City of Rock Island Parks and Recreation Board met Oct. 19.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
1. Call to Order
President Fred Dasso called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.
2. Attendance
Members Present: Fred Dasso, Bill Anderson, Mike Foley, Judith Gilbert, Venessa Taylor
Members Absent: John McEvoy
Staff Present: John Gripp, Executive Director; Todd Winter, Assistant Director; Kimberly Kruse, Parks Administrative Office Manager
Staff Absent: none
Audience: none
3. August Park Board Minutes
Mr. Anderson motion to approve the minutes as written; Mr. Foley seconded. All voted yes.
4. A congratulations from Cheri Bustos was given to Ryan Ballard and staff for saving the life of an attendee at Whitewater Junction over the summer.
5. Monthly Report from Finance Department as of August
August numbers are looking good. There is still $650,000 that needs to be recognized in tax dollars for the park maintenance. Whitewater Junction is still positive but will have some expenditures come in as the facility such as utilities. Golf is doing excellent. Golf carts never came in due to covid-19 lead times and therefore were not charged. RIFAC revenues are expected to go up as the cooler weather hits. Overall there is a about $211,000 in equity cash pool. This is expected to drop as the seasonal facilities close.
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.
6. Approval of the Bills for the Month of September for $375,210.71.
Mr. Dasso: Aye Mr. Foley: Aye Mr. McEvoy: Absent Ms. Taylor: Aye
Ms. Gilbert: Aye Mr. Anderson: Aye
7. Director’s Report and other reports
The Highland Clubhouse project was awarded to Estes Construction. The school break program wrapped up for the fall break. The Winter/Spring activity guide is being worked on. John, Todd and Dan have been helping with the mowing as seasonal workers have gone back to school. The Vintage Football Game was held at Douglas Park with excellent attendance. Held a dog event at the Eleanor Wallace Dog Park. T Mobile grant is out to get funds for the Douglas Parks lights. Work continues at the Carriage House. This is a coop with the Friends of Hauberg and other departments. Budget work continues. It will be wrapping up in November when presenting to council. The budget will look upside down but that is because all the revenue for the clubhouse will hit in CY 2021. The expenditure will be recognized over 10 years although with all the fundraising and efforts, it is believe that it can be paid off well before then. The Douglas Firehouse bid came back and it will take $500,000 to get rid of the asbestos and other harmful substances in the building in addition to a full renovation. It will not be beneficial or fiscally responsible to put such a cost towards this. Therefore it will most likely be recommended to do a wet teardown which will cost more around $60,000. This is not finite but is the most practical direction. There are locations that can be used for the same purpose and benefit the local area such as the MLK Center.
End of the month, managers were asked to submit annual reporting to provide analysis of the fees, revenues and expenditures of their programs and facilities. This practice allows a review to make sure the department stays competitive as well as keeps in line with the goals. An executive summary is put together at the end of the year and presented to the council and park board. The fitness and equipment RFP is being compiled to update some areas and combine some of the fitness pieces to utilize the fitness space better. Staff participated in the Labor Day Parade. Golf outings were held including a 60+ one that had over 100 golfers. Augustana hosted a cross country meet at Saukie.
Swim lessons are going well. There is a staff shortage going around. Lifeguards have been hard to come by. Ryan is filling in for the aquatics where needed. Camps have been a huge success. The community garage sale was well attended and may be brought back as the way to go in the future. The marketing manager is doing an amazing job with promotions and strategic areas of advertising. There have been over 100,000 impressions on the site.
Mowing had slowed some but then the weather changed and John, Todd and Dan are helping with keeping it up as seasonals have gone back to school. The golf courses are looking beautiful. The lighting at the concessions stand at Douglas Park is complete. The park is coming back to life with positive influences as groups come to not only play but also help with picking up garbage. On October 1st, the plant calendar was retired for the season to make sure the plants stay healthy as temperatureschange. Drinking fountains and brickwork are coming together at Douglas Park. The forester that we had used for Highland and Saukie as well as Pettifer Island is coming back and has identified more trees that can be taken down. This is a good relationship as he takes down necessary trees and the department gains a revenue for the service.
Preliminary floorplans were shared with the park board for the Highland Springs Clubhouse.
8. New Business
None at this time.
9. Other Business
None at this time.
Motion to adjourn by Mrs. Gilbert. Mr. Foley seconded. All voted yes. The meeting adjourned at 6:00 pm.
https://www.rigov.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10192021-838
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