McHenry Times

City of Harvard Park Board met Jan. 18.

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: Alderman Charlie Gorman, Alderman Matt Perkins, Bryce Bannwolf, Joel Kriete, Scott Logan and Pep Saucedo. Member Mike Vest was absent. Also present were Mayor Kelly and Supt. Ryan Knop.

Public Comment

None

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Joel Kriete to approve the Park Board Minutes of December 14, 2020, as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Smoke-Free Park Zones

Scott Logan presented his ideas for smoke free park zones per the email previously sent to the Park Board: No smoking within 30’ of playgrounds and any sporting fields, concession stands and bleachers when youth activities are going on. A motion was made by Pep Saucedo, seconded by Scott Logan to recommend to the City Council approval of the smoke free zones as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Boys League Proposal

Supt. Knop received a text from Sean Wolfert that their board member who was going to do the lighting does not want to move forward at the current time due to Covid. Pep inquired if the investment would be worth it to the Park Board. Supt. Knop related that LED conversion would result in lower electric bills and in the long term would save the City money. The consensus was to table the item and discuss with Sean in the summer to see if the Boys League wants to move forward.

Bikes/Snowmobile Trails

Chairman Schulz will get together with his contacts to further discuss snowmobile trails for next year. Supt. Knop received three calls this past month regarding snowmobile trails within City limits that connect with trails outside city limits. He advised the callers that there are no trails through the City but to use discretion at a reasonable and safe speed to access trails. Joel related that he had a conversation with Alderman Meza who said the item originally came up in casual conversation with Brian Busse.

Budget

Supt. Knop presented the following options:

Option 1:

• $14,000 was scheduled to transfer out of this current fiscal year for New Mower and Northfield Park Tennis Court Restoration. That transfer was missed and needs to be authorized. If authorized City Council will need to amend the current fiscal year budget to appropriate $14,000 to capital improvement.

• Current Fiscal Year called for $41,500 in new equipment

(a) $7,000 Tennis Court (Capital Improvement), $15,000 HERS Concession Stand, $7,000 New Mower (Capital Improvement), $2,000 Darrell New, $4,000 Park Pointe Grant, $1,200 New Tools, Misc.

Option 2:

• Allocate $7,240.13 in current FY20/21 New Equipment funds to purchase new John Deere Mower from Buck Bros. ($7,240.13 +$6,500 Trade In will cover the full cost of the mower). 

(a) Reallocate $300 in FY21/22 budget that was appropriated for the remaining balance on the mower after capital improvement funds and trade in. (can be done at later date as budget has already been submitted)

• Authorize transfer of $7,000 from FY20/21 New Equipment Fund to the Capital Improvement Fund for Northfield Court Tennis Courts which will go to the City Council as a budget amendment.

After discussion, a motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Alderman Perkins to recommend Option 2 to the City Council. All ayes. Motion carried.

Supt. Knop reviewed the costs for the Lion’s Park Sand Volleyball Restoration Project; the low bid for the project was $5,500. There is currently $2,000 available in the budget leaving a balance of $2,300 needed. The restoration would be completed in the summer. Joel inquired if the Park Board would like him to submit a project proposal for the ComEd Dollars for Doers Program. The consensus was to submit the project to the ComEd Program but to move forward with a budget amendment as presented. If money is forthcoming from ComEd, funds could be returned to the capital improvement fund at that time. A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Pep Saucedo to authorize a transfer of $2,330 out of capital improvement funds to offset the cost difference.

Declare Surplus Property

Supt. Knop related that the John Deere X304 and Park Playground equipment have already been deemed surplus property by the Park Board. A motion was made by Alderman Gorman, seconded by Scott Logan to declare a John Deere 855 and a Kubota ZP33OLP as surplus property; the mowers will be used as trade ins for the new mower. All ayes. Motion carried.

Mayor’s Report

Programming

Mayor Kelly presented an idea for Park Board consideration to create additional programming in the community. A gentleman in Missouri has a converted bus that was used as a mobile pine wood derby workshop. He is retiring and selling the bus for $7K. The bus could be used for other types of mobile wood crafting, parked inside the WWTP when not in use and rented out to other parties to generate revenue. There would be ongoing maintenance costs and individuals would be needed to run programs. The Park Board felt it was a great idea but recommended approaching School District 50 to see if they would be interested in purchasing the bus to create mobile woodworking opportunities for students as they would be better equipped to handle associated costs as well as liability and other safety concerns.

Future Planning

Mayor Kelly related that he had directed Supt. Knop to prepare an operational plan for a rec center for the community. Membership, tournaments, group fitness programs, soccer fields, batting cages, rec/party room rental, etc. would generate revenue. The facility they were considering as a rental will not work as there are stanchions located throughout the building which would not lend itself to soccer fields. Mayor Kelly indicated that if a facility were up and running, it could generate sufficient revenue to be self-sustaining. Over the next four years, he would like to focus on generating a climate within the community to embrace this idea and figure out a way to pay for it. The City currently owns 7 acres on the north side of town which could be a possible site location with the center built in stages. After discussion, Supt. Knop will put the plan on the shared Google Drive for the Park Board’s review over the next month and discussed at the next meeting.

Supt. Knop’s Report

Supt. Knop reviewed his monthly report.

New Business

Supt. Knop initiated discussion in regards to a game plan for the pool for the summer. He would like a solid answer by March to line up staff and training certifications.

The next regularly scheduled meeting is February 15th which is President’s Day and City staff is off. The consensus was to maintain the regularly scheduled meeting date.

At 7:06 pm, a motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Alderman Perkins to adjourn the meeting.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/parks_and_recreation_board/meeting/14150/minutesparkboard2021-01-18.pdf