BOARD MINUTES
July 14, 2008
The regular monthly Board Meeting of the Board of Commissioners was called at 7:04p.m. on July 14, 2008 at the Cynthia Neal Center, 8047 W. 91ST Place, Hickory Hills, Illinois.
The following commissioners were present: Jerantowski, Kosnick, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Also present were: Dan Maier, Recreation Director, Jennifer Menard, Executive Director, Jim Murphy, Maintenance Director.
Commissioner Kosnick moved, seconded by Commissioner Michaels, to approve the minutes of June 9, 2008 as presented. Ayes: Jerantowski, Kosnick, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
Mail forwarded to commissioners: All commissioners received the PDRMA Spring Healthbeat newsletter and PDRMA Pulse newsletter and two mailings from Advocate Health and Commissioner Kosnick received an NRPA magazine. Commissioner Jerantowski read a letter, “Dear Park District Board of Commissioner and Jennifer Menard, I would like to personally thank all of you for granting me the opportunity to send my daughter to preschool at the park district starting this fall. I am sure you can imagine how difficult it is being a single mother, working and going to school, and raising two small children. Money is extremely tight and this extension of need is very much appreciated. I am very grateful for this opportunity, and want to thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. Sincerely, Bernadette Sevening.”
Nothing to report.
MAINTENANCE REPORT
All the trees and bushes had been trimmed and they will need to be trimmed again with all the rain we have had. More roundup this year was sprayed than in the past. There was merit put down on Martin Park soccer field. The University of Illinois Cooperative Extension has recommended putting it down where the grubs hit last year. They are sure it will hit in the same spot. So, it was put down where we did the restoration last year. This is a preventor. It is best to put it in before July 4.
The 2110 tractor had a repair to the rare axel because a bearing went bad. Martin Implement fixed it. It was $1,850 for the repair. The dump truck had a repair because we couldn’t get it out of gear. It is common on Ford vehicles. It was towed to Burbank Auto Repairs because the City of Hickory Hills using them. It is going well with Youth Baseball and we will get ready for the soccer season as soon as they are done.
The Splash Pad has been going well and all mechanicals are working well. It has been busy with patrons visiting it. We go through 5-7 gallons of chlorine a week and that is minimal. It is filled on Thursdays. We used to clean the strainers three times a day because of the old surface particles and now we are doing it once a day. The maintenance level is low compared to the past. The calibration is right on. Director Menard said the staff has been great with coming in on time and getting a sub when needed. They haven’t called Jim because they have been getting flow. The book has additional directions for troubleshooting. They are very good with deciding what to do about the weather when the temperature is close to 74 degrees. Homewood Floosmoor has been looking at the surface. Commissioner Michaels asked if we are getting any of the surface in the filters. Mr. Murphy said no except a little grass. The recovery tank is clear in the morning. Commissioner Morgan asked when the old surface started falling apart. Mr. Murphy said it was gradually falling apart near the water cannons and water trio when Director Menard started three years ago. Than we tried sealing it and it only worked for a month. It was built in 1999. Director Menard said she started in 2004 so it was about five years. The manufacture said you would get about five years out of it. Mr. Murphy said they are trying to get away from that surface. Many splash pads are putting in concrete surfaces.
Joyce O’Donnell called and said the bushes behind her house at Krueger Park were starting to get long so they were trimmed. It took about six hours to trim but they won’t need to be trimmed for another year. The playground is looking very nice. The grass and perennials have been watered every day. Commissioner Jerantowski said one of the trees is dying. Mr. Murphy said there is a one year warranty and Green Up has already been called on it. The landscapers always count on 20% of everything put down could die. It is because they are not watered. Saturday it rained and that helped. When Kasey Meadow was built we ran across the same thing. Overall, it looks good and needs to be watered. Green Up will take the snow fence down on Wednesday around Krueger’s playground. It will be cut for the opening. Director Menard showed a picture of a chip in the concrete. The architect came by and did a walk through and did not see this patch of concrete that was chipped because it is not easy to spot. So, when Director Menard went through it slowly last Thursday she noticed it. 3D Design has been in contract with Green Up. They want to put in a cold patch. We do not like cold patches so we have asked for a warranty on it. Cold patches pop out in cold weather. The architect asked if it could have happened after he was there but maintenance did not have any vehicles or equipment in the construction area. We have the stressed trees and the bench also left on the punch list. Mr. Murphy said the lilac trees stressed instantly the next day. Blackout came out to seal coat the pathway and built a curb by the backstop and brought up the asphalt 25’. It stopped the wash out from the ballfield onto the pathway. You could see it worked from the good rain that we had on Saturday. That park was closed when the seal coating was put in.
The Maintenance Facility roof is complete. Kozy installed the new air conditioner and it works great. There hasn’t been any leaks from rain. Regarding the parking lot, 3D Design talked to Chicagoland Paving and they agreed to let the park district deduct from their pay to replace the stained concrete at Osborne Park and the berm. The berm was supposed to have top soil on it and they didn’t do it. It was a fair price to have the park district finish it. The berm will be seeded later in the year because it would have to be watered and the best time is to seed in the fall. Director Menard said it doesn’t look real bad except the area with all the dirt. Mr. Murphy said he has to level it off and spray some round up and put some top soil on it. The deduction from Chicagoland is $1,000 for the berm and $600 for the concrete. Director Menard said we still haven’t received one bill from Chicagoland Paving and 3D Design called them about it and they said they were busy.
The mowers are working great. It used to take four days to cut the parks and now it is taking three days. The operator on the smaller mower typically would be using the walk behind so we cut quicker. Kasey Meadow and Martin Park are now cut on the same day. Gordon picked up our mower that he purchased.
There have been many repairs on the HVAC in the buildings. As the board requested, we switched to Controlled Environmental because they were less for the maintenance contract and they worked with the school district. There was a problem with the fitness room and a new thermostat was put in some time ago. A few members complained that it wasn’t 65 degrees in there. The thermostat cover showed 65 degrees. They didn’t calibrate the thermostat correctly. At Kasey Meadow they weren’t troubleshooting what was going on with the condenser. The owner came out and fixed it. They charged $840 dollars for preventative maintenance but we picked up more cost on the repairs. Dornbus’ technician really knows the buildings and there weren’t all of these problems. We save more money using Dornbus. Controlled Environmental is not a bad HVAC company but Dornbus has better service because they know our systems. Director Menard said the degrees were three degrees off in the fitness center and that is when you get complaints. We bought a thermometer and put it under the fitness equipment. We watched it and it said 67-69 degrees so it wasn’t warm in the fitness center like the members said it was just a little warmer than the 65 degrees they normally have in that room. The facility manager, Jeanette, said one day it would be cold and the next day it felt warmer. It was never above 70 degrees but annoying. Everyone is involved; Dan Maier, the facility manager, Jim Murphy and Director Menard. Mr. Murphy said you can’t use both of companies because one company does not want to work on the equipment after the other one. If we have another problem we will go back to Dornbus. We are not locked into anything else. We will call when we have another problem. Commissioner Morgan asked if there are any current problems. Mr. Murphy said no so we can go back to Dornbus for the next problem. The owner at Controlled Environmental was trying to work with us but doesn’t have experience with our issues. Director Menard said it is o.k. to change vendors in some cases but other cases like an attorney, auditor and heating and air it may not be so good. They have history with us and with new vendors it takes longer. Commissioner Potacki asked how old the units are. Mr. Murphy said at the Cynthia Neal Center it is 13 years old, the preschool room is new and Krueger Park’s recreation directors’ office HVAC is fairly new. The north side of Krueger was put in with the addition and the carriers on the south side are 13 years old. Commissioner Potacki asked if it is in the budget to replace them. Director Menard said it will be in the new capital budget. All the ones that have been done were in this current master plan. At that time they didn’t need to be replaced but now they will need to be put in the next master plan. Commissioner Potacki said they should be replaced after 7 years. Mr. Murphy said there is an emergency fund for example when the heat exchanger was replaced because there was a crack.
Jim Vodika is not working for us because he wanted to take the rest of the summer off. Two people will start this week; Joe Manske, who lives in Hickory Hills, will work part time year round and Justin Lohrer will work until the end of the summer. Justin worked for us previously when in school. Director Menard said Glen Viar left also. When raises were given earlier this year, he told Mr. Murphy he wanted more money. Last year, he was given larger raises and this year it was good. We researched how much other maintenance staff that worked in the south suburbs and he was getting paid fair and higher than most that have the same type of experience and years of service. He worked two days a week for the park district.
Commissioner Morgan asked if the kids crawl through the holes at the new playground. Director Menard said yes. Mr. Murphy said you can climb through but it is up to their imagination. Director Menard said the fall surface is ASTM standards. The playground will be opened to the community on Wednesday, July 16.
Dan from 3D Design suggested having the front of the Maintenance Facility landscaped so we have gotten a price for it from Dutch Barn. It is something we would do in the future if the commissioners agree that it would be a good idea. Mr. Murphy showed a drawing of it. Director Menard said the maintenance staff could put the landscaping in but it would be more professional looking with a landscaping company. It would look nice from Roberts Road. It would have a stone wall around it. Mr. Murphy said it would have perennials. The stone wall would be built up so you couldn’t see the sewer. It would go around the sign in the front. The quote was for $3,626. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if we were just doing it for the wall. Director Menard said it would be in front of the windows, in front of the building and would cover up the sewer and than around the sign. It would be a stone wall and landscaping. We realize $3,000 is expensive so before we get other quotes we wanted to make sure the commissioners agreed it would be a good idea. Commissioner Kosnick asked what we meant by stone wall and wanted to ask if it was bricks. Mr. Murphy showed a picture of it. It is quarry. Commissioner Kosnick said quarry is bricks not stone. Director Menard said she understood that it is not little stones. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if it would come from the door to the street. Mr. Murphy said no, it would be in the front. He will take a picture of the area of it for the next board meeting. Commissioner Potacki asked if they will take away the bushes. Mr. Murphy said yes. Commissioners agreed it would be o.k. to get more quotes and hire a landscaper for the job. Commissioner Morgan asked how environmentally friendly the merit that is put out for the grub worms is. Mr. Murphy said that is what all the landscapers use and the Department of Conservation and the University recommends it. He could see if he could get more information on it. It is more environmentally friendly than using the other stuff.
The well is fixed at Martin Park. Over the weekend the well stopped working. He will look at it tomorrow.
Director Menard said Mr. Murphy typed his own board report on his computer. Commissioner Jerantowski said the word shrub was spelled grubs. Director Menard will fix it.
RECREATION REPORT
Angelina, the part time CN secretary, is designing the fall brochure.
Regarding the Street Fair, we would like to look at purchasing a moon jump. We use it for Street Fair and Pumpkin Fest and could use it for camp. They are not that expensive depending on the size. The money that is spent on renting it could be recovered in one and a half years. Director Menard said Tammy saw one that was $125. We have to look at the quality of them. Commissioner Kosnick asked what it cost to rent. Mr. Maier said $450 to $700. Director Menard said we rented the slide, swings and the moon jump and it was a package which cost $3,125 for the three of them. Commissioner Jerantowski and Commissioner Kosnick said they saw a moon jump at conference. Commissioner Kosnick said the good ones are in Canada. Commissioner Morgan said you could probably find out where they purchased it. Mr. Maier said they wouldn’t tell us. Mr. Murphy said the former director asked where they purchased the Pumpkin moon jump and they wouldn’t tell her because it would take business away from them. We would like to get rid of selling the wrist bands because the tickets are inexpensive as it is. The rides are $1-$2. They try to buy wrist bands when there is a half hour left and we have to try and talk them out of it. Director Menard asked if the commissioners felt the same way. When Director Menard was selling rides with Commissioner Kosnick, they stopped selling them at 1:30pm. Commissioner Kosnick said once you get an hour under your belt than you don’t have much time because the lines are so long. You are better off not selling wrist bands. You have to get rid of the cash box for the money. Commissioner Michaels said put it below the table. Commissioner Morgan said when she worked at the carnivals they had cash drawers that pulled out and it was clipped under any table. Director Menard said they have pouches that tie around their waist at the concerts. Commissioner Kosnick said you could screw the cash box in the table and than you slide it out a little. It was difficult when it was windy.
Mr. Maier said we would like to increase the Pumpkin Fest tickets at the door to $10 and $7 in advance. Everything has gone up and a Haunted House will be added this year. The Pumpkin Fest is October 4. Commissioner Morgan said $40 is a lot if you have 3-4 kids. Director Menard said it costs $6,000 to have the fest and vendors are going up. The pre-sales would still be less than $10. The $10 fee is at the door. After discussion, it was decided to sell it for $7 in advance and $10 at the door. Mr. Murphy said other haunted houses are $7-$8 and you are there for 15 minutes. There is a $3 price at Pumpkin Fest for less than three years old.
Standard Bank said they will tell us tomorrow how much the donation will be. It will be between $5,000-$10,000. They will get more involved with coming to the concerts. Neverly Brothers was rained out last week. We canceled it at 5:50pm because they said it would be an hour and a half before they would be ready so the concert wouldn’t have started until 7:30pm. They said they were asking to play at the district for 7-8 years. They travel a lot. They said they would call in October and it wouldn’t be half off like the other bands, maybe $200-$300 off. Neverly Brothers only has three members and Public I have 10 members and they came back for half price. They play in Florida and Las Vegas. Commissioner Kosnick said tell them we have always gotten 50%. Director Menard said the other bands give us 50% off and she did tell them that. Mr. Maier said they have a good following so maybe we’ll have them back next year but we’ll have to see after that.
The second session of camp started this week. They are going to the water park tomorrow. It is busy but is going smoothly. Commissioner Kosnick asked if the playground is opening prior to the opening on Sunday. Mr. Murphy said it should be open a few days before. He wants to take the snow fencing down, cut it and mulch the areas. We opened Petkiewicz and Woodland prior to the grand opening. The sod has begun to root but it will have to watered throughout the summer. It depends on the rain and temperature. Director Menard said it has already had graffiti on it. Someone wrote AK on it last week. It was very small. The facility managers said they have kicked out several people on the playground. Mr. Maier said there are three year olds and their parents going over the snow fence. Mr. Murphy said it was raining out and he kicked out four kids. Commissioner Morgan asked if the same amount of swings is there. Mr. Murphy said it is the same amount. Commissioner Kosnick asked if there was anything up regarding the opening of the playground. Director Menard said there are flyers in the building, the camp participants were invited and invitations were sent to the neighbors. The marquee message can be put up next week.
Commissioner Morgan asked how Mike Howley's son was doing. Director Menard said he is doing fine. He is in a sling and has to have it for three weeks than he has to take it easy for two to three months. His son and another little boy who is in camp, was running to the water fountain in the gym and got their feet tangled up and he feel on his shoulder and broke his collar bone. We couldn’t get a hold of them right away so an officer went to the house to tell his wife what happened. They came to camp the next day and the camp participants gave him get well cards. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
Commissioner Jerantowski said Mr. Maier’s report said we need more picnic tables and tents for shade. Where would you put them? Mr. Maier said we put picnic tables out by the rides for Street Fair this year. Director Menard said they complained when they get down by the rides that there is no where to sit. The tables were filled the entire time so maybe they will stay longer by the rides. They were our picnic tables and were moved from other locations. Commissioner Jerantowski said when she was coming today at 3:00p.m. there were 20 people behind the Cynthia Neal building. Director Menard said there is many people who picnic all around park.
The fall brochure is really tight on space. The park map had to be taken out due to adding more programs. That made the brochure one page short. The map used to be just in the summer and spring brochure. Just this time it will be taken out. There will be a sentence in the brochure that says you can pick it up at the front desk or it is on-line. You have to add four pages at one time and we only needed one page.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, second by Commissioner Michaels to approve Claim Ordinance 636. Ayes: Jerantowski, Kosnick, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki. Commissioner Kosnick and Commissioner Jerantowski asked the following questions answered by Director Menard.
Check #24597 Vermont Systems $2,508. It is for annual maintenance for Rec Trac and Fin Trac which is the software we use for registration and financial software.
Check #24572 Floors Inc $1,040. This is for the painting the basketball lines on the gym at Krueger. This is the entire cost.
Commissioner Jerantowski saw a lot of repairs being done at the skate park. Director said there were two bills for Armor. This is what Jim Murphy talked about with replacing ramps at the skate park. There has been a lot cracking. This is more than we have ever had. Mr. Murphy said there were eight sheets placed on the ramps. It is not vandalism; it is wear and tear from them cracking. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if the park district is going to Wicked. Mr. Maier said yes on October 29. There will also be a Dirty Dancing trip this fall.
Commissioner Morgan made note of the Investment Report for June 30, 2008. The CD rates have been going down. Commissioner Michaels asked what our protection is. Director Menard said the district has federal collateral. Every month they send a report that shows the coverage. The auditor asks for proof of the monthly reports. This is not through Standard Bank. This is through the Federal Reserve Bank.
DIRECTOR REPORT:
Maintenance Facility Roof and Parking Lot Project:
These were covered in the maintenance report.
Krueger Park Playground:
Director Menard asked if the commissioners could arrive 10 minutes prior to the opening Sunday, July 20. It will begin at 1:00pm so arrive at 12:50pm. There will be a balloon artist and two face painters. They will be under a tent. There will be refreshments. NuToys, Green Up, 3D Design will be sponsoring the Grand Opening as requested. Green Up and 3D Design gave $150 and NuToys sent $200. Green Up thought it was a little expensive until he heard about the face painter and balloon artist. The president said the speech for the last two parks. Commissioner Morgan will say the speech and requested Director Menard to say something too. She will send Commissioner Morgan a draft of the speech. Commissioner Morgan asked if everyone was wearing something special. Mr. Maier will look for some t-shirts that all match in color and they will be dropped off at the commissioner homes before the opening.
Security Cameras:
On July 7, someone broke the front of the pop machine. The machines will be taken out of the skate park. Mr. Murphy said Pepsi said they would take it out if it was broken one more time. There was wood chips stuck in there and it has happened many times so it isn’t Pepsi’s machine not working correctly. The front of the machine was cracked. Commissioner Kosnick said you should tell the participants about it. Mr. Murphy said he has. Director Menard and the office staff have been reviewing the security camera tape. It takes a long time to review the tape. Phil from Altec will be looking at our cameras to have an additional camera installed at the skate park. Flyers were hung up at the skate park for the skate park camp and contest several times and the flyers were taken down by the skate participants so we tried to promote it. No one has signed up for the skate park contest and it will be canceled on July 25. Only four people are signed up for the skate park camp.
Summer Concerts:
The Hills Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring the National Night Out once again. The Chamber pays for the band and lights.
Tiger, the ice cream man, was selling ice cream during the first concert. Last year, we asked him to leave when he showed up at the National Night Out concert selling ice cream. He didn’t leave and now he said he is going to be selling ice cream at all of our concerts this year. Ice cream is a big ticket seller and is hurting concession sales. Last year 177 bars of ice cream were sold at the first concert and this year it was only 81 bars sold. Also, other vendors such as balloon artists, face painters and vendors selling necklaces have tried to sell their items at concerts. The ice cream vendor may attract other vendors wishing to sell their items. Chief Vodicka said there is nothing he can do about it since Tiger has a license and the district would need to discuss it with City Council. The Mayor said the City Council will review it in the fall for a special event ordinance. Commissioner Kosnick said it is a safety factor when the children go on the street. Director Menard said once he takes the ice cream sales away, which is a big seller, it is not worth it to sell the other products. The park district draws the crowd, pays for the band and advertises the event. Brown’s Chicken stopped selling product for the same reason and was not making much money in from selling chicken fingers, hot dogs, pop and water. Commissioner Kosnick said what about renting an ice cream cart and put it down by the end of the hill. Director Menard said it is difficult to find volunteers to work in the concession stand. It is hard work. He has a lot more products than we can store in the freezers.
Fall 2007 Bottom Line Report:
The auditor had mentioned that the district had a very good year and had an additional $60,000 in program revenue. He asked for proof of how many participants and programs increased from last year to this year. Last year was also a very good year. There was a 61% increase in the bottom line net revenue in the fall compared to last year. In the fall of 2007, the net revenue was $11,045 and in 2006 it was $6,883. This is mainly from the increase in adult and youth programs. The adult exercise programs have increased and the senior card games and trip have also increased. Tots, contractual programs and trips had a decrease but the increase in adult and youth programs offset that. We have learned to wait on canceling the tot programs for two to three days before the program begins versus the seven days that we usually cancel by. There will be a car show in the fall. Pumpkin Fest was comparable to last year with tickets sold in 2007 - 570 and net loss of $1728 to 2006 tickets sold -576 and a net loss of $1,541. In 2006 it was 74 degrees and in 2007 it was 58 degrees which didn’t make a big difference on ticket sales. In 2007 it was the fourth highest year in Pumpkin Fest tickets sales and 2006 was the third highest year so ticket sales have been consistent in the past two years. At some point in time program revenue will decrease because of running out of ideas for new programs. Commissioner Morgan asked why program revenue is increasing so much. Is it new programs? Director Menard said yes because they are new and difference and we are listening to what the majority of customers want in new programs. The tot programs were canceled seven days in advance than a few days before 15 people were asking about registering for it. Mr. Maier said it is timing and demographics. Tot programs, 10 years ago, filled no matter what you offered. New programs and different ideas is part of it, for example, a walk in exercise program. Dance is also a part of the increase which went from 203 to 234 students in one year. More non-residents are coming in because their park district doesn’t have the same offerings.
Dance Recital:
The dance recital was held on Saturday, June 7 at Moraine Valley Community College. Everything went well. Next year we will have the dance recital at the Carl Sandburg High School theatre on Sunday, May 17. We are switching because we can’t schedule a date well in advance and we have had problems with ticket sales and customer service. There were other problems with the sound and wrong CD that was played. Moraine Valley will not give us a firm date until February or March and parents would like to plan their vacations around the dance recital. Also, parents have asked for an earlier date. Moraine Valley will give us a tentative date but then they change it. Moraine Valley will not give us an earlier date until school is out of session so it has been in June in the past. The parents don’t mind if the date is on Saturday or Sunday and in the past we have accepted the Saturday or Sunday that Moraine Valley gives us. The parking is about the same amount but is located on the sides of the building. The school is off of Lagrange Road. It is a beautiful theatre, not in a gym.
We will have to sell dance recital tickets since we are going to Sandburg. Moraine Valley sold the tickets without park district involvement. The tickets for 2009 will be sold with a lottery sale. We will group tickets in 4’s the same as Moraine Valley. Moraine Valley did sell tickets over the phone as best seats available and in person you could pick from a seating chart. The groups of tickets will be placed in a basket separating main floor and balcony. The CN staff will grab a set of tickets as they come in to purchase them. After all students have received tickets, they can request additional tickets if they are available. Tickets will be sold for $5 per person with 500 total seats. The rental cost will be $2,282.66. The breakdown of revenue and expenses was included in the Director’s report.
There was a copy of the contract for the 2009 recital included in the board packet. Also, Jim Wascher reviewed it and suggested sending it to PDRMA for review. PDRMA said it is fine the way it was written.
Some commissioners have asked how many students in dance. The bottom line report that we print out from RecTrac only shows how many enrollees we have in each program. When one person enrolls in four dance classes they are counted four times in Rec Trac. We are going to start keeping a separate tally for the total number of dance students. Each person will be counted once whether they are in one class or five classes. A few people have asked me how many students we have in dance and in the past it has been a guess. In 2006/2007 we had 203 people in dance and in 2007/2008 we had 234. The dance instructor has said she may stop teaching several years in the future but has not said when.
Survey Results:
Surveys were distributed to preschool, dance and spring exercise classes. Preschool and dance are annual surveys and we select a season for exercise and other programs. Overall the programs had very good ratings and comments. There were a couple of comments made on both the Little Learners and Bright Beginning surveys regarding adding more school work to the program. The teachers have been adding more school work the past two years. Some of the new parents might not see additional school work the children do in class. The teachers do want to have some fun activities and not just all school work. Regarding teacher/parent conference, parents are welcome to talk to the teacher after class but these children are very young and are not in school yet. The students receive a mid year written evaluation as well as an end of the year evaluation.
Regarding the exercise classes, the participants have requested back to back sessions. We need to have at least a one week break between sessions for make up classes otherwise we will be issuing many refunds. They don’t want a week off but the district needs to have one. We have to have a registration period between sessions and a teacher might need a day off. Mr. Maier said if something happens and the teacher cancels than you have to schedule it between the weeks off.
There seems to be complaints when we are switching over from heat to air. The Cynthia Neal Center does not have an automatic system like at your home where it changes from heat to air automatically when the thermostat reads the temperature. Maintenance has to come to switch fuses and turn on the air. Krueger Park does switch automatically but there seems to still be complaints. When do we make that change when one day it is 70 degrees and the next day it is 50 degrees in the spring? Commissioner Jerantowski asked how long the Yoga class is. Mr. Maier said it is one hour. Director Menard said they are not interested in longer than 7:00p.m. – 8:00p.m. They want the class, for example, eight weeks instead of six weeks and back to back sessions.
Tammy Muth and Dan Maier added their comments for the areas they supervise on each survey. We will have continuing discussions about their improvements.
Commissioner Jerantowski asked about the smell of the mats. Mr. Murphy said it is the blue ones and we are mopping them more frequently with disinfectant cleaner. Sometimes someone will get on there and sweat a lot. It is difficult to find a time to mop them when there is camp in there all day and other programs right after. It will be mopped once a week and more often in the winter. Director Menard said the complaint was at Krueger not the Cynthia Neal Center. Mr. Murphy said it is because there isn’t as much activity as at CN. You could mop them one day and the next day they are dirty. We will keep a close on eye it and clean them more often. Commissioner Jerantowski said there was another comment about having two different instructors alternating the same class. Mr. Maier said it is difficult to get one teacher to stay consistent and teach a class. There are many comments about classes. Some comments are to have classes outside when it is nice out and back inside when it isn’t nice. They want the same thing, repetition, week after week. Director Menard said we take the majority of the comments and work on them otherwise we have just one person wanting something but the majority don’t want it. We have heard when the fitness center is at 68 degrees that it is hot. When the room is at 68 degrees it is not hot.
Commissioner Jerantowski commented about the Little Learners survey where it says the children were taught shapes again and most of them know this. How does the teacher know that all the kids know their shapes? Director Menard said sometimes it is the majority, three quarters, of the class that knows their shapes and one is very good at it. Commissioner Jerantowski said you have to teach them whether one child knows them or not. Director Menard said they may repeat something depending on the children and whether it is a Tuesday, Thursday class or Monday through Friday. Commissioner Morgan asked if they do more of horizontal enrichment. So, for the child that does know the shapes could do a different project. Director Menard said they do that but there may be one child that is very advanced. You can’t take one child with one teacher and put 30 children, for example, with the other teacher. Commissioner Jerantowski asked what about having that advanced child teach the other children like a helper. Director Menard said yes they could do that. Commissioner Morgan asked what about computers. Computers can be used for advanced children as well as a child that is really struggling. Director Menard said she could talk to the teachers about it. It could be just one computer station. Commissioner Jerantowski asked how old are the children? Director Menard said they are three to five years old. Commissioner Morgan said it is difficult to have a three year old start school work when they are still so young. Director Menard said the teachers are going to conferences and learning new ideas. They go to these conferences once a year. The teachers feel, when do you stop to give the children so much school work. They try to find a balance of school work and fun projects. This way they still enjoy school.
Vandalism and Incidents:
On June 23, two skate park participants got in a fight. One of them was lighting a smoke bomb and the other one told him that he shouldn’t be doing that. Some words were said and one of them punched the other one. The police were informed of the situation. The parents were told they have to call the police when it is happening.
Miscellaneous:
Commissioner Morgan asked, at the previous board meeting, where the offices were located for the SOAR program and what qualifies them for the SOAR program. The SOAR program is run through DCFS and anyone can register at any DCFS location. The main DCFS locations are in downtown Chicago and Springfield but there are many other satellite offices. The SOAR program is for low income as well as foster care and guardianship care.
There is a Hills Chamber Golf Outing flyer in the board packet. Dan Maier and Doug Plahm will be golfing that day. Commissioners were invited to join them.
A wedding ring was found in the Kasey Meadow parking lot two years ago. No one has inquired about it. The Hickory Hills Police said their policy is any item that is found and not claimed within 30 days from their lost in found is given back to the person who found it and they can do whatever they want with it. We will get a price from a gold dealer. There are also necklaces and earrings that can be sold. The money will be used for a staff luncheon. Director Menard said we find cell phone, car keys and driver’s licenses and wallets. Mr. Murphy said even shoes. We do have people with metal detectors and ask them to leave especially when they are digging up the grass.
Preschool has 75 registrations which is very similar to the registration we had last year including Bright Beginning. There are 13 three year olds and we had 15 three year olds registered at the end of August last year.
The May and June fitness center and walking track report is included in the board packet.
Audit:
The audit went very well. Director Menard covered page 8, 9 and 27, 28 in the audit comparing this audit year to last for revenue and expenses. Next board meeting the Treasurer’s Report will be covered which will have a comparison of each budget line item. The auditor asked about the approximately $60,000 increase in program revenue. There was a large increase in number of participants from 6,161 in 06/07 to 6,741 in 07/08. He asked Tammy Muth and Director Menard what we see in trends. The trends are an increase in adult, senior, trips programs and contractual programs have increased. Gymnastics is steady revenue but not much of an increase. We are trying to find ways to decrease expenses with special events such as finding donations/sponsorships. We are finding that right time to cancel a tot program. Many programs were not canceled so this increased revenue is across all program areas which were from $376,827 in 06/07 to $420,577 in 07/08. Everyone has input with the increase in revenue. You could have a secretary that suggests a new program such as a car show or teaching sign language. Maintenance also looks at ways to do things more efficiently or working at a new special event. Mr. Maier is open about trying new recreation programs. Mr. Murphy has been open to having a special event at certain facilities that may not work at another facility like a car show. Number of classes went from 393 in 06/07 to 409 classes in 07/08. Revenue increased by $60,000 and expenses increased by $30,000 so it still is net revenue. The adult exercise classes are doing very well and seniors are filling up all the card game programs and luncheons. What are more popular trips to offer? The audit report also shows assets and liabilities. You can read the Management & Discussion Analysis report which is a recap of the year that is written by Director Menard. The auditor looks at the analysis and what is written by the district. This is filed with the County and Illinois Comptroller. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if this is just financial. Director Menard said yes. When there is a large increase or decrease in revenue and expenses the auditor will ask for back up documentation.
Regarding property taxes, this year it was $994,000 and in 2007 it was $968,000. This is what was collected. Replacement tax is money that was not initially collected but has been received it now. The Wal-mart TIF went down and it was because their assessments went down. Interest has been good this year but this coming year it will be a lot lower because of CD rates have dropped. Miscellaneous revenue is from insurance claims that were reimbursed. Commissioner Kosnick asked what the donations were for. Director Menard said it is all the donations not just Standard Bank. It will be from Sertoma and Women’s Club when they give donations. This year it will have the donations for the playground opening. Gain on Sale of Fixed Assets is the revenue received from the sale of the condo. When the condo was sold it was allocated to the corporate fund. The purchase of the Maintenance Facility was taken from the capital fund. In August, or when taxes come in, we will transfer funds from corporate or recreation into the special funds. This amount in Gain on Sales of Assets will need to be transferred back to the capital fund. We will need to transfer $254,790 from the corporate fund to the capital fund. The end of the year shows there is $60,000 left in capital projects. There is actually $314,000 that can be allocated to capital projects to finish the capital projects. There are approximately 10 projects left. It was allocated to the corporate fund at that time because the auditor thought it was o.k. It is best to code it to corporate because you can transfer it to capital but can’t visa versa. There is a good balance in corporate so it can be transferred to the capital fund. The debt service fund has a net balance because the district receives more than the bond payments. When Harris Bank comes in, she will look at the balance to see if it can be used for the future bond payments for capital projects.
Only tax allocation is allocated to the revenue of special funds. There are not enough tax distributions to cover the expenses of the special funds so that is why the district does a transfer from corporate and the recreation funds to the special funds. The district has asked for 4.99% for the tax levy the past few years. This is the maximum without having a levy hearing. Commissioner Kosnick asked the revenue that is brought in is only from property taxes? Director Menard said yes, it is all property taxes for the special fund revenue. IMRF expenses decreased because there was an employee that left and was a gap in time before a new employee started. It would have been a large increase if the former employee stayed because of raises. Commissioner Kosnick commented that property tax allocations are higher? Director Menard said it should be higher because taxes go up and the EAV goes up. Commissioners commented about the reevaluation for property taxes went up. This district does not determine that. Commissioner Jerantowski commented that the operating transfers are the same amount. Director Menard said the operating transfers fluctuate every year because it is determined on how much the district needs to pay for special fund expenses that the taxes do not cover. IMRF and FICA, for example, are based on salaries. Minimum wage went up so that affected FICA expenses. Liability and Worker’s Comp is from PDRMA. Unemployment expense is based on whether there is an unemployment claim. The investment interest will go down because we have fewer funds right now due to paying for capital projects and finishing the master plan of items to purchase and improve. Commissioner Morgan said the ending balances are higher but we have been spending more money. Director Menard said there has been a lot of money spent on capital projects like the mower, playgrounds and the building. Commissioner Morgan said, for example, having more activities at the playground opening. Director Menard said the district has usually spent $80-$150 on openings. The budget for the playground opening is $600 but $500 is coming from sponsorships. Commissioner Morgan said we can purchase a computer for preschool. Director Menard said it wouldn’t be a new computer and there has always been a computer equipment replacement budget so old computers have always been replaced. Commissioner Jerantowski said the splash pad opening was larger. The commissioners now receive clothing annually. Director Menard said this is from the safety award received from PDRMA. Commissioner Jerantowski said you need incentives for the staff. Commissioner Morgan said it has brought on a positive attitude and more fun to the district. Director Menard suggested looking at old audits to see how recreation revenue has grown. The Management Discussion letter has a section in bold that explains the transfer of funds from the building sale and purchase. Commissioner Jerantowski asked if she could call if she has questions. Director Menard said yes but she wanted to ask for approval today for the audit. Director Menard said there is not much to change on the financial figures because the auditor prepares it. It can be held until the next board meeting but it would affect the end of the year balancing and the treasurer’s report for May and June which would be on hold until August and September. Commissioner Jerantowski said it would just be some questions and it could be approved today.
NEW BUSINESS:
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, seconded by Commissioner Michaels, to approve APPROVAL OF AUDIT FOR MAY 1, 2007 TO APRIL 30, 2008. Ayes: Jerantowski, Kosnick, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
CLOSED SESSION:
2@(21)TO REVIEW, APPROVE OR RELEASE PRIOR MINUTES LAWFULLY CLOSED UNDER THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT SECTION. All closed session minutes were held until the August board meeting. Director Menard kept Commissioner Jerantowski’s closed session book and all other commissioners kept their book.
Commissioner Jerantowski moved, second by Commissioner Potacki to adjourn to the next regular meeting.
Ayes: Jerantowski, Kosnick, Michaels, Morgan, Potacki.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40p.m.