Zionsville Board of Park and Recreation

Summary Minutes of the Meeting of the Zionsville Park and Recreation Board July 11, 2012 The Zionsville Board of Park and Recreation met Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at 7:30 P.M. Phil Howard, Steven Mueller, Steve Bullington, Manda Clevenger, and Neal Clements were present. Matt Dickey, Superintendent, and Roger Burrus, Park Board Attorney, were also present. Minutes Steve Bullington made a motion to approve the June 13th, 2012 regular board meeting minutes. Neal Clements seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Public Comments/Presentations No comments from the Public Staff reports Superintendent Matt Dickey thanked all for the well wishes following his bicycling accident. Mr. Dickey announced that June’s gross operating revenue from the golf course was $52,049. Although league usage was up in June, the warmer weather may have kept some players away. It was noted that watering for the golf course comes from its own well and is not purchased; therefore the course is not under any watering restrictions. Superintendent Dickey reminded the Park Board of the Town's fiber optic project to connect Town Hall to the new fire station via the School's fiber-backbone. He made the board aware that the town is near completion of the process of connecting their fiber optic system with the schools, which will involve installing the fibers along the path of the rail trail. The town has just finished trenching the lines along the rail trail area by Town Hall and will soon begin to bore the final leg to Town Hall building. Mr. Dickey indicated that he had walked the area with Lance Lantz, Superintendent of the Street department, and the contractor, but this was prior to any trenching being completed. Mr. Dickey stated that the St. Vincent’s Walk of Hope will be held in Zionsville this year, having been shifted after several years in Carmel and other locations. Much of the route will utilize Zionsville Parks. Mr. Dickey and the Zionsville Police Department worked with the event coordinator to develop a route that starts at Lions Park and follows a path through Carter Station, the Wetland area, Turkey Foot Nature Park and Elm Street Green. The event's organizer specifically told Mr. Dickey that the group had previously held the event in Carmel and Indianapolis and had specifically sought out Zionsville for its beauty and its parks. Mr. Dickey stated that he hopes to get some Zionsville Park mentions in the St. Vincent’s marketing materials, although the he recognizes that the hospital is very strict about their printed materials. The group will be supplying Port-o-johns at various locations along the route and plans to hold a lunch event at Elm Street Green. The St. Vincent Walk of Hope will take place this October. There have been many concerns about the watering of park landscape and turf. Mr. Dickey stated that the crews had stopped both turf and landscape bed irrigation when asked by Citizens Water in their first round of watering restriction near the end of June, but, with the board’s permission, would like to water the landscape at Lincoln Park, American Legion Trail Crossing, Elm Street Green and the beds at Mulberry Fields. As an example, Mr. Dickey pointed out that use of a soaker hose to water the shrubs along Elm Street would be an efficient delivery of water to the plantings. He reminded the board that the ban is currently not mandatory and that we may want to water while there is still the opportunity to do so before we risk losing much of the newly planted material. Phil Howard stated that he did not want to lose the landscaping and would be in agreement with some watering. Superintendent Dickey also made mention to the board that there have been some questions regarding the watering on Ford Road near Mulberry Fields. This watering is being done by the schools and the Town has been told that water is from a well/retention pond system on site. It was noted that due to summer camp schedules, the Zion Nature Center report included in the July packet is actually the May report. The current month's report should be following shortly. The camps are finishing up and it has been a successful season with 120 children participating. Steve Mueller noted that a major part of the programming had to be altered due to the wetland nearly drying up in the Zion Nature Sanctuary. This lower wetland level was due to lack of flow in the wetland's feeder stream. Parks Attorney, Roger Burrus, began his report by discussing the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick event agreement. Mr. Burrus stated that, typically, the organization hosting the event, in this case the Zionsville Youth Football League (ZYFL) would enter into the agreement with the NFL for this event, even though the event will be held on park property. He noted that unless the Zionsville Parks Facilities Committee is willing to take on a full agreement, the board should have this point clarified, including whether or not this would be permissible with the Town’s insurance carrier. Steve Bullington agreed and would reach out to the ZYFL organization to determine how best to pursue. Mr. Burrus continued with a report on the issue regarding potential rubber gaskets on the new golf cart seats. These gaskets had been present on early model years but apparently were not built as part of any carts in 2012. The lack of this gasket had enabled a gouging of some of the resin polymer of the cart's body. Mr. Dickey stated that the manufacturer believes they have resolved the issue by installing a gasket with a rubber adhesive. This gasket covered the blemish and provides cushion, however, there was some question over whether this will be a long-term solution to the issue. Mr. Burrus was aware of some warranty period for the cars, but would clarify. Mr. Burrus concluded his report by stating that a document detailing the tax benefits for land donation had been created and was now available for use. Superintendent Dickey asked whether this document was website ready; Mr. Burrus indicated that since this had been done with certain specifics in mind, that a more general and user friendly version could be created as well. New Business Board President, Phil Howard, opened new business by mentioning that the Board had just spent two hours of consideration in the budget meeting immediately preceding the current meeting. He followed by asking for a motion to approve the 2013 Parks Department proposed budget as previously identified in this earlier public meeting. Neal Clements made a motion to approve the 2013 budget. Manda Clevenger seconded and the motion was passed unanimously. There was a question from the audience on what the total budget request was and it was mentioned that the budget will be submitted to the Town Manager. All the departmental budgeting requests will be compiled and are available to the public via the Town Manager when they are presented to the Town Council. Town Council has final approval on all Town's budgets. Citizen Advisory Committee Updates Land Resources-No updates. Next meeting is July 25. Communications-No report. Finance-Neal Clements reported he had met with Matt Dickey to review status of grants.  Boone Solid Waste Grant-$5K for playground equipment at new park (400S & 875E) that must be procured by September 2012.  Urban Forestry Grant-For tree planting at Elm Street Green that must be completed by June 2013; Mr. Dickey noted that this may be a possible Eagle Scout Project to keep costs down. Grant will also cover some tree planting at new park (400S & 875E).  DNR Grant for new park (400S & 875E) is ongoing with a 3-year window with the possibility of two 1-year extensions.  Possible Safe Routes from Schools grant-Steve Bullington noted that Eagle Elementary received $500 to develop safe routes to school in conjunction with the Zionsville Street Department. Mr. Clements added that a grant such as this would be a multi- organizational process and would need to involve the schools. Recreation-Steve Bullington noted that the next meeting of the Recreation Committee would be held in August and that he’d have a report on recreation outreach at the September Board meeting. Mr. Bullington met with the ZYFL in July and that they are making good progress. Phil Howard added that he had heard from ZYFL that their potential capital improvement project for Mulberry Fields was looking positive with the potential for this non-profit group to take out a 7- year loan to help them achieve their goals. More details will follow as they develop. Facilities-The June 20 meeting had to be cancelled, but the committee still plans their Eagle Creek corridor walk on July 18th at 5:30pm. Old Business Phil Howard moved the discussion to the naming of the new park at 400S and 875E. Park names were collected from the public over the past months and a total of 36 names were gathered. Steve Mueller facilitated a “multi-voting" process which allowed the large group of potential names to be voted on by Park Board members, narrowing them down by about half each round until only one name remained. Discussion was allowed if a Board member felt a particular name had been removed but seemed viable to them. After several voting rounds and some discussion, the name of Heritage Trail Park was selected. Mr. Howard asked for a motion to approve the new park name. Steve Bullington made a motion to approve the name Heritage Trail Park for the new park at 400S and 875E. Manda Clevenger seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Claims Neal Clements made a motion to approve the claims as submitted. Steve Bullington seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at about 8:35pm with a motion by Steve Bullington and a second by Neal Clements. The next regular Park Board meeting is scheduled from August 12, 2012 at 7pm. ______________________________ ____________________________ Steve Bullington, Secretary Phil Howard, President