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Park Board Minutes 2011 04-14-11 Q Yorkville Parks & Recreation Department Administration Office - 201 W. Hydraulic St Yorkville, IL 60560 Park Board Meeting Minutes Parks and Recreation Administration Office 7:00 p.m. April 14 2011 Call to Order: Ken Koch called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call: Ken Koch —Yes; Seaver Tarulis — Yes; Amy Cesich — Yes; Kelly Sedgwick - Yes Introduction of Guests, City Officials and Staff: • Interim Director of Parks and Recreation — Bart Olson • Interim Superintendent of Recreation —Tim Evans • Superintendent of Parks — Scott Sleezer City Officials and Guests • City Council Liaison to Park Board — Diane Teeling, Ward 4 Alderman • Tim Rochford, Yorkville • Linda Cabanban, Yorkville • Lisa Welz, Yorkville • Gary Golinski, Yorkville Mayor-Elect • Lynn Dubajic—Yorkville Economic Development Public Comment: Ron and Sue Walker, owners of the former Club 47 and landlords for the REC Center, were present to discuss negative statements in the local papers regarding the REC Center lease. They do not believe the actual lease is the overall problem with the REC Center. Mr. Walker indicated the REC Center could be in better financial situation if the adult and student membership rates were kept the same as they were at Club 47, and there were no reduced prices to residents. In his view, by decreasing membership rates, the REC Center was losing about $80,000 per year on membership alone. Ken Koch said that the prices were lowered to bring in more memberships. Mr. Walker also indicated that his price structure always worked. He said when there are resident and non-resident rates; it tells people there is a subsidy out there. If Yorkville is not willing to subsidize the REC Center, the prices should not have been changed. He also commented that he did a lot of the maintenance himself when he was managing Club 47. Mr. Walker advised that he met with Mayor Burd, Scott Sleezer & Tim Evans in mid January to talk about the lease. Ken Koch advised that the board has a copy of the lease and he was not aware of any negotiations. Mr. Walker advised that if the City bought the building, they would not have to pay the $54,000 in real estate taxes except for the first year of ownership. He also advised that he would have the ability to owner-finance. There was discussion of doing a building appraisal. Also discussed were repair issues, HVAC replacements, and the Walkers' responsibility to take care of some of these issues. The board thanked the Walkers for their comments. Park Board Meeting April 14, 2011 Page 2 of 6 Lisa Wells, reporter, Record Newspaper, spoke to the group. She indicated she was not attending the meeting as a member of the press, but as a resident. She questioned whether the REC Center was "over$250,000 in the hole?" Bart Olson reviewed the budget and indicated that the cumulative debt was $227,000. Bart did say that the budget would be distributed at the next meeting, and that the ($227,000) should be less. Ms Wells was concerned that the city was in distress and that several things needed to be considered: • The board should hear from residents • No bike trails —we don't have money • We are struggling on how we are going to pay for things • REC Center price structure—reduced membership is a benefit as a resident o Do not raise student rate from $20 to $30 o The presentation given by the Walkers was all in their favor at keeping the rent as is o There is a possibility that fiscally, we may need to walk away o She wants assurance that we are going to look into it o Do due diligence with negotiating the rent or purchase price Ms Wells thanked the board for the job they do. She appreciated their time and efforts on behalf of the residents of Yorkville. Members commented that playgrounds do not make money— REC Center is playground for adults. If we do not go forward with the lease or purchase of the REC center, we have to come up with money for preschool and other programs. Ms Wells commented that one of the most valuable things for the board to do would be to invite all the aldermen to a board meeting and have open communication about the REC Center. Presentations: None Approval of Minutes: March 24, 2011* Ken Koch asked for a motion to approve the meeting minutes of March 24, 2011. Kelly Sedgwick made the motion and Seaver Tarulus seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved by voice vote. Bills Review: Bill list* Members reviewed the bills list. Ken Koch asked for a motion to approve the bills list. Amy Cesich made the motion and Kelly Sedgwick seconded the motion. The motion was approved by roll call vote: Ken Koch—Yes; Seaver Tarulis—Yes; Amy Cesich —Yes; Kelly Sedgwick - Yes Park Board Meeting April 14, 2011 Page 3 of 6 Old Business: REC Center Members discussed the REC Center as follows: • Purchase of the REC Center • Business appraisal will need to be done—the cost of$6,000-$7,000 for the appraisal will be money well spent—anytime the city enters into a purchase contract, an appraisal must be done. • Mayor has met with Walkers—outcome is what we heard tonight • We have to prove the building is worth a certain amount • Walkers will finance and hold the mortgage • REC Center lease history o Everything in business plan has been in line o The reason the building went for lease is that the City would not bond this out to buy building —option to buy was gone. o Buyout could be done at any time • Future • It has to make sense financially for the community • Notification to be done in December, but it could be extended • Process needs to be evaluated now Whitewater course naming Ken spoke with Marc Miller, IDNR. They are supporting the request to name the whitewater course after Marge Cline. Lynn Dubajic reported that she has been working with the Illinois Paddlers Council. She indicated that at Canoecopia, paddlers were passionate about Marge Cline and do consider her a person of great importance to that group of individuals. Ken advised that when the board previously discussed the naming request, they did not question Marge Cline's importance and impact in the paddling community, but wanted to find someone tied to the community, or defer the naming to the IDNR. After discussion, members felt that if IDNR and the paddling community feel they want the whitewater course named after Marge Cline, the City should be respectful to IDNR and to the people who are coming to use this new amenity and honor the request. In the paddlers' world, it will have a positive impact in our community. Members recommended that the whitewater course at Bicentennial Riverfront Park be named the Marge Cline Whitewater Course. Family of Marge Cline would possibly want to have a separate day to name the course in addition to the May 14 ribbon cutting celebration for the facility. It was noted that memorials to honor any local people could be located in the park. The motion to recommend naming the whitewater course at Riverfront Bicentennial the Marge Cline Whitewater Course was made by Seaver Tarulis and seconded by Amy Cesich. All present were in favor. Recommendation will go to City Council. Park Board Meeting April 14, 2011 Page 4 of 6 New Business: REC Center small gym usage Bart advised that Tim Rochford had made an unsolicited offer to the City to permanently rent the small gym at the REC Center. Tim was present at the meeting and outlined his plan to relocate his business, Empower Training. He advised that the building they were currently leasing was going into foreclosure. For their classes, they would need to install permanent mats on the floor of the small gym. Members discussed the current usage of the small gym as a space to hold classes, provide an open gym for kids, and serve as occasional rental for small groups. The biggest impact would be removal of basketball and batting cages due to the installation of permanent mats on the floor. Tim advised that he looked forward to partnering with the REC Center. He would bring more people into the building; he would not compete with what the REC Center offered. Empower Training offers programs for every age group. He said the current REC Center members would see the programs his business offered. Currently, he has 125 people enrolled in his classes. In the past, he taught classes at the Beecher Center and Parkview, and then went on his own. There was discussion on how Tim's people would sign in and out. He gave an overview of his classes and schedules. Members agreed that the park board has a good history with Tim. Lynn Dubajic commented that there are no businesses looking for space like the small gym. Members requested that Bart put together a lease agreement for Tim and bring it to the next meeting for review. Bike trail referendum result The Bike Trail did not pass in the referendum. Members discussed the bike trail referendum and the best ways to plan for bike paths in the future. It was noted that there is still an opportunity with the Rt.47 widening and trail projects as they come up. Diane Teeling & Lynn Dubajic have met and are attempting to organize privately funding a bike trail project. Discussion followed: • Hold a bike event with private donations and sponsors. • Not in favor of bike stickers • Higher gas prices— people will bike rather than drive • IDOT needs to know in September if we want the bike trail • Talk with finance director regarding establishing a trust for donations • Do not want to create major issue for auditors —have REC center as point of drop-off. Tim has program to keep track of money. • Rt. 47 widening project—sell a foot for $10/foot— Lynn said people in her subdivision would support it as well as people who voted for the bike trail. • Lynn contacted Jeff Lamar, Fox Valley Trophy, regarding providing plaques for larger donors. $8 for plaque for$1,000 donors. He also has a process where he could gold plate the plaque - $5,000 donor(cost $20). Print latitude and longitude on certificates. Park Board Meeting April 14, 2011 Page 5 of 6 • Diane Teeling, Amy Cesich, and Lynn Dubajic will be on bike trail committee. Diane will talk with Green Committee. Will also present to Chamber of Commerce. • Promote this through Facebook, contact local bike clubs, cycle stores, Kohl's, Target. • Work out budgeting and accounting with finance manager— budget for expenses • Adopt a committee to make recommendation to city council The Board supported private individuals organizing a bike trail committee to take ideas to City Council. Old Business: Continued Strategic Planning Tabled Reports: Director's Report None Recreation Report Written report— March good month for REC Center Parks Report • Started construction on tennis courts o Proof roll on clay, gravel o There are a couple of spots that are giving us a wrinkle o 3 inches of pavement o Shave off some of the bad spots—may need to spend extra $5,000 o This would be a change order • Board gave consensus to do repairs as needed — under$5,000 Parks Designer Report None Additional Business: Scott indicated that it was extra work to get the room ready for the board meeting; and then put it back together for the preschool. He recommended the Board meeting at the Riverfront building. Suspend Regular Meeting to go into Executive Session Seaver Tarulis made the motion to suspend the regular meeting and Amy Cesich seconded the motion. The regular meeting was suspended at 9:20 p.m. Regular Meeting Call to Order Ken Koch asked for a motion to call the regular meeting to order at 9:35 p.m. A motion was made by Kelly Sedgwick and seconded by Seaver Tarulis. Ken Koch advised that an e-mail was forwarded to members regarding liability for the canoe chute. This will be an agenda item for the next meeting. Park Board Meeting April 14, 2011 Page 6 of 6 Adjourn Meeting: Ken Koch asked for a motion to adjourn the regular meeting at 9:37 p.m. Amy Cesich made the motion and Kelly Sedgwick seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved by voice vote. Next meeting: Thursday, April 28, 2011 *Items needing Board approval or recommendation Respectfully Submitted By. Louise A. Beukelman