Park Board Minutes 2011 12-08-11
APPROVED 2/9/12
Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department
Rec Center
202 E. Countryside Parkway - REC Center
December 8, 2011
Call to Order:
Ken Koch called the meeting to order at 8:08 p.m.
Roll Call:
Ken Koch - yes; Debbie Horaz - yes; Kelly Sedgwick - yes; Amy Cesich - yes; Vickie
Coveny - yes; Mark Dilday - no; Seaver Tarulis - no.
Introduction of City Officials and Staff:
Laura Schraw - Director of Parks and Recreation
Scott Sleezer - Superintendent of Parks
Tim Evans - Superintendent of Recreation
Public Comment:
There were no public comments.
Presentations:
None.
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes from the November 17, 2011 were approved. Motion was made
by Deb Horaz and seconded by Kelly Sedgwick.
Bill Review:
Deb Horaz asked about the total cost for the t-shirts for the Chili Chase. Tim Evans
stated that they are a long sleeve running shirt and they pay $35.00 per shirt, which more than covers
the costs. Deb Horaz asked about the legal matter fee. Laura stated that it was for Grande Reserve for
a release of liens.
Vicki Coveny asked about the timing clock rental for the Chili Chase. Tim said that he keeps official
time and gives orders for all the races. Tim said this person lives in Yorkville and is a cheap time
keeper. Vicki Coveny asked about the different park repairs. Scott stated that two glass domes at
Beecher were burned and had to be replaced. Scott said there was also a post on a slide at Heartland
Park that was replaced. Motion was made by Kelly Sedgwick to approve bills list and seconded by
Amy Cesich. Ken Koch - yes; Deb Horaz - yes; Kelly Sedgwick - yes; Amy Cesich - yes and Vicki
Coveny - yes.
Old Business:
Park Rental and Use Policy
- Laura said that this item is under old business because it was recently
passed July 14th with a few changes and included a Riverfront Park Vending Policy because there was
concern about the use of that park and the other policy has not been updated since 1998. As old
business, we just want to approve this policy which is removing Riverfront Park Vending Policy. Laura
stated she included a marked up copy and a clean copy for the board to review.
Laura said that they are pulling out the policy because we had the 1998 agreement and now have a
vendor agreement that will address all parks. Laura said we are just changing the Riverfront park in
this agreement.
Ken Koch asked for a motion to approve Park Rental Use Policy. Motion was made by Deb Horaz and
seconded by Kelly Sedgwick. Ken Koch - yes; Deb Horaz - yes; Kelly Sedgwick - yes; Amy Cesich -
yes and Vicki Coveny - yes.
New Business:
Laura said she read Bart's memo from the June 23rd meeting in which he
recommended not having an automatic Park Board Review and if an issue arises, we would bring it to
the board. Laura said that Bart asked if we wanted to change the policy and add flexibility to move to
different parks. Laura said the language states there is no vending allowed if we have concessions
open. Scott said we always have the ability to override it.
Laura said it also talks about fees. Laura said there are two categories A and B. She stated that A is
government or non-profit; B is a business trying to make money. She stated the fee for
government/non-profit is $500 per year and business is $700 per year. A year permit for all parks will
be $800 government/non-profit or $1000 business and per day $25 government/non-profit or $35 for
business. There is also language that they can only have one cart per business.
Laura said it was previously $200 for all. Ken asked about the increases. Scott said there will still be a
$200 additional fee to the city. Amy stated the entire amount is still under $1000. Kelly Sedgwick
stated that is still cheap for no overhead.
Laura said we should still have 5% of the total of gross receipts of vendors in Riverfront Park. Vicki
asked who is responsible for keeping track of that. Laura said that way it is made equal for all that
vend in Riverfront Park. Bart suggested that we stay with the 5% and not a flat fee. Amy asked if we
can make a change for a flat fee. Scott stated this is strictly for Riverfront vendors.
The board discussed what things should be allowed to vend at Riverfront because of the businesses
already there. Amy said she thought the board agreed that if the businesses already sell certain items
there cannot be vendors selling the same items i.e. ice cream. Scott said these businesses sell a bit of
everything, but if we put them by the kayak person it is reasonable. Deb asked if Scott will tell them
where to be. Scott stated yes.
Scott asked if the board wants no competing with the businesses. The board said yes, that is the
direction they wanted to go. Deb said she thought we were not having carts down there. Amy said
there are enough businesses there without carts. Amy and Deb stated non-food items would be okay to
sell. Deb stated that the businesses need to be supported. Scott said that there are pads designed for
this purpose. Deb stated she is not in favor of this.
Laura said what was passed in July had this included in it. Amy said she remembers talking about this
topic of competing. Ken said yes, he remembers discussion about things like having a hot dog and a
guy selling brats right next to him. Amy said yes variety, but is it small enough that it hurts business as
well. Ken Koch said he would like the language to be included that park board will be included in
decision or any approval. Laura said the reason Bart didn't want to do that because it has up to a 3
week delay. Amy said the board has to trust you are acting in our best interest.
Laura stated that Bart is trying to promote businesses when we are on short time frames. Laura asked
for clarification on what things can be sold by vendors from the board. The board reviewed the fees
being charged and discussed what the percentage increase is. Vicki Coveny stated she feels the fees are
still too cheap. Scott stated that is not necessarily true. He stated sometimes the vendors don't make
money necessarily. For example, at Music Under the Stars there are multiple vendors.
Ken said the single day doesn't bother me as much as the entire year fee. The board had further
discussion about what foods and items are a conflict with the businesses. Scott asked if we don't want
duplication or competition it is different. Ken stated that he does think that we don't want duplication.
Scott stated that is probably the max for a daily cost. He stated that for different events we have the
ability to charge different fees for special events. Kelly stated that he feels $35.00 per day is fair.
Scott stated that this has never been an issue in the past. Amy said we need to be vendor friendly and
want them here, but at the same time, we have to look at businesses that are already there. Amy stated
that we don't want to have too many choices that take away from the businesses. The board stated they
don't want duplication at Riverfront. Amy stated that everything else is fine for now, but if there are
issues we can look at it again.
Deb Horaz stated that we want this to come back for review to see if there are complaints. Ken said we
don't want policies too specific it could cause more problems. Ken asked to please send us e-mail if
there are any issues with applications, so the board is not blindsided later on. The board discussed what
issues need to be brought to the park board's attention. Ken stated that things happen and we find out
after the fact.
Laura went over the requests the board has that they want to add. If the vendor is denied they can
appeal to park board, Riverfront cannot duplicate items that are in the businesses there. Scott said if
you have been a vendor previously, it is a first come first serve. Amy said there definitely needs to be a
review of this policy next year. The board had further discussion about vendors where they can be,
what they can sell and rules in the policy.
Deb Horaz asked if we will get a final copy of this. Laura said she will do the changes and then e-mail
them to the board. Ken asked for a motion to approve the amended vendor policy. Deb Horaz made a
motion to approve and Amy Cesich seconded it. Ken Koch - yes; Deb Horaz - yes; Kelly Sedgwick -
yes; Amy Cesich - yes and Vicki Coveny - no.
Reports:
Director Report -
Laura stated that the final billing request for Grande Reserve is complete. She
stated that she did meet with Chris Funkhouser to go over budget. Laura said that she did contact the
Off The Beaten Path for the 2013 edition and was told they will contact Laura for information on the
kayak chute. Laura stated that the EDC meeting was canceled, so there was no discussion on land
cash. Laura said the next meeting is January 3, 2012. Ken asked for Laura to send an e-mail reminder
about the EDC meeting.
Parks Report -
Scott said two of the staff re-certified their playground license. He stated that it is a
tough course and he stated that he passed along with one other staff member.
Recreation Report -
Tim stated the Holiday Under the Starts weekend overall went very well. Tim
said that the Taste of Yorkville and Chili Chase went really well and we made a profit. Ken pointed out
that without the Chili Chase we would not have made a profit. The board discussed different ideas for
next year's event.
Additional Business:
None.
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn made by Deb Horaz and seconded by Kelly Sedgwick. The
meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Next meeting January 12, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
*Items needed Board approval or recommendation.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by:
Lisa Godwin
Minute Taker