Parks, Property & Streets Committee Meeting

1 PARKS, PROPERTY & STREETS COMMITTEE MINUTES 2 MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2025 3 (Approved) 4 5 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 6 October 6, 2025, virtual meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee was called to order by 7 Committee Chair Howson at 1:00 P.M. 8 9 Committee Members Present: Committee Chair Louise Howson and members Denise Bhirdo, Nate 10 Bell, Mike Laszkiewicz and Jerry Ahrens 11 12 Staff Members Present: Village Administrator Julie Schmelzer, Parks & Streets Director Erik Linczmaier, 13 and Administrative Assistant Sarah Bertges 14 15 Public Present: (None) 16 17 2. Approve Agenda 18 Motion by Laszkiewicz , second by Bell, to approve the agenda. Motion carried – all ayes. 19 20 3. Approve Minutes: September 8 Regular Meeting & September 22, Special Meeting 21 The committee reviewed the minutes from the September 8th regular meeting and identified 22 several corrections: 23 ● On page 4, line 47, changing "On Deck restaurants" to "On Deck store" 24 ● Correcting the spelling of "Logerquist" in multiple locations 25 ● Correcting the spelling of "Koessel" 26 ● Noting that the vote count on page 4, line 18, should be 4 ayes, not 6, as there were only 5 27 committee members and Bell recused himself 28 29 Motion by Bhirdo, second by Laszkiewicz, to approve the minutes from the Special Meeting on 30 September 22, 2025. Motion carried – all ayes. 31 Motion by Ahrens, second by Laszkiewicz, to approve the minutes from the September 8, 2025, 32 meeting as amended. Motion carried – all ayes. 33 34 4. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 35 The committee acknowledged receipt of correspondence from John Blossom regarding parking 36 concerns. 37 38 5. Discussion/Action Items 39 a. Resolution; Concession Stand Restrooms; Volunteer Labor 40 The committee discussed a resolution for volunteer labor for the concession stand restroom project. 41 Schmelzer explained that a resolution was needed to change from staff construction to volunteer 42 construction, as the previous bids were rejected for being over budget. She noted that John Sawyer, 43 a former contractor, would serve as the general on the project and is looking into whether 44 volunteers could work on the project to reduce costs. Bhirdo expressed her support for having a 45 qualified professional overseeing the project rather than leaving it to staff. 46 47 Motion by Ahrens, second by Laszkiewicz, to recommend the board approve a resolution to have the 48 concession stand restroom addition constructed by volunteers, if volunteers are indeed recruited for 49 the project. Motion carried – all ayes.  Minutes of the October 6, 2025, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee – Approved 1 2 b. Contract & Grant Discussion; Administration Building Redesign; McMahon 3 Schmelzer informed the committee about a new state grant opportunity of up to $2 million with an 4 October 31 application deadline, requiring "shovel-ready" projects. Based on the previous year’s 5 estimates, the building was estimated at $3 million, and with the grant offering to pay 50% of the 6 project, up to $2 million, the village might be awarded $1.5 million. The committee discussed 7 whether to: 8 ● Apply for the grant using the existing Logerquist site design 9 ● Forward a contract with McMahon for a redesign under $25,000 10 ● Neither apply for the grant nor proceed with redesign 11 12 Schmelzer explained that engineering would be required by October 31 for the grant application to 13 improve award possibilities, and based on last January’s proposals, the cost could be an estimated 14 ($200,000 for engineering and $35,000 for civil site design). 15 16 Bell and Ahrens expressed concerns about committing funds without a confirmed site selection, 17 while Bhirdo argued that redesigning without a selected site would be a waste of time. Laszkiewicz 18 questioned the likelihood of receiving the grant on such a short timeline. 19 20 The committee debated the risk of spending up to $235,000 on engineering that might need to be 21 redone versus the potential benefit of receiving up to $2 million in grant funding. Howson 22 acknowledged she didn't love the original design but felt the grant opportunity justified proceeding. 23 24 Motion by Ahrens, second by Bhirdo, to apply for the grant using the existing board-approved plans 25 on the existing Logerquist site and recommend to the board a contract for engineering and civil site 26 design to support the grant application. Motion carried 3- Aye (Bhirdo, Ahrens, Howson); 2- Nay 27 (Bell, Laszkiewicz). 28 29 Schmelzer explained that by the time the board would meet, it would not leave enough time to 30 complete the engineering. Members discussed the potential vote on the board floor with Howson 31 expressing she would support the project, and other members noted with Howson’s vote, there might 32 be enough votes to move the project forward, and therefore, by consensus, the committee supported 33 Schmelzer beginning to work with McMahon on engineering and Stantec on civil site design. 34 35 c. Lease; Post Office; North Bay Shore Drive 36 The committee reviewed the lease for the Post Office on North Bay Shore Drive. Bell and Ahrens 37 expressed concerns about the renewal terms with "0 days notice" and questioned if the village was 38 getting fair market value. 39 40 Linczmaier reported that the Post Office had caused damage to a back door costing $955 to repair, 41 which should be billable under the existing lease terms regarding damage from employee 42 negligence. 43 44 The committee discussed various aspects of the lease including: 45 ● Billing for services already included in the lease such as trash removal and landscaping 46 ● Considering whether to strike the automatic renewal option 47 ● Determining maintenance responsibilities 48 49 Motion by Laszkiewicz, second by Howson, to recommend to the board that they approve the 50 contract as written and simultaneously take action to invoice the post office as allowed by the 2  Minutes of the October 6, 2025, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee – Approved 1 contract for damage and maintenance services, as well as striking the renewal option, capping the 2 lease at 5 years. Motion carried – all ayes. 3 4 d. Letter of Intent; Housing Development; Ava Hope & Northwoods 5 Schmelzer explained this item would formalize the committee's previous support for a housing 6 development with a letter of intent, which would be followed by a development agreement process 7 through Planning Commission. 8 9 Motion by Bhirdo, second by Laszkiewicz, to recommend to the village board to issue a letter of intent 10 to Tim Halbrook Builders. Motion carried – all ayes. 11 12 e. Policy & Fee Schedule; Park System Reservations 13 The committee discussed revisions to the fee schedule and park reservation policies. Key discussion 14 points included: 15 ● Pickleball court reservations: 16 ○ Staff reported that certain groups were circumventing the reservation system by 17 booking under multiple names 18 ○ Bhirdo suggested doubling pickleball court fees to $20 for a 2-hour block while 19 keeping tennis at $10 20 ○ The committee supported limiting reservations to mornings only (before noon), with 21 afternoons being first-come, first-served 22 ● Park reservations for events: 23 ○ The committee agreed to prohibit renting Marina Park and Waterfront Park during 24 July and August 25 ○ Recommended increasing fees: Marina Park to $2,000 and Waterfront Park to 26 $2,500 for 4-day rentals (Friday-Monday) 27 ○ Established penalties of $1,000 per day for tents left beyond the approved 28 timeframe 29 ○ Agreed to prohibit events on holiday weekends and during SBA events 30 ○ Gazebo increase from $75 to $150 31 ● Village Hall: 32 ○ Discussed setting the fee at $200 per day rather than hourly rates 33 ○ Considered the pros and cons of the facility's amenities compared to the Fire Station 34 35 The committee also reviewed a draft reservation policy that would require video links and 36 references for event requests and address issues like security, porta-potties, decorations, and food 37 service. 38 39 Motion to approve the fee schedule changes and reservation policy for events as discussed. Motion 40 carried – all ayes. 41 42 f. 2026 Orchard Agreement; Seaquist; Former Wiltse Property 43 Motion by Howson, seconded by Bhirdo, to approve the 2026 Orchard Agreement with Seaquist 44 Orchards for the former Wiltse property and forward the contract to the board. Motion carried – all 45 ayes. 46 47 g. Commemorative Bench Requests 48 The committee reviewed commemorative bench requests and discussed the need to revisit the 49 bench policy next month. The committee determined that the Wilke bench request clearly met the 50 policy requirements. 3  Minutes of the October 6, 2025, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee – Approved 1 Motion by Bhirdo, seconded by Ahrens, to approve the Wilke bench request. Motion carried – all 2 ayes. 3 4 The committee agreed to revisit the other two bench requests at the November meeting along with 5 a review of the bench policy. 6 7 h. Miscellaneous Inquiries/Matters from Previous Month 8 i. Vegetation & Trees 9 Howson and Bhirdo volunteered to select replacement shrubs for areas where boxwoods had failed 10 to survive due to heat from stones. The committee supported pursuing a credit from the landscaping 11 company that had recommended the unsuitable plants. 12 13 Regarding tree placement in Marina Park, the committee discussed whether to limit tree placement 14 to accommodate the annual tent for the pancake breakfast. By consensus the committee agreed 15 that tree placement should not be limited by an event that occurs only once per year, as the trees 16 would provide long-term benefits. Howson offered to meet Linczmaier on site to review tree 17 placement. 18 19 j. Parking Issues 20 By consensus the committee agreed to refer all parking-related issues to the Parking Committee, 21 including Bhirdo's request for clearer signage as "no parking over the lines" was confusing to visitors. 22 23 k. Donations 24 The committee discussed creating a plaque to acknowledge donors. Howson volunteered to work on 25 the plaque, with Schmelzer agreeing to provide samples. 26 27 l. Garbage Cans 28 By consensus the committee agreed to add garbage cans at Mill and Spring streets and between 29 Second Hand Sues and Ecology. 30 31 Linczmaier noted this would add 5-8 minutes per can to maintenance time. The committee discussed 32 using existing single wooden-style cans for side streets rather than purchasing new dual-receptacle 33 models. 34 35 m. Road & Trail Projects 36 The committee discussed several aspects of the Mill Road Triangle project: 37 ● Construction timeline: 38 ○ Bhirdo recommended allowing construction throughout the season rather than 39 halting during July and August 40 By consensus the committee agreed construction should proceed continuously to minimize 41 disruption and costs. 42 43 ● Sump pump connections: 44 By consensus the committee agreed to require property owners to connect their sump pumps to 45 the new drainage system. The village would provide connections at the right-of-way, but 46 property owners would be responsible for laterals on their own property. 47 48 ● Traffic study: 49 By consensus the committee decided against pursuing a traffic study for potential one-way 50 traffic, as it would delay the project by approximately one year. 51 4  Minutes of the October 6, 2025, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee – Approved 1 ● Historic signage: 2 The committee reviewed options for historic sign supports and by consensus agreed if stone 3 pillars were to expensive to proceed with metal supports. Howson and Bhirdo agreed to meet 4 the Monday after Fall Fest to determine the location for the sign slab. 5 6 6. Staff Reports 7 Director Linczmaier provided updates on: 8 ● Status of parking signs for Country Lane 9 ● Mixed results with the "Wet and Forget" treatment on benches 10 ● Bathrooms at the ball field, noting that future year-round use would require insulation and heat 11 sources adding to the cost 12 ● Dog park maintenance challenges 13 ● Difficulties getting contractors to provide estimates for the work on the cold storage building, 14 with only TK Builders willing to discuss the project so far 15 16 7. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 17 Items for future agendas include: 18 ● Bench policy review and remaining bench requests 19 ● Fee schedule including bench fees 20 ● Parks maintenance building postmortem 21 ● Howson update on a donation plaque 22 ● Request regarding chicken coops on the Logerquist property 23 ● Fire Station rental policy for nonprofit organizations that pay a yearly fee 24 25 8. Next Meeting: Regular Meeting November 3, 2025, at 1:00 PM 26 The committee confirmed the next regular meeting date. 27 28 9. Adjourn 29 Motion to adjourn made by Laszkiewicz, seconded by Howson. Meeting adjourned at 4:23 P.M. Motion 30 carried – all ayes. 31 32 Respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant 5