McHenry Times

City of Harvard Park Board met April 18.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Chairman Jay Schulz called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Committee members present: Alderman John Lavallee, Alderman Raul Meza, Alderwoman Rosa Luna, Joel Kriete, Scott Logan and Mike Vest. Committee members Bryce Bannwolf and Pep Saucedo were absent. Also present were Mayor Kelly, Supt. Ryan Knop, Darrell Perkins and members of the audience.

Public Comment

No Comments

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Mike Vest to approve the Park Board Minutes of March 21, 2022, as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Project Update/Status

• Playground mulch has already been done at Milky Way Park, Park Pointe, Country Brook and Mary’s Park to be billed after May 1st

• Due to weather, the initial install date for the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge was changed to April 25th.

• The new mower has been ordered.

• Pool posts have been removed and the area is ready for sod; should be done early May.

• Supt. Knop has fully rebuilt both pool chlorinators.

• Supt. Knop had a conversation with Sean at HHS about the school district’s playground equipment. The equipment isn’t in the best shape but the City is welcome to it. Supt. Knop will inspect the equipment and report back to the Park Board.

Pickleball Courts @ Northfield Park

Dave Swengel addressed the Park Board to consider installing pickleball courts on the tennis courts at Northfield Park. This could be done by painting pickleball lines which would allow dual use for tennis and pickle ball. The courts are budgeted to get crack filled this year and are on the list to be resurfaced pending a court study. It could be a relatively inexpensive project to add to the functionality of the existing courts. Retired HHS PE teacher Dennis Eisele is willing to provide some introductory classes to teach pickleball rules. Supt. Knop thought the project could be done inhouse for less than $1,000. After discussion, a motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Alderman Meza to approve adding pickleball lines to the courts at Northfield Park and to ask the Parks Foundation for funding. All ayes. Motion carried.

Park Land Discussion

Lion’s Park

• Supt. Knop reviewed pictures of the park. Both of the no-smoking signs are gone.

• The Park Board discussed the community garden which donated 22,000 pounds of food to the Food Pantry last year. Chairman Schulz suggested asking the school district if FFA would like to take it over. Alderman Meza suggested sending a letter to the former Master Gardener thanking him for running the program the last 10 years and to see if he had any referrals. Supt. Knop previously asked the former Master Gardener if he had anybody in mind that would take it over; Dale indicated he exhausted every resource he had and wasn’t able find anyone. Another suggestion was to put it out to residents to see if there is any interest. Chairman Schulz suggested presenting Dale with a plaque at a City Council Meeting.

• The Lion’s Park shelter is one of the most used shelters and is in good shape.

• Maintenance/improvements:

o The playground is 20 years old. It is in decent shape but should be put on the list to be replaced. The playground needs to be re-mulched next year. The area needs a connecting path in the future. There was additional discussion about replacing the brick with asphalt or concrete and using some of the existing bricks for a walking path or a memorial wall for the donors.

o The bridge is due to be stained this year. Discussed a stone path up from the bridge up to the library parking lot.

o An ongoing issue is the culvert. Darrell said the most cost-effective remedy would be to remove the culvert and make it an open creek.

• The disc golf course is fair at best. An ongoing issue is vandalism causing broken baskets. • Mayor Kelly has been working with State Senator Sieverson on possible future grant funding that would be earmarked for parks equipment in Lion’s Park; the preliminary amount discussed was $125,000.

Northfield Park

• The board discussed potential site options for a dog park: Northfield Park, Lions Park, Milky Way Park or by the library retention pond. A membership fee could be charged with some type of badge entrance. Supt. Knop recommended looking towards the future before making a determination where to locate the dog park. Alderman Meza suggested presenting site options to the public. A decision on the location needs to be made at the next meeting.

• Supt. Knop reviewed pictures of the park which is in good condition.

• Maintenance/improvements: resurface tennis court. The Parks Dept. is working on removing the gazebos for relocation.

Vandalism Report

Nothing to report.

Mayor’s Report

No additional report.

Supt. Knop’s Report

Supt. Knop reviewed his monthly report. He has received 1 new application and 10 returning for the pool; he would like to have14-15 employees for sufficient staff to run the pool (minimum would be 13). He needs about 3 weeks to have the pool in full operation.

Parks Foundation Report

The Harvard Parks Foundation meets on April 19. Scott gave an update on the RWB Food Truck Feastival which will be held on Saturday, July 2, 2022, at Milky Way Park.

New Business

Joel spoke with Marengo’s Park Director Dan Bertrand who will have a complete list of available pool equipment in the near future.

Chairman Schulz will be out of town on May 16th, so the next meeting will be scheduled for May 23rd.

At 7:14 pm, a motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Mike Vest to adjourn the meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/parks_and_recreation_board/meeting/14554/minutesparkboard2022-04-18.pdf