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Park Board Minutes 2025 11-20-25APPROVED 1/15/26 Page 1 of 4 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE PARK BOARD MEETING Thursday, November 20, 2025 6:00pm East Conference Room, #337 651 Prairie Pointe, Yorkville, IL Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Board President Dan Lane. Roll call was taken and a quorum was established. Roll Call: Dan Lane-yes, Gene Wilberg-yes, Kelly Diederich-yes, Jorge Ayala-yes, Tiffany Forristall-yes, Sammy Hall-yes Absent: Sash Dumanovic 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: May 15, 2025 and June 16, 2025 Ms. Diederich moved and Mr. Ayala/Mr. Wilberg seconded to approve the minutes as presented. Roll call: Wilberg-yes, Lane-yes, Ayala-yes, Hall-yes, Forristall-yes, Diederich-yes. Carried 6-0 Bills Review: Bill List – June - November 2025 Bills were generated from Hometown Days, athletics, pre-school start-up, special events, field maintenance, installation of playgrounds and general purchases. Budget Report – May – October 2025 Mr. Evans compared the budgets from last year and this year and said expenses are up somewhat due to raises, etc. But staff mainly focuses on the revenue which includes athletics and concession stands which were helped by great weather. He feels that revenue will be over $70,000 this year. He said the surplus last year was $23,000 and this year will be $243,000. He said they watch expenses closely along with offerering quality programs. Sponsorships and donations were also up due to having a full-time marketing person who works with Ms. Remus. Mr. Wilberg asked what perks the sponsors receive. They receive website and social media coverage, shirts, banners, etc. Old Business: None Page 2 of 4 New Business: Meeting Schedule for 2026 President Lane asked that Board members inform Mr. Evans if they will/will not be attending the Board meetings. The meeting schedule was approved on a motion by Ms. Diederich, seconded by Mr. Lane/Ms. Forristall simultaneously. Roll call: Lane-yes, Ayala-yes, Hall-yes, Forristall-yes, Diederich-yes, Wilberg-yes. Carried 6-0. 2025 Hometown Days Report Mr. Lane said the Hometown Days went very smoothly and staff did a great job. He said there was positive feedback from the public and Mr. Hall commented that the young people with children said the event felt safe. Mr. Evans said that it is truly a team effort with much help from the parks in set-up, clean-up etc. and the police providing a presence. He also noted that the Parks Department receives 30% of the ticket sales and Ms. Remus has just renewed the contract with the carnival. He said they hope to increase the revenue and will do so with more sponsorships. He said the perfect weather also contributed to the success of the event. Ms. Remus said they tried some different things this year in spite of not having the partnership with Cross Lutheran. She said a highlight of the event was the appearance by an entertainer inspired by the Taylor Swift concert tour and who actually resides in Yorkville. She said the event went very smoothly thanks to the great weather, parks staff and all volunteers who assisted. She said $32,000 profit was made on the carnival overall and she noted this was the first year credit cards were accepted. The carnival requires cash, however, 23% of other sales were made by credit cards. Board members also discussed the wristbands evolvement over the years. Ms. Remus noted that $6,000 in profit was made from the wristband sales. Mr. Wilberg asked if the event is missing out on profits from sales from beverages and food in addition to the alcohol sales and if the city makes money on what the vendors sell. He also asked what other opportunities there are to make more profit and Mr. Evans replied sponsorships. Ms. Remus said the vendors pay a fee to the city to be at the event and most vendors are local. Mr. Lane said the only negative comments he heard were that the same band was always there, however, staff said those bands continue to draw the people and it would be difficult to get them back if they were canceled. Ms. Forristall commented about her experiences of having to pay twice the amount to bring a certain band back after canceling them. National acts require security, transportation, hotels, food, etc. making them cost-prohibitive. Ms. Diederich asked if there are things the staff would like such as walkie-talkie or other items. Some improvements have already been made such as permanent power, walkie-talkies for all, fencing, metal barricades, etc. The golf carts are a major plus, said Mr. Wilberg and it was noted the city owns 2 and the rest are rented. Mr. Ayala inquired if there is still enough space to hold the Hometown Days in the same location. Mr. Evans said there is adequate space now. Hometown Days Carnival Contract The contract has already been signed by Parks staff, but the Board was asked to approve it as well. Mr. Evans said the carnival is very clean, they are in the Chicago area and communicate with all departments very well. A motion was made by Ms. Forristall to approve the 2026/2027 Skinners Amusement Hometown Days carnival contract, seconded by Ms. Diederich. Roll call: Ayala-yes, Hall-yes, Forristall-yes, Diederich-yes, Wilberg-yes, Lane-yes. Carried 6-0. Page 3 of 4 2026 Baseball and Softball Field Agreements Mr. Lane noted there are 19 baseball fields. Mr. Evans said the teams want to finalize their field usage agreements now. He provided some background regarding the teams and field usage. He said YYBSA approached the Parks Department a few years ago and asked the city to take over the in-house portion of the league while they kept the travel portion. Some of the fields were guaranteed to YYBSA for the travel leagues. A new field is to be built at Bristol Bay by the developer, however, it is not up to standards yet. High school fields were being used last year by the Parks Dept. Mr. Evans also mentioned the tackle football and cheerleading at Rotary Park where the parking is very inadequate and caused problems with area residents. Some of the parking was approved for the clubhouse building next to Rotary Park. Also, Stepping Stone Park has open space and a parking lot, so fields will be opened there He said there are over 600 kids and it's growing and adequate parking is needed in the future. A motion was made by Ms. Forristall to approve the 2026 Baseball and Softball Field Assignments and Field Usage Agreements and it was seconded by Mr. Hall. Roll call: Hall-yes, Forristall-yes, Diederich-yes, Wilberg-yes, Lane-yes, Ayala-yes. Carried 6-0. Lightning Detectors Proposal Mr. Evans said there are only 2 companies that manufacture lightning detectors and he is recommending the company Perry Weather. Three were replaced last year at Beecher, Riverfront and YIS. Problems were occurring at a couple other locations and he would like to replace the last 4 of the detectors. He said the new ones are monitored by an app on all employee phones. He pointed out that not all parks have the detectors, but ones with special events, etc. do have them. A motion was made and seconded by Ms. Forristall and Ms. Diederich, respectively, to replace the last 4 lightning detectors in the North and South zones with the purchase of equipment at a cost of $47,200 from Perry Weather. Mr. Evans noted that since the purchase is more than $25,000, it will need to go before City Council after Board approval. Roll call: Forristall-yes, Diederich-yes, Wilberg-yes, Lane-yes, Ayala-yes, Hall-yes. Carried 6-0. 2026 Athletics Purchase Price Agreement This purchase of athletic equipment and uniforms will exceed $25,000 so it must also be approved by City Council. Mr. Evans expects the cost to be $85,000 to $90,000 and is covered by the fees collected. The agreement is with a local company and Mr. Evans shared that a rep from the company recently drove to Charleston, Illinois to pick up shirts that had to be re-printed due to an error. He pointed out the significance of having the local relationship. A motion was made by Ms. Forristall to approve the 1-year (2026) purchase price agreement with BSN Sports and it was seconded by Mr. Hall. Roll call: Wilberg-yes, Lane-yes, Ayala-yes, Hall-yes, Forristall-yes, Diederich-yes. Carried 6-0. 2026 Sponsorship Update Mr. Evans said a QR code is included in the partner package and it takes the viewer to each component of the sponsorship package. Ms. Remus said they are starting the 2026 planning and are trying to make it “one stop shopping” for potential sponsors. There are 4 basic components for potential sponsors to review and with additional clicks, they are able to see further details. Staff did 500 business mailings and also emails from a list they obtained from the Chamber of Commerce and a Parks list, since many businesses are solidifying budgets at this time. She said they have spending tiers in the amount of $2,500 and $5,000 and two $5,000 sponsors have already been secured. There are also family and church sponsors and many in-kind trades. Sponsorships can also be event-specific. Ms. Remus also noted that one of the data centers provided an anonymous donation for Hometown Days. She said that all bands have been booked for next year except one for Hometown Days. Page 4 of 4 Parks & Recreation Monthly Report: Mr. Sleezer said Cannonball playground is being rehabbed and they have put up the holiday decorations getting ready for the Riverfront festivities. Tree maintenance work will be done and 96 new trees will be planted throughout park sites. A tree service will be coming to Wheaton Woods to remove dead vegetation. They will also be doing annual inspections and maintenance this winter. The Board briefly discussed what plans might be in place for the Parks Department spaces being vacated when staff moves to the new facility. Mr. Evans said the new Public Works building is about 40% complete with indoor work scheduled for this winter. He also noted the holiday tree-lighting celebration is in 1 day. Ms. Remus reported the pre-school is doing very well and the high school students are doing some amazing programs. She said there are 100 students who are teaching the early childhood classes twice a week. Executive Session : None Additional Business: None Adjournment: Since there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:31pm on a motion by Mr. Lane and second by Ms. Forristall. Roll call: Lane-yes, Ayala-yes, Hall-yes, Forristall-yes, Diederich-yes, Wilberg-yes. Carried 6-0. Next Meeting: The next meeting is January 15th. Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young, Minute Taker