Board of Park Commissioners

Board of Park Commissioners Meeting Minutes August 8, 2022 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 open to the public and a call-in number for remote public participation. Roll Call: Commissioners in attendance: Mrs. Galka, Mr. Such, Mr. Kara and Ms.Grabczak. Also present: Park Board Secretary Ms. Montes and Park Director Mrs. Goodpaster; Council Representative Mr. Huddlestun and School Board Representative Mrs. Hillan. Approval of Agenda: Mrs. Goodpaster added pickle ball court discussion under new business. Motion by Mr. Kara, seconded by Mr. Such to approve the agenda as presented. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Approval of Minutes: Motion by Ms.Grabczak, seconded by Mr. Such to accept the August 8, 2022 minutes as presented. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Approval of Register of Claims: There was a question in regards to the concession stand. Mrs. Goodpaster explained that concession stand food is bought from Gordon’s and Sam’s; it depends on where it’s cheaper at the time. Mrs. Goodpaster stated that as of right now we are making profit. She will bring a spreadsheet with all numbers in for the September meeting. Motion by Mrs. Grabczak, seconded by Mr. Kara to accept the register of claims. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Correspondence: Nothing under correspondence Director Report: Mrs. Goodpaster reported that we are closing out the CBDG fund. The sidewalks are all in just waiting on the ramps that was approved last month. Mrs. Goodpaster mentioned that the spread sheets for the bathrooms were put in the drop box so that the board had a chance to look over them. She mentioned that we are putting the bid in now and will go to board of works on August 17th for approval of the bid. We are stilling working on dates for advertisement and two weeks after that we are looking for bids being do back on September 13th and awarding the bid on September 21st. Everything should be happening within the next month. The funding for this project is coming from ARP money. Robinson Lake parking lot is completed; however, it won’t be available to the public until there’s some kind of fencing up. Mrs. Goodpaster did mention that we did have two adults that drown at Robinson Lake. Northwest Indiana Paddling Association will be coming to Robison Lake and offering kayak education to help prevent accidents like this. The Pool closes on Sunday August the 14th. We had a really good season, we had awesome lifeguards. Mrs. Goodpaster will provide a spread sheet of the break down for the season next meeting. The last market is August 11th and will jump into the Lakefront Fest starting August18th through st the 21 . Mrs. Goodpaster mentioned that last meeting we talked about Events merging together with the Parks Department. They will bring something back in September meeting. Plan Commission Report: Nothing to report under plan commission Common Council Report: Mr. Huddlestun mentioned that our Hobart 20/40 plan is up and running so please encourage friends, family and co-works to give feedback. There was a small discuss on how people are both going to love it or hate the plan and also lots of confusion for the people. School Board Report: Mrs. Hillan reported that everyone is getting ready to start out the new school year Wednesday August 17th. . There is a partnership with the Mayor and the School City of Hobart and Pastor Abbott to bring inspirational speaker to the schools and the city. This is a good way to start out the school year on a positive note. The administration had a long week retreat where there’s a lot of intense learning. Contracts were finished and teachers will be getting some nice bonuses based on their teacher evaluation. Mrs. Hillan also mentions that school also finalized Dr. Buffington contract which is really good for Hobart. Mrs. Buffington went thirteen years without a raise, not because it wasn’t offered to her but because she wanted that money turned back into the operations fund. It’s nice to finally bring her within a range where other superintendents in similar communities. Also mentioned, we are kicking off the year with fall sports. Old Business: Nothing under old business New Business: Signage Approval for Chamber of Commerce: The Chamber of Commerce is getting a new sign to make it look more modern. The pictures were uploaded into OneDrive for board to look at. Park commissioners need to approve signage since it sets on park property. Motion by Ms.Grabczak, seconded by Mr. Such to approve the new signage for Chamber of Commerce. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Consideration of Playground Installation at Robinson Lake: We received a quote for the installation for two playgrounds for Robison Lake Park for the amount of $28,750.00 dollars. Unfortunately we didn’t receive that quote for borders before this meeting; Mrs. Goodpaster plan is to bring the quote of the boarders, and mulch next meeting. Mrs. Goodpaster also stated that once the playground is in, Friends of Robinson have bench that they want to install as well. Mrs. Goodpaster added that the installation will be paid from Country Jam Profit. Motion by Mr. Kara, seconded by Mr. Such to accept the $28,750.00 dollars for the installation of the playground at Robinson Lake. All aye, motion carried. (4-0) Pickleball Courts: Mrs. Goodpaster presented the board a proposal from Martin Amaya. Mr. Amaya represents the pickleball group. They contact her weekly in regards to the pickleball proposal. They currently play pickleball at Pennsy Park and at the MRC. They have now proposed the new pickleball courts to be installed in the existing tennis courts on 8th St. Fred Rose Park. They want the existing net post to be removed, the area to be cleaned with a pressure washer, to repair all the cracks by using acrylic patch binder mix, and a new color. Mrs. Goodpaster mentioned that we have the tennis courts and are used for tennis and futsal. However, she does agree that the courts are in bad condition and do need a facelift in the near future. There was a small discussion held about revisiting the proposal and coming up with different options. The board agrees that the pickleball group needs to come forward with a strategic plan and a bigger donation on their behalf. The end goal is to come up with a better solution, not take away the tennis courts, and make it a safe area for everyone to use. Announcements: nothing under announcements Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Mr. Kara, seconded by Mr. Such. All aye, motion carried. 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