Park Board

Kendallville Park and Recreation Department 211 Iddings StreetKendallville, Indiana 46755 Phone (260)347-1064 BOARD MEETING MINUTES September 13, 2021 6:30PM Present: Kevin Jansen, President; Dave Button, Jen Blackman, Dennis Nartker; Tracey Tipton, Sam Zollman, Dawn McGahen, Park Director. Also, present Diane Peachy, Cathy Berry, Chris Streb Skatepark Advocates, Jim Kimmel IN NSA State Director, Patrick Hess, Noble County Visitors Bureau and Chris McCreery Disc Golf Coordinator Public Comments: None were given. Minutes of the August 9, 2021 meeting were approved as presented. (Blackman, Zollman) Claims were reviewed and approved as presented. (Tipton, Nartker) Disc Golf update given by Chris McCreery. He mentioned that several of the holes are playable and volunteers have been working hard to get the course ready for this week’s Crew Cup. A discussion was had about future tournaments, where the proceeds would go from them and how the park could benefit financially from them. Diane Peachy gave an update on the Skatepark. She is attending the planning commission meeting where they will make an amendment to the initial recommendation for rezoning. It will then go back to City Council for approval. Jim Kimmel told the board that he would like to pursue hosting a men’s slow pitch softball World Series tournament at the ORC in September of 2022. The site will need approval from the board and logistics would need to be finalized. Ideally this would involve the Noble County Visitors Bureau and local businesses. Patrick Hess introduced himself as the new director of the Noble County Visitors Bureau. He would like to bring several new aspects to the county and work on ways for organizations to market events and collaborate. A vacation extension of 160 hours was approved for Dawn McGahen. (Blackman, Zollman) Directors Report: Highlights 1. Ryan Alwine will start in his new position as Facilities Supervisor Monday September 20 th, 2021. He brings a lot of knowledge and skills to the department. 2. Received the appropriation report and are budget is in good shape. Dawn is working on end of the year purchases and encumbrances. 3. There are several trees in the park that need to be cut down. We will contact Skip Altimus and get estimates from him. He has been hired to cut trees along the Cole Gardens. The park was awarded a grant to cover this cost. 4. Dawn has been attending the CLC board meetings and is also on their Grounds Committee. 5. The archery range has a new lean-to and five new archery target frames. These were Eagle Scout projects completed by Ethan Beachy and Ethan Jansen. 6. We collected enough caps to have four benches made. Two were given to Noble Trails to replace the two they gave us. One was placed in the pickleball courts and one was placed in the archery lean-to. 7. We discussed the usage of the electronic sign at the ORC entrance. It was decided it will be used for park events, city events and CLC events.  Kendallville Park and Recreation Department 211 Iddings StreetKendallville, Indiana 46755 Phone (260)347-1064 Maintenance Report: Highlights 1. Continued spraying of herbicide, approximately 30 gallons total. 2. Repaired deep ruts within Sunset Park. 3. Fixed a broken radiator in a mower and the seat on the tractor. 4. Helped the Street Department plant 19 trees downtown. 5. Cleaned up several limbs and trees that were damaged and down from the various wind storms. Also cleaned up two trees that fell in the archery range. 6. Trimmed the bushes along Lake Street. 7. Inspected and painted picnic tables and the bridge over the dam. 8. Cleaned up Veteran’s Memorial. 9. Cleaned up downed trees and parking area of Blackman Preserve. 10. Fixed the bathroom doors at Sunset Park and ORC. 11. Fixed the hydraulic leak on the mobile stage. 12. Trimmed trees and weeds at the ORC. Kendallville Outdoor Recreation Complex Update: 1. Soccer has started for NASA and St John School. 2. FC Revolution continued soccer practices. 3. The ORC hosted two benefit tournaments and finished up summer adult leagues. Fall adult slow pitch leagues have started. 4. Hosted a middle school cross country meet. 5. Continued to finalize the 2022 schedule. 6. Met with NCVB, Patrick Hess and NSA State Director Jim Kimmel to discuss logistics for hosting slow pitch world series in September of 2022. Recreation Update: 1. The BBQ Cookoff was cancelled due to only having 5 teams registered. 2. The Patriotic Pops flags on the light poles were removed and inspected for storage. 3. Planning stages for the Community Christmas Greetings has begun. 4. A concert in the park will be held on Wednesday September 29 th, 2021 at 6:00PM. 5. We are working on cleaning out the preschool rooms. Some of the items has been donated to local non- profit preschools and some has been thrown away. 6. The Trail of Terror has been discussed with Dr. Gaff and we are watching Covid numbers before making a decision on hosting it. 7. The Park Department will be cohosting a Highland Games competition in October. Acceptance of Donations: (Tipton, Blackman) ❖ Day Camp o Cheri Coleman - $20.00 ❖ Disc Golf o The Crew Youth Center Inc - $100.00 ❖ Wilber L Helmer (operational use) o Noble County Community Foundation - $2836.72 ❖ Olive B Cole Foundation o Tree Removal and replacement - $4000.00  Kendallville Park and Recreation Department 211 Iddings StreetKendallville, Indiana 46755 Phone (260)347-1064 Board Input: Sam asked if we were able to remove personal property that is being stored in our buildings. I told him I would contact the owners and work on this. Tracy inquired about department rental fees. They were explained to him and how they would be discussed and voted on at the December meeting. He also asked why so people had keys to our buildings and if it was time to change some of the locks to buildings. Dennis asked if we could find out how many campers stayed at the campground this summer. The meeting was adjourned at 8:12 PM (Zollman, Tipton)