Park Board Minutes 2006 05-25-06 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
YORKVILLE PARKS &RECREATION DEPARTMENT BOARD MEETING
Parks & Recreation Administrative Offices Riverfront Building
Thursday,May 25,2006
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER:
Meeting was called to order by Chris Rollins at 7:00 p.m:
ROLL CALL
Chris Rollins, Ken Koch,Van Truman, and Gary Golinski
GUESTS/CITY OFFICIALS/STAFF:
David Mogle,Director
Scott Sleezer, Superintendent of Parks
Sue Swithin, Superintendent of Recreation
Laura Haake,Park Planner
Tony Scott,Record
Jim Menard,Pacific Development
David Branch,Hallmark Homes
Krista Simons, Sente Rubel Bosman Lee Architects
Ray Lee, Sente Rubel Bosman Lee Architects
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
None
PRESENTATION:
Bristol Ridge
Jim Menard of Pacific Development informed the Board that the concept plan presented in
February has gone through Plan Council. The park has been moved to the higher density area
near the townhouses. The park location will have full road access with twenty parking spaces.
Because of the amount of frontage to the park, there will also be street parking available. There
will be an eight foot wide bike path connection to the grade school from the subdivision and
along Cannonball Trail there will be a ten foot wide trail in lieu of sidewalk. There will be a turn
lane intersection off of Cannonball Trail. A traffic study has been done for this intersection
indicating that this would be sufficient. The land cash obligation is approximately 15 acres.
With the park being 6.1 acres, there will be plenty of funds to develop this site.
Hallmark Homes
David Branch of Hallmark Homes met at several meetings with staff, with Planning, and with
the Board to get everyone's input on the concept plan and has tried to incorporate the input given
to the plans. The initial concept plan had limited park area in a location so a three acre park was
incorporated in that location. The School Board had requested a 15 acre school site. They will
have a bike path that will connect to the regional bike path. If the creek flow cannot be
interrupted,the trail will follow adjacent to the detention. The overall property is 350 acres.
There will be approximately 560 homes with a minimum square footage of 12,500 square feet.
( Approximately half of the homes will be south of the Wheeler Road extension. South of Walker
Road and to the cast is a thirteen acre MPI site identified as an athletic park which will be
expanded on when the development to the west of that park comes in. It will be very close to the
Hallmark Homes development. Also,knowing that the gas pipeline is close to that and even
though Parks and Recreation does not want the pipeline,the park can go up to it making a nice
park once the development comes in on the cast side. There are approximately eight acres of
park. Seventeen acres are required for the land cash obligation which will allow funds to
develop the parks. Parks and Recreation will need to work closely with schools on this site to
determine the placement of the building. The building will want to be on the highest, driest point
of the property. The park will be behind the school so that it will feel like a neighborhood park
as well as a school park.
Gary Golinski recommended that if bike trails will be constructed behind homes that they either
be constructed before the homes are built or clearly labeled so that the homeowners know there
will be a trail built there. Scott Sleezer also wanted the Board to know that this was straight
zoning, not a PUD.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The minutes from the May 11, 2006 Board meeting was approved on motion by Van Truman
and seconded by Ken Koch. The motion was unanimously approved.
BILLS REVIEW:
( Cash Analysis& Bills List
Chris Rollins noticed that the cost of printing the summer catalogs went up. The reason for the
increase was because they increased the number of catalogs printed. The cost per catalog
remained the same.
There is still one more payment for the Cannonball Park that will be in house. Parks and
Recreation has made their final payment to the contractor,however.
A payment to Helmets R Us was for helmets given to each child who joins Safety Town:
Van Truman motioned to approve the bills list. The motion was seconded by Gary Golinski.
Roll call vote: Chris Rollins—Yes,Ken Koch—Yes,Van Truman Yes, and Gary Golinski-
Yes. The motion was unanimously approved.
OLD BUSINESS
Park/Public Works Administration & Operations Center
Conceptual Design Progress Report
Krista Simons presented the update of the Parks and Public Works Administration and
Operations Center. This is a seven acre site. Two acres of the site will be for park development
and five acres will be for the administration and operations area. The administration area will
have two parking lots. The parking lot off of McHugh Road will be for staff parking and
evening board room activities. The parking lot off of Hayden Drive will be for every day
activities. The operations area will include the garage and area to store vehicles, a maintenance
area, a salt storage barn and other storage facilities along the perimeter. The area is buffered
with berms and landscaping.
In the building plan the multi-purpose room will be separated by a door from the administration
area for security reasons as activities will be going on in the multi-purpose room at night. There
will be public restrooms available. The administration area will include a reception area, offices,
a multi-purpose conference room, a workroom, and work space for the foremen and division
operators. The area between the administration and operations areas of the building will include
a mudroom, lockers, and access to the operations area. The operations area has vehicle storage
as well as office and work areas. The elevations have not been started yet. They have been
looking at the sites and building types. The administration area,which is closer to the street and
the houses will be smaller in scale with better masonry made with materials that will blend in
with the neighborhood. The operations area will have a bigger form being approximately 8,000
square feet and will be a tall building approximately 14-15 feet high. It will be pushed back and
will be blocked by the administration area. Sente Rubel will get feedback from everyone to
determine what will be appropriate for this facility.
Van Truman wanted to make sure that this building will not be the highest element in the
neighborhood. Chris Rollins indicated that it is okay for a public building to look like a public
building, similar to the fire station with the shingled roof. Chris Rollins was concerned about the
look of the building if the roof was not shingled because it would not look like the residential
roofs. Krista Simons indicated that the roof will probably be a metal roof but because it is
shallow,people will not see as much of it. In fact, it will appear as a flat roof. They would not
want a pitch to the roof because this building is wider and the roof would then have to go up
higher vertically.
On the building, they were looking at a combination of masonry and siding for site
considerations and for budget. They were looking at cement board siding, which looks a lot like
wood which is very durable and low maintenance. Chris Rollins is concerned about how the
people will view the curb appeal of the building. It will need berms to be very tall to hide the
building if Parks and Recreation is unable to build a building of character similar to the fire
station. Krista Simons indicated that they can make it an attractive building. It will be set back
off of the street and will offer a large area of landscaping. They will look at other materials that
are reasonably priced and because the administration building is in front of the operations
building,it will not be perceived to be as large. There will be buffers that will be seen before
they see the building. There are a lot of opportunities that can be looked at.
Ray Lee of Some Rubel presented the updated budget stating that the architectural and
engineering piece is based on the construction at no contingency. The bottom line is that the
numbers have gone up. He pointed out that the salt storage building was made larger. An
inflation adjustment was made as construction inflation has gone up dramatically. And there was
an error in the cost of paving that was adjusted—originally,the budget was for 5,000 yards for
paving, which has now been changed to 10,000 yards. The cost of most everything else stayed
the same. There is an inflation adjustor for 2007 of approximately 9%. The budget is based on a
building with the side facing the residential area being a masonry building using decorative block
and some brick accenting. The rear portion was assumed to be a pre-engineered building with a
metal standing seam roof with masonry up to eight feet. It would not be just a metal sided
building. They tried to make the building as good as possible from a cost versus longevity
standpoint.
They are budgeting the operations side of the building to be approximately$130 4140 per square
foot and the administration side of the building to be approximately$160-$170 per square foot.
Scott Sleezer would like to take this forward to Public Works with some direction from the Park
Board. He would like some examples of elevations and price lines to review. They will move
forward with caution with direction from the finance director and the concerns of Public Works.
He would like to show the homeowners in the area what this building might look like. Chris
Rollins indicated that it is extremely important that every consideration be made to what kind of
front the public building would present. His central concern is how Parks and Recreation is
going to finance the building and what their financing options are for building the building. The
rising costs are a big concern. Knowing the hurtles that need to be over come, it will be
constructed in 2007 with the exception of the salt storage building. The salt storage building will
be the farthest away from the homes tucked up against the commercial area. Chris Rollins
wanted to note that the people will say that they do not want to see a large pole building such as
this,but these people are already surrounded by big boxes like this already. When they spend
more tax dollars on the building so that it is not just a large box, they will also question why
Parks and Recreation spent so much of their tax dollars when they could have done something
less elaborate. With these two competing objectives there needs to be a balance between the .
two. So if there is any type of construction or exterior material that will pay big dividends and
looks good and will save hundreds of thousands of dollars by doing this, it is important for Parks
and Recreation to know about them. They could then inform the residents that they balanced the
cost to appearance. He feels that they must get moving on the finance portion as quickly as
possible because the cost elevation is alarming.
There was a concern about the fuel pumps at the town meeting. They will work on this in-house
to come up with some conceptual designs.
Fall Board Retreat
Dave Mogle has made contact with facilitators,but a date for the fall Board retreat still needs to
be set. It will be either October 20 &21, October 27 &28 or November 3 &4. The Board will
check their calendars and e-mail Dave Mogle with when they are available. They will see if new
Board members Debbie Horaz and Seth Schoonover,the mayor, or any special guest will be able
to attend all or part of the retreat. They will probably have the retreat fairly close so that special
guests will be able to attend.
Park Board Park Assignments
Dave Mogle provided the updated list of the parks each Board member will focus on. The park
assignments were accepted by the Board as assigned. Gary Golinski noticed a couple of
problems at his assigned parks. Someone drove around the telephone pole at Hydraulic West
Park leaving tire tracks and at Crawford Park behind Rivers Edge the ash fault for the bike trail is
cracking quite a bit and has weeds growing through it. The park assignments will be adjusted
accordingly as the new Board member comes on board.
f
Old Post Office Rehabilitation and Use for Offices
The Board discussed at the last meeting that if they were to move into the old post office, they
would prefer not to have to share the building. Dave met with Bill Dettmer of the Building
Department, and he does not believe that sharing the building is the best plan either. The
Building Department could move into the Riverfront Building,but the Parks and Recreation
Board meetings would no longer be able to be held there because the Building Department
would need to cubicle off the building. Parks and Recreation would not necessarily be giving up
the Riverfront Building as a Park and Recreation Building permanently,but the Building
Department would use it until it is determined that the City's space needs have changed. A
Board meeting room can be set up at the old post office which may prove to be beneficial
because all of their files will be there.
The Building Department has indicated that it will cost approximately$165,000 to get the old
post office building ready for Parks and Recreation to come in. This does not include the cost of
windows. The time frame of this is still unknown, as there is still a lot of work that needs to be
done in terms of clearing out walls, laying down carpet, adding cubicles, and adding wiring.
Dave Mogle would like to have someone who specializes in spatial set ups (not a salesperson)
such as an interior decorator to give a plan for setting this up. Sue Swithin indicated that she
does not have in her budget to pay for all of this,but Dave Mogle indicated that a portion of land
cash funds could be used because the recreation administration building benefits the whole
community. It needs to be determined yet exactly from where the funds would come. If needed
Chris Rollins will contact Mr. Oliver about contributing funds as he will no longer need to pay
the five years of rent,but the City should have documentation on the written agreement.
The Board unanimously agreed to use the old post office building for the recreation
administration building.
Swings
Parks did start receiving some of the parts for the swings. They,unfortunately, are missing the
center parts that are necessary to put the swings up. Scott Sleezer expects them in the next week
or so. They will put them up on the day they receive the parts. Although Little Tykes said they
would send someone out to fix the swings, Scott does not want to wait any longer. He will have
them put up in house,but will ask for compensation from Little Tykes for this time.
NEW BUSINESS
Park Naming Request
While the request was written with great care and sensitivity, circumstances do not meet the
criteria of the park naming policy. With some suggestions provided by Laura Haake, Dave
Mogle suggested creating a giving catalog so that when individuals like this come to Parks and
Recreation, they can see other ways they can show recognition for a loved one—such as a park
bench for a certain dollar amount, a tree for a certain amount, etc. For this individual,Dave will
write a letter back and indicate that it does not meet the eligibility for naming a park but will
suggest the donation of a tree or bench this person.
Conservation Foundation
Chris Rollins had the opportunity to attend a meeting that was for the conservation foundation.
One of the mailings for the foundation indicated an open space master plan for the west suburban
area including Kendall County. The president of the foundation had informed him that Kendall
Now had come twice to the City to discuss the open space master plan,but they would be glad to
speak to Parks and Recreation. Chris Rollins indicated that they may want to incorporate their
plan with Parks and Recreations' master plan. He believes that there are a lot of people with the
conservation foundation that Parks and Recreation could benefit from.
The Chicago land pond tour will be hosted by the conservation foundation on July 8-9 and on
July 15-16. The tickets are $15.00 to see some of the most outstanding backyard and community
pond projects. They are also promoting the Fox Valley Midnight Bike Ride sponsored by Chase
the Moon. Every year the fund raising ride makes a donation to a different organization. It will
be held on July 29-30. It is a twenty-five mile loop. This is a fundraising vehicle Yorkville may
also want to use.
The Conservation Foundation is a gathering place for a lot of different ideas and issues that bear
on things that are a concern to Parks and Recreation—energy conservation,water conservation
besides land conservation. They will be moving to a farm in Montgomery which was donated by
the city of Montgomery. Each structure on the farm will be adopted by a different local group or
agency to adopt the structure who will be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the
building in return for the use of it.
REPORTS
Angie Alwood was hired for the toddler/youth/teen/active adult day-to-day instructional classes.
And Joe Gatlan will start June 5 as the athletic coordinator.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
Chris Rollins has taken a new job as of June 5 which he hopes will be beneficial to Parks and
Recreation with the information he will be able to provide that will bear on what Parks and
Recreation does. He will be the Regional Land Manager for Region II of the Illinois Department
of Natural Resources. He will be working at Tri-County State Park.
Dave Mogle collected all of the agreements for the Hoover property for the Board to review. He
will put it on the June 8 agenda. Ken Koch stated that Jason from the forest preserve may
lengthen the scouts' ability to use the property. This,however,needs to be approved by Parks
and Recreation who has first right of refusal. There may be an OSLAD grant that Jason was
looking at and some referendum dollars that should be applied to the third payoff.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting adjourned to executive session at 9:10 p.m. following the motion by Ken Koch and
seconded by Gary Golinski. The motion was unanimously approved.
The meeting reconvened from the Executive Session and adjourned at 9:20 p.m. following
motion by Van Truman and seconded by Ken Koch. The motion was unanimously approved.
Minute Taker—Jeanne Arbet