transition year went very well. h. Accreditation went well despite the preparation took place during the time of transition in 2014. The inspection was in June and areas that they felt needed improvement have been addressed. New policies and protocols have been adopted. i. The Zoo was awarded reaccreditation in September 2014. j. A Teamster agreement was negotiated for hourly staff. k. A Director of Business and Operations, a Director of Development and Marketing, Education Program Manager, and a Membership Manager are new positions that have been filled. 1. The General Curator position was recently filled. m. The new Red Panda habitat was opened. n. The $1.4 million carousel project is still underway. o. The master plan is wrapping up and will map a path for the Zoo going forward. IV. The next order of business was unfinished business. 1. Opening of Bids for Chemicals and Fertilizers- Randy Nowacki Mr. Nowacki reported that three bid packages were requested by vendors and two were returned. The vendors returning sealed bids were Harrells and John Deere Landscaping. The bids were opened and inspected by attorney Schmidt. Both were deemed to meet all requirements. Mr. Nowacki read the first and last items of each bid. a. Harrells, LLC Mr. Schmidt read the total amounts. Chemicals- $39,641.52. Fertilizers - $2,197.35. Mr. Nowacki read the first item on the bid as Acelepryn, 2 x 2.5 gal. at $1,855.00. -2- The last item was fertilizer 0 -0 -50, 50 lb. bag at $68.80/bag. b. John Deere Landscaping - Mr. Schmidt read the total amounts. Chemicals- $29,358.16. Fertilizers- $120.08. Mr. Nowacki read the first item on the bid as Acelepryn, 2 x 2.5 gal. at $1,855.00. The last item was fertilizer 0 -0 -45, 50 lb. bag at $48.53/bag. Mr. Nowacki requested that he be given time to review the bids and come back at the March 16, 2015 regular meeting with his recommendations. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to refer the bids to staff for recommendation at the March 16, 2015 meeting. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was approved without objection. V. The next order of business was new business. 1. Request for Use of Parks- Susan O'Connor /Cindy Fish a. Aids Walk— Howard Park — April 26, 2015 12 -5 pm b. Cinco De Mayo — Howard Park — St. Adelbert's Parish — 10 am — 7 pm c. Leeper Park Art Fair — Leeper Park — June 20 -21, 2015 — 10 am -6 pm d. Joe Baughman — Pier Park — April 15 -16, 2015 Mr. Baughman requested to use the park for permission to shoot a music video at Pier Park. e. SB 150 — Howard Park — May 22 -25 — Aaron Perri DTSB f. Girl on the Run — Potawatomi Park — May 16, 2015 — Jen Adams Ms. Adams explained the program and that they would use the Potawatomi Zoo parking lot as part of their route. She said they would be done with that part of the run before the Zoo opened. g. Father's First Family Event— Howard Park — 1 -4 pm - Lachelle Barnett- June 27, 2015 Ms. Barnett explained their program and requested the use of Howard Park for a water festival that includes family friendly activities. Ms. O'Connor explained that items a, b, and c are returning events and have met all requirements in the past and have done so again. She said that the representative for event e, SB 150, was not present and may be at the next meeting. She requested approval for events a, b, c, d, f, and g. Ms. Hill made a motion to approve all the events except event e. Mr. BonDurant seconded the motion and it was passed. 2. Request to Approve Arborist Licenses a. A Cut Above Tree Service b. Alex's Take Down Tree Service c. Vera Cruz Tree d. Kachur Tree Service, LLC e. The Crossing Xtreme Tree Service f. American Tree Service, Inc. g. Arborcare, Inc. h. Fuerbringer Landscaping & Design, Inc. i. B &B Floral Adventures j. Cut -Rite Services, LLC. k. Landmark/Solliday Landscaping -3- 1. TLC Tree Removal, Inc. m. TruGreen n. Integrity Tree Services, LLC. o. Foegley Landscape, Inc. n. Serenescapes, Inc. The arborist licenses were reviewed by Mr. Schmidt and all met requirements for approval. Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve requests a through n. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. VL Approval of Minutes Mr. BonDurant made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Park Board meeting held on January 20, 2015 as mailed. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mullins and approved. VII. Approval of Maintenance Vouchers A motion was made by to approve maintenance vouchers for January 2015 totaling $1,116,292.96. It was seconded by Ms. Hill. There being no further discussion, the motion was passed. VIII. Business by Director St. Clair 1. Director St. Clair reported that at the last meeting Councilman Henry Davis asked on behalf of the residents along Edgewater Drive to consider changing the name of the park in their neighborhood along the river from what they believe is Voorde Park to Edgewater Park. He said that we are still researching deeds and are not ready to make a recommendation regarding the request. He felt that if nothing definitive can be found that he is inclined to come to the Board at the next meeting with a recommendation to approve the request. 2. Director St. Clair reviewed a draft of the Department's annual report for 2014 with the Board. He reviewed the department's accomplishments and philosophy. IX. Comments by the Deputy Director 1. Ms. O'Connor informed the Board that the Daddy- Daughter Dance was held last week and last year 1,251 attended, and this year 1,750 attended. She said it was an amazing scene. 2. With an increased emphasis on social media, we have added page visits to the monthly Board Report. 3. Attendance at the Ice Rink has been difficult to predict because of the weather lately. 4. Two grants have been received for the ISC softball tournament totaling $7,500. $1,300 has come from program advertisements. 5. Registration for Camp Awareness begins on February 24. 6. On February 25 she and Matthew Moyers will be serving on a panel at the Great Lakes Parks Institute discussing how wellness in parks and recreation affects our communities. 7. She showed a short video concerning Edge Adventures, a company that is offering to install a ropes course in trees on park property. They will be meeting with us on March 2 -4- to discuss the possibilities. X. Comments by the Director of Golf Operations 1. Mr. Nowacki announced that the annual open house will be held on February 21 at the Erskine Clubhouse. Many vendors will be in attendance. 2. He is interviewing candidates for the superintendent's position at Elbel. Six applications have been received. 3. Two tee mowers from 1989 have structural issues that may make them unusable this year. He is investigating used equipment to purchase. XI. Comments by Maintenance Superintendent 1. Mr. Mike Dyszkiewicz informed the Board that snow plowing is ongoing. 2. Bleachers are being repaired for the summer. 3. Renovations are underway at the Leeper Tennis Center, Charles Black Center, and O'Brien Center. 4. He is working with the Maintenance staff to prioritize projects to fund with proceeds from the bond. XII. Comments by the Director of Marketing 1. Mr. Bradley reported that the Park Foundation Board met last week and realigned committees. 2. The Passport to Play program met February 12 at the Healthworks Kid's Museum. 3. Skate Night on January 23 and February 12 were fairly successful. 4. An announcement concerning the artists playing at Country Fest this year will be coming next Friday. 5. The response from the use social media has been greater than expected. 6. A new camera has been purchased to use for pictures to post on the website. A presentation was held earlier to thank and recognize the service of President Goodrich and Mr. BonDurant at their last meeting as board members. President Goodrich thanked all that were involved in the reception. Director St. Clair thanked Mr. BonDurant for his two years of service and President Goodrich for his decades of leadership and service to the board and department. He thanked him for his passion and knowledge over the years and wanted him to know that it wasn't taken for granted and that he will be missed. He hoped that they aren't done with their service to the department. XIIL There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. by President Goodrich The next regular meeting will be held Monday March 16, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O'Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary -5-