Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (Formerly Parks, Rec and Senior Services)

MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Thursday, September 11, 2014 – 7:00 p.m. Mahany-Meininger Senior Center 3500 Marais MEMBERS PRESENT: Stan Schaffer, Mike Ripinski, Todd Menig, Alex Fike, Phil Smith, and Mark Ryan ALSO PRESENT: Tod Gazetti, Superintendent of Recreation MEMBERS EXCUSED: Mike Fournier City Commissioner, Rob Winter, Amanda Klein Chairperson Menig called the meeting to order at 7:12 p.m. I. Approval of Minutes: Motion by Ripinski, seconded by Fike to approve the May 1, 2014 minutes. Motion passed unanimously. Motion by Schaffer, seconded by Ryan to approve the June 5, 2014 minutes. Motion passed unanimously. II. City Commission Comments: Commissioner Fournier was excused. III. Public Comment: Paula Hartson and her family visited all 50 parks this year and is putting together a scrapbook of memories. She is in favor of the proposed Normandy Oaks Park and would love to see a splashpark. Loved the playgrounds at J.C., Red Run, and V.F.W. hopes to see more playgrounds replaced at Upton, Gunn Dyer and Wendland parks. Finally, in lieu of having permanent structures with bathrooms, she appreciated having the porta-potties at the larger parks. Motion by Ripinski, seconded by Ryan to have the City Commission present a proclamation to the Hartson family. Motion passed unanimously. IV. Business: a. Grand Slam Batting Cages (Contract Extension) Mr. Phil Roy submitted a proposal where he would invest a total of $72,000 in capital improvements for a minimum ten-year contract extension. Motion by Ripinski, seconded by Fike to recommend to the City Commission that the city begin negotiations with Phil Roy of Grand Slam Baseball as outlined in the September 3, 2014 memo from Mr. Roy. Motion passed unanimously. b. Park Improvement Update Starr J.C. Park – Large Playground Stucture has been completed Worden Park – Fields #4 and #5 are being re-lamped in late September for baseball and softball. nd Meininger Park – Tennis court resurfacing will be completed by September 22 Upton Park Tennis Courts – Eight pickleball courts are being constructed preliminary work is being done this fall with court painting and new nets in the spring of 2015. Westwood Park – New playground structure has been ordered. Wagner Park – New playground structure has been ordered. c. Mahany-Meininger Senior Center Improvements: New windows will be installed on the front of the building, these windows are rotted. The cost of this project is $31,000.  d. Joan Larson – Private Donation – Retired city employee Joan Larson donated $1,000 to the city for the purchase of two bumble bee spring toys for the front of the Library for young children to enjoy on their visit to the Library. Page 2 V. Items not on the agenda: a. Park Signs – Mr. Rassel informed the Board to begin thinking about all the parks and their names, we may be revising some names when we begin the new sign replacement program. No action is needed at this time, city interns are working on the history of all park names. b. Naming Rights – The city is investigating naming rights for parks and other assets in the parks. We believe this would provide good exposure for the sponsor and another source of revenue for the Parks and Recreation Department. VI. Upcoming Events – Next Meeting – November 6, 2014 @ 7:00 p.m. @ Mahany-Meininger Senior Center Motion by Fike and seconded by Ryan to adjourn at 8:08 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Tod Gazetti, Supt. of Recreation Rob Winter, Secretary