City of Rock Island Park Board met Aug. 21.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
1. Call to Order
President Fred Dasso called the meeting to order at 5:33 pm.
2. Attendance
Members Present: Fred Dasso, Bill Anderson, Kate Hotle, John McEvoy, Don Deleu, Moses Robinson
Members Absent: none
Staff Present: John Gripp, Parks Director; Kimberly Kruse, Parks Administrative Office Manager; Todd Winter, Assistant Director
Staff Absent: none
Audience: Ashley Crider, Dawn & On Festival; Sean Ryan, Dawn & On Festival; James Spurgetis, Ward 3 Alderman
3. Move to Items 11F, 11G and 11E made by Mr. Deleu. Mr. Anderson seconded. All said yes.
4. Dawn and On Music Festival request
Ashley Crider and Sean Ryan gave a presentation on the festival and what it entails and their desire to have fees waived to be able to hold their event at Schwiebert. Staff recommends that the fees not be waived. However, the parks department supports the event completely and will help in any way possible to ensure the event is successful. Recommendation also is to go to city council for sponsorship. The current fees that are invoiced have been reduced to the minimum to still be able to cover operating costs of the site for the event. Motion made by Mr. Anderson to table the discussion until more information is available. Coordinators are to get on the council agenda and see about getting a sponsorship. Mrs. Hotle seconded. All voted yes.
5. Life Jacket Ordinance Discussion
The current ordinance says that there is no fishing and no diving/swimming. There has been a suggestion to have better wording for the docks, lakes and fishing so that it is consistent throughout the city. Alderman Spurgetis noted that at Floatzilla, there were people swimming. Kathy Wine is about having both sides of the river to have life preserves and replace every six weeks because people walk off with them. There was a complaint about the ramp at Sunset at Potter’s Lake to get Public Works to get it cleaned up. Mrs. Hotle bought up that perhaps the park board should be more proactive about the ordinance and/or policies. John will put information together and present to the City Manager.
6. Douglas Park Mural Discussion
A concern was brought up by Alderman Mayberry that Douglas is misspelled on the mural. Alderman Clark and the City Manager have expressed that it looks great and should remain as it is. Motion made by Mr. Anderson to leave the mural as is. Mrs. Hotle seconded. All voted yes.
7. Minutes of the July 17, 2018 meeting.
Mr. Robinson moved to approve the Minutes as printed; Mr. Anderson seconded. All voted yes.
8. Correspondence
There are no correspondences this month.
9. Monthly Report from Finance Department as of June.
Finances are greatly improved in June as summer takes hold. RIFAC and WWJ are very good. Admin and golf expenditures are very high due to insurance and moving capital from a $10K threshold to $25K. Golf looks high due to a bulk buy of the chemicals needed to treat the courses. The gap is closing with the nice weather.
June Financials were reported to the board with a summary explanation of changes and discrepancies. There is a two month lag that will ensure that all revenues and expenditures are reported to give a more accurate look at the department financially.
10.Approval of the Bills for the Month of July: $187,549.26
Mr. McEvoy moved to approve the bills for the Month of July in the amount of $187,549.26. Mrs. Hotle seconded. All voted yes.
11.Director’s Report and other reports
The Mayor, Mr. Grubbs and John Gripp reached out to get sponsors for the firehouse and NFL will come out to do a story during the vintage game to put on their special. Miller Container made a $7,500 donation to First Tee. Douglas concession and parking lot will hopefully be done this fall. This will lead to more activities with kids and in general. Hauberg is interested in purchasing land to have easier access to the back road. Naturalized areas have been identified and set to do some controlled burns. There has been a two year program with Augustana to provide education with these naturalized areas. Spruce up went well. Fans in the locker rooms and room 7 have been installed along with tile work in the pool and hot tub areas. The kitchens in the preschool have been redone as well.
Assistant Director has started the annual review of recreation programming and special events. These are evaluated and a report is put together at the end of the year. The pricing strategy presentation will then be given at council. Parks Foundation raised funds at Saukie at their annual golf outing. 196 kids have gone through First Tee and there will be over 200 kids by the end of season. There was a family night with First Tee where kids could show the golf course to their parents. Couples outing took placed paired with Bent River. Fran Riley did a feature on Highland Springs for the anniversary.
Scott Sehmann has decided to take employment at Davenport Schools and all the best is wished for him. Something needs to be done though about the residency requirement as it drastically hinders the pool to choose from and has been difficult. Investigation is underway on Whitewater Junction about ADA compliance. However, Gus has been using the pool regularly with no hindrance in capabilities. Staff is confident that the investigation will go smoothly.
Cart path repairs are drastically needed at Saukie on the back 9. Highland Springs has a bunker renovation project underway. Golf Maintenance working on getting a story done once all the work has been completed. With the loss of summer help, seasonals are hard to come by and so keeping up has been difficult. Aeration is coming in the fall for Highland and Saukie. Staff is currently looking at financing to be able to lease golf maintenance equipment.
Adventure camp had 149 campers and around 220 attendees over all this summer. This is around $60,000 in revenue. Mother/daughter event went very well with 124 participants. This was a partnership with the QC Botanical Center and proved to be mutually beneficial. LEAD has started again offering a variety of activities for kids to choose from. The.5K run is coming up and is already showing a very promising registration. Currently working on the grant with OSLAD to get funds for Douglas and be able to get the field facing 9th Street done. The 76’ers hosted state at Douglas Park. Fall Soccer has 291 kids this year versus 225 kids last fall. Flag Football and soccer starting soon and have jamborees set up to help parents and coaches interact and have an orientation.
12.Special Event Request: Kavanaugh – Metz Wedding
Mr. Deleu motioned to approve staff recommendation for the event. Mrs. Hotle seconded. All said yes.
13.Special Event Request: Mississippi RCTI Press Conference
Mr. Robinson motioned to approve staff recommendation for the event. Mrs. Hotle seconded. All said yes.
14. Special Event Request: Mississippi RCTI Reception
Mr. Robinson motioned to approve staff recommendation for the event. Mr. Anderson seconded. All said yes.
15.Special Event Request: Corn Belt Running Club
Mrs. Hotle motioned to approve staff recommendation for the event. Mr. Anderson seconded. All said yes.
16. Douglas Parking lot and other updates
Douglas will happen provided council approval for the updates to the park.
17. Reorg update
There have been many benefits seen already with the reorganization of park maintenance. RIFAC Spruce Up was the best one yet with having extra help available this year.
18.Budget Work Update
The budget is well under way. About $500,000 will be allocated to Public Works to cover the reorganization each year. The move allows for an increase in resources to pool from allowing projects to get done more efficiently.
19. Items not on the Agenda
Mr. Anderson noted that at Lincoln Park, the landscaping fabric under the swings needs to be addressed so kids’ feet don’t get caught. It will get mentioned to Public Works.
17th St is working on being naturalized and it will be a project to tame it. Until then it does look overrun but will look better as the years go by and appropriate wild plants will be brought in.
Mr. Deleu motioned to adjourn. Mr. Anderson seconded. All voted yes. The meeting adjourned at 6:42 pm.
https://rigov.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08212018-229
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