BOARD MINUTES
May 12, 2008
The regular monthly Board Meeting of the Board of Commissioners was called at 7:01p.m. on May 12, 2008 at the Cynthia Neal Center, 8047 W. 91ST Place, Hickory Hills, Illinois.
The following commissioners were present: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki. Also present were: Dan Maier, Recreation Director, Jennifer Menard, Executive Director, Jim Murphy, Maintenance Director.
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS/APPROINTMENTS
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, seconded by Commissioner Morgan, to call organizational meeting and election of officers/appointments. Ayes: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Commissioner Kosnick moved, seconded by Commissioner Potacki, to appoint Commissioner Morgan as president. Ayes: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, seconded by Commissioner Michaels, to appoint Commissioner Kosnick as vice president/acting secretary. Ayes: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Commissioner Morgan moved, seconded by Commissioner Potacki, to appoint Commissioner Jerantowski as secretary/treasurer. Ayes: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Commissioner Kosnick moved, seconded by Commissioner Potacki, to appoint the following: official newspaper as The Reporter, Jim Wascher, attorney and Brett Moeller from O’Neill & Gaspardo, auditor. In previous years the Ethics Commissioner was the commissioners. Jim Wascher said to select someone other than the current commissioners and employees. Director Menard recommends the Ethics Commission to be Cindy Neal, former executive director, Jo Carol Sullivan, former commissioner and Aaron Jukubiec, vice president of private banking at Standard Bank. Commissioner Morgan asked if they meet on a regular basis. Director Menard said not unless there is an ethics issue with commissioners and employees. Most likely the commissioners would handle an employee issue unless it was with a commissioner. Ayes: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Commissioner Kosnick moved, seconded by Commissioner Michaels to approve the board meeting dates as listed on the agenda. Ayes: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Commissioners signed the bank signature cards for all accounts at Standard Bank. These are for the refund account, corporate account and CD accounts. This year the bank has requested copies of driver’s license or state ID, social security number and mother’s maiden name from the commissioners and director.
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, seconded by Commissioner Morgan, to adjourn the organizational meeting to continue with the regular board meeting at 7:10pm. Ayes: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, seconded by Commissioner Kosnick, to approve the minutes of April 14, 2008 as presented. Ayes: Kosnick, Jerantowski, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Mail forwarded to commissioners: Commissioner Kosnick received the May NRPA magazine, Commissioner Potacki received an Illinois Park membership directory and all commissioners received their laminated commissioner cards and the PDRMA Spring Pulse Newsletter. Director Menard received one brochure on the IAPD Roberts Rules Workshop and passed it around for the commissioners to see. Commissioners have gone to the workshop in the past especially when they are new. Commissioner Potacki is welcome to attend but it is in Arlington Heights.
Nothing to report.
MAINTENANCE REPORT
Martin Park soccer fields are ready. Maintenance put seed and dirt down and also rolled the field. The City let the district borrow the roller.
There was vandalism at Memorial Park where there was two sections of the slide replaced. They burned two holes in the slide. Director Menard said there was vandalism to slides at Kasey Meadow and Prairie View parks. They were on different days. Prairie View park just happened this past weekend. Mr. Murphy said at Prairie View they took a drill or utility knife and made a perfect circle and cut it out. A child could have their hood string caught. They have had children strangled and die from it. There was a temporary repair made with duct tape on the outside and caulk in the inside of the slide. The replacement parts are over $1,000. Commissioner Kosnick said it is lighters and burning holes. Mr. Murphy saw the first hole and then Director Menard went to look at the slide and there was a second hole burned that happened within one day. Let’s Go Play had to add that exit piece to the order. Commissioner Kosnick asked how long would it take to burn a hole. Mr. Murphy said it takes awhile with a lighter and it could be a half hour. Commissioner Morgan said it could have been a candle lighter. Is it the same group of people? Mr. Murphy said he doesn’t know. At the bank they found it during spring park inspections. Prairie View happened within days. Kasey Meadow was a bust mark. They jumped on the slide. Director Menard said if it is over $1,000 than PDRMA will reimburse the district for over that amount. Commissioner Potacki asked if a camera could be installed there. You can rotate the cameras with each park Mr. Murphy said he would look into it. Director Menard said it will be included in the future master plan.
All the parks were cut and the grass is growing fast. Fertilization will begin tomorrow.
Mr. Murphy showed pictures of the KP roof leak project. There was a drain inserted inside the old drain so the cast iron pipes didn’t need to be replaced. There haven’t been any leaks since it was put in. There were water stains where he made some repairs. Active Roofing also made a repair on the roof curb. The total cost was $2,550.
The skylights came in for the Maintenance Facility but couldn’t be installed because they are paving tomorrow.
There were some changes in the parking lot. The berm was put in to save money on taking the dirt somewhere else. That saves approximately $5,000 for disposal of the dirt. The berm is a safety net from kids sledding over there. Snow will be plowed over there. There is a section to drive the gator between the berm and the building. There were some changes in the project. Mr. Murphy showed a picture of the change in the curb. The curb was taken out in the drive around area and the handicapped spot was moved from near the berm area which is the north side of the lot to the south side of the lot where the curb was at on the plans. The staff will be parking in the spots on the north side of the parking lot. It was originally put there to protect a car. There won’t be a car there unless it is a handicapped vehicle and than they will watch out for that car. Director Menard said when the curb was taken out, there was a credit to the project but they had additional work on the butt joints at all the lots. There is an extra $2,944.50 needed for the project. Where the asphalt meets the concrete at the overhead door, it was an over site on the architect end where you have to cut that asphalt down. If you put 2” of asphalt over the existing lot you will be too high over the concrete. You will have water coming in. They had to ground it down. There was also a butt joint on the back overhead door. There was an undercut adjustment. When they did a roll test with the dump truck filled with stone there was too much give on the dirt. He cut that out and put in 6” of stone. Dan from 3D Design and Director Menard were there that day during the roll test. There was additional asphalt needed at curb area. When the curb was eliminated you needed to fill it in with asphalt. At Osborne Park, where the lot meets the asphalt you have to grin it down to even it out with the street. In Kasey Meadow lot, Chicagoland Paving said it needed more work than what we were going to do. They wanted to cut out the area and do some bridging and put asphalt there. They wanted $9,000 for it and we decided not to do it since we don’t get a lot of traffic. We can repair the cracks as they come up. The petromat will help. There have been patches done throughout the years. They will be paving tomorrow. Commissioner Kosnick asked if anyone was handicapped that will park there. Mr. Murphy said no but for so many parking spots you have to have a handicapped spot. Director Menard said the handicapped park spot can be used for special events. Mr. Murphy said Tony, the superintendent of Chicagoland Paving, has been great to work with. Where the existing asphalt is located, the surveyor only takes key points and the asphalt levels were all over the place. We were guaranteed to have no problems with the drainage. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if there was any drain in front of the garage door. Mr. Murphy said no.
At Martin Park, there was a wind screen installed on the west field. The east field was ordered but the company made a mistake and didn’t ship it. The wind ports are at the top so the wind can go through it. We are hoping it will reduce the dust to the homes. Commissioner Morgan asked if it will be taken down in the winter. Mr. Murphy said yes. The windscreens behind the backstops will stay up in the winter. It shortens the life span in the winter because they get ripped up. Director Menard said it is typical to take them down and a lot of park district’s do that. Also, Mr. Murphy said clay bricks are typically used in the batters box but it became a maintenance issue because they dig in the clay. Dan Maier suggested using rubber batters box which was purchased. You drop those in an inch and a half to an inch below the grade of the ball diamond mix and you can get two to three years of out them. They are used all over the country. They are only in the right hand side because you don’t get a lot of left hand hitters. They were installed last Monday. Director Menard said the staff submits a wish list and some of these extra items are purchased towards the end of the fiscal year. Mr. Murphy said the mats are covered with dirt but it doesn’t take long to see the mat. In one ball game you can dig up to the rubber. You won’t dig into the rubber. Mr. Maier said the ball players are maintaining the batters box. They will kick dirt back onto the rubber. Commissioner Kosnick asked how much the wind screen cost. Mr. Murphy said $500 for each side line. It goes up 12’. We should get five years out of it as long as it is taken down in the winter. The “No Parking” signs at Martin are installed. Larry Boettcher was called because the signs on the other side are faded. He is aware of our first game on Wednesday.
Green Up started working on Krueger Park and they have already done the demolition and rough layout of the playground. They didn’t work because today it was muddy from all the rain.
We are looking at demos of lawn mowers. A picture of the current Ransome lawn mower was shown to the Board. Jim showed a picture of the Toro demo. The cost is $38,000. The budget was $50,000. It might be best to buy two mowers. One will be a bigger one and the other smaller as a back up. Over the years, the mowers have broken and than we have to borrow the City’s mower or rent one for $200 a day. Sometimes in the summer, if it breaks, there are 10 mowers ahead of ours that need to be fixed. The trade in value of the Ransome is $1,000 to $2,500 and paid $40,000 originally. Another option is to keep the old mower as a back up since the trade in is so low. It is nice to have a spare mower. When it rains and the grass is long we can use both mowers. Krueger Park was but aside last week because we had to get the ball fields done. With more flexibility we could have cut Krueger Park. Commissioner Jerantowski asked how old the lawnmower is. Mr. Murphy said 10 years old. Commissioner Morgan asked if you get a second mower, wouldn’t it extend the life of each of the mowers. Mr. Murphy said yes since it wouldn’t have as many hours on it. The second mower would not just sit there all summer long. It will be used. The problem is when it breaks. The $200 a day rental mower is not a big mower. It is not a 72” mower. Commissioner Potacki asked if the second mower is the same size as this one. Mr. Murphy said one would be a 72” deck with a zero turn radius. The second one wouldn’t be a wing mower like the one we have which is 11’. The smaller one costs approximately $11,000. We would need the trade in and than could purchase both of the new mowers at once to be under $50,000. Director Menard said we want to purchase the new larger mower for $38,000, keep the old mower for this summer and purchasing the new smaller mower later this year or if we need it earlier. You have to keep in mind the old mower breaks and normally we spend $1,000 on maintenance. We would leave the extra money for this year to see if we can find a closing deal or wait a year or two. Commissioner Kosnick asked if there are other mowers you are looking at other than Toro. Mr. Murphy said Jacobsen is coming in next week. John Deere does not have a $40,000 demo in their inventory. They called the Midwest regional manager and they don’t have one either. Director Menard said Doug Plahm likes when you are going down the hill and you get to the ravine you can use the new mower on it. You can’t use our existing Ransome on the ravine and have to use a push mower. It will cut down on their time. The new mower has a roll bar so he can go up and down the hills with ease. He was worried you might tip with the old Ransome mower. There are advantages to the new mower. It is important for them to drive the demo so when John Deere doesn’t have one to drive than we don’t want to consider it. Mr. Murphy said John Deere said they sold 20 mowers to Chicago Park District. They have a bigger budget than us. We are not finished looking yet but wanted to give the Board an update on the mowers. Commissioner Kosnick asked if you looked at International Harvester. Mr. Murphy said he is not familiar with them. Commissioner Potacki asked what public works is using. Mr. Murphy said it is two years old but doesn’t know what it is. We will call him. We don’t want to purchase a Ransome since we have had it the last 10 years. Commissioner Potacki said the public works mower seat moves as you go up the hills. Director Menard said since the state has gone out to bid on these mowers, you don’t need to go out for bid and the attorney agreed. We have not decided completely on which one to buy. It takes a while to get the demos. We talked to Toro in January at the Illinois Park convention about getting a demo and it took this long. Burris sells Jacobsen and we have been trying to get a demo for a month. Burris said everyone is calling for the demos. They give it to them for three days and you take them on the hardest inclines. Commissioner Morgan asked if you have decided on whether or not to keep the old one or get two new ones. Mr. Murphy wanted to check with the Board on their opinion. Commissioner Kosnick said to keep the old one and get the big one than you can accumulate some money to get both. Mr. Murphy said he could live with that he just wants two mowers.
RECREATION REPORT
The athletic employee for the summer started today. He will be working four days a week.
The Poker Walk was last weekend. Commissioner Potacki participated. We would like to offer it in the fall. There were nice prizes and t-shirts handed out to each participant. It took the participants awhile to arrive to the park because many of them couldn’t find it. Commissioner Kosnick asked how many attended. Mr. Maier said it was 20 people. There were baseball games, communions and Mother’s Day the same weekend so attendance could have been low. Director Menard said the CN secretary called all the participants on Friday to give them directions to the park. Mr. Maier said they still got lost. Commissioner Morgan asked what the Poker Walk is. Mr. Maier said you go around the Prairie View trail and there are four different stations. At each station, you receive a poker card and once you get to five cards you would have to discard a card. You want to get the best hand possible. The winners won a $25 gift card to a restaurant, CVS or other places. There were also four hats given away. Approximately ¾ of the participants received something. Standard Bank’s name was on the back of the t-shirt for each participants and Joe from Standard Bank received four t-shirts for the bank to keep. They couldn’t attend because there was another event at Standard Bank that day. They have mentioned about renewing the sponsorship and the paperwork has been submitted. Joe asked if we had talked with other banks. Mr. Maier said he didn’t approach any and the park district has been happy with the Standard Bank sponsorship. Commissioner Kosnick asked what the poker hands were for the three top winners. Mr. Maier said they were four of a kind. Commissioner Potacki said you have so many minutes to walk around to get more cards. If you are a good walker you would go around 3-4 times. Mr. Maier said there were two decks at each station. We may want to add another station, a port-o-potty or two and add some chairs just in case they need to take a break.
There have been surveys sent out to Bright Beginnings and the exercise classes such as Total Workout, Yoga, Pilates and Sculpt & Tone. One of the surveys came back with a copy of Burbank’s exercise program and said look how cheep the program is for seniors. Their minimum was higher than ours and Burbank was paying $4.69 per class and we are at $5.11 per class so it isn’t that much more. It also depends on the instructors because we have someone who has been teaching for 25 years versus their teacher for two years. Their price was $20 less but we had an additional six classes.
Director Menard said she went to Bright Beginnings for an hour and a half before their closing program. Debbie Zimmerman, the teacher, had such a great demeanor. When the children would act up, she would just gently touch their arm and move it aside. It was a gentle touch. She has excelled so much in one year. This is her second year teaching preschool. She is not coming back because she is not guaranteed a job until July. None of the teachers are guaranteed a position until July. She told all the parents she wasn’t coming back. If we do have Bright Beginnings we will have to hire a teacher to teach at Krueger Park. Director Menard was very impressed. She is down to earth. Commissioner Morgan said it is so important to get off at a good start with young children and develop a positive relationship for attending school.
Softball starts this week. There are 12 teams in Wednesday, 16 in Sunday and 9 in Tuesday/Thursday. There will be barricades that will be put up by maintenance the first game and than the softball supervisor will put them out for the first few games. The captains received the notice that they could not park on both sides of their street in their rules, a newsletter was sent and it was discussed at the captains meeting. There are signs up on the street so they have been warned enough.
This Friday is the Patty Waszak at White Fence Farm. The trip is filled with 35 people. The senior luncheon next week has over 100 people. It is the last party until September. The Cubs game at Wrigley Field is already sold out. There is space for the Milwaukee game. Someone wrote in the Southtown and they commented about Burbank Park District offering two Cubs games and only one Sox game. Director Menard said the Cubs game filled up even at our district. Wrigley Field is also further to drive and parking is difficult. All the games at Wrigley are selling out because they are good right now.
The basketball league is over and the teams have been inquiring about whether or not the district will offer a fall league. We are considering it. The 42” TV in the fitness room is very nice. The members really like it. The refrigerator at Krueger Park has been replaced since it was making noise.
Director Menard said the Children’s Christmas Party has been scheduled for December 6. The Street Fair volunteer sign up went around to the commissioners.
Commissioner Jerantowski said her street did not receive the summer park district brochure. Director Menard said one person called in and said she didn’t receive the book and does not live on Joann’s street. Mr. Maier will have the brochure re-delivered to these streets. There wasn’t a lot left over when it was delivered this time. Sometimes there are four large bins. Commissioner Kosnick asked how much the TV cost. Mr. Maier said just under $1,000. Commissioner Michaels asked how come the sound doesn’t match the picture. He tried channel 5 and 7. Mr. Maier said he didn’t hear this before but will call Best Buy. Mr. Murphy said someone told him about it.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, second by Commissioner Michaels to approve Claim Ordinance 634. Ayes: Jerantowski, Kosnick, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki. Commissioner Jerantowski asked the following questions answered by Director Menard.
Check #24340 Active Roofing $13,233.33. Director Menard is holding a third payment. They sent their last payment request today. We need the GAF warranty, install the skylights, they have to fix the bricks and we need the final certified payroll before the payment can be released. She thought we were calling someone for the chipped bricks and we said no they were supposed to call someone. Mr. Murphy said Tony was calling someone. Active Roofing recommended just holding 10% until the bricks were replaced and Director Menard said she would think about that if everything else is done. Mr. Murphy said their brick company came with samples to match the bricks and could be finished within a few hours. There isn’t $13,000 of work to be completed.
Check #24354 Dan Maier $2,485. 97. The big amount was for the TV and refrigerator? Director Menard said yes. His cell phone bill was $39.00 and the rest is for the TV and refrigerator.
Check #24414 Liz Dynowski $203.38 Carson Days. Director Menard said this is a fundraiser with Carson’s the retail store. Any money that comes in from fundraisers whether it is candy, jackets or Carson Days goes to dance. She cuts a check back to the parent and helps pay for costumes and/or the competition team.
Commissioner Kosnick asked the following questions:
Check #24378 Spectrum Sox $1,725. It was Richie’s logo on the sweatshirts like the one we all received. It was a special size. The dance jackets were purchased by the parents. They wrote a check to us, we deposited it and paid the vendor.
Check #24384 Tumblebear Gymnastics $1,914. This was for teaching classes for March 3 to April 7.
Check #24369 Menard’s $578.52. This is for various supplies which were hinge hasp, screws, antifreeze, cable ties, carpet trim, cut blades, etc. Mr. Murphy said we go to Menard’s and Ace Hardware for many little supplies. It could be paint, a scraper, a glove, etc. Commissioner Michaels asked if Mr. Murphy goes himself. He said no some of his staff will go there to purchase items. Last week an employee went to buy concrete for a repair because that is what he was working on but they do check with other employees before they go to the store. We purchased a mig welder at Menard’s a few weeks ago which was $296. They check around for prices on the big ticket items. Director Menard said the employees have to be on our list, get a purchase order from the front office and than when the bill comes in it is attached to the bill. The maintenance staff does not see the bill. If the bill doesn’t match the purchase order, than there are questions. If there is repetitive items, than she will ask Mr. Murphy why they needed these items. Commissioner Jerantowski asked who matches the bills. Tammy Muth matches the purchase order to the bills and Director Menard codes the bills. A Menard’s bill could be coded to five areas, such as, recreation, building supplies, maintenance supplies, parks, janitorial, etc. Mr. Murphy said they check if it is on sale like antifreeze. Not all the maintenance staff can go to Menard’s. Director Menard said when an employee leaves they are taken off the list.
Commissioner Jerantowski made note of the Investment Report for April 30, 2008. Most interest rates have been at 2.21%.
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, seconded by Commissioner
Potacki to approve the
Tentative Treasurer’s Report for April 30, 2008. Ayes: Jerantowski, Kosnick,
Michaels, Morgan, Potacki. Director Menard said she has reviewed it carefully
even though it is tentative and noticed all the salaries are higher than the
budgeted amount and this is because there were 27 payrolls in the fiscal year.
It depends on how the payroll falls. It happens every few years. This year May 1
was on a Thursday so it fell just right. The auditor makes many adjustments. In
August, the commissioners should see the final April Treasurer’s Report.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Maintenance Facility Roof:
A copy of an Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) letter was placed at the commissioner seats. They requested several items because Active Roofing is not union. They do not have to fill out the Freedom for Information Act and we can’t charge them for copies. It was sent to the attorney first to review it and than sent to IDOL. It had to be sent to a P.O. Box for IDOL. Director Menard checked with IDOL and he said he would check the box. We had 10 days to respond to the letter. They also asked Active Roofing for the same information.
Parking Lot Project:
There is going to be some extra cost on the parking lot work and the quote was placed in the board packet. This was for the curb and butt joints that was discussed earlier. Commissioner Potacki moved, second by Commissioner Michaels to approve the additional work on the parking lot from Chicagoland Paving for $2,944.50. Ayes: Jerantowski, Kosnick, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki. In the past the former director just o.k. this extra work. 3D Design and Mr. Murphy both mentioned this. Currently, Director Menard can only approve $2,500 or under. There should be a special board meeting called and a job can be held up for one to three days until Board approves of this. It would be best to o.k. a small additional amount like $5,000. Commissioner Kosnick said it is really not $2,944 you are approving the extra work. It is $4,500 minus the credit.
Krueger Park Playground:
Excavation for the playground began on April 27. There was a construction fence put up and signs that lead them to the ballfield.
Director Menard asked what the commissioners would like to do for the playground opening. We could have it on a Sunday, middle to end of July, or we could have it on a camp day. If we have it on a camp day between 9am-3:45pm, there would be a lot of kids to enjoy it. Petkiewicz and Woodland parks opening was on a Sunday, the neighbors received an invitation, Frisbees were given out, and there were some snacks and refreshments. The Frisbees were sponsored through the park district, 3D Design and the playground contractor. Commissioner Jerantowski could not make an opening on the 13th or 27th. Director Menard said July 6th would be too close to July 4th and the playground might not be finished weather depending. Commissioners agreed to have it on Sunday, July 20 at 1pm. The contractors and neighbors will be invited. A sign will be put at Krueger to invite anyone to come to the opening. Commissioner Morgan said there never was a really big crowd but it was always on a Sunday afternoon. The skate park had a big crowd. Mr. Murphy said it was the staff, the commissioners and a hand full of people. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if it could be in the fall brochure if it was later. Director Menard said the brochure is not out until middle to later August.
The Cylex signs will be in the end of May. You have to order it 6-8 weeks in advance. It will go in place the wood Krueger Park sign.
Security Cameras:
The trenching and wiring for the cameras was complete on Saturday, April 26. The cameras will be installed Wednesday at 7:00a.m. There have been problems because the district didn’t sign the maintenance agreement. It was almost an argument with the sales representative because we didn’t want the maintenance agreement. There was a good discussion with the owner. They never discussed the maintenance agreement until we were at the board meeting. It was on the quote, but no discussion at all about it and we didn’t know about the benefits. They said we were the only client that didn’t have the maintenance agreement. They now said that 2% doesn’t have the agreement. They received the big down payment and an e-mail was sent saying because we didn’t sign the maintenance agreement, we were put last on their list. Than Friday they asked if they could come the next day, on Saturday, at 6:00am to install the cameras. We had plans for the weekend. The owner asked if we would sign the maintenance agreement a year from now. Director Menard said Krueger Park has one for the interior security cameras for $96 a quarter and they have never came out to work on the cameras. They said they would give us new software and replace any cameras we would need. The two references they gave us had their cameras for only two years. It is $3,000 a year and could mean cutting a part time employee to teach or class to pay for the agreement. She asked if something breaks, will it take a month for them to fix the camera. He said no, it would be up to 48 hours and it would cost $150 per hour. Now, they don’t want to give us the software even if we don’t have the maintenance agreement. They don’t want their competitors to get a hold of it. They will have to load the software on the police station computers and on my home computer and Jim Murphy’s. Mr. Murphy would have had to take his hard drive and monitor in because it is connected but they will be going to his house and the police station. Mr. Murphy and Director Menard can pull up the camera’s at home if we are having a problem at the skate park. We will be working with Steve the owner if there are problems. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if we selected another company if we would have the same problems. Director Menard said no. Altec which was our second choice did not have a maintenance agreement and didn’t mention it. Altec is a smaller company and Closed Circuit is larger. Altec would not come to the board meeting. The maintenance agreement should be brought up the day they walk in the door for the first time. They said they didn’t make anything on our job. Mr. Murphy said they probably get a commission on the maintenance agreement. The owner also commented that they don’t start at 6:00a.m. They start at the shop at 6:00a.m. so they wouldn’t be here until 7:30a.m.
A neighbor from across the tennis courts and skate park complained about the vulgar language at the skate park. She was told she’ll have to call the police because the cameras will not pick up on that. She was happy about hearing about the security cameras being installed. She said it helped when we were getting the kids out of the parking lot when they are loitering there.
Martin Park:
There was a letter included in the board packet that addresses the “No Parking” restrictions on 90th Street across from Martin Park. This letter was mailed on April 28 to the residents who live across from Martin Park. No one call to respond to the letter. The signs are up and the ball players and employees working during ball games know that there is no parking on both sides of 90th Street during ball games. The police will enforce this restriction for the first couple of games. If we have trouble they will come back to ticket them. If a neighbor is having a party and needs to park on the street during ball games, they will need to call Hickory Hills Police for a permit. Anytime they park on the street overnight they have to call to get a permit. The players were also told to practice away from the homes.
Garbage disposal rates and recycling:
Waste Management sent a bill for $282 for the month of March and the district usually pays $262. Last year they did the same thing but came back down once Director Menard called around for lower prices. Brandon Wallace, our account manager, came out to see me the same day Director Menard called about the price increase. In the meantime, Commissioner Jerantowski stopped by and said the City changed to Land & Lakes for garbage disposal. Land & Lakes originally quoted $274 but once they heard about the Waste Management price of $262 they ended coming down to $240. The quote of $240 was shared with Waste Management and we ended up signing a contract for $239 for one year. This is the lowest price we have had since 2002 when the price was $238. Waste Management picks up our 20 yard roll off when we call them versus picking up garbage weekly. Waste Management also took the maintenance staff out to lunch. Brandon lives in Hickory Hills. Commissioner Morgan asked if they are losing business. Brandon said they are purchasing the smaller companies. Commissioner Potacki said they buy the smaller companies and still keep that original name. The park district has been with Waste Management for 31 years.
The Go Green effort has encouraged us to look into recycling rates. Jim Murphy said the district has recycled aluminum in the past and took the aluminum in for cash. They were getting mice around the garbage bag of cans while they were sitting in the garage. Waste Management offers special event recycling and permanent recycling for a fee. We are saving $276 per year with the lower roll off rate so the district could recycle just during summer concerts. This is called special event recycling. We would have the 8 yard container for 7 weeks and have it emptied once. This would cost $150. This is just for cans and bottles. They do provide cardboard containers but it would be best to purchase plastic containers since they will be outside. Krueger Park has a container and we would purchase one for inside the building at the CN Center. The rest of the four containers will be put out for concerts. The plastic containers will cost $250 for 5 containers and $54 for the bags. The containers will have three holes at the top of the container and will say plastic bottles and aluminum cans. You can visually see the cans and bottles from the type of container we are looking at so hopefully someone will not throw their garbage in the container. Maintenance would have to take out any type garbage or debris. A permanent recycling program would cost $48 a month ($576 a year) for a 2 yard container and $56 a month ($672 a year) for an 8 yard container for a weekly pickup. Commissioner Potacki said The City recycles and Waste Management provides the containers. Director Menard said they will provide one big dumpster but we still have to purchase the containers for inside the building and the concerts. The permanent recycling program could be considered for the 2009/2010 budget. The recycle dumpster would sit next to the large 20 yard dumpster in the garage outside fenced area. We can start the special event recycling program this summer with the saving from our regular garbage service. The recycling containers will be taken out of either the corporate or recreation equipment and improvement budgets. Commissioner Morgan asked what Waste Management does with recycling. Director Menard said Waste Management recycles the aluminum, plastic and paper. She didn’t know what location it is taken to. Commissioner Potacki said there is a place in Midlothian where they crush it up and put it in barrels. The City used to use the recycling money and it went towards the garbage disposal cost. They would receive $500 to $1,000 a month for recycling for residential pick ups. Now they use the money to pay for the recycling bins and some money out of capital investments. Mr. Murphy said they had to dump out the liquid in the cans. They used to get $100 a year for recycling and used it for a staff lunch. It wasn’t worth the cost of the rodents. Director Menard said the district will start with summer recycling and if it goes well than she will see if it fits in the budget.
Dance:
Liz Dynowski, our lead dance instructor, asked if we could cover the mirrors in the CN multipurpose room when it is close to dance recital. They rely on the mirrors too much since they practice in front of them all year round. If they turn around so they are not facing the mirrors than their steps and coordination is off. It would require putting up several small eye hooks and purchasing a canvas or sheet to go over the mirrors. The second option is to put up white poster board but we didn’t like the idea of taping something to the mirrors. Sometimes it is difficult to get the tape off and in the past a mirror has cracked from pushing on it. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if you would hang a canvas and would it be too heavy. Director Menard said a canvas was hung from the ceiling for pictures with the Easter Bunny where the hooks are now. We can look at a sheet which is lighter. Would it be o.k. to put in s hooks? Mr. Murphy said they used to have s hooks for the haunted house. They were all over the beams and guide wires were up. There are eye holes on there now. Commissioner Michaels said when you turn around it is the same thing. Director Menard said she made that comment to Liz and she said their steps are thrown off. It is a left and right issue. Commissioner Morgan said a dark plastic might work. Director Menard said there is a cling that sticks to glass windows. Commissioner Jerantowski asked how long will it be up. Director Menard said for a month before dance recital and Tuesday through Saturday. It would have to be taken down for the exercise classes. Commissioner Michaels asked to find out how much money it would cost and time it would take. Commissioner Morgan asked about a projection screen. Director Menard said a screen might work. Dance does bring in a good amount of revenue. Commissioner Michaels said look for a tarp on sale. Director Menard said that would work. Commissioner Jerantowski said it could have shower hooks. Director Menard said we will get a price and let the commissioners know since they don’t need it until next year.
IMRF rate meeting:
Director Menard attended an IMRF rate meeting which covers the investment return for that year and the impact on employer contribution rates. IMRF experienced the lowest return on investments in 2007 for the past five years. With all of their investments the average was 8.5%. When IMRF makes more than 7.5%, the excess market investments go back to the employers. IMRF just started allowing online open enrollment and termination forms.
Vandalism and Incidences:
On April 17, a 17 year old male, has been banned from the skate park. He will be banned for one year. He was from Palos Hills. He started with walking up and down 95th Street with gang signs and then ended up at the skate park. He ended up going to the hospital because someone beat him up with a baseball bat.
On April 24, there was graffiti at Woodland Park on the curb.
On April 30, there was graffiti on several pieces of playground equipment at Marty Ptacek Park. The police and the principal of Conrady School were called. The principal said when school is out there are junior high students’ hanging out at the playground. They will keep an eye on the playground.
On May 1, one of the employees, Peter Morelli, was parked by the maintenance garage, across from the skate park with his doors unlocked. Tony, the neighbor across the street, saw kids in his car. He called the police. Once the police arrived the two kids were already gone. Peter said they took change from his car. The skate park was closed the rest of the day. The car was not locked and will be from now on. Commissioner Morgan said it could be knocked out of gear.
On May 4, a woman from Burr Ridge drove into the railing at Woodland Park. She was parked on the hill and noticed her car moving. Director Menard showed pictures of the car in the railing. She got in her car, which was in neutral and couldn’t stop it and ran into the railing. The car ran over her. The police arrived at the accident, took pictures and gave us an incident report. PDRMA was sent the accident report. The railing has been removed. We have contracted Peerless Fence for a quote on an Ameristar Fence which is the railing that was installed a year and a half ago. The quote is $5,000. This is the company that put in the railing. The entire playground project was $100,000. There will have to be concrete work done but we don’t have a quote on it yet. Everything was turned over to the park district’s insurance company and they will contact her insurance company. Commissioner Morgan said it was her fault so her insurance will have to pay for it. Mr. Murphy said the posts broke up the concrete and we’ll have to get a quote to replace the concrete sidewalk.
On May 9th, Mr. Murphy was driving to Prairie View and saw a 13 year old girl writing on the wood sign with a crayon. He called the police. By the time the police arrived, she removed what she wrote. Director Menard decided to ban her from all the parks. They did call her parents. Mr. Murphy said she was with three teenagers. Her friends left before the police arrived. Commissioner Morgan asked if she waited for the police. Mr. Murphy said she had to since he saw what happened.
On May 12th, there was a burn hole on the playground slide at Prairie View.
A mother called this today about her child that was on the preschool trip to Aladdin. She said her child’s neck hurt. The driver was a School District 117 bus driver and school buses are very bouncy. Director Menard was on the trip and hadn’t been on a school bus in a long time. The girl was sitting next to Ms. Sue, the preschool teacher, at the play and also on the school bus ride home. The girl never mentioned her neck hurt. This school bus had seat belts and they usually don’t. When turning a corner the seat belts do hold you in. The mom was referred to PDRMA but the park district does not carry insurance for participants. She could have had a draft on her neck. She could have been looking at the ceiling when the school bus was bouncing. Commissioner Jerantowski asked where she was at in the theatre. Director Menard said about six rows back. She could have had her neck back on the seat. Commissioner Morgan said the teacher would have seen if the school bus drivers slammed on the brakes. Director Menard said they both would have noticed it. This girl is very talkative and was talking to Mr. Sue the entire time and never said her neck hurt. She is not shy.
Miscellaneous:
The Chicago Tribune had a newspaper article that Commissioner Michaels mentioned regarding Polaroid film. The article said that two manufacturers may make the film and Fuji may be offering a competitive product. Director Menard was able to order Polaroid film on the internet through Office Depot. It took a lot of searching around to order it. No one seems to carry it in the stores and you can’t order it on the phone. On-line orders are only taken by Office Depot.
The park district audit is scheduled for June 17 & 18. Paperwork will be submitted to the auditor by May 23.
Splash Pad resident pass registration begins May 1. Passes will be $5 for the entire summer until June 1 than it changes to $7 for the summer. Summer registration started today.
Preschool had a Hop-O-Thon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and raised $1,793. We had to deposit any cash received from preschool participants and cut them a check for it so you will see this on the check register.
Commissioner Morgan asked what was the Hop-O-Thon? Director Menard said they had to hop a certain amount of time. It was like a Walk-O-Thon.
Commissioner Jerantowski asked if you ban someone from the skate park how do you know if they come back. Do you inspect the parks every day? Director Menard said by face and if they do something wrong and than it is a steep fine. It also depends on how severe it is than it goes to the Bridgeview Court House. A neighbor might also know what they look like and report it. Mr. Murphy said the park inspections are once a week. We also drive them everyday. When the park is cut they check out the playground. We are out there twice a week. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if Petkiewicz Park is used a lot. Mr. Murphy said he sees people while driving. A neighbor across the street from Petkiewicz, Jim Rice, he asked if we could put up an American Flag. There isn’t a light on it. He said that wasn’t correct so Jim Murphy said to present him with research and than he’ll put it up. You have to have a light on it. This was a week ago. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if we have heard anything about the water complaint at Petkiewicz from the winter. Connie, the neighbor next to the park, said thanks for everything. The drain was running fine down the street when there was a heavy rain. Commissioner Jerantowski asked about 88th Avenue. Director Menard called the County attorney twice and she doesn’t call back. It is still on hold because of the City of Hickory Hills. Commissioner Jerantowski said it was from behind the shopping center. Commissioner Potacki said there is a detention back there and it is controlled by the County. There is so much water it will allow. If it becomes wider than the golf course will be flooded out. They want to pump it over to 79th Street.
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, second by Commissioner Michaels to adjourn to the next regular meeting.
Ayes: Jerantowski, Kosnick, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:18.m.
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Secretary
ATTEST:
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President