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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-19-09 Minutes SBBPC OUTH END OARD OF ARK OMMISSIONERS RM EGULAR EETING J19,2009 ANUARY The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on th Monday the 19 of January 2009 of 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 Henry, President Mr. Robert Goodrich, Vice President Dr. Thomas Kelly Mr. Garrett Mullins Park Board members absent were as follows: None Staff members present: Phil St. Clair, Superintendent; Bill Carleton, Betsy Harriman, Administrative Director; Fiscal Officer; Susan O’Connor, Recreation Director; Randy Nowacki, Director of Golf Operations; Terry DeRosa, Zoo Director; Richard Payton, Development Director; Mike Dyszkiewicz, Maintenance Superintendent; Thomas Bodnar, Park Board Attorney I.The meeting was called to order by Board President Robert Henry at 4:03 p.m. II.The first order of business was the interviewing of interested citizens. 1.There were no interested citizens wishing to address the Board. 2.Report by South Bend Baseball Club, LLC No representative was present. However, Director St. Clair reported that he, the Mayor and South Bend Baseball Club are negotiating the terms of the 2009 Stadium Use Agreement. President Henry stated that their schedule is more favorable with fewer games in April and more games in June and July. 3.Botanical Society Ms. Martha Lewis reported that the Botanical Society had their annual financial statement prepared and she presented the Board with a copy. Ginger Valley will be doing a second application for insects soon. She said that a transition plan was submitted to the City last summer and to date there has been no communication regarding it. They are still interested in doing this. She was afraid that if there is uncertainty concerning the Greenhouse and Conservatories, it would affect their fund raising and volunteer efforts in the future. Director St. Clair replied that until the Parks received information on the status of property tax funds for this and next year, it would be difficult to determine the status of the facility. He said he would be happy to sit down with them once this is clarified in the - - 1 - - near future. III.The next order of business was unfinished business. There was no new business. IV.The next order of business was new business. 1.Election of Officers for 2009 Dr. Kelly made a motion to retain the same slate of officers with Mr. Henry as president and Mr. Goodrich as vice president. Mr. Mullins seconded the motion and it was passed. 2.Arborist License Approval The following applications were presented for renewal of their license: a. The Cutting Edge b. San-Mar Tree & Maintenance c.TLC Tree Removal, Inc. d. Envirovision, Inc. e. Custom & Moore Tree Experts, Inc. Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve the applications and Dr. Kelly seconded the motion. The motion was passed. 3.Request to Approve Policy Increasing Event Liability Insurance Minimum to $1,000,000 and Prohibit Markings on Sidewalks and Streets- Betsy Harriman Ms. Harriman requested that the minimum amount of insurance required to use a park for an event be increased to $1,000,000 to be in line with the amount required by the Board of Public Works and that no markings be allowed on sidewalks or streets as part of an event. Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the request. Dr. Kelly seconded the motion and it was passed. 4.Requests for Use of Parks- Betsy Harriman Ms. Harriman submitted the following requests: a. CARE Run - Howard Park - April 25th (To benefit South Bend Animal Control and Care) b. Workers' Memorial (United Way) Howard Park - April 26th c. Cinco de Mayo - Howard Park - May 2nd d. Arthritis Walk - Potawatomi Park - May 3rd e. Leeper Park Art Fair - June 20th and 21st th f. DTSB Eco Fest - Howard Park - June 20 g. Rum Village Bike Race - June 20th h. Ride for Kids (Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) - Pinhook Park - July 12th i. Angel of Hope Ride - Pinhook Park - August 15th j. St. Anthony Run- Potawatomi Park- April 18th n k. Notre Dame Bicycle Club Race- Rum Village Park- March 22 Mr. Goodrich made a motion to approve the requests for use of parks. Mr. Mullins seconded the motion and it was passed. V.Approval of Minutes Dr. Kelly made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on - - 2 - - December 15, 2008 as mailed. The motion was seconded by and approved. VI.Approval of Maintenance Vouchers A motion was made by Mr. Goodrich to approve maintenance vouchers for December 2008 totaling $1,042,414.65. It was seconded by Mr. Mullins. There being no further discussion, the motion was passed. VII.Business of Director St. Clair 1.Director St. Clair reported on highlights and accomplishments of 2008. 2.Director St. Clair recognized Mike Dyszkiewicz and his snow plowing crew for the great job they have been doing over the past weeks keeping the streets and sidewalks clear. 3.He discussed several projects that could possibly be included as part of the proposed stimulus package when those moneys are available. They are the drainage system and turf replacement at Coveleski Stadium, the Erskine storm water diversion project, and the renovation of the East Race. He recommended them to the Mayor to be included with other city projects. 4.The boiler at the Greenhouse failed during the recent subzero cold, resulting in several plants being affected because of the cold. This was due to a secondary boiler not automatically starting. Repairs have been made. 5.The Mayor’s State of the City address will be given on February 16 at Century Center. VIII.Comments by the Recreation Director 1.Ms. O'Connor said that the staffs from the centers were participating in Martin Luther King, Jr. programs at the Century Center today. 2.Programs were canceled last week due to the severe cold weather. 3.The Ice Rink was closed Thursday and Friday due to the cold weather. 4.Staff has been working with the Emergency Management team on Thursday coordinating the use of warming sites in the event a Cold Emergency was declared. King and Black Centers were designated as backup locations. 5.A $30,000 grant to promote lifestyle changes is being applied for through the NRPA and CDC. It will focus on discouraging the use of tobacco by youth in the community. 6.Staff will be attending the state IPRA in Bloomington beginning tomorrow through Friday. th 7.The Howard Park Ice Rink 50 anniversary celebration will be held January 31. The South Bend Tribune did a great article on the Ice Rink and Howard Park recently. 8.The registration for the Daddy-Daughter Dance is down from this time last year. It is hoped that additional marketing will help. She hoped that because of the economic conditions, parents are waiting until later to register and it will fill up as we get closer. IX.Comments by the Golf Operations Director 1.Mr. Nowacki reported that 13 events have been booked to date. This is 6 or 7 ahead of - - 3 - - this time last year. 2.Demo Day at Elbel will be held May 3. 3.The annual open house for be held at Erskine on March 7 for season pass holders from 10 am to 1 pm. 4.Staff meetings are being held weekly planning for the upcoming year. 5.The golf cart bid package is not ready at this time. Advertising will be done in order to open the bids at the next meeting and award. 6.Mr. Nowacki requested permission to advertise for chemical and fertilizers for the golf courses. X.Comments by the Zoo Director 1.Mr. DeRosa reported that the Zoo had their Winter Day this past Saturday and had 101 visitors despite the bitterly cold weather. 2.The reaccreditation application is being readied for submission. 3.The repairs at the Greenhouse are underway to repair the boiler issue. 4.The Zoo’s chimps have been sent last week to the John Ball Zoo for breeding purposes. 5.The annual Zoo Society meeting was held last week. XI.Comments by Maintenance Superintendent 1.Mr. Mike Dyszkiewicz thanked Jim Byers and Paul Moreland for their work removing snow from the streets and downtown area. They have shown great dedication. 2.There have been heating problems at the Greenhouse and King Center, but they have been resolved. 3.Painting is ongoing at the Charles Black Center and Zoo. 4.Remodeling at Pinhook is being done to accommodate recreation programming. XII.Comments by the Development Director th 1. Mr. Payton thanked Tribune writer Jamie Loo for the article she did regarding the 50 anniversary of the Howard Park Ice Rink. 2. Culver’s Restaurants is providing the luncheon for the IPRA regional meeting in March. 3. The draft for the master plan has been submitted to the IDNR. It is an overview of the plan. 4. An article was done about the upcoming Daddy/Daughter Dance. Mr. Payton also did an interview with his daughter about their experience attending the event years ago. 5. He met with the School Superintendent, Mr. James Kapsa, regarding opportunities to work with the school system and our facilities and programs, specifically Rum Village Nature Center. 6. We will be receiving awards at the IPRA annual meeting this Friday. When they return they will coordinate an article with the Community Foundation regarding the Potawatomi Park project that we won the award for. - - 4 - - XIII.There being no more business to come before the Board the meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m. by President Henry. The next regular meeting will be held February 10, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O’Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary - - 5 - -