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Park Board Minutes 2024 01-17-24 - Special APPROVED W/CORRECTIONS 4/2/24 Page 1 of 3 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE SPECIAL PARK BOARD MEETING Wednesday, January 17, 2024 6:00pm West Conference Room, #335 651 Prairie Pointe, Yorkville, IL Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Board Vice-President Gene Wilberg. Roll call was taken and a quorum was established. He expressed his appreciation to the Parks staff for keeping the programs going during the harsh weather. Roll Call: Mr. Wilberg welcomed all and announced those present as follows: Gene Wilberg, Sash Dumanovic, Rusty Hyett, Kelly Diederich, Jorge Ayala, Tiffany Forristall Introduction of Guests, City Officials and Staff: The following staff and guests were recognized: Director of Parks & Recreation Tim Evans, Superintendent of Parks Scott Sleezer, Superintendent of Recreation Shay Remus, City Council Liaison Ken Koch Public Comment: None Presentations: None Approval of Minutes: November 16, 2023 Ms. Forristall moved and Mr. Hyett seconded to approve the minutes as presented. Roll call: Diederich-yes, Dumanovic-yes, Hyett-yes, Forristall-yes, Wilberg-yes, Ayala-yes. Carried: 6-0. Bills Review: Bill List – December 2023 and January 2024 Mr. Evans said most of the bills are from basketball, soccer, preschool program and playgrounds. Budget Report – November and December 2023 Director Evans gave a comparison of the budget for last year and this year. The revenue has increased from last year in programs, concessions, a dramatic increase in park rentals, there is also rental of cell towers and the 2 businesses at the Riverfront, etc. A craft show in October also contributed to income. He said one of the Parks personnel, acts as the point person for weddings in the parks and insures the parks are cleaned before and after. Mr. Ayala commented that increased rentals speak well for the parks. Mr. Evans said large groups sometimes use the parks which requires cleanup. Sponsorships have increased with the help of the Marketing Person Katelyn Gregory. Corresponding expenses are up due to the increases listed above and for salary increases. Mr. Evans said there is a surplus of $255,000 as of December compared to $205,000 the previous year. A deficit had been projected. Mr. Wilberg asked if any new events are scheduled for 2024. Mr. Evans said they want to avoid over-saturation of events, so the present ones will just be enhanced. Page 2 of 3 Ms. Forristall asked if the Parks & Rec had ever reached out to IVCC (Indian Valley Vocational Center) to determine if any students would be interested in the childcare program or helping build playgrounds, etc. Mr. Evans said the school partnership and other groups have been volunteering with various projects to assist the Parks. Ms. Forristall said Plano does not have a Parks and Rec and they rely on students from the high school. Mr. Hyett suggested perhaps some of the Plano students could be included in Yorkville's activities. Ms. Forristall had a suggestion to include the “little people” characters in special events. Ms. Remus said they are now focusing on one event per year to refresh or re-brand them. Mr. Hyett also suggested sports mascots coming to events. Mr. Wilberg asked if the replacement rocks at the river met expectations. Mr. Sleezer said there were multiple engineers there to oversee the project and he believes the job was done well. Vice-President Wilberg also asked if Parks has whatever equipment/items are needed for special events. Mr. Evans replied they did, but work is needed for the Solstice and Yorktober events and they are waiting any further action until the band shell decision is made. With the growth of events and programs, additional staff is likely needed, suggested Mr. Ayala. Mr. Evans said a 5-year plan was just submitted to the City Council and included staffing needs. He said that was the number one topic for all city departments. Ms. Remus said interviews are being held on President's Day and there is already a good pool of workers. Mr. Ayala also asked about a discussion last year where protective equipment was recommended for all staff members who needed it. This had been approved by City Council. Old Business: None New Business: 2024 Youth Baseball/Softball Field Usage Agreements Mr. Evans said this topic was discussed at the last meeting and it was decided to not allow any more travel teams to use the baseball fields due to the growth of the in-house teams. This agreement will solidify that discussion. The actual schedule is being finalized now and Mr. Evans wants to get these agreements approved and distributed. Field usage will begin about March. Tournaments are not covered in these agreements, but there is a tournament schedule that lists rules. No fees are required, but Parks & Rec does not prepare those fields for them and trash is picked up afterward. Ms. Diederich asked if fees might be collected at some point and Mr. Evans replied, it might be a future discussion. Director Evans feels the Parks programs will grow so much in the future, that Parks will need all the fields. Mr. Hyett asked how many kids took part in the programs last year—it was about 1,000. Moved by Ms. Forristall and seconded by Ms. Diederich to approve the 2024 baseball/softball field usage agreement. Roll call: Dumanovic-yes, Hyett-yes, Forristall-yes, Wilberg-yes, Ayala- yes, Diederich-yes. Carried 6-0. Mr. Wilberg asked if Parks and Rec have any connection with the mini-golf sponsored by Friends of the Library. Ms. Remus said Parks & Rec decorate a golf hole and they partnered with the library to provide on-line transaction capabilities to help with on-line registration for the event. Emily Sleezer Park Playground Equipment Donation Proposal Mr. Evans said this proposal came about since a former Parks Director is involved with a group that obtains old playground equipment, refurbishes it and takes it to underprivileged countries. Sleezer Park is a complete teardown and since the group removes and refurbishes, there will be a Page 3 of 3 savings of staff time and labor. Mr. Sleezer explained the process and said the teardown takes one day. Mr. Wilberg said there are many positives to this and asked if any PR will be shared with the community. Mr. Evans is waiting for Board and City Council approval and he will ask Katelyn Gregory for help with press. A motion was made by Ms. Forristall to send the Emily Sleezer park equipment donation proposal to City Council for final approval. Mr. Hyett seconded and roll call was taken: Hyett- yes, Forristall-yes, Wilberg-yes, Ayala-yes, Diederich-yes, Dumanovic-yes. Carried 6-0. Parks and Recreation Monthly Report: Mr. Evans noted that the Parks Department received two awards, one for the pre-school program and the other was for the Storywalk partnership at Heartland. Parks personnel will receive the awards next week at the state conference. He said having Ms. Gregory makes it easier to apply for grants and receive awards such as this. Mr. Evans complimented the staff for partnerships and for their hard work. Mr. Ayala thanked the entire department for their direction. Reporting on the Countryside park, Mr. Sleezer said the park is done and work is nearly done on the Kiwanis Park. Warmer weather is needed for the ADA wall. He said in February or March, the Sleezer park will be torn out. He said there are thousands of trees in the parks and they are being trimmed. Athletics will be starting soon. In Autumn Creek North, the dead trees have been removed and new ones planted. Mr. Evans added that much snowplowing has been done in the past few weeks. Mr. Koch noted that he has received compliments on the efficiency of the plowing. Many compliments have been posted on Facebook as well. Ms. Remus reported on the current activities. She said 20-40 high school students visit the pre- school each week, either as teachers or observers and 2 new interns will soon start teaching. Registration has started for returning students and an open house will be held soon. Girls basketball has finished and boys basketball has begun with a total of 300 kids involved. Baseball, softball and soccer registration has begun also. Ms. Gregory has been working on sponsorships for the sports and her consistent Facebook posts have greatly added to the programs. Jingle Jog was expanded and many families participated. The schedule has been finalized for special events and Ms. Remus is working on themes and securing bands, etc. It was noted that the Beach Party Day date is being changed and the Riverfest will be reduced to one day. Executive Session : None Additional Business: Mr. Ayala said last year the Board had a preliminary discussion about a presentation regarding the need for acquiring land to accommodate growth for recreational opportunities/athletics. Mr. Evans said some of the steps to acquire land will need to be addressed by City Council. Ms. Diederich asked that staff inform the Board about volunteer opportunities for Board members for upcoming events. Adjournment: Since there was no further business, it was moved by Ms. Diederich and seconded by Ms. Forristall to adjourn the meeting at 6:52pm Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young, Minute Taker