Rock Island Today

City of Moline Park & Recreation Board met Aug. 25.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Park and Recreation Board Call to Order

PRESENT: Roger Clawson

Betsy Greenlee (Secretary)

John Knaack

Rico Navarro (Vice-President)

Thomas Schwarz

Reese Tuinstra

ABSENT: Bill Abel (President)

STAFF: Bill Atkins, City Attorney

Terry Bates, Forestry Manager

Nathan Berthoud, Special Events & Sponsorship Specialist

Yvonne Brolander, Cemetery Manager

Amanda Bolt, Recreation Coordinator – Riverside Riverslide

Bill Deadmond, Parks Operations Manager

Chris Mathias, Director of Community & Economic Development

Stephanie Murphy, City Clerk

Eric Griffith, Director of Parks and Recreation

Stacy Winter, Customer Service & Marketing Coordinator

OTHERS: Alex Elias

Amy Wilson, Farnsworth Group

Jeff Cornelius, Two Rivers YMCA

Public Hearing

Eric Griffith, Director of Parks and Recreation, called the public hearing to order at 3:30 p.m. for the purpose of gathering public comments on proposed improvements at the Milt Hand Sports Complex, including: improving ADA accessibility and safety by replacing deteriorated and uneven sidewalks and paths, replacing playground equipment for the 2–5 year-old age group, installing shade structures, and converting unused sand volleyball courts into a multi-use flex sports field. The City of Moline intends to apply for $600,000 in grant funding from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) program to help fund the project, which has an estimated total cost of $600,000. Amy Wilson from Farnsworth Group attended the public hearing to present about the project and the estimated costs for each item as well as the process of applying for the grant. Eric Griffith adjourned the public hearing at 3:44 p.m.

Call to Order

Park Board Vice-President, Rico Navarro, called the meeting to order at 3:45 p.m. in the Public Works conference room.

Roll Call

Roll call was taken with Board Members Clawson, Greenlee, Knaack, Navarro, Schwarz, and Tuinstra present. Absent: Abel

Oath of Office

City Clerk, Stephanie Murphy, administered the oath of office to new a new Park Board member, Reese Tuinstra.

Public Comment

Consent Agenda

Approval of Minutes

Park Board meeting minutes of July 24, 2025.

4.2 Approval and acceptance of departmental July/August bill payment and departmental July/August revenue, expenditures, capital projects, park reserve and cemetery reports.

4.3 Approval of a Special Use Application for the Friends of Moline Parks and Recreation Foundation to utilize the Riverside Gardens/Garden Center for their Garden Party fundraiser to be held on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Omnibus Vote

John Knaack, seconded by Tom Schwarz, moved to approve, by omnibus vote, these items. Motion carried on roll call with the following vote: ayes: Clawson, Greenlee, Knaack, Navarro, Schwarz, Tuinstra; nays: none.

Non-Consent Agenda

6.1 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grant Submission Approval Staff sought permission to submit an application to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for an Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grant in amount of $600,000 for improvements to Milt Hand Softball Complex to include improving ADA accessibility and safety throughout the complex by replacing deteriorated and uneven sidewalks and paths, replacing old 2-5 year old age group playground equipment, provide shade structures, and convert unused sand volleyball courts into multi-use flex sports fields. Staff recommended approval to City Council.

Approved. Roger Clawson, seconded by John Knaack, moved to approve submitting the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grant. Motion carried on roll call with the following vote: ayes: Clawson, Greenlee, Knaack, Navarro, Schwarz, Tuinstra; nays: none.

6.2 Special Event Application: Sprint the Miss

Two Rivers YMCA is planning a regatta race on the Mississippi River on September 20, 2025 and are requesting permission to use the Ben Butterworth parking lots exclusively for rowing clubs to park and unload boats. This would require staff to temporarily close the lots and a portion of the trail

August 25, 2025

to the public. Jeff Cornelius from Two Rivers YMCA was present to speak more about the event. Staff recommended approval.

Approved. Tom Schwarz, seconded by Betsy Greenlee, moved to approve the Special Event Application for the Two Rivers YMCA Sprint the Miss event. Motion carried on a roll call with the following vote: ayes: Clawson, Greenlee, Knaack, Navarro, Schwarz, Tuinstra; nays: none.

6.3 Park Board Executive Session Minutes

City Attorney, Bill Atkins, was present to discuss the process of taking executive session minutes and the proper way for Park Board to retain the minutes. Park Board executive session minutes from September 24, 2009 through May 22, 2025 were given to the Board prior to the meeting to review. Bill Atkins reviewed all the previous executive session minutes and gave his recommendation on which minutes should be released and which should be maintained. Staff recommended approval based on the recommendation of the City Attorney.

Approved. John Knaack, seconded by Reese Tuinstra, moved to approve the minutes based on the recommendation of the City Attorney. Motion carried on a roll call with the following vote: ayes: Clawson, Greenlee, Knaack, Navarro, Schwarz, Tuinstra; nays: none.

6.4 Park Board Bylaw Update

To ensure fairness and prevent undue influence in voting order during Park Board deliberations, a roll call vote cast in random voting order may be used for non-consent items. Staff recommended approval.

Approved. Roger Clawson, seconded by Betsy Greenlee, moved to approve the Park Board Bylaw Update to include a random voting order for roll call votes. Motion carried on a roll call with the following vote: ayes: Clawson, Greenlee, Knaack, Navarro, Schwarz, Tuinstra; nays: none.

6.5 Chapter 23, Section 2102: Rules of Conduct Applicable to All Parks

This amendment to the Moline Code of Ordinances will allow the Park Board to approve special use applications for not-for-profits to allow the sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages on park land, excluding Greenvalley, as long as they follow Section 4-3309 of the Moline Code of Ordinances. This would only be for special events and not something that could be done on a regular basis. Staff recommended approval to City Council.

Approved. John Knaack, seconded by Roger Clawson, moved to approve the amendment to Chapter 23, Section 2102: Rules of Conduct Applicable to All Parks. Motion carried on a roll call with the following vote: ayes: Clawson, Greenlee, Knaack, Navarro, Schwarz, Tuinstra; nays: none.

Informational

7.1 Kiwanis Park Land

Alex Elias presented to the Park Board about a historical house, located at 1809 14th Avenue, being demolished for the Moline Housing Authority to build new affordable housing project. She is seeking the Park Board’s input on a proposal to move the historic home to the eastern portion of Kiwanis Park. Her proposal requests that the Park Board consider selling the easternmost .25 acre of Kiwanis Park at market-rate as a relocation site for the house. If considered, a portion of the current green space, the playground, basketball court and the picnic/shelter areas would all remain. After a brief discussion, Park Board members voiced their individual initial input and are not interested in the proposal of selling park land.

7.2 Riverside Riverslide Update

Parks and Recreation Director, Eric Griffith, updated the Park Board on Riverside Riverslide’s season thus far, including statistics on the amount of closures and attendance numbers. A final report for the entire season will be given at the September Park Board meeting.

7.3 Parks and Recreation Update

Parks and Recreation Director, Eric Griffith, informed the Park Board on numerous Departmental projects and updates. All of the stolen memorial plaques have been installed, the Little League playground in Riverside Park has been completed ahead of schedule, using Placer.AI attendance for Browning Park is up 26.3% from June 15 – August 15. Eric Griffith also discussed purchasing a Goosinator to be used along Ben Butterworth Parkway and Riverside Park to help control and manage the geese population. The Goosinator, which was first presented to Park Board in 2018/2019, was put on hold due to budget cuts and COVID. It would cost the Department $5,000 to purchase one Goosinator. Park Board spoke heavily in favor of purchasing this item. Lastly, Eric Griffith updated the Board on the mini-pitch court at Riverside Park. Eric has talked to Public Works and the Streets Operations Manager about the project. Parks Maintenance will do the work to level the ground and complete the base layer and the Streets Department will do the asphalt work. There will be a sport tile on top of the asphalt surface which will provide a softer, level surface. The mini-pitch will be similar to the ones at Stephens Park but only one larger court is proposed and instead of it being dual purpose soccer and basketball, this court will only be for soccer.

Other Park Business

Adjournment of the Park and Recreation Board

Upon motion of John Knaack, seconded by Tom Schwarz, the Park and Recreation Board meeting adjourned at 4:54 p.m.

http://www.moline.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/11280