Park Board Minutes 2012 12-13-12
APPROVED 1/10/13
Yorkville Park and Recreation Department
City Hall
800 Game Farm Road
December 13, 2012
Call to Order:
Deb Horaz called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Roll Call:
Deb Horaz – yes; Kelly Sedgwick – no; Seaver Tarulis – yes; Mark Dilday – yes; Amy
Cesich – yes; Dan Lane – yes; Matt Konecki – yes.
Introduction of City Officials and Staff:
Gary Golinksi – Mayor
Laura Schraw – Interim Director of Parks and Recreation
Tim Evans – Superintendent of Recreation
Scott Sleezer – Superintendent of Parks
Other Guests:
None.
Public Comment:
None.
Presentations:
None.
Approval of Minutes:
Minutes from the November 15, 2012 meeting were approved. Motion made
by Dan Lane and seconded by Mark Dilday.
Bill Review:
Dan had a question about the Nicor Gas bill and different amounts. Dan had a question
about the Oswegoland soccer. Tim said the city combines with Oswego and we pay a fee to play with
them. Amy asked about a filter purchase from Home Depot. Scott said they are filters for the REC
Center and we have 10 units and we buy a case at a time.
Deb asked about a laundromat fee. Tim said there was a problem with the dryer a hose break or
something. Matt asked about a $200 tree purchase. Scott said it is a 8 foot living tree that has been
planted. It is an evergreen tree and it was planted in town square. Dan had a question about land cash
bleacher. Scott said it was for bleachers for Raintree B. Dan asked about the Yankee Candle
Fundraiser. Tim said it is a preschool fundraiser and the REC makes money on it. Motion to approve
the bills list was made by Amy Cesich and seconded by Seaver Tarulis.
New Business:
(Items out of order)
Leases for Riverfront Businesses * –
Dan said he appreciated staff putting together the history of
things to have all this information in front of us to look over. Laura said the lease agreements are
coming up for renewals. The first one is for Geneva Kayak. Laura said in the memo the rents are listed
for the board's information.
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Laura said the staff recommendation is to renew the lease, or change rent or have an RFP go out for the
section where Creative Kearnals left. Laura said it is up to the board and she has given the board all the
background information. Matt asked how Geneva Kayak is doing in their business. Laura said the end
of this tax year we will know. Dan asked if the weather being dry affected them. Laura said she doesn't
think so, she said they rent a lot of tubes and they didn't say it affected them, but it probably affected
them. Matt said he doesn't think they are very positive when he has been in there.
Scott said there was a storm that blew some aluminum on the building off which the city just got fixed
and it took a bit longer than they wanted. Scott said when he has dealt with them, it has been positive.
Deb asked about the name change. Laura said they were calling it the Yorkville Outdoor Center. Deb
asked if Geneva Kayak will come down then. Deb said when the board approved this lease, they agreed
to have a name change and not have Geneva Kayak. Deb said the lease went through and the name was
not changed and it is a Yorkville park.
Deb said the city has been waiting to see while they said they need to get the business established. Matt
said people travel with their name. Amy said that is the other side of this, but now that it has been two
years, they need to move forward on transitioning. The board understood that name made it easier for
them to be found, but now they should move toward Yorkville or state what they are going to do.
Amy said the board did ask them to change the name and they agreed to it. Dan asked if it was a written
agreement. Deb said no it was verbal and discussed before we gave them the lease. Scott said we don't
want to hurt the revenue when the city is getting 5%. Deb said she understands that point, but they said
they were going to change it in order to get the lease. Deb said she would like to discuss the topic with
them before we approve the lease. Dan said he agrees that we need to see what their intentions are.
Amy said she would like to discuss it with them too.
Laura said we don't know how much they have invested in this name. Deb said but when they came to
the board, it was okay with them when they wanted the lease. Matt said he understands that, but he sees
the revenue aspect of it too. Laura asked the board if that is their only issue with renewing their lease.
Deb said the city has three good renters for over a year and the board needs to think about where the
rents are going in the future, as far as rent increases. Dan said we need to make sure their business is
going well, rents can stay the same and we will make more on revenues with the city getting 5% of
revenues. Dan said the businesses have not been there that long. Deb said she means two years down
the road and wants them to have fair warning.
Eric from River City Roasters said his business has been okay. He said this past summer the park wasn't
as busy as in the past. He said for a first year business, it is going well. Robyn fromn White Water Ice
Cream said in 2011 Kim McGuire took over the business and it was a storage unit at the time. Robyn
said it was in awful condition and we saw potential in it and we made an agreement with the city and
Robyn subleased from Kim.
Robyn said Kim and her had an agreement Robyn would renovate the business and then Kim would pay
rent for seven years. Robyn said this past year Kim had some personal problems and she was not able to
do that and asked if Robyn wanted to take over. Robyn said she felt as a sub-leaser she has to take it
over and it was helping Kim out. Robyn said she signed a lease in October and spent another $1,000 to
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renovate the other space. Robyn said she wants to stay she has a lot invested in it and it has enhanced
the community.
Scott said Robyn and Eric have done major renovations there. Scott said the utilities are being split with
Robyn and Eric and they have worked it out themselves, but if another renter comes in, that is
something the city will have to work on. Dan said they have improved these places and the next
business that comes in has it done for them. Dan said he doesn't want to increase rent on them and
wants to keep it the same for two more years. Mayor Golinski and Amy Cesich agreed. Amy said she
wants to review Geneva Kayak though. The board recommended renewing the leases for White Water
Ice Cream and River City Roasters for two more years.
Yorkville Fury Cooperative Agreement –
Laura said the city has agreements with YYBSA and the
Reds. The Fury contacted the city and said they would be playing over 50 games this year. Laura said
the city has added to the agreement scheduling precedence. Laura said we have this on a first come first
serve basis, but we think we can meet most of the field needs.
Yorkville Sparks Cooperative Agreement -
The Sparks contacted the city and stated they will play
over 50 games this year. This will be on a first come first serve basis and the city should not have that
many conflicts. The same language is in both of the agreements for the Fury and the Sparks. The
Sparks last year didn't have that many games, but she said they will have over 50. Laura said if they
cancel and end up having 30, the board can take that into account for next year.
Mayor Golinski said they have to commit to 50 games for a contract. Tim said he feels that we can
accommodate all four and make it work, as long as everyone is willing to work together. Dan Lane
made a motion to approve the cooperative agreements with the Fury and the Sparks and it was seconded
by Amy Cesich.
Old Business:
Release of Executive Session Minutes –
Deb stated the following executive session minutes are now
released from December 30, 1995, March 10, 2003, November 8, 2007, August 14, 2008, October 23,
2008, October 8, 2009, November 12, 2009, February 11, 2010, February 25, 2010, March 11, 2010,
October 14, 2010, March 10, 2008 and November 8, 2007. This is a formality the board has to follow.
Motion to approve release of minutes was made by Mark Dilday and seconded by Amy Cesich.
New Business:
Plan Commission Representative –
Laura said the city is trying to streamline the process for
developers. The Planning Commission wants to have a representative from Park Board on the Plan
Commission. Laura said there are public hearings at Planning Commission, so the Park Board opinion
will be in the minutes on the record, which gives the Park Board an extra voice.
Dan Lane offered to be the representative. Amy asked if the board can rotate it. Laura said yes. Deb
said others can attend the meeting, but Dan would be the official representative. Laura said a
representative doesn't have to attend every meeting, only when there is something in relation to Park
Board. Park Board recommends Dan Lane to the representative on the Planning Commission. It was
approved by voice vote.
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IAPD Membership –
Laura said there is a lot of information in the packet. Laura said in August she
contacted them and they sent me the information I provided in the packet. To have their help, the city
has to become a member of IAPD. Deb stated there is a lot of helpful information that could help us.
Laura said they will talk to you, provide the city with materials, legal services, we can visit them, and
online resources are available. The yearly fee is $644.23. The city was a member in the past.
The board asked if the city would be open to more grants if it is a member. Scott stated yes, he would
think so. Laura said if the Park District discussion continues, IAPD would be an invaluable resource.
Deb said we need to be educated and they help with support groups and grass root efforts. Deb said
IAPD will attend city meetings too. Deb said this is the path the city needs to go.
Amy asked about any additional services costing more. Deb said no just the membership yearly cost.
Deb said they have conferences too and we took some classes and learned a lot of things in the past.
Laura said when the economy crashed, the city cut out a lot of things and this was one of them. The
board recommends to join the IAPD. Motion was made by Amy Cesich and seconded by Mark Dilday.
Recreation Services –
Laura said this is an informational item to let you know how things with staff and
buildings will work with the upcoming changes. Tim said the recreation will be moving back to the
building down by the river. Tim said the city is looking at around $40,000 to do that. Tim said the city
needs to upgrade our system, so that people can register for classes on line because our hours will now
be cut way down. Tim said it would be good to link it with city hall so we are all linked together for
convenience of the residents.
Tim said our systems need upgraded anyway and it should be a minimal expense. Tim said we are
contacting the schools to see what classes we can offer in the winter. Tim said in the next couple weeks
we will be getting the other building ready and he said there will be other needs from the staff like going
and opening and closing schools.
Tim said several people have reached out offering space or help, but if there are fees, it doesn't make
sense. Tim said the city doesn't need a lot of rental space for what we are going to be doing, working
with the schools will be enough for those things. Gym space is difficult to come by, but lunchroom areas
are easier.
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Tim said he would like our staff and everything moved down there by May 1. Tim will stay at the REC
Center and finish out the last two months. The Mayor said this is a rebuilding process. Tim agreed and
said there are things the city can do and focus on like sponsorship and catalogs. Tim said there will be a
catalog with a letter to the community from the Mayor explaining what is going on.
Reports:
Directors Report –
Laura said she will be submitting Raintree later this month for reimbursement.
There was some hunting on the open lands and the city has been addressing that. They were caught. It
is near Kennedy Road near Autumn Creek.
Recreation Report -
Tim said basketball started and there is a great turnout with 32 teams and
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volunteer coaches. Shay had the high school basketball team help with the 6 grade evaluation. Mayor
Golinski said that worked out well the kids really enjoyed working with the high school kids. Tim said
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practices have begun in the schools.
Tim said the Holiday Under the Stars was very successful with a great turnout and a great firework
show. The businesses were pleased. Amy said the fireworks were spectacular. Tim said he thinks the
city will keep the fireworks for next year and has spoken with some businesses about incorporating a
parade next year. Tim said they are thinking about doing it on a Saturday for Santa Claus earlier and
then the tree lighting and then fireworks.
The Chili Chase turned out great and that is how we make the money for the fireworks.
Parks Report –
Scott said the improvements at Bridge Fields are done and they did a great job. Scott
said we are working on edging fields for spring since we have had good weather. We have a new
employee from Naperville Park District and he has a good background in athletic field maintenance. He
is doing a great job so far.
Additional Business:
Dan said he was proud of the Park Board when we met with City Council and
the zealousness for the REC Center. He is disappointed with how the City Council treated us as an
advisory board and he is not happy with that. Dan said we care just as much about the city as they do.
Dan said he is proud of the board and how they handled themselves.
The Mayor pointed out City Council has a different perspective, they have the entire city to handle, not
just the parks and recreation. Dan said they also worry about getting re-elected.
Deb said she wants to talk about doing strategic planning and goal setting, which we have done in the
past. Deb asked about possibly using the rent money from the city buildings to put toward new park
equipment at Riverfront Park. Laura said it goes in the 79 budget as rental income. Laura said maybe
we could have a Riverfront Park Fund. Amy said it is a sore point for a lot of people, we do need to
work on replacing that park.
Adjournment
:There being no further business, motion was made by Amy Cesich and seconded by Dan
Lane. Meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by:
Lisa Godwin
Minute Taker
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