Quantcast

Will County Gazette

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Plainfield Park District Board met March 14.

Meeting 04

Plainfield Park District Board met March 14.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Call To Order/Roll Call/Pledge:

President Ludemann called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm with the following members present: Hosford, Poling, Rausch, Ludemann Absent: Ayres, Steinys, Thoman. Staff present: Carlo Capalbo, Executive Director, Wendi Calabrese, Director of Administrative Services/Secretary, Maureen Nugent, Director of Finance & I.T./Treasurer, Jen Rooks-Lopez, Director of Parks & Planning, Cheryl Crisman, Director of Recreation. There were 6 members of the public in attendance. Commissioner Hosford led the pledge to the flag.

Public Comments:

•Tom Bohanek, Natures Crossing Subdivision told the board that nothing has been done to help with Normantown Drain. Executive Director Capalbo stated that a per board direction, a grant was submitted on March 3 to Will County Storm Water Management and we are waiting to hear from them and from Bill Alstrom, Wheatland Township.

Commissioner Thoman arrived at 6:05 pm.

Consent Agenda:

A motion was made by Commissioner Hosford that the Park Board of Commissioners approve the consent agenda which included:

a) Minutes of the February 14, 2018 Regular Meeting

b) Bills and Claims Check Numbers 97629-97689 Totaling $425,894.51; Bank Drafts 594-621, Totaling $37,134.31 and Voided Check Numbers 97634 & 97671 Totaling $-13,423.72

c) Interim Check Numbers 97614-97628 Totaling $90,806.92 Bank Drafts 561-593 Totaling $83692.49; February 16, 2018 Payroll Check Numbers 500318-500327 Totaling $3,738.66 and Direct Deposits 21612-21686 Totaling $60,245.97; February 16, 2018 Payroll Corrected Check Number 500328 in Totaling $281.65; March 2, 2018 Payroll Check Numbers 500328-500337 Totaling $3,555.70 and Direct Deposits 21687-21761 Totaling $64,557.53

d) Cash Report January, 2018

Seconded by Commissioner Thoman. Roll Call: Hosford-Yes, Thoman-Yes, Rausch-Yes, Poling-Yes, Ludemann-Yes. Motion Carried.

Staff Reports:

A. Executive Director

• Executive Director Capalbo reminded the Board to respond by March 30 if they are planning to attend the Legislative Conference in Springfield, April 24 & 25.

• Walls are up at the new facility, steel has started and there is an owners meeting every Tuesday to review progress.

• Thank you to Director Rooks-Lopez for working with the Village of Plainfield to get our tap on fees reduced from $130,000 to $30,000.

• Safety Update - The first 2018 All Staff Safety In-Service will be held Monday afternoon. The loss control review kick-off took place earlier this month and the Risk Manager position is posted. The Hazard Hunters program is underway and the walking challenge funded by the Wellness grant begins Monday.

1. Department Directors

Director of Administrative Services-

• Director Calabrese thanked the Board for taking the time beta test the website and complete surveys. Staff is in the process of reviewing comments and results and will work with the website designers to make changes. The website launch will coincide with the release of the summer brochure.

• An offer has been made to a candidate for the part-time Communications Coordinator position. Pending a background check, they will start April 4.

• Now that software has been selected for the electronic packets, the Board will need to select a viewing device. Two options were presented, and Administrator Slocum answered questions about the devices. After discussion the consensus was to purchase HP X360 G1 Chromebooks.

Director of Parks & Planning-

• Director Rooks-Lopez said the department has begun preparing for spring and prepping ball fields.

• Clean up of storage areas at the maintenance shops has been taking place and found scrap metal has brought in over $500.

• Parks staff has been clearing Riverview Park by the John Wilson Bridge.

Director of Recreation-

• Director Crisman thanked Manager Anderson, the Great Adventures families and Manager Crisman for participating in the Hometown Irish Parade again this year.

• Manager Bartlett attended the Volunteer Fair hosted by the library last Saturday.

• Debbie Stapleton is a part-time employee who has been with the District for 30 years and a reception will be held for her next Thursday from 11:00 am-12:30 pm at PTCC.

2. Director of Finance & I.T.

a. 2017 Government Finance Officers Certificate of Achievement

Director Nugent informed the Board that the District has been awarded the Government Finance Officers Certificate of Achievement. The District has been awarded this since 2006.

Committee Comments:

A. Capital & Development - No comments.

B. Finance & Liability - No comments.

C. Personnel & Policy

Committee Chair Poling reported that the committee is continuing work on policies and procedures.

D. Recreation & Marketing

Committee Chair Hosford reported that the committee reviewed the fall/holiday program statistics, the website and the proposal from A5.

E. Governance & Accountability - No comments.

Action Items:

A. Mowing Bids

A motion was made by Commissioner Thoman that the Park Board of Commissioners reject the bid submitted by Local Lawn Care Inc. as a non-responsive bidder. Seconded by Commissioner Poling. Roll Call: Thoman-Yes, Poling-Yes, Hosford-Yes, Rausch-Yes, Ludemann-Yes. Motion Carried.

A motion was made by Commissioner Hosford that the Park Board of Commissioners award the 2018 Annual mowing bid for $64,974.00 to Twin Oaks Landscaping, with the option to renew for 2019 & 2020, as bid, if the District is satisfied with services provided and approve the Director of Parks & Planning to execute the appropriate agreements. Seconded by Commissioner Rausch. Roll Call: Hosford-Yes, Rausch-Yes, Poling-Yes, Thoman-Yes, Ludemann-Yes. Motion Carried.

B. GreenTown Will County

A motion was made by Commissioner Poling that the Park Board of Commissioners become a Government Sponsor of GreenTown Will County 2018 in the amount of $1,000 for Sponsorship Level A. Seconded by Commissioner Thoman. Roll Call: Poling-Yes, Thoman-Yes, Rausch-Yes, Hosford-Yes, Ludemann-Yes. Motion Carried.

C. Purchase of 14 Foot Jacobson Mower

A motion was made by Commissioner Rausch that the Park Board of Commissioners approve the Director of Parks & Planning to purchase the proposed 2018 Jacobsen HR700 14’ wide area mower from Burris Equipment as bid in the NJPA for $58,166.00. Seconded by Commissioner Thoman. Roll Call: Rausch-Yes, Thoman-Yes, Poling-Yes, Hosford-Yes, Ludemann-Yes. Motion Carried.

Old Business:

A. Eaton Preserve

Mike Bortel and Carl Bryant, members of the Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission presented historical information and repair options for the Eaton Preserve to the Board. Executive Director Capalbo informed the Board that he met with owners of the Farmhouse to discuss demolition and sale of the barn wood. They are working on a proposal that would include preserving part of the barn for interpretive purposes. After the presentation and discussion, the Board consensus was for staff to make contact with Trillium to come and look at the barn.

B. Four Seasons

Executive Director Capalbo reported on the progress of the Four Seasons Board initiatives from the February meeting:

• Meet with the Village to see if there is an interest in a land swap and if they have any land to swap.

Executive Director Capalbo met with Village Administrator Brian Murphy and the Village doesn’t have any land at this time but will inform any commercial developers who approach them about the parcel.

• Speak with a realtor for an estimate of a sale price.

Director Rooks-Lopez has contacted John Greene Realty and is waiting for a response.

• Speak with Will County Forest Preserve about a possible land swap.

Executive Director Capalbo met with Ralph Schultz, Will County Forest Preserve District and found out that we could possibly lease property but it would have to be for passive use only.

The Board discussed options for Four Seasons Park and directed staff to begin to look into cost estimates to plan for a revamp of the park.

C. Recreation Center Naming

The Board reviewed and discussed names that were submitted for the new recreation facility at Bott Park. After discussion the consensus was to name the facility Plainfield Activity & Recreation Center (PARC).

New Business:

A. Van Horn Bike Park

Staff presented the agreement the District has with CAMBr West for the Van Horn Bike Park and outlined issues that we are having with the maintenance of the park, safety issues, and lack of communication from the organization. After the discussion the Board consensus was to contact CAMBr and let them know the Board is considering terminating our agreement in April.

B. A5 Branding & Digital

Per Board direction, staff began looking into pricing from an outside marketing firm to assist in building District awareness. A proposal from A5 Branding & Digital was presented to the Board and the consensus was to hold off on hiring outside marketing until we can review progress once the social media coordinator begins employment.

Board Initiatives:

A. Establishment of Monthly Committee Meetings

Personnel & Policy April 3 @ 3pm RAC

Capital & Development April 3 @ 4:30p RAC

B. Recap of Board Initiatives

• Contact Trillium – Eaton Barn

• Begin looking into costs for planning at Four Seasons Park

• Reach out to CAMBr and inform them that the board is considering terminating our agreement in April

Commissioner Comments:

• Commissioner Hosford love, love loves the new website.

• Commissioner Thoman really likes the budget book.

• Commissioner Ludemann congratulated Director Nugent and the finance team, said the budget book looks great, thanked Director Rooks- Lopez for getting the tap on fee reduces, congratulated Debbie Stapleton on her retirement and welcomed Administrator Slocum to the team.

Adjourn:

A motion was made by Commissioner Ludemann to adjourn the meeting at 8:37 pm. Seconded by Commissioner Thoman. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 pm.

https://www.plfdparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/031418RegularMeetingMinutes.pdf

ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY

!RECEIVE ALERTS

The next time we write about any of these orgs, we’ll email you a link to the story. You may edit your settings or unsubscribe at any time.
Sign-up

DONATE

Help support the Metric Media Foundation's mission to restore community based news.
Donate