Committee of the Whole

Village of Brookfield Agenda Committee of the Whole Meeting Monday, April 27, 2026 @ 7:00 PM or Immediately Following Village Board Meeting Edward Barcal Hall 8820 Brookfield Avenue Brookfield, IL 60513 I. ROLL CALL II. REGULAR BUSINESS Presentation of Parks and Recreation Summer Programming and Events 1. Presentation of the Parks and Recreation Department's Summer Programming, Camps, and Events Parks and Recreation Department Summer Updates III. PUBLIC COMMENT IV. EXECUTIVE SESSION 1. Pursuant to Section 2(c)(6) of the Open Meetings Act to discuss the setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the public body. V. ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 9  Committee Item Memo Meeting Date: April 27, 2026 Staff Contact: Matt Odom, Parks and Recreation Director Department: Parks and Recreation Subject: Presentation of the Parks and Recreation Department's Summer Programming, Camps, and Events Background Information: The Parks and Recreation Department is pleased to provide the Board of Trustees and community with an overview of Summer 2026 initiatives, programming, capital projects, and special events. In February 2026, the Village welcomed Matt Odom as the new Parks and Recreation Director. As of this Committee of the Whole meeting, Director Odom has been with the Village for just over two months. During this transition period, Department staff have been actively coordinating summer programming, staffing, hiring, scheduling, reserving, VSI coding, and training to ensure a successful and engaging summer season. This memorandum highlights the significant work underway and the exciting opportunities available to residents in the coming months. The make-up of the Department includes (4) full-time employees: (3) Recreation Supervisors responsible for a variety of demographics and specialties under their care, and a Director, responsible for parks capital and maintenance oversight, administration and budgeting and coordinating community special events. Parks Capital Projects Ehlert Park Field 1: Phase I of renovations is complete with minor punch list cleanup. Permanent benches were installed in the dugouts by Public Works staff on Tuesday, April 14. Both RBHS and Brookfield Western Conference have begun utilizing the ball field again to varying degrees. Phase II of the project is scheduled to begin in early June after RBHS completes its varsity and junior varsity seasons. This phase will consist of work outside the field of play including the installation of a new storage facility and announcer booth behind home plate and drainage infrastructure installation to mitigate water flow in the infield. Staff is working with RBHS, Western Conference and Wight & Co. (landscape design engineer) to identify further improvements to the storage facility itself as well as potential field and park amenities that can improve the experience of users. We can expect to see a fully completed project by end of July, pending any additional comments from Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) related to Phase II’s drainage infrastructure installation. Page 2 of 9 Maple Park South: The Village ordered a survey from Hancock Engineering in late March to ensure flooding reported within the park can be addressed at installation. In early April, the new playground equipment was delivered and is being stored in a Public Works facility until the selected vendor is ready to install the equipment. Hancock engineering reviewed the survey findings related to flooding and provided a recommendation plan for utility and grading along with an estimate for the base scope of work. We are currently in the process of getting quotes for the utility and grading earthwork, which will be a recommendation to the Board for contractor selection in May. The scope of work for Maple South will include: Earthwork Preparation 1. Earth excavation (drywells) 2. Drywell aggregate install (ca7) w/fabric 3. Open bottom inlet 2' diameter 4. Grading & disposal of excess material 5. Concrete sidewalk path to playground 6. Sidewalk, 5" sf 7. Seed and blanket Notes Item 4 includes 6" topsoil over DRYWELL and FRENCH DRAIN areas. Item 5 includes earth excavation. Access to site off North aggregate alley. Partial fence removal and replacement by others. Proposed quantities are dimensional calculations. Cross sectioning required. Selected Playground Design Features:  Two swing bays  Play structure for ages 5–12 featuring three slides and various climbing components  Play structure for ages 2–5 featuring two slides  A freestanding Swift Twist Spinner Grand Opening for Maple South will be scheduled once vendor selection and timeline is identified. Staff anticipate late June/early July. Staff will work with Communications Manager on release of the Grand Opening information. Creekside Park Redevelopment: The Village was awarded $600,000 from the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). This is a 50% match grant with total estimated expenses at $1.2M. Scope of work includes:  20X20 shelter  Game tables (under shelter)  Baggo  Concrete pathway  Vault toilet  Native plantings  Playground Page 3 of 9   Ornamental fence  Park Sign  Poured in place surfacing Staff have met with the awarded landscape design engineers, Wight & Co, to refine cost estimates. Through this process, we met with Public Works staff to identify what savings we could take advantage of via in-house labor work. PW will be saving the project around $40K by demolition of items prior to construction. Project is anticipated to be bid in January, awarded in July and park closure will take place late Summer/early Fall. Staff anticipate a Grand Opening celebration in Fall of 2026. Brochure & Registration The Summer brochure is already on doorsteps with registration opening April 24th for all programs. The Department now utilizes flipping book in addition to the printed guide. Bob Uphues, Communications Manager, tracks the engagement of this book. We have already seen positive correlation between flipping book “clicks” and actual registrations. Special Events 4th of July Celebration The parade will follow the traditional route this year as no capital projects will interfere. The Rec department and Village Manager’s office are making a joint-planning effort with Noah Rife co-planning this year’s activities. The additional planning assistance will be needed as staff are planning a Liberty Bell rededication this year to honor the semi quincentennial anniversary of the United States of America. The re-dedication of the Liberty Bell will take place following the parade and prior to the Party in the Park kick-off. The Party in the Park will follow the rededication ceremony with bands procured for the day’s event: Good Stuff Band (Kenny Chesney cover/country) and No Limits (classic rock) will be our music headliners for Party in the Park. Staff is currently procuring entertainment acts for the parade itself, coordinating rededication items for the Liberty Bell ceremony, adding fun to the party in the park (ideas include a hot dog and watermelon eating contest, kids inflatables, food and drink vendors and additional family entertainment). Summer Concerts: Music on Grand The summer music schedule for Concerts in the Park, Music on Grand, and our 4th of July festivities has been finalized. Hillybilly Rockstarz (country), Free Fallin (Tom Petty cover), 90’s Pop Nation (pop/rock), and the Yacht Rock-ettes (yacht rock) are the Music on Grand headliners this year. Our “openers” are also booked for the event series this Summer. Staff are currently working to procure Brookfield residents who are interested in performing on stage in the early afternoon. Page 4 of 9 Page 5 of 9 Friday Night Music in the Park Friday Night concert line up is included in the flyer below. Staff are also working to add some potential kids entertainment to these evenings i.e. face painting, inflatables etc. Separate from our free, community events, staff has also planned specialty registration required events: Page 6 of 9 Summer Camps Page 7 of 9 Camp Budding Brookies Registration continues, but there are still many available spots. We will continue to market this early childhood half-day camp intended for 3-5yr olds. This camp is fully staffed and Recreation Supervisor, Kelly Picton has been working diligently on activity planning and training. Camp Brians and Games This is a full day camp that differs from a traditional camp setting. Due to growth of the camp over the past several years, additional age groups have been added. This camp is a curriculum learning based camp in the morning and then traditional camp activities in the afternoons. Performers are being scheduled to come to Brains and Games this summer. Since these campers do not go on field trips we bring some fun experiences to the camp. So far, Kelly has scheduled a reptile show, a magician, a musical storyteller and a Kids’ Zumba class. We are also looking to hire one teacher and one more counselor for this camp. I have several candidates scheduled for interviews this week. *We hire licensed teachers to add quality to the academic portion of camp. Summer Teensy Tiny Tots We are offering 7 weeks of programing this summer. Registration is going very well and some weeks are nearly full. This class is for our earliest/youngest campers. The Department needs to hire 2 more counselors for this camp. Camp Kiwanis, GREAT, and Traveler Camp Summer camp registration opened for residents Monday, March 2nd and opened Monday, March 23rd for non- residents. For registration there is a $25 deposit for each week of camp for Kiwanis and GREAT (Traveler is a $75 deposit) that goes towards each week’s payment to hold the participant’s spot. 2025 Summer camp enrollment statistics and 2026 current enrollment statistics 2025 Camp 10 Week Enrollment Weekly Avg Weekly Max 2025 Camp 10 Week Enrollment Weekly Avg Weekly Max Kiwanis 1173 118 130 GREAT 781 78 80 Traveler 361 36 40 2026 Kiwanis 1239 123 130 GREAT 822 82 82 Traveler 365 36 40 Summer Before and After Care Before and after care extends camp hours for families who need to drop off earlier than the camp start time of 9:00am or pick-up later than the 4:00pm end time. Before care beings at 7:00am and after care goes until 6:00pm. Before and after care is available to all families enrolled in our full day camps. (STARS) (General Youth Recreation) (Specialty/Day Camps) Specialty Camps Junior Outdoor Adventure Camp and Creator Makers Camp are two brand new specialty camps added to the summer camp line up. Each of these specialty camps have opened for registration, more specifically, parents who were on the waiting list for other camps, were sent an email in regards to these specialty camps opening up. Jacob Garza has conducted multiple interviews for staffing of camp, as well as created a parent manual and staff manual to go along with both of the new camps. Page 8 of 9 Junior Outdoor Adventure Camp - Junior Outdoor Adventure Camp is a new specialty camp starting this summer. This camp is packed with hands on-nature discovery, scavenger hunts, outdoor games, and creative crafts designed for only the best young adventurers! We also include a Wednesday field trip to Brookfield Zoo. Imagine Nation: Creators Makers Camp - How creative is your mind? From cardboard creations and recycled inventions, to slime labs, painting and collaborative builds, campers will design, create and experiment in a fun and supportive environment. Summer Programming Recreation Supervisors, Kelly Picton, Nick Magro and Jacob Garza (in addition to camps and events) have created an active line up of recreation classes this Summer. Highlights include: Early Childhood Nature, Cooking, Jr. Zoo Keeper, and crafts Clubs. These are offered in multiple sessions from June-August. For more active early childhood participants: Sports of All Sorts, Super Sports Squad, Multi-Sport Mania, and Pee Wee Soccer are more ways to stay active this Summer. Youth New, creative class additions have been brought to Brookfield courtesy of new Recreation Supervisor, Jacob Garza. Bucket Golf Tour, Keyboard Kids are two new offerings. For our active youth: Soccer, T-Ball, Softball, and sand volleyball have multiple session offerings throughout the Summer. Adults Recreation Supervisor, Nick Magro, continues to grow pickleball with beginner classes, advanced beginner, and intermediate advanced. A League is also available under these same skill sets. Basketball and Volleyball are available Monday and Tuesday evenings. Summer in Brookfield will not be boring! The Parks and Recreation Department is ready to meet your Summer Fun needs. Page 9 of 9