Park Board Minutes 2013 02-21-13 APPROVED W/ CORRECTIONS
3/14/13
Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department
River City Roasters
Hydraulic Ave.
February 21, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.
Call to Order: Deb Horaz called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Roll Call: Deb Horaz—yes; Kelly Sedgwick—yes; Seaver Tarulis—yes; Mark Dilday—yes;Amy
Cesich—yes; Dan Lane—yes; Matt Konecki—no.
Introduction of City Officials and Staff:
Tim Evans— Superintendent of Recreation
Scott Sleezer— Superintendent of Parks
Other Guests: None.
Public Comment: None.
Presentations: None.
Approvals of Minutes: The minutes from the January 10, 2013 meeting were approved. Motion
made by Mark Dilday and seconded by Seaver Tarulis. The minutes from the January 24, 2013
meeting were approved. Motion made by Seaver Tarulis and seconded by Kelly Sedgwick.
Bills Review: The bills list from February 14, 2013 was approved. Motion made by Seaver Tarulis
and seconded by Kelly Sedgwick.
Park Board Budget Reports from December 2011 and December 2012 were reviewed as a comparison
for informational purposes. There was a discussion about vehicles/trucks and holding out for the next
two to three years due to budget reasons. Scott stated that his department is planning on purchasing a
new mower.
Old Business:
Riverfront Business Lease Extension for Geneva Kayak- Deb said that they are changing their sign
to Yorkville Outdoor Center and she thinks it will be to their benefit and best for everyone. The lease
was approved unanimously. Motion made by Dan Lane and seconded by Mark Dilday.
Park District Information—This is an informational item for the park board about creating a park
district.
Baseball Field Discussion - This item was tabled until the next full Park Board Meeting.
New Business:
FY2014 Budget—Tim said in the Recreation budget there will be a carry over from the Rec Center-
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the taxes from this year and some of this will be negotiated. Tim said in the Recreation budget they
lowered the number of part-time employees and lowered several line items by using Ryan and John
more. Tim said their roles will change dramatically. The Recreation Department will not have to pay
kids to do the concessions etc.
Scott said in the parks there was not a great deal of changes. Scott said that he and Laura went through
land cash to see what the city is obligated to do in the next few years. Certain parks need to begin
development within a certain time frame. Scott said the city is working with Grande Reserve on park
sites. Deb Horaz asked when the city will hear on Riverfront. Scott said the city is still in the hunt and
it could be up until April.
Tim said the 79 budget will be able to focus more on things we have not in the last two years. Tim said
we can dedicate more time and improve that budget for next year and work on things we have ignored.
The budget was unanimously approved. Motion made by Kelly Sedgwick and seconded by Amy
Cesich.
Reports:
Directors Report- Tim said in the budget there is money put in to upgrade our old administration
building. Tim said the process has begun on several different items. The pre school classes are being
moved to the other building. There are some things in the new office being moved to accommodate
everyone.
We are eliminating part time staff in the evenings by being able to register for classes on line with a
password. Tim said the online access might be linked with City Hall. Tim said by July 1 st, or sooner
we will be ready to go with most the staff transitioned. Scott said we can operate out of the building
now, if needed.
Recreation Report—Basketball is going well with a great turnout this year. Tim said there have been
a few issues with coaches getting too heated, which have been addressed. Soccer registration has
started for spring and we are ahead of last year already.
Deb asked if we have a code of conduct that the coaches sign. Tim said yes, they all signed it. Tim
said the problem is not that bad here in Yorkville. Tim said he addresses it right away and he has no
problem doing it. Deb said this should be a fun thing for the kids. Kelly said the Recreation
Department should think about just making our programs a fundamental program and not a competitive
team because it is a parks and recreation program.
Tim said we now have John there checking on things and we will stay on top of it. Tim said he will
look into making it a fundamentals program and discuss what direction we want things to go. Tim said
this is not a travel league it is recreation.
Tim said it is good to see that we are growing. Tim said that Shay is a great employee and she works
with the coaches. Tim said the Ready Set Go program is exploding. Tim said we are going to have to
look at expanding that program in the future because we are having to turn people away. Tim said it is
for 2 year olds for them to get a taste for what preschool is like and work with the preschool teachers.
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Tim said he has concern with the preschool registration because we are moving and some people have
complained. Tim said our preschool programs are different and we are not competing with other
programs and our costs are less. Tim said he would like to keep the preschool program going. Deb
said it has always been a successful program.
Tim said the REC Center is just holding on. The budget is around a $60,000 deficit because
membership has fallen off a cliff. People still don't realize that the city is leaving and don't understand
what happened. Tim said we are watching every expense.
The events coming up are the Easter trip for a train ride to Naperville. Tim said that a lot of people
really love this event. Tim said that next year we can discuss doing something here in town or combine
with another organization to do something different. Tax Dodge Run is coming up April 14th. The
athletic schedules went smoothly this year organizing all the fields.
Tim said that he will be assisting with the 4th of July this year and it will be a city event because of the
need for insurance. Tim said there have been some donations from some in the community. The
people that did the Halloween event at the old jail have some money and we are talking with them to
see if they can give us the money from that. If that happens, that will solve some financial problems
with the event.
It is a$3,000 bill for insurance because of shooting off fireworks. Tim said the hope is that there will
be a committee formed to make this a non-for profit event in the future. Tim said he stepped up so that
the event would happen this year. Tim said everything in the event will stay the same, with maybe
some minor changes in the park events.
Music Under the Stars is scheduled, the BBQ event will be held this year. We are not doing a national
act this year for Hometown Days, it is too big of a commitment. Hometown Days is already a nice
event and the city makes a good amount of money on it. We are holding two different youth
tournaments and we are planning on doing things a bit different than people have seen before they
should be really good.
Parks Report— Scott said he included a maintenance summary in the packet and encouraged the board
to read through it to see where out man hours are spent. Scott said he wanted to point out how much
volunteer help we receive from churches,boy scouts, companies etc. The city has more land now, so
we have more to take care of, with less man power.
Scott said we have a computer program that enters our employee hours, so we know where our guys
are out and what they are doing. We are the only department that does this. Scott said it helps us know
how to manage our time. Scott said the city had 700 hours of volunteer time this year, which helps so
much and saves the city money.
Deb asked Scott how the conference went and what he learned. Tim said there were things he learned
about how other communities do things and it was interesting on how close we are running with them
and we are a much smaller community. Tim asked them how they do sponsorships,bands etc. Tim
said with park district staff it is different than how we run it. Tim said he attended a special events
class and picked up some good ideas,but he thinks that Yorkville does some things better. He said it is
always good to go to those things, you always learn something.
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Scott said he went to a using technology in parks with a playground guardian program. Scott said it is
a program that uses an ipad and you pay for it every year, but everything is done right in the field by
putting pictures and everything in on site. Scott said another class was interesting about how the
summer really affected all the ball fields and what they are doing about it. Yorkville is doing some of
the right things.
Scott said air raiding is highly recommended. Scott said the core aeration is a great thing for the fields.
There is a great expo with all the parks and rec vendors to see all the new playgrounds. Scott said there
are some new things available for playground equipment. For example, metal framing with blown
colored concrete on it and then painted. Deb said there is a ship made that way,which would be great
at Riverfront.
Scott said it would be great if we added swings etc. at Riverfront. Deb said the pirate ship wasn't too
bad of a cost. Scott said there is a new trend for a crossfit parks, which give a great workout.
Additional Business: Amy said she needs someone to go to Canoecopia for her because she cannot
attend this year. She said it is a great event and a lot of fun.
Adiournment: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Motion made
by Kelly Sedgwick and seconded by Amy Cesich.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by:
Lisa Godwin
Minute Taker
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