Park & Recreation Board Meeting

Parks and Recreation Board Minutes Wednesday, November 15, 2023 – 5:30 pm Cravath Lakefront Room 312 W. Whitewater Street Whitewater, WI 53190 Hybrid Meeting 1. Call to Order and Roll Call Present: Kathleen Flemming, Dan Fuller, Stephanie Hicks, Mike Kilar, Megan Matthews, Ben Prather, Steve Ryan, David Stone, Deb Weberpal. Absent: Korie Oberlie Staff: Michelle Dujardin, Jennifer French, Hunter Karnitz, Kevin Boehm, Brad Marquardt Guest: Larry Kachel 2. Approval of Minutes from September 20, 2023 Motioned by David Stone. Seconded by Mike Kilar. Ayes: Flemming, Fuller, Hicks, Kilar, Matthews, Prather, Ryan, Stone, Weberpal. Absent: Oberlie 3. Hearing of Citizen Comments No Comments 4. Staff Reports a. Director’s Report i. Kevin Boehm 1. Kevin talked about his first 30 days and how he’s enjoying working with the Parks and Rec staff and learning the community and parks. 2. He has been spending a large amount of time over at the Aquatic Center to see everything in person to better address and solve any issues. 3. Bike Committee was repealed; there will be an advisory subcommittee of the Park Board b. Sports and Aquatic Center i. Hunter Karnitz 1. Hunter further explained all the finished items from the September State Inspection that were cleared up. 2. Brought up the membership payment issues that have occurred with using RecDesk at the WAFC.  3. Birthday Parties are being restructured to try to avoid any payment issues that have been occurring lately. He also mentioned discussing with Rosa’s Pizza to create a birthday party pizza package as part of a partnership with them. 4. Little Dribblers and Shooting Stars basketball instruction programs are currently running on Saturday mornings at the High School. c. Event Programs and Lakes Update i. Michelle Dujardin 1. Michelle discussed the upcoming Christmas Parade and the pallet tree program. 2. Stevie is back! 3. She is very pleased with the After School Program staff—said they are “flourishing”. 4. Letters with Santa will be on again this year. Drop box for letters will be at the front doors of City Hall. 5. Lakes Report: Michelle, City Manager John Weidl, and Councilmembers Jill Gerber and Jim Allen went on boat lake tour with the DNR 6. Dredging started October 30th. There is too much garbage in the collected materials from dredging that we cannot dump it at the compost site, so it was dumped at the old dog park. Dredging should be done at the end of November. The next phase of dredging will be in 2024, possibly spring time when the cattails are smaller and may be cheaper to dredge. d. Senior Programs i. Jennifer French 1. The Senior Center had a Packers vs Vikings game event. Although the Packers lost, the seniors had a good time. 2. The Senior Center also had an “After Dark” Halloween Party with interactive activities and games. 5. Considerations/Discussions/Reports a. Discussion and possible action regarding Starin Park Underground Detention Basin i. Public Works Director Brad Marquardt discussed a few new options for the underwater detention basin. The two location options were either directly under Kachel’s Youth Field, or in the area between Kachel’s Youth Field and the parking lot. He mentioned there would need to be eight (8) man holes for access to the tanks, so those would need to be placed throughout the ball field. ii. Steve Ryan was concerned about any odor and the safety of the manhole covers. Marquardt said there shouldn’t be any odor and the manhole covers require a specific tool to remove them.  iii. Stephanie Hicks asked about replanting trees over the basin when complete and to look for ones that can grow in shallow soil. iv. Marquardt mentioned the Clean Water Funds and how there was a very low interest rate and he hopes that 50% of the cost would be covered. Estimated cost of the project is $3.5 Million. The remaining amount after the Clean Water Funds would be shared between the City and University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. The City’s share is estimated to be $570,000. b. Steve Ryan called for a “Reluctant Approval” motion of the “Least of All Evils” for the underwater detention basin: based on Figure 1407.088 of the Agenda. Dan Fuller seconded the motion. Ayes: Flemming, Hicks, Kilar, Mattews, Stone, Weberpal. Absent Prather (lost Zoom connection), Oberlie 6. Future Agenda Items a. David Stone brought up the idea of handicap playground equipment for Starin Park. 7. Adjournment a. Motioned by Steve Ryan at 6:50pm, followed by a unanimous Aye from all board members: Flemming, Fuller, Hicks, Kilar, Matthews, Prather, Ryan, Stone, Weberpal. Absent: Oberlie. Respectfully Submitted, Hunter Karnitz Hunter Karnitz