Board of Park Commissioners

Board of Park Commissioners Meeting Minutes of May 10, 2021 Call to Order: Mrs. Galka called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. followed by the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting was held with the meeting open to the public and a call-in number for remote public participation. Roll Call: Commissioners in attendance: Mrs. Galka, Mr. Kara, and Mr. Weinman, Mrs. Sills. Common Council Representative Mr. Huddlestun. Also present: Park Board Secretary Ms. Montes, Park Director Mrs. Goodpaster. Absent: School Board Representative Mrs. Hillan. Approval of Agenda: Motion by Mr. Weinman, seconded by Mr. Kara to approve the agenda as presented. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Approval of Minutes: Motion by Mr. Kara, seconded by Mrs. Sills to accept the minutes as presented. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Approval of Register of Claims: Mrs. Goodpaster stated that Area Street Metal came out to remove the decking area sheet metal for the amount of $2,850.00. It was too big of a job for our guys to fix. Mrs. Goodpaster also stated that the charge for the Carrot-Top Industries of $745.60 is for all the park flags for the year. Motion by Mrs. Sills, seconded by Mr. Kara to accept the register of claims as amended. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Correspondence: (remotely), Ross Pietrzak, Hobart City Planner wants to start a RFQ process for the master plan and he mentioned that it will be a two phase process. It will be a RFQ request for qualification and then based on those that submit a few will be selected to go through a request a proposal process. He is putting together a steering committee to help up with the selection process. He asked Mrs. Goodpaster to be a part of the committee and will be asking a member of the park board to also be a part of the committee in the near future. Ross is asking the board for permission to proceed for the RFQ and the master plan. Motion by Mrs. Sills, seconded by Mr. Weinman to accept the plan to put out an RFQ and add the Parks master plan incorporated into the city’s overall master plan. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Director Report: Mrs. Goodpaster reported that she sent out an email in regards to our website being able to take online payments, putting our calendars out so that everyone can see what we have available for rental, and just becoming overall more efficient to save time and make more revenue. This is something that she will bring up in the next following meeting but wanted to send out now so that everyone has the opportunity to look at the demo and so if there are any questions or concerns to contact her. Mrs. Goodpaster announced that that summer market is starting May 27th following the home town country jam June 5th at the Brickie Bowl and our Opening day for the pool is June 7th. There will be a ribbon cutting Monday June 7th at 10am. She mentioned that we are currently selling pool passes and booking parties for this year. Mrs. Goodpaster stated that we are still hiring for the season, looking for more grass crew and bathroom cleaners. Plan Commission Report: The master plan is going to be incorporated in to the city’s comprehensive plan and that is in the process now. Common Council Report: Mr. Huddlestun reported there was a large contract development agreement for 69th avenue that was approved, in which will benefit the park department and enhance the city as a whole. School Board Report: Nothing under school board report Old Business: Nothing under Old Business New Business: Request for City property on East 6th St. along Duck Creek: Ericka McCauley & Chris Pellegrino 717 Memory Ln. Mrs. McCauley was present and stated that they respectfully requested the Hobart Parks Board support the utilization of science-based, conservation tools to guide the Duck Creek property’s best use one that least impacts wildlife; negates habitat degradation; and, minimizes quality of life impacts to surrounds property owners, which includes associated flooding risks. Mrs. McCauley recommended conservation tools that include: tax payer funded watershed planning tools such as Deep River-Portage Burns Waterway Watershed Plan, Indiana Storm Water Quality Manual, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Wetland mapper. She also recommends a wetland delineation to determine the true extent of the wetland’s boundaries and a soil study to confirm or rule out the HEL. Additionally, they respectfully request the Hobart Parks Board to support ecological restoration activities such as wetland restoration, invasive species removal, shoreline restoration and revegetation in order to reverse the damage and to conserve the habitat for future generations and wildlife. Mrs. McCauley presented a power point presentation supporting documentation that included hyperlinks for: Deep River-Portage Burns Waterway Watershed Plan, USFES, National Wetland Inventory, Wetland Mapper, Indiana Storm Water Quality Manual, Hobart Zoning Ordinance for Floodplain Districts, Duck Creek Tributary Restoration and Stabilization Project, and Hobart Historical Society’s “Growing Up in Hobart.” All is very interested and valuable information in regards to Duck Creek property. Diana Brooks 1013 E. 8th St. Mrs. Brooks also came forward and gave a little history of her up growing in Hobart and brought with her an abstracted tile indeed from the property along Michigan Avenue and Cleveland, also presented a map of Duck Creek in which she states is a treaty between President Andrew Jackson and the Potawatomi Chief; just showing some historical content that the Indians were here in Indiana. Mrs. Brooks asked what type of park trail is in the plans for Duck Creek. Mr. Kara replied that the original attempt was a multi use path for walking, jogging, and mountain biking but no BMX racing. Mrs. Brooks expressed that her concern would be BMX racing track in that location due to the loud noise, busy traffic, and all the garbage that comes along in a BMX events. Mrs. Goodpaster stated that she is nowhere in the process of doing anything and if anything would be processed it would go through multiple public meetings, and after out master plan would identify as needed. She explained that this was a project through the High school city of Hobart and it was more of an education tool on how to survey a property. Mrs. Goodpaster has made it clear that no one from the parks department has ever been on the property or done anything with the trails. She stated that in the near future she does want to get the property survey so that everyone has a clear understanding.  Craig Brooks 1013 E. 8th St. Came forward in front of the board members and stated that Duck Creek should be used for an educational purpose and not a bike trail. He believes that a bike trail will disturb all the natural resources that they have in Duck Creek. Mr. Huddlestun noted that this started out from a grant project from the Hobart High School and nothing is set in stone to getting any bike trail started. He appreciates the residents’ concerns, but just like any other project we do in the city there’s a conception, an idea and at the end it may not even go. Darlene Wilfong 7887 Memory Lane. Mrs. Woodford expressed that she works at the Hobart High School and she spoke to several science teachers and history teachers and they would love their students in small groups to have an open laboratory as well as learning about the history of the Indian grounds. Announcements: Sandy O’Brien expressed that the trails appears to be untouched and trails are starting to recover. The native plants are starting to repopulate. She also believes that a trail is not a bad idea but suggest to not put the trail on the most ecologically sensitive areas. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Mr. Weinman, seconded by Mr. Kara. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________