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Home My WebLink About09-21-2015 Minutes - - 1 - - SOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday, September 21, 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: Staff members present: Phil St. Clair, Director of Parks; Ron O’Connor, Director of Financial Services; Susan O’Connor, Deputy Director of Parks; Randy Nowacki, Director of Golf Operations; John Martinez, Interim Maintenance Superintendent; Matt Moyer, Special Project Coordinator; Paula Garis, Special Events Supervisor; Michael Schmidt, Park Board Attorney I. The meeting was called to order by Board President Amy Hill at 4:00 p.m. with a special welcome to students to St Mary’s College. II. The first order of business was the interviewing of interested citizens. 1. Don McKempsell representing RADD (Running Against Drunk Driving) requested approval to host a 5K run at the East Race River Walk on October 17, 2015. He was advised to consult Paula Garis and provide the proper insurance and paperwork. 2. Dan with Transformation Ministries looking to host an event at Keller Park on October 10, 2015 and was advised to work with Paula to coordinate the details. 3. Ted Beatty representing the South Bend Skullers approached the Park Board to announce he would be coming back in October to request the occupation of former Notre Dame Boathouse located in Ewing Park. III. Report By Organizations 1. Potawatomi Zoological Society- Not available 2. South Bend Cubs – Not available 3. South Bend Botanical Society- Not available IV. The next order of business was unfinished business. Steve Doninger, Owner/Presdent, of Edge Adventures returned to finalize a Ground Lease agreement providing an Aerial Park located at Rum Village. The ground lease establishes the framework for Edge Adventures a five year lease beginning January 2016 through December 2021 to construct an aerial park with the intent to open spring 2016. The request for a favorable motion from the Park Board in September was predicated by the need to - - 2 - - establish and design the exact location for future construction of the course. Michael Schmidt made a recommendation for a favorable approval by the board based upon receiving the final exhibit on or before December 31, 2015 outlining the exact location and access areas for construction. Upon agreement the contract for the Ground Lease was signed by all parties. Mr. Neal made a motion to approve contingent upon receiving the final exhibit. Ms. Buccellato seconded the motion and it was approved. V. The next order of business was new business. 1. Request for Use of Parks- Paula Garis: Dr. Fred Ferlic, current member of the Common Council representing the fourth district, came before the board to present an “Adopt-A- Park” concept for the eight parks located within his district. Dr. Ferlic presented his “Adopt-A-Park” alternative as a mutually beneficial pilot program for both, the neighboring residents and the park maintenance division. All present were in favor of such a program, however felt a need to create a document designed exclusively for guiding these public/private ventures with the park department. Dr Ferlic committed to draft a proposal and return with the intent for a motion to approve. 2. Request to Approve Arborist Licenses – No Applications VI. Approval of Minutes Ms. Hill made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on September 21, 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 September 2015 totaling $775,430.03. It was seconded by Ms. Buccellato. There being no further discussion, the motion was passed. VIII. Business by Director St. Clair 1. Update on the park bond – net proceeds available are approximately $5M 2 Update on plans for a new ice rink using TIF funding approximately $1.2M according to preliminary design plans. IX. Comments by the Deputy Director 1 Update on ISC (softball) tournament – seen around 14,000 spectators with an economic impact estimated to the community of around $850,000 2 Update on summer programs with attendance and revenue handouts X. Comments by the Director of Golf Operations 1 Update on seasonal golf rate discounts beginning September 1 2 Update on Cross Country meet and sectional run at city golf course 3 Update on aerification of greens at Elbel and Erskine 4 Update board on break in at Studebaker Gold Course Pro Shop - - 3 - - XI. Comments by Maintenance Superintendent 1 Update on ISC (softball tournament) went well for maintenance 2 Discussed possible wage increase for seasonal help next year to attract good help 3 Park Bond improvements have started with full court basketball pad at Kennedy Park 4 Will be working with specifications for the Kelly Park Pavilion 5 Working with organization for pre-approved vendor list (NJPA) to see if suitable for future use 6 Experimenting with the use of LED lighting at Sample riverwalk and seen a tremendous difference in the brightness of coverage area 7 Conducted in house cleanup of maintenance garage in anticipation of the Mayor’s visit XII. Comments by the Director of Marketing 1 Matt Moyer discussed the completion of the Fall/Winter activity guide XIII. There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting adjourned at 5:59 p.m. by President Hill The next regular meeting will be held November 16th at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O’Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, Ron O’Connor