Park Board Minutes 2015 10-08-15Page 1 of 4
APPROVED 11/12/15
Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department
Park Board Meeting
ARC Building
201 W. Hydraulic Avenue
6:30 p.m.
October 8, 2015
Call to Order: Deb Horaz called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
Roll Call: Deb Horaz ‐ yes; Mark Dilday – yes; Amy Cesich – yes; Dan Lane – yes; Matt Konecki –
yes; Gene Wilberg – yes; Sash Dumanovic ‐ yes.
Introduction of City Official and Staff:
Tim Evans – Director of Parks and Recreation
Scott Sleezer – Superintendent of Parks
Shay Remus – Superintendent of Recreation
Joel Frieders and Ken Koch ‐ Alderman
Other Guests: None.
Public Comment: None.
Presentation: None.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the September 10, 2015 meeting were approved. Motion by
Sash Dumanovic and seconded by Matt Konecki. Minutes approved.
Bills Review:
Bills List – October 8, 2015 – Discussion about different items on the bills list.
Budget Report – August 2015 – Informational purpose. Discussion about items in the budget report i.e.
budget, city staff, baseball field maintenance.
Old Business:
Smoking Policy in Parks – Tim said this is the final policy and it was reviewed with the city attorneys. It
is proposed that this policy be approved and moved on to city council. Amy Cesich motioned to approve
the smoking policy and Mark Dilday seconded. Unanimous approval.
2015/2016 Youth Baseball Field Usage Agreement – Tim said there are two options to discuss on the
agreement. Tim recommends to postpone the vote on this until him and Scott meet and discuss
the fees and change some of the services the city has provided in the past. Tim said the groups are
contacting the city and Tim will let them know the city is still in discussion about the agreement.
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The board discussed what things the city covers and what things youth baseball covers. Scott said there
is not enough money to maintain the fields the way they are now. YYBS has shown that they have done
a great job with the fields they maintain. Scott said years ago they maintained things as needed and if it
comes to that, we can make sure that there are standards when the city gets the fields back they are in
good shape. The city currently maintains 19 fields and 3 football fields and many soccer fields. The city
runs the soccer program. The city is working on arranging a sponsorship package for fields. On Bridge
Fields, the city will maintain those regardless. It was suggested it would be good idea to make money
with sponsorships.
Shay said the city is doing sponsorships for 1st and 2nd grade basketball teams this year. Shay said that
helps pay for the leagues and t‐shirts. Shay said typically some of the soccer teams are sponsored with
banners on the sheds. Shay said the city brings in a substantial amount from sponsorships. Tim said this
is the first time since he has been working for the city, we have had consistency with our staff, which has
been helpful.
Tim said it might take another month or two to finalize this agreement. There was a discussion about
the amount of teams, concessions and tournaments.
Park Board Officers – Tim asked who would like to run for what offices. Amy asked if that was how the
board was going to handle it. Amy said she thought we would go by longevity. Deb, Mark and Amy are
the longest on the board. Deb mentioned also using the attendance record to help determine things.
Deb said there needs to be three, so there is always someone here to run a meeting.
The board discussed how they wanted to select the officers. Amy said attendance wise, Dan is here
more than Mark and Matt. Amy said it is important that the officers can be in regular attendance at the
meetings.
Deb said Amy should be second in line. Tim said it will be voted on in the November meeting. Deb
wants to stay as president. Amy said Deb, Amy and Dan would be the best way to handle it. Tim said it
can be handled tonight, if that is the case. The board decided to vote on the officer positions as follows:
Deb being President, Amy Vice President, and Dan Secretary. Motion passed unanimously.
New Business:
Park Board Meeting Dates for 2016 – The board discussed dates for next year meetings and who had
conflicts. Tim said it will be the second Thursday and it can be adjusted if needed. The board discussed
the time and location. Deb said if there is not a large agenda, the meeting will be cancelled.
Reports:
Parks – Scott said the city was busy with Hometown Days and several playground issues in September
and repairs. Scott said it is getting harder to get replacement parts for some of the playgrounds and at
some point the city will have to make a determination on those.
Scott said the paver has been working nicely. Scott said hopefully the city can pave the trail at Bridge
next week. Scott said Public Works and Parks Department went and cut down things on the island at
Riverfront Park. Scott said it looks better, but there are a lot of problems there and it is rough, but it
looks better.
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The department is trying to get some things done before winter sets in. There is one more event and
then the department is looking forward to making a good game plan for next year, so that the
department knows what to expect and what we are up against. Parks guys do a great job. Parks are
wanting to do some education through the staff’s union hall, there are some great things the guys can
train on that will make them more effective and help them understand and learn more.
The new building has been great for the staff and we are operating out of the new building now. The
board discussed where offices for Parks and recreation will all be located in the future.
Recreation – Shay said that things are all going really well with preschool. Soccer is going really well and
over in October. Basketball registration is going on and they are a little over 200 and Tyler thinks we
could have 400 kids and there will be a huge push for late registration. Shay said let people know about
the sponsorships and have them contact her.
Hometown Days went well and the Fall Fest went great and it was cold, which hurt us a bit, but the
pumpkin pull was great and has a great turnout. Tim said the pumpkin event could really grow. The
board discussed to look at the schedules, so that more people can attend.
The Yorkville Holiday Celebration is coming up on November 21st and the Chili Chase is coming up. The
promotions are coming up soon for this since we are doing a holiday parade. The city is hoping to have
at least 20 floats. Tim said there will be tree lighting and fireworks again. Tim said the Chili Chase
offsets the costs on a lot of these things.
The board discussed possibly continuing the Bristol Bay Boogie because it is a good location and a lot of
parking and it is the only event in Ward 3. It is a simple event and a lot of people show up. Shay said
she will reach out to them. Tim said October 24th there is a regional meet at Bristol Bay the high school is
running it.
Additional Business: Deb said she would like a status report on the city rentals. Tim said things are
going great and everyone has paid on time and all taxes have been paid. Amy said she did a
class at the caterers. Tim said it is run through city hall and finance department and they send a
bill and he sends a reminder.
Tim said there will be roof expenses and the city is working on quotes and should solve that by
November. Robyn’s lease ends soon and she would like a 2 year lease. Tim said during the
winter, she is kind of shut down and she brought a proposal to us.
The board discussed how their businesses are doing and if they are happy with the rental space. Tim
said all is going well and they are happy with things and rent is being paid. The board discussed
more ideas for sponsorship.
Dan said he appreciated Joel and Ken being here and that their input is very important. Dan said he sees
all the sports and he has seen ice rinks in other communities and it is very popular. Dan asked if
the city could have a skating rink someplace. Scott said the city has tried before. St. Charles has
a basketball court that converts into a rink.
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Dan would like to at least try to see if this is something the board can look at. Dan said by Beecher there
are areas that it might work. Scott said the issue is there must be clay on the bottom and a lot
of people are using liners that are plastic, but the bigger the liner the more expensive. Dan just
wants the city to look into it. Scott said the city has tried it in several locations before. The only
thing is you are at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Tim said an Alderman asked about this last week and it will be brought up next meeting. It is all weather
dependent. There will be no staff and no one monitoring it and if it is not frozen, people can
ruin the liner. The board discussed different options on how to work a staking rink. The board
discussed needing a park at Riverfront Park and if they want to spend money on this, or a
playground. Tim would like to see the playground.
Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Motion was
made by Amy Cesich and seconded by Matt Konecki. Meeting adjourned.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by:
Lisa Godwin
Minute Taker