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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-27-2015 MinutesSOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING MAY 27, 2015 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on May 27, 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: Ms. Amy Hill, President Mr. Mark Neal, Vice President Ms. Aimee Buccellato Park Board members absent were as follows: Mr. Garrett Mullins Staff members present: Phil St. Clair, Director of Parks; Bill Carleton, Director of Financial Services; Susan O'Connor, Deputy Director of Parks; Randy Nowacki, Director of Golf Operations; John Martinez, Interim Maintenance Superintendent; Mark Bradley, Director of Marketing; Cynthia Fish, Assistant Special Events Coordinator; Michael Schmidt, Park Board Attorney L The Meeting was Called to Order by Board President Hill at 8:38 a.m. IL The First Order of Business was the Interviewing of Interested Citizens. 1. Mr. Moyers introduced Ms. Robin Vida of the St. Joseph County Health Department and a member of the "Let's Move, South Bend" initiative reported to the Board on the progress of the program. In the past year they have achieved five gold medals and distributed a report that outlined the areas that were achieved and those that they are working on. Thus far, they are third in the region at reaching their goals. She thanked the Parks Department for their partnership in the program and was confident that this summer would be very successful. III. Report By Organizations South Bend Cubs - Mr. Joe Hart, President a. Mr. Hart informed the Board that attendance is up by 40,000 over last year at this time. b. He thanked the community and the Board for their support. IV. Unfinished Business Update on Miracle Park- Director St. Clair, Mr. Charles Lehman Director St. Clair and Mr. Lehman gave an update on the search and funding for Miracle Park, a proposed multi - purpose sports complex for special needs children. Mr. Lehman - -I -- discussed the demographics of the area that would be served by this park. They have been looking at a site adjacent to the Belleville Softball Complex. Mr. Lehman introduced Mr. Richard Pfeil. He has been involved with the Park Department for many years including as a Park Board commissioner. He has been involved in securing funds to support the project. He has commitments for a matching grant from local sources for as much as $200,000 toward the park. V. New Business 1. Request to Approve an Electrical Easement for I &M in Leeper Park - Mr. Roger Narwot, P.E., Mr. Anthony Glenn, P.E. Mr. Narwot explained how the easement would affect Leeper Park due to improvements on Bartlett Street and at the Memorial Hospital parking garage. A transformer pedestal will be placed in Leeper Park. Mr. Neal made a motion to approve the requested easement from I &M. Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was approved. The easement was signed and notarized. 2. Request to Approve an Access Easement Related to Access to the Batting Complex from Coveleski Stadium- Director St. Clair Director St. Clair requested the approval of an easement that grants access to the new batting complex from the stadium grounds. A new sidewalk would be constructed that would run to the complex. Mr. Neal made a motion to approve the easement request regarding access to the batting complex from Coveleski Stadium. Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was passed. The easement was signed and notarized. 3. Request to Approve a Parking Easement Agreement Related to the Use of Parking Spaces Around the Batting Complex- Director St. Clair Director St. Clair requested approval of an easement granting nonexclusive use of the parking area around the batting complex at Coveleski Stadium to the Park Board. The parking area (lot 5) is within property given to Run - Faster -Run, LLC. in an earlier agreement regarding the construction of the batting complex. Mr. Neal made a motion to approve the easement granting nonexclusive use of parking lot 5 by the Park Board as described in the agreement. Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was passed. The easement was signed and notarized. 4. Request to Approve an Agreement for Mowing Services between the Parks Department and the Redevelopment Commission - Mr. John Martinez, Director St. Clair Mr. Carleton and Mr. Martinez requested approval of a contract between the Parks Department and the Redevelopment Commission regarding mowing services given by the Park Department for properties owned by the Redevelopment Commission. The contract is for this year from May through October and is for the amount of $33,000. The properties subject to mowing by the Park Department are listed in the agreement. Other properties will be serviced at an additional cost. Mr. Neal made a motion to approve the contract for mowing services between the Park Department and the Redevelopment Commission. - -2 -- Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was adopted. 5. Request for Use of Parks- Ms. Cynthia Fish a. Seitz & Sounds- Seitz Park - Thursdays June 4 to August 27 b. Outreach Ministry Giveaway- Coquillard Park- July 6 c. Summer of Service — Helman Park — June 19th — 9am -4pm d. Family Development Program/Real Services — Rum Village Park — September 26 e. Madison Primary Center — Leeper Park — May 29 f. Meet Me On the Island/Fireworks- Seitz Park- July 2 g. Out of the Darkness Walk — Howard Park — September 13 Ms. Fish requested that the Seitz and Sounds event be given a 50% discount on the Seitz Park rental fee for the season. Mr. Neal made a motion to allow a 50% reduction in the fee for Seitz Park rental for the season for the Seitz and Sounds event. Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was passed. Ms. Fish requested approval of events b through g. Mr. Neal made a motion to approve events b through g. Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was passed. 6. Request to Approve Arborist Licenses a. Custom & Moore Tree Experts, LLC- Renewal b. New Image Tree Service- New c. Watson's Tree Service, LLC- Renewal d. Higher Ground Tree Care, LLC- New Mr. Schmidt, having inspected the applications, requested approval of all listed above. Mr. Neal made a motion to approve the requested applications for aborist licenses. Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was approved. 7. Request to Award Appraisal Services for Newman Center and Elbel Golf Course - Director St. Clair Director St. Clair requested approval of the Board to authorize him to select two property appraisers that are the most responsive for Newman Center and Elbel Park Golf Course. He explained that the Community Investment Department had solicited quotes from four companies. Mr. Schmidt explained that for the awarding of professional services, the state statute does not require awarding to the lowest amount. Mr. Neal made a motion to grant the request to select the two most responsive appraisers for the appraisal of Newman Center and the Elbel Park Golf Course. Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was passed. 8. Indemnification Agreement with Officer John Kaminski- Director St. Clair, Attorney Schmidt Mr. Schmidt explained that Officer Schmidt is a St. Joseph county police officer and he will be working as security for the International Softball Congress tournament in August at the Belleville Softball Complex. He said that he has reviewed the indemnification agreement between the St. Joseph County Sheriff Department and the Park Department. He will provide for overnight parking during the tournament. Mr. Neal made a motion to approve Director St. Clair to execute the indemnification agreement with the St. Joseph County Sheriff Department. Ms. Buccellato seconded the agreement and it was passed. - -3 -- VL Approval of Minutes Mr. Neal made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on April 20, 2015 as mailed. The motion was seconded by Ms. Buccellato and approved. VII. Approval of Maintenance Vouchers A motion was made by Mr. Neal to approve maintenance vouchers for April 2015 totaling $709,272.09. It was seconded by Ms. Buccellato. There being no further discussion, the motion was passed. VIII. Business by Director St. Clair 1. Director St. Clair provided and update of the recent activities that the department was involved in. 2. He thanked all the staff that were involved in the recent SB 150 weekend gala. 3. A new roof top air conditioning unit was installed by the maintenance department at the Leeper Park Tennis Center at a savings of approximately $4,000 over having a contractor install it. 4. A new soccer field installation is being considered at Voorde Park. Estimates for irrigation and fencing are being sought. 5. The 2014 CAPRA annual report has been submitted. 6. The Department was requested to speak at the American Children's Museum national conference in Indianapolis regarding the success of our "Passport to Play" program. Mr. Moyers gave the presentation. 7. Bike the Bend recently paid for the replacement of old wooden decking at the East Race bridge. Our maintenance staff supplied the labor and install the new composite decking, which should last for many years with minimal maintenance. He thanked them for their contribution and looked forward to working with them in the future on other projects. 8. Code for America, the group that developed the City Voice survey program that we used for our master plan, due to how our use of their software, has made park planning the primary use of it. They are working with other parks agencies to develop it for broader use. 9. We are working on the costs and timelines for capital improvements in Howard Park and at the Charles Black Center. 10. We are still in discussion with Edge Adventure regarding the aerial park in Rum Village. It is hoped to have some more information by next month's meeting. 11. He went over a list of items that are under consideration for the bond funds when they become available. IX. Comments by the Special Projects Manager 1. Mr. Moyers commended the staff on behalf of Ms. O'Connor for their outstanding work during the past weekend's SB 150 events. - -4 -- 2. He reported that the Mother's Day Equestrian Ride was a success at Potato Creek State Park. 3. An open house will be held this weekend at the Leeper Tennis Center. 4. Bounce rentals are very busy as schools close. 5. Rum Village Nature Center is doing their end of school activities. 6. The pools will be opening early in June. X. Comments by the Maintenance Superintendent 1. Mr. Martinez gave the Board a copy of the first quarterly review that he has instituted. 2. Over 250 hours have been spent prepping Howard Park for SB 150. 3. He wants to begin long term planning for each park by having the staff walk each park and report on the vision they see for it. 4. He reported on a previous request by Mr. Neal, that the mowing of Code Enforcement lots that have been cited for grass /weed violations has begun. Thus far 288 violations have been reported to us and 132 have been cut since May 18. XI. Comments by Director of Marketing 1. Mr. Bradley reported that new photos are being posted to our website. A member of the staff has dedicated himself to taking lots of pictures with new equipment for great pictures. XIL Comments by the Director of Golf Operations 1. Mr. Nowacki reported to the Board that while everyone else is trying to cut the grass, he is trying to grow it on approximately eight greens at Elbel and Erskine. A mysterious winter kill affected areas of the greens and killed the grass. His staff has been busy reseeding the areas to bring them back to the high standard that they are known for. Michigan State and Purdue have been consulted and it seems to have affected other courses in the area. 2. New marketing strategies seem to be working to bring in players from the Toledo and Fort Wayne areas. 3. The staff has been testing used equipment to purchase to replace several very old mowers. 4. Anniversaries for both courses are happening this year. Erskine is 90 years old and Elbel is 50. 5. The 2015 Superintendent's Outing will be held this July 31 at Elbel Golf Course. 6. Capital projects include the replacement of the decking at Erskine, improvements to the loft in the Erskine Clubhouse to accommodate meetings and small gatherings, and replacement, and door replacements at Erskine Maintenance. 7. A set of forward tees have been constructed on the Erskine course. 8. Window replacements and a remodel of the clubhouse are planned at Studebaker. 9. In addition, the fence along the fairway on hole number 1 at Studebaker is in need of replacement. It is 18 feet tall and was installed to protect the houses along the hole from golf balls. Options and estimates are being gathered. XIIL There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m. by President Hill - -5 -- The next regular meeting will be held on July 20, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O'Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary -6-