McHenry Times

City of Harvard Park Board met July 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Chairman Jay Schulz called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. Committee members present: Chairman Jay Schulz, Alderman John Lavallee, Alderwoman Rosa Luna, Alderwoman Lori Lancaster, Scott Logan and Pep Saucedo. Also present were Mayor Kelly, City Administrator Lou Leone and Supt. Ryan Knop.

Public Comment 

None

Approval of Minutes 

A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Alderwoman Luna to accept the Park Board Minutes of May 15, 2023, as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Scott Logan, seconded by Alderwoman Lancaster to accept the Park Board Minutes of June 12, 2023, as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Project Update/Status 

Supt. Knop updated the Park Board on the following projects:

• There are 4.5 weeks left of pool season before school starts. There have been some issues over the past month with a motor and chemicals but they have been rectified in a timely manner. 

• The dog park fixtures have been ordered:

o 4 piece set; no delivery date yet.

o Water fountain; estimated delivery is August 14.

o Ryan is working to find a more suitable shelter rather than a shade structure due to exposure to the elements. He is looking at either a car port or bus style shelter.

o Ryan will work with Ron Finke to get a pad poured once the type of shelter is determined and is working with Rob from Public Works to determine the best location for the water fountain. 

• Northfield Park picnic tables have been ordered and shipped; estimated delivery is July 19th. 

• 13 garbage cans with lids and liners have been ordered; estimated delivery is August 14th. 

• National Night Out is Tuesday, August 1st at the Harvard Moose Lodge. The Parks Dept. has partnered with Harvard PD the last 4 years to help with this event and program.

• The Harvard Parks Foundation 2nd Annual Fore Our Parks Golf Outing is on August 2nd. 

• This past Sunday was the Community Baseball Night at the Beloit Sky Carp Game. Ryan hasn’t received any official numbers yet but close to 50+ tickets were sold for that game. 

• The 2nd free pool day was this past Sunday with over 300 users at the pool throughout the day. 

• Water aerobics and swimming lessons are going very well.

• Ryan will contact Powell Gravel to finish up the Park Pointe Path later this week or early next week. 

• Ryan has started a rough draft for a rec center survey. His goal is to have the survey ready when school starts and utilize the school district to get more responses from the targeted demographic. 

• Ryan is working on the flyer and pricing for our upcoming Travel Basketball Season. 

• Ryan has been brainstorming some additional fall/winter programs that can be offered as well and will keep the Park Board updated.

Rebuild Illinois Grant 

Nothing to report at this time.

IGA with CUSD 50 

City Administrator Leone indicated that the IGA is still on hold, but there is a tentative agreement on the SRO. The IGA should be the next round of discussions. Chairman Schulz noted the primary user of the large HERS field is the school district and suggested transferring responsibility through an IGA to the district. This would be advantageous as the City doesn’t have the funds to invest in the field. Pep related that HERS uses both fields, and in the past, HERS has worked very closely with District 50 over use of the fields. Because the fields don’t belong to the school, the school won’t invest any funds. City Administrator Leone and Supt. Knop were asked to broach the subject with the district during IGA discussions.

Vandalism Report 

• Supt. Knop updated the Park Board on the ongoing trash issue at MWP with the soccer league which has gotten worse. Ryan had a conversation with the soccer league who indicated they stay until 6:30- 7 pm after the games to clean up. Any garbage they are missing is related to the food truck. The league also indicated that a group does hangout after they are done to play soccer or mock volleyball.

• There was a fight at a Men's Soccer League Game yesterday. Ryan spoke with the gentleman in charge of the league and will talk to Chief Bauman about it in the morning. City Administrator Leone noted that the soccer league is working with the City on the incident.

• City Administrator Leone mentioned ongoing vandalism issues with the washrooms and suggested installing time-delay locks similar to what he did in a previous community. He has reached out to the sales rep at Lock Alarm for some preliminary information. The Park Board has previously discussed this type of lock which were very expensive; the item will be revisited at the next Park Board meeting. Supt. Knop related that much of the damage is being done during normal park hours. Another long term solution to consider would be to fence in the entire park.

Mayor’s Report 

Mayor Kelly thanked resident, Ben Sandoval, who has been repairing/welding the disc golf baskets at Lion’s Park.

Supt. Knop’s Report 

Supt. Knop reviewed his report as submitted.

Harvard Parks Foundation Report 

Scott invited the Park Board to attend the upcoming HPF Fore our Parks Golf Outing on August 2nd.

The HPF will be discussing our 2024 event and one of the activities suggested is a Tough Mudder Competition. The Mayor brought up a potential concern damaging the grass at Milky Way Park. Ryan suggested Lion’s Park as a more suitable location with the topography and aesthetic value; perhaps using the old ice rink area. Scott will keep the Park Board updated as more information becomes available.

New Business 

• Chairman Schulz reported on the Chamber’s Community Cookout which was held at J’s Lanes on July 15th. He spoke with Crystal after the event and suggested the pool as a future location for the event during one of the free pool days.

• A post will be made on Facebook regarding the open seat on the Park Board. 

• City Administrator Leone reported that Ryan was able to get a $200 discount on the Northfield Park picnic tables.

• City Administrator Leone reported that the City rolled out a program for free mulch at Milky Way Park this spring and will continue to advertise during the winter.

• Chairman Schulz suggested some type of shade covers at Northfield Park where the gazebo closest to the playground was; Ryan will look into it. The second gazebo will be located where the old Central School playground was.

• One of the ideas the HPF is considering is a basketball court at Northfield Park. Estimated cost would be $30-$50K.

• There is a group of players utilizing the pickle ball court.

The next meeting is Monday, August 21, 2023, at 6 pm.

At 6:31 pm, a motion was made by Pep Saucedo, seconded by Scott Logan to adjourn the meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/parks_and_recreation_board/meeting/14719/minutesparkboard2023-07-17.pdf