Park Board Minutes 2007 08-09-07 APPROVED
United City of Yorkville q-13-v-+
Yorkville Parks & Recreation Department Board Meeting
Administration Office—Riverfront Building
201 W. Hydraulic Street, Yorkville, IL 60560
Thursday, August 9, 2007
7:00 p.m.
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m. by Ken Koch.
Roll Call:
Ken Koch,Debbie Horaz,Kelly Sedgwick,Vickie Coveny
Introduction of Guests, City Officials and Staff:
Director of Parks and Recreation—David Mogle
Superintendent of Recreation—Sue Swithin
Superintendent of Parks—Scott Sleezer
Park Planner—Laura Haake
Heartland Circle Resident—Jerry Botello
Public Comment:
Jerry Botello, resident of Heartland Circle for the past 1 '/x years, stated that he is not in favor of
the park being built in front of his house. He stated that he has three little kids and is concerned
that with a skate ramp in the park, it will attract older kids not just from his subdivision,but from
other areas. He is concerned for the safety of his kids. He would like to see the park moved to
somewhere that there aren't other houses built yet.
Ken Koch gave a brief history on the park. He stated that the area was originally planned to be
used as a commercial area,but the plan was changed to use that land as a park that was in a
central area of the subdivision and could service the whole area.
Dave Mogle explained the layout for the park using a drawing of the park itself. He explained
that the playground was to be built on the most uneven part of the 5 acres. The rest of the 5 acres
is all flat and in order to make the best use of the space for playing fields in the future,the
playground was best suited for the uneven ground on the edge of the land. He stated that if the
playground was built in the middle of the park,there wouldn't be room from other amenities in
the future. He also noted that this was not a skate park,it is just one element. There can only be
two or three people using the equipment at once. The purpose of adding the skate element is to
attract older kids—teens and pre-teens—so they have some activities to do.
Koch said that without the skate elements kids would be using benches or playground equipment
to skate on. Kelly Sedgwick stated that he has spent quite a bit of time at skate parks and has
never seen big groups of kids, usually just small groups of three to five, and they are very well-
behaved and clean cut.
Scott Sleezer gave the board some background information on the decision to design the park as
it is. He explained that the intent of the skate park elements is to give kids a place to go that is
within walking distance of their home where they can learn the skills before going to a full-
blown skate park. He stated that these elements are included in other subdivisions and he has
had no complaints,but rather compliments. They like that it gives that age group that is not old
enough to drive somewhere something to do and place to learn the skills before going to the big
skate parks that they would have to drive to.
Sleezer also reiterated Mogle's statement on the decision to put the playground on the edge of
the park, so that the even ground in the middle would be usable for playing fields. The location
was also designed so that the trail linking to Heartland would bring people into the park. He
stated that there may be the possibility of moving the playground back a little bit from the
blacktop. Its location, though, is great for visibility from a police standpoint. There would like
streets on two sides so police driving by can see what's going on. Again, it could be moved back
slightly, but not much without taking away money from the equipment to add trails or without
changing months of careful planning by Sleezer and Laura Haake.
Botello stated that is concerned that the skate park will be loud. He is also concerned that the
park will increase traffic and people will be driving really fast by his house and someone will get
hurt. Sleezer said cars speeding by the parks is a frequent complaint and that there would be
signs posted and they would work with the police to monitor this. He said that parks are going to
be generally loud. He said that overwhelmingly people from Heartland Circle want basketball in
the park and that will be loud too.
Botello said that he doesn't want to have to move because of the park. He knows that the parks
are supposed to close at dusk but feels that people will still hang out there after hours and the
police will be unable to constantly monitor this. Koch stated that he knows of at least three
situations of the kids getting kicked out of parks at 9:00 p.m. by the police. Sleezer said that
some of the best advocates are the residents who live by the parks. They are the ones who help
monitor parks after hours and call the police to let them know there are kids in the park when
they shouldn't be. Sleezer stated they thought long and hard about the best layout for the park
and that this design will be the best use of the space for Heartland Circle, Heartland and other
areas close by without parks.
Sedgwick questioned the possibility of using more vegetation or hedges around the outside of the
park to help block out some sound. Sleezer said that the police frown on that because it blocks
visibility. They have learned from previous experiences that older kids will use even low hedges
to hide behind and do stuff that they shouldn't be doing. Trees and some shrubbery could be
added but anything that block off view into the park is not a good idea.
Vickie Coveny asked how far back everything could be pushed. Sleezer stated that it would be
no more than 50 feet because they are already planning a ball field in the open area. Coveny
sympathized with Botello's concerns about the noise and said that having trees and bushes help
with that. Scott said that parks are inherently noisy and that kids will come with their
skateboards to any park whether or not there are skate elements. He said that the skate element
is a niche that needs to be filled so that older kids,who get bored on the playground equipment,
have something to do. Skateboard elements are high on the list of requests from this age group.
Sleezer noted that at the Town Meeting, basketball was something that almost everyone wanted
and that skateboard elements was also very high on the list. Debbie Horaz said that they try to
add elements for all age groups to the park. Sleezer said that they are getting requests for these
elements and that they are trying to offer something to an age group that does not have a lot to
do. They will probably look at doing a full-blown skate park someday but they will be very
careful about where they put it.
Horaz asked Botello if he was aware that a park would be going in across from where he built his
house. He said he knew there would be a 5 acre park but that he thought the playground would
be in the middle of the park,not right in front of his house. Horaz again noted that they are
trying to utilize the whole 5 acres. Sleezer said that they will look at pushing it back a little bit
and strategically planting trees. Mogle noted that they won't be changing the whole thing but
they will try to make some small changes. Laura Haake noted that the biggest difficulty is
planning long term. Botello said that he would feel better knowing that they were going to try to
push the playground back from the road a little bit. He thanked the members of the board and
staff and left the meeting.
Presentations:
None
Approval of Minutes:
Minutes—Regular Park Board Meeting—July 26, 2007
Koch said that Alderman Plocher was at the meeting and should be included on the lists of guest
in attendance. Also, on the very bottom of page 2 under the Bill List it reads "motion was
unanimously approved by voice vote."It should read"motion was unanimously approved by a
roll call vote; Koch-yes, Truman-yes, Horaz -yes, Sedgwick- yes, Coveny-yes."
Kelly Sedgwick's name is spelled wrong. It should be Sedgwick, not Sedgewick. Vickie
Coveny's name is also spelled wrong. It should be Coveny, not Covney.
On the bottom of page 4, fourth line up from the bottom, it should read"wheel chairs,"not
"wheel chars."
On page 7,third paragraph down, "FTE" should be spelled out to read"full time employee."
Several corrections were needed on page 8. In paragraph 4, it should read"So whether or not"
instead of"So weather or not." In paragraph 5, it should read"Swithin will add to the
questionnaire for residents the question: Does anyone living in your household have special
needs?" At the top of paragraph 4, it should read, "Mogle feels that United Way program
funding may end."
On the top of page 9 it should read, "None were given by the board" instead of, "None rose by
the board."
On page 5, second paragraph, it should read"Debbie Horaz wants to talk about ponds on page
15."
Prior to the approval of the minutes, Dave Mogle introduced the minute taker to the board.
Meghan Gehr is a full time employee for the City and is substituting because they were unable to
get a minute taker.
Ken Koch asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the July 26, 2007 Park Board meeting as
corrected. Debbie Horaz made a motion to approve the minutes. Kelly Sedgwick seconded the
motion. The motion was unanimously approved by a voice vote.
Bills Review:
Ken Koch had a question on page 1 of the invoices as to what the ComEd bill for 201 W
Hydraulic was for. It was clarified that the bill was for the ball field.
On page 2 of the invoices the 15,000 wristbands were ordered for Hometown Days.
On page 12 of the invoices there was a question as to what the"repair 2 covers @ J's Shoe"was
for. Sue Swithin said it was for a tent that needed repairs.
Swithin asked Dave Mogle why there was no revenue shown for August on page 1 of the
revenues. Mogle said it was maybe because they were still early in August so revenues may not
have been posted yet, but he will check with the City.
Ken Koch asked for a motion to approve the Bill List. Kelly Sedgwick made a motion to
approve the Bill List. Debbie Horaz seconded the motions. The motion was seconded by
Debbie Horaz. The motion was unanimously approved by a roll call vote; Koch-yes, Horaz-
yes, Sedgwick- yes, Coveny-yes.
Old Business:
Donation Gift Plan
Sue Swithin updated the catalog from the Board's previous suggestions. The layout has been
changed a bit. On page 2 a Table of Contents was added. All of the items have stayed the same.
On page 12 there is a Park and Recreation donation form for generic Park items and generic Rec.
items that don't receive a plaque. Follow-up paperwork with people could be done later,but
what is there now is a start. Page 13 was added as an explanation off of Laura's original tree-
bench form to consolidate the two and to say that those items were given plaques. On page 14
there is a tree species list available that came off of Laura's pamphlet. Page 15 is now the tree-
bench-shelter donation form. Swithin said she may still move some things around, but she first
wants Scott and Laura to verify that the content is correct.
Scott Sleezer said that the cost of$350 is never enough to cover the cost of the tree and the
plaque, but no one would donate if it cost more than that. The plaque itself costs around $200.
However,he feels that it is a win-win situation if someone is willing to pay $350 towards the
cost of getting trees in the park. Sleezer is shopping around to see if they can get a better price
on the plaques.
Debbie Horaz asked Swithin if they could add something about the Donation Gift Plan to the
website, similar to how Lisle has their tree donation plan on their website. Swithin said she is
planning to put the catalog on the website. Horaz said that Lisle has a memorial area for their
plaques. Swithin said that would be something that could be considered; whether or not they
should keep putting plaques up all around the City or whether there should be a designated area
for them. Dave Mogle suggested that they could give people a choice if they want to just donate
a tree without a plaque or if they wanted to pay extra to have the plaque included. Sleezer stated
that people want the plaques. The plaques are durable and maintenance free so they will last
forever and they do not interfere with mowing. The plan should be left as is to include the
plaque with the tree.
Vickie Coveny had a question about the decorative light listed on page 10. She thought they
seemed like a lot of money. It was reminded that the cost also included the electrical for it and
the cost of installing it. Laura Haake said that the Mayor and Aldermen were looking for ideas
for improving the downtown. They will possibly be hiring a company to come up with a plan for
downtown,using the same park lights that are in all the parks.
Swithin said her goal is to price out how much it will cost to have a glossy cover to the catalog
and just regular paper with color for the inside pages to keep the price down. She is unsure of
how many she will print. She will print maybe 100-200 and see what the demand is for them.
Mogle asked if the Policy at the front of the catalog was the existing policy. Swithin said it was
based off of what was done in the past with existing criteria, but a lot of it was language that she
came up with from other examples and the board approved it.
The catalog was unanimously approved by a voice vote.
Park Assignments
Dave Mogle explained that the park assignments need updated as Gary Golinski is not on the
board anymore and there are probably some parks that need to be added. He explained that the
purpose of park assignments is for board members to have certain parks to focus on and if there
are any issues they can bring that back to staff.
The board members discussed distributing the park assignments differently so that they are in
areas that are close by for each board member. The new parks that need to be added to list
include: Prairie Meadows, Autumn Creek, and Grande Reserve A & B.
Scott Sleezer said he can sit down and group the parks by geographic location. He will not
attach names,but just sort the parks that are close together and the board members can choose
what grouping they would like. Scott will do so and the board will bring up the assignments
again at the next meeting.
Scholarship Policy Review for Special Recreation Programs
Dave Mogle presented a final draft of the Policy for requesting a reimbursement for Non-resident
portion of the Special Recreation Services. He said that one final correction needed to be made.
Under the General Guidelines paragraph,the word"excluding" in the parentheses should be
deleted. Mogle would like the Board's approval on the policy so that he can present it to City
Council.
The policy was unanimously approved by a voice vote.
Recreation Programs for Special Populations
Dave Mogle distributed a copy of the Power Point presentation he had drafted, as requested by
the Board. He doesn't have anything more to say at this time. At the last meeting,the Board
directed Mogle to follow up on two items. One was to add a fourth option and the other was to
find out whether this was to go to referendum or not. Ken Koch noted that the first slide should
be changed to read"United City of Yorkville" instead of"City of Yorkville." Mogle stated he
will continue to work on the two follow up items and will bring it back to the Board. He has not
found out about the tax yet and said it will be a challenge. They are asking for a written
document from the State's Attorney's Office that will verify what it is supposed to be. He will
continue to cover the appropriate steps until the County Assessor is satisfied.
This is something that would be voted on by the City. Mogle said that there are a lot of options.
If they did decide to go to Special Recreation Association and levy the tax it would be a City tax.
The County Assessor is the one we would have to work with,though. Because they are not a
Park District, the City has no authority to go outside of the City limits on this issue. Mogle
stated the dilemma is that the County Assessor believes that a law passed in June of'06 has
changed the way that it is done and now calls for any new tax that has never been done before
needs to go to referendum,but other County Clerks do not see it the same way. Mogle said that
the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association is not the only one in the game. Joliet and
Bolingbrook are also anxious to know whether we would want to be involved with them. They
may have a different way of doing things so that it doesn't have to go to referendum. Mogle will
bring this item back to the Board again.
New Business:
Grande Reserve Park A RFP Playground Results
Grande Reserve Park B RFP Playground Results
Laura Haake stated that both Park A and B went out for RFP at the same but they kept the
documents separate so that if they had two different equipment manufacturers they could move
forward with them easily.
Grande Reserve Park A is the Tree House theme. They were looking for the decks that would be
eight feet high so they could be up in the tree area. There is a funnellball court, shelter and band
area. They were most interested in height and tree elements. Miracle was the only manufacturer
that fit within the budget that had two eight foot decks with a bridge in between and stepping
stone element underneath. The log roll was part of the bid, as well as the sand play feature so
that it is ADA accessible. The total amount is $36, 620.00, which is under the allotted
equipment budget of about $37,000.00. There was a small price difference between Team Reil
(Miracle) Option#1 and Option 42,but Option#2 had everything they were looking for.
Grande Reserve Park B is the Castle theme. Parkreation submitted three different options but the
one chosen was something really different, especially since Raintree Park B will also have a
Castle theme. This one was the best one for the budget. This budget was around $36,200.00.
There is a dragon that can be in the mulch. The front looks like a Castle but on the back there is
a lot of climbing equipment and two slides. It is very unique. Debbie Horaz was concerned that
people would not be able to see their kids from the front. Scott Sleezer said that it would be
placed where parents would be able to watch their kids from the back side and there is great
visibility. Horaz asked when there were going to be garden plots available. Sleezer said there
maybe some ready next spring. The garden plots will be a popular feature, which will be
incorporated into more parks. Other elements for Park B include tetherball and the shade
element shown instead of a hard shelter. The warranty is 10 or 20 years. They will be taken
down in the winter but are very durable. Haake has not heard any complaints about them, as
compared to a hard shelter. They are also less expensive than a stander shelter. Sleezer asked
for the Board's approval to be able to move forward to City Council.
Ken Koch asked for a motion to approve Grande Reserve Park A Option#2 by Team Reil
(Miracle) in the amount of$36,620.00. Kelly Sedgwick made a motion to approve Park A.
Debbie Horaz seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved by a roll call vote;
Koch-yes, Horaz-yes, Sedgwick- yes, Coveny-yes.
Ken Koch asked for a motion to approve Grande Reserve Park B Option#3 by Parkreation
(Little Tikes) in the amount of$36,065.00. Debbie Horaz made a motion to approve Park B.
Vickie Coveny seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved by a roll call vote;
Koch-yes, Horaz-yes, Sedgwick-yes, Coveny-yes.
Reports:
Director Report
Dave Mogle said that an executive session would need to be done tonight to cover previous
executive session minutes.
There were about 60 people in attendance at the Town Meeting. Scott and Laura gave a good
presentation of the plan. Basketball was a very popular idea. It was stressed at the meeting that
there was a budget that could not be stretched and that by adding things, other things might need
to be taken away. There were all kinds of suggestions for things, like tennis courts, fountains,
sand volleyball, baseball, soccer. Residents brought up the possibility of doing a community
build so that there would be additional money for some other features. Mogle said that the
overall response on Monday night was positive. On Friday there was a bit more negative
contingent. Most of the one's that were negative on Friday night had not attended the meeting
on Monday and were getting most of their information by hearsay. Mogle felt that going out and
hearing what the residents had to say was the right thing to do.
Ken Koch asked if there were any concerns about ball fields or soccer fields. Scott Sleezer said
there were some questions about whether it would be organized play or just pick-up games.
Sleezer feels that anytime they build a ball field they should have the ability to program it. Other
people were very interested in having a ball field. It was also discussed that having organized
play and ball fields would potentially bring more noise and traffic to the park. Sue Swithin said
that the earlier a park is built,the better because it will alleviate questions of what's going in.
Sleezer feels that having resident input is helpful and it helps them feel like they are part of it.
Mogle moved his report on to talk about the Master Plan. He said that there is a need for
Clerical help to assist Laura. There is some money in the master budget and some money in
Scott's seasonal budget. One possibility is to increase hours of current part time employees.
Another possibility is to have an intern who has landscape architecture background to assist
Laura.
Debbie Horaz asked if Yorkville would be getting any more garden/flower parks. Sleezer said
there would probably be more opportunities in the future. He would like to see the City partner
i
with other clubs or groups to help take care of the maintenance. Horaz said that the City has a
lot groups that could work in conjunction with the City and volunteer their time. Haake said that
one concern is that maintenance will be difficulty for City employees who aren't educated in
gardening. Mogle said that the first thing would be to get a good partnership going. Horaz said
that the Master Gardener's have no budget. They would the supplies provided to them,but
would be able to volunteer the labor and maintenance. This would be another way to provide
something for all age groups. Sue Swithin commented that the City's parks now are outstanding
compared to what they used to be.
Parks Report
The Community Park Build will take place one week from Saturday. They have been pouring
concrete all week to get ready for the build. The weather has made it a little difficult but
everything will be ready for equipment. There are currently about 60 people who are signed up
to help.
Recreation Report
Sue Swithin said that Tennis Camp was run this summer on the newly resurfaced tennis courts.
There weren't as many people this time because it was not in the catalog.
Plans are underway for a second preschool at the Riverfront recreation building. There is enough
students to hold afternoon classes—one four year old and one three year old, with one instructor.
The survey is being finalized now and will be mailed shortly to residents. Envelopes were
delivered at the beginning of the week. Random people should be getting it soon. An update
will be given as soon as it becomes available.
Upcoming events are listed on page 3. The Park Open house will be held on September 21st
instead of September 28th and will be at Stepping Stones Park instead of Autumn Creek.
Swithin said that Park help will be needed at Hometown Days to help at the front gate and/or at
the beer tent. She will follow up with the sign up lists and email them to Dave Mogle.
The Adventure Challenge will be at Silver Springs State Park. It is in the catalog and on the
website if anyone needs more information on the different divisions and age groups. Help will
also be needed for that event.
Additional Business:
Future Meeting Schedule&Agenda Items
Dave Mogle noted that the City meeting structure has been changed. They have moved back to
the committee structure and COW and City Council are on the same night. The change has been
reflected on the schedule.
Ken Koch asked for an update on the meeting with the Forest Preserve. Mogle said that the
Mayor is on the same page as the Park Board and concurs that the agreement says that the Forest
Preserve and the City will jointly look at different ways of funding. A forest preserve meeting
will be held on August 15 , and the forest preserve board will discuss and clarify the issues.
Adjournment:
At 9:09 p.m. Ken Koch asked for a motion to suspend into executive session. A motion to go
into executive session was made by Debbie Horaz and seconded by Kelly Sedgwick.
At 9:36 p.m. a motion was made by Debbie Horaz and seconded by Vickie Coveny to return
regular session. The motion was unanimously approved by a voice vote.
At 9:36 p.m. a motion was made by Debbie Horaz and seconded by Kelly Sedgwick to adjourn.
The motion was unanimously approved by a voice vote.
Minutes submitted by:
Meghan Gehr