McHenry Times

City of Harvard Park Board Committee met Jan. 20.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Chairman Jay Schulz called the meeting to order and called roll at 6:00 pm. Committee members present: Alderman Charlie Gorman, Joel Kriete, Jose Saucedo and Mike Vest. Members Alderwoman Bona Heinsohn, Alderman Matt Perkins, Torey Lawin and Scott Logan were absent. Also present were Mayor Michael Kelly and Supt. Ryan Knop.

Citizen Comment

None

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Mike Vest, seconded by Jose Saucedo to approve the Park Board Minutes of December 9, 2019, as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

HERS Dugouts Update

Jose Saucedo reported on the status of the HERS dugouts. The masonry work has been delayed due to weather, but will be done as soon as weather permits. Jose noted the work needs to be done 2-3 weeks prior to the first high school home game on March 17th so the roof can be completed.

Boys League Concession Stand

Supt. Knop reported on the status of the concession stand upgrades which are on track for completion. He will meet with Chris Martin within the next week to determine what still needs to be done.

Carson & Barnes Circus - August 19, 2020

Carson & Barnes Circus is working to resolve payment of the outstanding amusement tax from their prior usage in 2017. Mayor Kelly and Alderman Gorman relayed discussion from the Ordinance Committee Meeting with a recommendation to the Park Board moving forward to require a deposit for the amusement tax with a suggested amount of $1,000. At Mike Vest’s inquiry, Mayor Kelly felt the deposit should be applicable to any party that wants to rent the park for a for-profit business. The Park Board previously approved the fees for Carson Barnes to require full payment of the outstanding amusement tax, submission of the park shelter rental application with full payment and a deposit equal to the prior amusement tax which will be held to offset the amusement tax for the current rental.

Alderman Gorman recommended that the Park Board review the current fee structure for all park usage. This will be on the next agenda.

Harvard Swimming Pool

Pool Painting Quotes

Supt. Knop reviewed quotes received to date for pool painting:

• Pecover Decorating Services Inc. $22,500

• McCahill Painting Co. $58,840

He is obtaining a third quote and noted the project should be approved no later than March with project completion late April/early May 2020.

Approve Quote from Northern Mechanical/Boiler Supt. Knop reviewed quotes for the boiler:

• Northern Mechanical $29,000

• Jensen’s Plumbing & Heating Inc. $37,720

• Hartwig Plumbing & Heating Inc. $71,200

Supt. Knop will ask Northern Mechanical if they would accept payment after May 1st so it can come in under next year’s budget. If not, his suggestion was to borrow from the capital improvement fund and budget for it to go back into the capital improvement fund. A motion was made by Jose Saucedo, seconded by Mike Vest to recommend to the City Council to accept the quote submitted by Northern Mechanical at a cost not to exceed $29,000 and to authorize the Mayor’s execution of all contracts. All ayes. Motion carried.

The boiler quotes do not include the cost of (6) impellers which come from the same place so any price difference would be installation. Supt. Knop is waiting for quotes and recommended replacing the existing brass impellers with stainless steel at an approximate cost of $1,500 each.

Pool Pass Donation

Supt. Knop reviewed the 2020 pool pass donation application. The consensus was to keep the donations the same as 2019 at a maximum of 12 pool passes to be donated to qualifying organizations during the application period.

Pool Events

Supt. Knop reviewed pool forms which will be posted on the City’s website and distributed with water bills and school backpack mail. Activities will include Tween Night, Special Needs Swim Day, My First Swim and Rockin’ the Pool. Ryan will book the band Petty Thieves with funds left in this fiscal year budget. He will also have all the info available at a Parent University to be held on April 4th at the high school.

Sponsorship

Supt. Knop gave an overview of a letter inviting businesses to be a City of Harvard Parks & Rec Dept. Sponsor to generate revenue. Various sponsorship opportunities would be available and would not be limited to local business but would include larger corporate businesses. Potential sponsors would need to be approved by the Park Board. This will be on the agenda at the next meeting.

Harvard Nursery Quotes

Supt. Knop related that 9 trees, predominantly maple, were planted in various City parks last week. He has asked Harvard Nursery to submit a quote that would include the pool in the City’s maintenance schedule.

Park Events

Supt. Knop reviewed scheduled park events for the upcoming year which include a softball tournament and youth fishing derby. Most of the projects for the upcoming year will be pool focused. He will also look into summer golf program which was a collaborative event last year.

Community Action Day

A Community Action Day will be scheduled in April for pool cleanup.

Remaining 19/20 Budget Allocation

Supt. Knop reviewed the remaining budget allocation for FY19/20 in the approximate amount of $23,000.

• Chairman Schulz noted that the public has indicated that the pool should be a priority and felt that should be the board’s focus.

• Supt. Knop found a stand-alone pool pass software system at a cost of $250 which works with the existing equipment and card printer that would track attendance and generate reports; Mike Vest will meet with Ryan to view the demo.

• Other projects suggested were installing a family bathroom at one of the parks, security cameras and rolling a portion of the funds into the capital improvement fund.

A motion was made by Jose Saucedo, seconded by Alderman Gorman to purchase a basketball hoop at a cost of $2,300 plus shipping as well as a computer and monitor at an approximate cost of $1,200. All ayes. Motion carried. The 19/20 Budget Allocation will be on the next agenda; Supt. Knop will get pricing on the HERS bathroom.

Supt. Knop’s Report

Supt. Knop noted what was in his report was discussed at the meeting.

New Business

At Chairman Schulz’ inquiry, Supt. Knop noted that as soon as the ground is frozen enough to get in heavy equipment, the Parks Dept. will begin working on the sandy area at the pool to disconnect the fence and take out the layer of sand which will be replaced with dirt.

Joel inquired if a permit was needed to give away hot chocolate and coffee at the sledding hill and if it would be permissible to use the roll door at the senior center and to use a propane heat lamp in the parking lot. Supt. Knop didn’t think a permit was necessary if food wasn’t being sold and noted that the roll door at senior center is the unloading area for food pantry.

Supt. Knop reported that the February 15th budget workshop may be changed to February 22nd, pending availability of the aldermen. If the meeting is changed, the Park presentation will be from 8-9 am.

At 7:07 pm, a motion was made by Mike Vest, seconded by Joel Kriete to adjourn the meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/parks_and_recreation_board/meeting/12371/minutesparks2020-01-20.pdf