Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-29-2014M Parks & Rec Mayor David J. Kaptain City Council Richard Dunne ELGIN Terry L.Gavin Tish S. Powell THE CITY IN THE SUBURBS John Prigge Carol J. Rauschenberger Toby Shaw F.John Steffen City Manager Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Sean R.Stegall April 29, 2014 6:00 p.m. Parks and Recreation Department Staff Conference Room, Administration Office, Second Level The Centre of Elgin, 100 Symphony Way, Elgin, IL 60120 Present: Tom Armstrong, Karyn Garcia, Carl Missele, Kristen Rowe Absent: Carl Ferron, Elise Rich Staff: Randy Reopelle, Maria Cumpata, Verdelle Corn I. Call to Order: Tom Armstrong called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Minutes of the February 25, 2014 meeting: Karyn Garcia motioned to approve the February minutes. Elise Rich seconded. Motion carried unanimously. III. Citizens Forum (items not on the agenda): Carol Torres, owner of Yummies Ice Cream, was present to request permission for her business to have a push cart at a park to sell pre-packaged ice cream items. Her preference is to sell Yummies Ice Cream pre- packaged ice cream products from a push cart at Festival Park. She has been in business in Elgin since 2003 and has three trucks and one push cart. Yummies Ice Cream sells ice cream products at Carpentersville's 4th of July celebration as well as in the streets, at Gilberts 4th of July celebration, and at Hoffman Estates 4th of July celebration. Ticketmaster also has hired Yummies Ice Cream to be on site every Friday. Maria Cumpata inquired if Carol Torres has been in contact with the Health Department. She responded she had for the 3 trucks but not the pull cart, which is not ready yet. Tom Armstrong inquired if she had contacted Brad Bonner with the city of Elgin. She had, and was directed to contact the Director of Parks and Recreation. Maria will review the ordinance pertaining to selling of packaged food from a pull cart in city parks. 150 Dexter Court,Elgin,IL 60120 847-931-6100 www.cityofelgin.org Randy Reopelle asked what the other three communities require regarding revenues. Ms.Torres communicated she pays fees but no revenue sharing is required. Carl Missele noted that if a vendor has exclusive rights to sell at a location, the revenues should be shared. Randy will look into legal, ordinance, and insurance requirements. IV. New Park on Illinois Avenue: Mary Lu Seidel of the Neighborhood Housing Service of Fox Valley (NHS) passed out a copy of the presentation prepared (Transforming 315 Illinois Avenue) and summarized the plan for the property the city owns and recently demolished two houses. A concept plan for the future park site, prepared by Jay Womack of WRD Environmental, was also displayed. Mary Lu provided background: - NHS has between 100 and 120 volunteers for its June Neighbor Works Day to convert the city-owned property on Illinois Avenue along Willow Creek into a natural area and trail, allowing safe access and exploration to the creek's edge at the back of the property. - Ellis Middle School science students have study units on native plants and waterway health. The environmental club, Science N.E.R.D.S., conduct clean-up projects and monitoring projects at Willow Creek. There are no decent public access points to the Willow Creek area where the students perform these projects. Currently, the students access point to this area is along Laurel Street, where cars travel at higher speeds. There are no sidewalks and safety is a concern for the students. - The surrounding neighborhood lacks adequate park space. - NHS is also working with United Way of Elgin to develop a Born Learning trail on the site. Born Learning trails encourage pre-school aged children and their families to explore and appreciate nature. - Short-term plan is to do a clean-up as a Neighbor Works project on June 7. - Long-term plan would be to build an elevated walk down to the creek. - Ellis Middle School students request a bicycle rack at the park and that the park be named as Friendship Park. If that is not possible, they request the trail marked on the concept plan be named Friendship Trail. - United Way of Elgin will install Born Learning signs. Randy noted that United Way will install Born Learning signs at two other parks as well - Channing and Copper Springs. Typically, the signs are installed adjacent to a trail. United Way will install and occasionally do maintenance on the signs. Signs encourage parents and their young children to get fit, enjoy the park, nature, and learn. Signs include activities, such as "hop, toss, shake, wiggle" and "look, learn, laugh" plus eight other activities. - NHS will organize future work days. Carl Missele inquired how the future park would be maintained. Mary Lu noted that the Ellis Middle School students and Elgin Community College Sustainability Student Group are committed to working at the site. In addition, WRD Foundation is putting together a five-year maintenance plan. Randy Reopelle noted that ADA aspects need to be considered at some point. The discussion was followed by a motion by the board. MOTION: Carl Missele moved that the parcel of land discussed should be designated park land. Kristen Rowe seconded. Motion carried unanimously. MOTION: Carl Missele moved to endorse the concept plan as shown. Kristen Rowe seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Randy and board members briefly discussed what approach would be taken to name the park. Residents in the neighborhood surrounding the park and the students will be invited to a future board meeting to hear their recommendations for naming the park. V. Youth Sports Groups - Recommendations: Maria Cumpata summarized the recommended 2014 funding allocation for youth sport organizations. Staff reviewed the requests the organizations presented to the board at the February meeting and narrowed the projects down to the list below. The highest project priority was for any project that was related to safety issues and ADA compliance. Elgin National Little League • Safety fence in front of dugouts $ 600 • Speed Bumps $ 550 • Architect to design bathroom $ 5,000 Total $ 6,150 American Legion • Fence Repairs $ 1,900 Total $ 1,900 Elgin Classic Little League • Light Repair $ 1,500 • Field Drainage $ 6,000 • Field Repairs $ 2,000 Total $ 9,500 Trout Park Baseball • 2 Batting Cages $ 8,000 Total $ 8,000 Elgin Youth Football • Lightening Prediction System $ 1,210 • Concession Counter $ 2,500 • Scoreboard $ 9,200 • Tear out drive and restore $ 2,500 Total $ 14,200 Elgin Continental Little League • Field improvements $ 6,000 • Dugout roofs $ 3,000 Total $ 9,000 Total presented for consideration: $ 49,960 150 Dexter Court,Elgin,IL 60120 847-931-6100 www.cityofelgin.org MOTION: Kristen Rowe motioned to approve the recommendations for the Youth Sports Grant 2014 allocations as presented. Carl Missele seconded. Motion carried unanimously. VI. Miscellaneous: a. Gifford Park Association (GPA) Request: GPA submitted a request for the board to approve fees to be waived for their organization's Lords Park Pavilion rental on Friday, April 25, to host their annual pot luck dinner. GPA members host and man a water station for the participants of the annual Fox Trot. MOTION: Carl Missele motioned the board approve the waiver of fees for GPA's April 25th Pavilion rental. Kristen Rowe seconded. Motion unanimously approved. b. Green Expo - Parks and Rec Booth: Elgin's Green EXPO 2014 takes place at The Centre of Elgin on May 9, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., and May 10, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tom Armstrong noted that this is an opportunity for board members to interact with residents. Kristen is interested in participating at the Parks and Recreation Department's booth. She will notify staff what timeframe she expects to participate. Karyn Garcia suggested NHS's concept plan for the future park on Illinois Avenue be at the Parks and Recreation booth. c. Other: - Healthy Families Newsletter: Randy distributed the most recent issue of the department's Healthy Families Newsletter. The newsletter features the Mayor's healthy choice when dining out. Each quarterly issue also highlights or features programs - another way to keep residents informed on what Parks and Recreation has to offer. The current issue features a volunteer success story - highlighting John Jablonski who volunteers consistently at the nature center. - Freedom Run Dog Park Update: Randy provided the most current stats on memberships: 164 members are Elgin residents 99 members are Hoffman Estates residents 70 members are Streamwood residents 92 members are from other communities/areas - May - National Bicycle Month: Tom Armstrong noted that the month of May is National Bicycle Month. Some of the events going on include the May P Bicycle Tour of Northwest Elgin Mail Order Homes. The tour starts in the parking lot of In the Neighborhood Cafe at 185 N. Edison; May 11th (Mother's Day) CycloFemme Ride - the ride begins in the north parking lot at Gail Borden Public Library at 4:00 p.m and proceeds on the Fox River Trail; May 17th residents, walkers, and bike enthusiasts are also encouraged to join the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) on May 17th for a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the Elgin Riverwalk Promenade/Fox River Trail at 11:00 a.m. Earth Day: Carl noted that about 200 people came out to Earth Day activities at Hawthorne Hill Nature Center. The activities were held between 5:30 and 7:00 p.m. The event held on a school night was a huge success! VII. Adjournment: Carl Missele motioned to adjourn the meeting. Kristen Rowe seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m. Respectfujly submiled, Ve delle orn, Recording Secretary Approved: 'zz 150 Dexter Court,Elgin, IL 60120 847-931-6100 www.cityofelgin.org