Board of Park Commissioners

Board of Park Commissioners Meeting Minutes of September 13, 2021 Call to Order: Mr. Kara 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: Mr. Kara, Mrs. Sills, and Mr. Weinman, School Board Representative Mrs. Hillan, Council Representative Mr. Huddlestun. Also present: Park Board Secretary Ms. Montes, Park Director Mrs. Goodpaster. Absent: Commissioner Mrs. Galka Approval of Agenda: Motion by Mrs. Sills, seconded by Mr. Weinman to approve the agenda as presented. All aye, motion carried. (3-0) Approval of Minutes: A correction typo on the commissioner’s name. Motion by Mrs. Sills, seconded by Mr. Weinman to accept the minutes as presented. All aye, motion carried. (3-0) Approval of Register of Claims: Mrs. Goodpaster stated that a new fountain was installed because the old fountain would shoot so high that it flew onto the lakefront in which kept that walkway constantly wet. The new fountain is an aerator and can be left on during winter. Mrs. Goodpaster also explained that the invoice for the Ozinga concrete is for the four new memorial benches that were ordered. Concrete is needed to make the benches ADA compliant. Motion by Mrs. Sills, seconded by Mr. Weinman to accept the register of claims as amended. All aye, motion carried. (3-0) Correspondence: Nothing under Correspondence Director Report: Mrs. Goodpaster reported that Chasing Dreams will be having their annual awareness walk Oct. 3rd. They will be utilizing the gazebo. They have paid for the rental; have insurance and the layout for their event. Mrs. Goodpaster stated that we are looking at prices on what we charge people all across the board and would like to make some changes. She expressed that there hasn’t been any changes in a while and now that prices have gone up she believes is the right time to make changes. Examples of things that have gone up on price are benches, bricks, and trees. She will email the break down of all the rentals to the board to get some feedback from them. Mrs. Goodpaster expressed that she has included the spread sheet of the pool and concession stand. The spread sheets are pretty clear cut and she is happy that we did not lose money. Mrs. Goodpaster also included the spread sheet of the lakefront festival. She mentioned that we had less foot traffic but overall it was a good turnout. Mrs. Goodpaster mentioned that the food truck was wrapped. The funding came from the country jam. She provided pictures to the board and stated that there isn’t any wording on it because the food truck will be used for different things throughout the year besides the pool; however the food truck does have the parks logo and the events logo. She is happy with the end result.  Mrs. Goodpaster announced that Thursday September 16th the Parks Department office and the shop will be closed for the day. We are doing an employee appreciation day, we are all going to a Chicago White Sox game. She also mentioned that the parks conference is taking place September 20th. Mrs. Goodpaster gave an update in regards to the website. She reported that the website is moving along and she is working the design of the layout. We are also working on finding the credit card company. She also stated that the staff will start the training process within the next month. Plan Commission Report: nothing to report under plan commission Common Council Report: Mr. Huddlestun stated that the final approval was given for the American Rescue Plan and there are plans for the Parks Department to receive a big portion for upgrades at the community center and at the Brickie Bowl. Mrs. Goodpaster noted that Mayor and herself actually met with the design firm and went over restrooms at Festival Park. It has been started and being put into a contract so construction can take place in early spring. There has been a talk about electric at Brickie Bowl and working with Nipsco. School Board Report: Mrs. Hillan reported that the school has moved to mask mandate. She mentioned that the school follows the recommendations of the Indiana department of health and the Lake County department of health. State had mandate quarantine and contact tracing rules, which was putting 10% of students out of school a week. However, if everyone wears a mask, then there is no more quarantine or contact tracing. School would have gone virtual if attendance would have reached 20% absence. The goal is to keep students safe and in school. Old Business: Nothing under Old Business New Business: Pickleball Court Repairs: Mrs. Goodpaster stated that she is holding off on the funding for the pickleball courts at Pennsy Park because Hugh Harshbarger and his group are still getting more funding for the repairs and the extension of the courts. Community Center Repairs: Mrs. Goodpaster is asking the board for permission to redo the community center flooring. She expressed that the floor gets a lot of heavy usage and it is starting to pull apart. Along with the main room; floor repairs also need to be done in the kitchen, bar room, bathrooms and entrance. The tile in the bathrooms have lots of cracks and the carpet in the entrance has lots of stains and a strong odor. Mrs. Goodpaster stated that paying for the flooring would come out of part-time budget this year, but would get installed February of next year due to rentals. She is looking into different companies and different options on what’s the best fit for the community center. The board will be given more information once she has decided on her options. There was a small discussion on how the hall rental profit gets distributed to the parks. Mrs. Goodpaster explains that rental profits get very in detail and it all has its own line item. Announcements: Sandy O’Brien from Friends of Robinson came forward to talk about Robinson Lake and the entrance and exit of the water that comes to it. She expresses that the water is coming from the Baileys farm property of the Savanna trail and the culvert on the South is disintegrated. The North culvert under the walking trail that has an exit that goes under I-65 and goes into wet land; that culvert is also disintegrated. Sandy O’Brien would like to see those culverts fixed before we get a big heavy rain and cause damage. Mrs. Goodpaster stated that she has talked about it with public works and getting done in house they went to Robinson Lake, looked at it, and assured her that it would happen. They have changed directors since then and she hadn’t talked to the new director about it. She will reach out to the new director and see if they can get it done as soon as possible. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Mrs. Sills, seconded by Mr. Weinman. All aye, motion carried. (3-0) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________