McHenry Times

City of Harvard Park Board met Dec. 9.

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: Alderwoman Bona Heinsohn, Alderman Charlie Gorman, Jose Saucedo, Scott Logan and Mike Vest. Members Alderman Matt Perkins, Joel Kriete and Torey Lawin were absent. Also present were Mayor Kelly and Supt. Ryan Knop.

Citizen Comment

None

HERS Dugouts Update

Jose Saucedo updated the Park Board on the status of the HERS dugouts. The concrete has been poured at a cost of $1,350 and masonry work will be done soon. District 50 woodshop will be making cubbies.

Boys League Concession Stand

Supt. Knop related there isn’t anything new to report on the status of the concession stand upgrades.

Budget

Supt. Knop gave an overview of budget projections for FY20/21. Areas of discussion:

• 1⁄4 of Darrell Perkins wages will come from Public Works which will offset the cost to mow areas that are not park land.

• Supt. Knop is obtaining bids for the boiler to be submitted to the Park Board for approval at the January 20th, 2020 meeting with the recommendation to go before the City Council on January 28th.

• Supt. Knop is obtaining bids to paint the pool which will be a late April/early May 2020 project.

• Supt. Knop was directed to research the cost for new pool software that will track attendance data for future use and/or see if training is available on the old software which is about 20 years old.

• Other budget priorities include salaries, camera systems in the parks (reduce to $5,000), HERS concession stand and family bathroom and a new mower. The tennis courts were eliminated at a cost of $15,000. The salary amount will determine what Parks is able to mow in the coming season. The Park Board discussed how to resolve the retention/park property that the City is mowing in Country Brook. Supt. Knop invoiced the bank for 28 weeks of mowing but hasn’t had a response.

• The Finance Committee will meet in February, 2020 to discuss the budget.

Alderwoman Heinsohn joined the meeting at 6:36 pm.

Swimming Pool

• Chairman Schulz brought up for consideration reducing the out of town rate which is currently proposed to be $20 more than an in-town pass. The consensus was to leave the rate at its current price.

• Items that need to be replaced at the pool should be priced out over the next year.

• Check with Mercy to see if they would be interested in working on a senior aquatics program.

Carson & Barnes Circus

City staff was contacted by Carson & Barnes Circus to have a circus at Milky Way Park in August, 2020. Supt. Knop reported on a couple issues when they were in town in 2017: park reservation wasn’t paid until the day of their event in cash and they did not pay the requirement amusement tax. After discussion, the consensus was to require full payment of the outstanding amusement tax, submit 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 brought up discussion about amending City ordinance to increase the park rental fees for events that are for-profit because it is so hard to track the amusement tax.

Supt. Knop’s Report

Report as submitted.

New Business

Alderman Gorman brought up discussion on cost saving measures in the parks such as selling park land to developers, having associations take over neighborhood parks and turning Country Brook into prairie land. Other ideas discussed were to sell naming rights to the pool or Milky Way Park and turning green space at Northfield Park into parking.

Chairman Schulz suggested that a small evergreen tree be planted in the area by City Hall to be used in the future as the City Christmas tree.

After discussion, Alderwoman Heinsohn made a motion, seconded by Scott Logan that the direction for parks going forward in 2020/2021 is park maintenance and the pool. All ayes. Motion carried. Supt. Knop will do some programming such as pool integrated programs and the basketball program. At Supt. Knop’s inquiry as to specifics regarding the maintenance side of things, Alderwoman Heinsohn noted that it should be the best use of his time to accomplish park maintenance and the pool.

At 7:15 pm, a motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Alderwoman Heinsohn to adjourn the meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/parks_and_recreation_board/meeting/12281/minutesparks2019-12-09.pdf