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Park Board Minutes 2009 03-05-09 Page 1 of 5 A F D O O �D UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE Yorkville Parks & Recreation Department Board Meeting Administration Office— Riverfront Building, 201 W. Hydraulic St. Thursday, March 5, 2009, 7pm Call To Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm by Chris Rollins. Roll Call: Board members present: Chris Rollins-yes, Ken Koch-yes, Deb Horaz-yes, Kelly Sedgwick-yes, Garrick Gillette-yes Introduction Of Guests, City Officials And Staff: Mayor Valerie Burd Assistant City Administrator Bart Olson Finance Director Susan Mika Alderwoman Robyn Sutcliff Alderman Joe Plocher Superintendent of Parks—Scott Sleezer Recreation Manager—Tim Evans Executive Session: (taken out of order on agenda) Mayor Valerie Burd asked for an Executive Session prior to the regular Board meeting. Chris Rollins entertained a motion to temporarily adjourn the regular meeting for the purpose of holding an Executive Session. Deb Horaz and Kelly Sedgwick moved and seconded, respectively, to adjourn the regular meeting for an Executive Session. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote: Rollins-yes, Koch-yes, Horaz-yes, Sedgwick-yes, Gillette-yes. Following the conclusion of the session at 7:18pm, a motion was made by Koch and seconded by Sedgwick to reconvene the regular meeting. This was approved by a unanimous voice vote. Public Comment: None Bills Review: Chris Rollins noted that the checks had already been signed. No further discussion. Page 2 of 5 Old Business: Mayor Burd said the City staff began to notice issues with the Parks budget last summer following an audit. Direction was given to all department heads to cut their budgets by an equal percentage, but no cuts came forth from the Parks Department. At the same time, development fees were dropping. In January the Mayor met with Ms. Mika and Mr. Mogle and several different figures were presented. Staff has now arrived at a realistic figure. She praised Scott Sleezer for his efforts in budget cuts. Ms. Mika presented an analysis of the Parks budget starting with the 2006/2007 audit. In 2007/2008 it shows a beginning balance of$55,140 and an ending deficit of(-$31,925). On April 30, 2008 the audit showed a deficit of(-$87,000). For the record, Scott Sleezer said that this budget report had been requested several times. A line item for"Salaries Instructor Contractual"was severely overspent according to Ms. Mika, In 2008 it was budgeted at$57,400, but the actual amount spent was $105,573. Ms. Mika referred to the analysis and said a transfer from the general fund to the Parks is not reflected. In 2005/2006 a revenue transfer of$750,000 was made to Parks and in the next year, a transfer of$1,010,000 was made. Ms. Horaz commented that the Board thought the Parks had a large surplus and that they often questioned the figures being presented to them. A deficit of(-$120,000) is being projected if the Rec Center expenses can be cut by$29,500 for the last couple months according to the Mayor. She was concerned because this is the point that summer programs are starting. Ken Koch noted there should be $8,000 -$10,000 payment coming on March 151 The deficit from this year will be rolled over into the next year's budget according to the Mayor. Ms. Mika summarized that the following gap must be closed: (-$68,792)for the Parks and Recreation and (-$55,409) for the Rec Center. Kelly Sedgwick asked if the current report reflected the salary that will not be paid to Mr. Mogle now. This can be deducted from next year's budget. Bart Olson will be meeting with the staff to determine further cuts. Mayor Burd noted that the general fund is $1.2 million down and she will not allow the Fund Balance to drop below$1.5 million. Scott Sleezer said he would like time to meet with Bart and Sue Swithin about the budget prior to any further discussions at the Board. This would allow time to understand what is currently in the budget. He said some significant cuts ($25,000 from his budget alone) were made early this week, but he does not know if they are reflected in the current figures presented. Chris Rollins said a meeting will be held March 121h to discuss the budget. Ken Koch requested that the budget be e- mailed to the Board members after Bart, Sue and Scott have met. Chris requested separate breakdowns for Rec Center and Parks & Rec. Page 3 of 5 OSLAD Grant Cycle It was noted that approximately$600,000 in OSLAD money has been promised from the State. Chris Rollins also questioned a possible developer settlement. Mayor Burd said that when the WalMart property closes, the Parks should receive $700,000 in Land Cash. Mr. Rollins also said that the Park Board needs to have a discussion on development plans for parks or even if more parks will be constructed in the near future. He said Dave Mogle had wanted to go ahead with new plans so that the Board could apply for grant money. He added that the pending parks may come to a halt due to budget constraints. It was noted there is currently a grant for a park in Raintree. Chris Rollins said if parks are halted, some citizens may be unhappy, but only seeding and grading may be able to be done. Mayor Burd noted that some departments have volunteered to help with this maintenance rather than face possible layoffs. She suggested that some of the park sites could be community gardens until parks are built there. Chris Rollins asked Scott to review the park list and be prepared to answer citizen questions about pending parks. This information needs to also be conveyed to the Aldermen for possible citizen questions. Ken Koch added that parks are based on 60% buildout. Deb Horaz suggested an article in the paper to be proactive. Chris said a discussion should be held at the next meeting to review the pending parks. Discussion turned to possible revenue streams. Mayor Burd said that mowing could be done for associations. She also suggested possibly sharing staff with other towns as well as helping with community projects such as GIS and Comprehensive Planning. This would help retain employees also. Ms. Burd said that developers are still talking with the City about various projects, however, she said the City cannot depend on developer fees. Overall, she wants the Rec Center to be a success and wants the trails to move forward with grants for which the City has applied. Ken Koch said he would like to see information from the Council to know where the money is coming from for the trails because Board members are asked about this. The Mayor said the Rt. 47 trail will be the City's responsibility rather than the Park's and she hopes to have 50% of the trail covered by a grant. Alternate transportation trails were briefly discussed and it was noted that many of these trails must lead to retail centers or possibly even city hall, library for trip reductions in order to qualify for grants. Chris Rolllins said he would like to see pedestrian bridges over Rts. 34 and 47, funded through grants. With this discussion, Mayor Burd said that IDOT has indicated that Rte. 34 &47 may be packaged together for expansion. Ken Koch questioned the $122,000 for part time salaries. It includes front desk personnel as well as maintenance staff. Ken asked for further details for this figure. Tim Evans noted that there are 2 persons at the front desk, partly for safety issues. Discussion turned to legal fees. Some of the money budgeted was for leasing fees according to Bart Olson. Ms. Mika will research what the expenses are for and Bart will provide the figures and explanations to the Parks staff. She added that she would provide a copy of the invoice whenever the Park Board needs an explanation. Page 4 of 5 It was discussed that the pre-schools are full and there are waiting lists also. Originally space was leased in a church until classes moved to the rec center. Chris Rollins said there is a great demand for childcare. He also noted that people prefer a daycare that is somewhat isolated and that there is concern over other people coming and going nearby not associated with the daycare and concern for parking etc. Mayor Burd suggested that the property owned by the City near the dam could be sold or leased. Concessionaires, canoe rentals etc. were discussed as possibilities for that site also. When the dam project is finished, the City should look at the entire area. Some Board members disagreed that it should not be sold and that it could become more valuable in the future. Further discussion about the budget was tabled until March 12th. Chris Rollins suggested a quarterly review of the budget and Deb Horaz said the rec center should be separate to be able to monitor. School Board Liaision Robyn Sutcliff reported on a school board liaison and said that there is no Park Board member on the School Board. Chris Rollins said a joint letter from him and the previous Mayor, was sent to the Superintendent strongly urging him to fill the position. This was at a time when schools were being built jointly with parks. At that time, a meeting was suggested by the schools. Alderwoman Sutcliff will move forward to pursue a liaison. Chris Rollins said it might be necessary to approach School Board members to have this item placed on their meeting agendas. Ms. Horaz said she knows of an individual who would be willing to attend meetings for both Parks and the School Board. Approval of Minutes: (taken out of agenda order) Minutes —Regular Park Board Meeting— February 12, 2009 Deb Horaz said that in the discussion of employee use of the rec center, the minutes reflected that the Board members approved of the $30 fee. She said the Board actually approved a $10 fee. A motion was made by Ms. Horaz to correct this amount and Ken Koch seconded the motion. Approved unanimously on a voice vote. Cash Analysis (taken out of agenda order) A line item for trash bags from Berry Plastic was listed twice on the analysis. Legal matters in the amount of$472.50 were also brought up. This pertains to an issue with Corn Ed and Kendall County. A motion was then made by Ken Koch and seconded by Kelly Sedgwick to approve the Bills List and Cash Analysis. It was approved unanimously on a roll call vote: Rollins-yes, Koch-yes, Horaz- yes, Sedgwick-yes, Gillette-yes. New Business: YMCA Tri-City Challenge at Riverfront Park Scott Sleezer reported the YMCA had requested a waiver of fees for this event that they have held before. It starts at the riverfront with canoeing and they also use the parking lot and shelter. It was Page 5 of 5 determined that the fee is $125. If police protection is needed, the police fees cannot be waived. If any additional City expenses are incurred such as trash bags etc., it was decided the YMCA should pay for them. Chris Rollins polled the Board members and it was unanimously decided to waive the fees as requested. Requests for Donated REC Center Passes The City has been asked to donate rec center passes to non-profit groups. Some Board members thought this would be a possible way to generate memberships. One-month passes, teaser memberships, passes for hardship cases, discounts and raffles were also suggested. However, ater more discussion, the Board all agreed that it was taxpayer money being used and it could be difficult to determine who would receive the passes. And it was pointed out that the City has eliminated sponsorships. After much review, a voice vote was taken and the Board decided not to donate passes. Reports: Director Report-none Parks Report-none Recreation Report-none Additional Business: President Rollins thanked the Board for their patience in the last two weeks and thanked the staff for their budget efforts. At their March 12th meeting, the Board will discuss ways to generate revenue. Some of the ideas voiced at this meeting were: 5K run, dances, daddy-daughter dances, teen night, baseball grand slam, inside baseball, adult tournaments etc. A Gus Macker event was also discussed and Tim Evans suggested holding that in conjunction with the Oswego Prairie Fest. Ken Koch explained the rec center lease and said there is no 'but' after a year. There would also be a $100,000 penalty if the Parks Department walked away. Kelly Sedgwick added that in any business, a profit is usually not realized in the first year. There was also a brief discussion of the YYBSA. Bart Olson said he will meet with Scott and Sue next week and he encouraged Board members to call or email ideas. He will include Board questions on the budget. He will distribute the meeting packets on the Friday prior to the meeting. He asked if the Board would like to see the packets on the internet or on a CD. The meeting was adjourned at 9:27pm on a motion by Chris Rollins and second by Garrick Gillette. Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young