Park Board Minutes 2018 11-15-18 Special meetingAPPROVED 1/10/19
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UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
SPECIAL PARK BOARD MEETING
Thursday, November 15, 2018 6:30pm
Parks Maintenance Building, 185 Wolf St., Yorkville, IL
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm by Board President Deborah Horaz. Roll call
was taken and a quorum was established.
Roll Call:
Dan Lane-yes, Gene Wilberg-yes, Amy Cesich-yes, Sash Dumanovic-yes, Deborah
Horaz-yes, Rick DeVries-yes
Absent: Mark Dilday
Introduction of Guests, City Officials and Staff:
Parks & Rec Director Tim Evans, Superintendent of Parks Scott Sleezer, Superintendent
of Recreation Shay Remus, Alderman Ken Koch
Public Comment: None
Presentations: None
Approval of Minutes: July 12, 2018
The minutes were approved as presented on a motion by Mr. Wilberg and second by Mr.
Dumanovic. Approved on voice vote with new Board member Rick DeVries abstaining.
Bills Review:
Bill List – August, September, October and November 2018
Mr. Evans said most of the bills were for summer festivals, painting and a new park in
Windett Ridge. Other bills resulted from wind damage and accidents involving city
vehicles. Discussions were held with the employees involved in the accidents and Ms.
Cesich asked that Board members be alerted regarding accidents so they can respond to
public inquiries. Mr. Evans said he must follow procedures prior to information release.
Parks and Rec pays for repairs and the insurance company then reimburses which is
reported as 'revenue'.
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Budget Report – June, July, August and September 2018
Mr. Evans said that Parks and Rec is budgeted for a deficit this year. He said the city
took a loss when several baseball tournaments and Hometown Days were rained out. The
surplus has been higher than the city wishes in the last couple years and the transfer of
funds to the Parks is lower if there is a 30% budget surplus. Money is also expected
from grants, however, the state is not required to reimburse for a year after projects are
complete and Mr. Evans said there could be further delay due to recent state elections.
He said he reviews the budget weekly. Land cash will also be slightly lagging while
waiting for reimbursements. Ms. Horaz asked about the affect of the uptick and then
slowdown of homebuilding and loss of incentives. Mr. Evans replied that each developer
has their own agreement with the city. Land cash is received from city fees and varies by
development.
Old Business:
Grants Update
Both grants are completed according to Mr. Evans. They are working with the sports
dome regarding a run at the park and Ms. Remus reported they would also like to
organize activities and show a movie there. It is expensive to do activities at the dome
and the city currently has enough space to accommodate programs using the bank
building. They said a gym would be beneficial for after-school activities. There was brief
discussion of the possible uses where the former Shak was located.
New Business:
2019 Meeting Schedule
The Board agreed to meet every other month with special meetings if needed. The first
regular meeting will be in January. A motion was made by Ms. Cesich and seconded by
Mr. Lane to approve the 2019 schedule as presented.
Roll call vote: Wilberg-yes, Cesich-yes, Dumanovic-yes, Horaz-yes, DeVries-yes, Lane-
yes. Carried 6-0.
Review of the Registration, Refund, Waiver and Scholarship Policies
Director Evans asked for approval of these policies. Park rental costs were briefly
discussed and he will send applicable information to the Board. Ms. Cesich moved to
approve the policies as presented and Mr. DeVries seconded the motion.
Roll call vote: Cesich-yes, Dumanovic-yes, Horaz-yes, DeVries-yes, Lane-yes, Wilberg-
yes. Carried 6-0.
Grande Reserve Land Cash
Development has begun again in the Grande Reserve subdivision and Mill Rd. is
scheduled to be repaved. Playgrounds and trails are being considered and grants have
been secured for the playgrounds and trail already in place. There is $700,000 to
$900,000 land cash available since the parks projects there are already complete. Mr.
Evans said two ideas are being proposed: 1) finish parks and playgrounds in other
subdivisions or 2) build a facility in Grande Reserve.
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A facility in Grande Reserve was discussed and Mr. Dumanovic noted program space is
needed as well as trails. Ms. Remus stated that the class schedule is full and nearly
overbooked in the old bank building and there would be no space for those programs if
the city decides to convert the Van Emmon facility into a police department. In
conclusion, Mr. Evans said Bart Olson will speak with Grande Reserve representatives
about a proposed facility. A motion was then made by Ms. Cesich to possibly pursue a
facility in Grande Reserve (option #1 on the proposal) and Mr. Lane seconded.
Roll call vote: Dumanovic-yes, Horaz-yes, DeVries-yes, Lane-yes, Wilberg-yes, Cesich-
yes. Carried 6-0.
Youth Baseball League Proposal
Mr. Evans said the YYBSA proposed that the Parks & Rec take over the baseball league
in-house operations and registration (excluding travel team). He said the volunteers are
overwhelmed. Parks staff has worked on a budget for hiring a full-time employee, job
description and other details. One of the Executive Board members would be hired to
help the transition. There are 800-1,000 kids involved in this program.
The Parks staff believes this is a great opportunity even though it may not be a big money
generator and Mr. Sleezer added that most towns run these programs. Alderman Koch
said it would be smart to start in January (or March?) when teams are chosen. If the
agreement does not work out, YYBSA would have the right of first refusal. There will
also be a 5-member advisory board.
Mr. Dumanovic asked if liability etc., is being assumed with the agreement. There are no
liabilities, however, YYBSA is turning their equipment over to Parks & Rec. Volunteers
will help run the program.
Ms. Cesich moved and Mr. DeVries seconded the motion to approve the Parks & Rec in-
house youth baseball and softball agreement.
Roll call: Dumanovic-yes, Horaz-yes, DeVries-yes, Lane-yes, Wilberg-yes, Cesich-yes
Carried 6-0.
Sponsorship Policy
Sponsorships for catalogs and other items were discussed and Mr. Evans said political
sponsorships have historically not been allowed. Staff has analyzed having religious
sponsors regarding the upcoming baseball agreement. He said most towns don't allow
religious names on shirts. It was determined that religious organizations could sponsor
an event such as Hometown Days and their name will be allowed on Chili Chase shirts.
The Board decided to revise the policy, website and other documents to reflect the
change to not allow religious group names on shirts, etc.
Ms. Cesich made a motion to add the following language to the Advertisement Terms
and Policies: to avoid potential personal conflict, sponsorship opportunities will not be
provided to religious organizations for specific sports teams or leagues where participants
do not have control of the team they are assigned; however, religious organizations will
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be given the opportunity to sponsor special events as they are open events allowing
freedom of choice to participate. Mr. Dumanovic seconded this motion.
Roll call: Horaz-yes, DeVries-yes, Lane-yes, Wilberg-yes, Cesich-yes, Dumanovic-yes.
Carried 6-0.
Parks and Recreation Monthly Report:
Many events are scheduled for this coming weekend including a parade and other holiday
festivities. The Chili Chase will be held on Sunday and Parks and Rec is working with
the Kiwanis to distribute toys. The catalog is also being finalized.
Hometown Days was reviewed and staff said it was rained out on Saturday. Parks and
Rec receives a percentage of profits from the carnival which was $15,000. Ms. Remus
said the department is always evaluating events and she said the Paw Patrol event was
very successful. There is a big event each month now and Mr. Wilberg said the chip trail
would be a great venue. Ms. Cesich said a singing/karaoke event has been suggested by
the public.
Ms. Remus said basketball will start soon. It is at maximum capacity and next year the
sessions will be split. Staff will begin working with the school district. She said kids
from 2 years old to high school are being served. Planning for 2019 is being done now.
Mr. Sleezer said building improvements have been made including grass and concrete.
He encouraged all to drive through Riverfront Park and Bristol Bay Park. He stated the
Parks Department installed a sidewalk in Greenbriar near the Heritage Woods senior
living facility so that seniors don't have to walk in the street.
It was noted by Ms. Remus that the Van Emmon facility has now been in use for 1 year
and $31,000 in rent has been collected in that time.
A suggestion was made by Board member Dan Lane to construct an outdoor ice rink in
the future. Mr. Sleezer said a rink is being planned near the skate park in Bristol Bay,
however, there is no water access at this time. Staff said it takes 5 days of below 20
degree weather to freeze the ice. A budget request for an ice rink has been made.
Executive Session: none
Additional Business:
New member Rick DeVries was welcomed to the Board. He served as President of the
Board of Education in Carol Stream for 8 years and also worked alongside the Park
District there. He currently works in Finance.
Adjournment:
There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 8:00pm on a motion and
second by Ms. Cesich and Mr. DeVries, respectively. Unanimous voice vote.
Respectfully transcribed by
Marlys Young, Minute Taker