City of Harvard Park Board met Oct. 15.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
Chairman Jay Schulz called the meeting to order and called roll at 6:00 pm. Committee members present: Chairman Jay Schulz, Alderman Kevin Williams, Alderman Korey Coffer, Jonathan Sara and Mike Vest.
Alderwoman Tammy Herrera and Joel Kriete were absent. Also present were Supt. Ryan Knop and Darrell Perkins.
Citizen Comment
None
Park Prioritization Review
The Park Board prioritized the list of park improvements for FY2019/2020 as follows:
1. Mow all areas (20k)
2. Restore tennis courts at Northfield (2k)
3. Clean up gazebos & landscape around them at Northfield (4k)
4. Tear out ice skating rink and replace with grass at Lions (5k)
5. Benches for gazebo and walking path at Country Brook (2k)
6. Gate off Park Pointe from Kennedy Drive (3k)
7. Convert the tennis court at Shadow Creek to a basketball court (5k)
The board discussed putting in a walking path for consideration at a later time.
8. Rebuild basketball court at Mary’s Park (5k)
9. Move shelter from Jaycees to pool sand area (20k)
10. Remodel concession stand at Moose (15k)
11. Remove playground equipment and replace at Park Pointe (20k)
Parks Controlled Burn
Supt. Knop and Darrell Perkins went over areas in City parks where they would like to conduct a controlled burn. With the mowing reduction, Supt. Knop would like to keep it rather broad as the full scope of what needs to be burned won’t be known til later this fall.
At 6:16 pm, Chairman Schulz left the meeting and the meeting was turned over to Alderman Williams.
Staff for sure would like to burn the center grassy area in Park Pointe that hasn’t been mowed in two years between the detention pond and the center piece and in Lions Park along the creek. Darrell said they would like to conduct the burn before it snows as grass doesn’t burn well when there is snow on the ground. Similar to last year, two individuals will be on hand for the burn, the bobcat will be on site and both the Harvard Police Dept. and HFPD would be notified. A motion was made by Mike Vest, seconded by Alderman Coffer to recommend to the City Council to approve a controlled burn this fall in the parks before it snows. All ayes. Motion carried.
Boys League Concession Stand Furnace
Supt. Knop related discussions with Nate Binz and Sean Wolfert reference fixing the Boy’s League Concession Stand Furnace. Last winter the furnace was shut down and taken out of service because it was drawing a lot of power. Supt. Knop researched ComEd records and the cost to power the concession stand from 10/25 - 4/25 was $3,410.96. Mike Vest related that in the past, the furnace was kept on low in the winter so nothing freezes. Once a month, the furnace would be turned up for their monthly meeting and turned down afterward. Ryan related that Chairman Schulz has offered the use of J’s Lanes for their monthly meeting. Subsequent to his initial conversations, Ryan was contacted by the Boy’s League and they said to just winterize the building as initially agreed upon. After discussion, the consensus was for the concession stand to remain on the normal rotation of buildings to winterize.
Supt. Knop’s Report
Supt. Knop reviewed his report and updated the Park Board on activities and programs he is working on.
New Business
Darrell Perkins presented a request to purchase a tractor to replace the City’s implement tractor to pull the tri-deck. The implement tractor is 20 years old and needs a new clutch system at a cost of $12,000. The estimated cost of the new equipment is $75,000. Darrel would like to ask Public Works to pay one-third of the cost as the tractor could be used year round by both departments. The old tractor has a resale value of $20,000 - $25,000 either through trade or auction sale. Darrell was directed to get hard costs for the next meeting.
At 6:40 pm, a motion was made by Mike Vest, seconded by Alderman Coffer to adjourn the meeting.
All ayes. Motion carried.
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