South Cook News

City of Palos Heights Recreation Committee met Sept. 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Key called the regular meeting of the Recreation Committee to order at 7:10 p.m. at the Palos Heights City Hall, 7607 W. College Drive. In attendance were Chairman Key, Alderman Bylut, Alderman Clifford, Alderman Begley, Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Fairbanks, Lake Katherine Director Gareth Blakesley, City Administrator David Strohl, Alderman McGovern, two members of the Recreational Advisory Board, recording secretary Morgan Pukula and one community member.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Chairman Key moved to approve the minutes of the August 16, 2022 meeting as written, seconded by Alderman Bylut. On a voice note, the motion passed unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Alderman McGovern stated he had concerns about the term limit for the RAB board. He stated none of the councils have a term limit and thought it should be reconsidered because the RAB board are volunteers. The other statement of concern was the consideration for termination of a RAB member for missing 3 consecutive meetings. Alderman McGovern stated concern for 3 meetings a year as well. He believed this to be less than what was needed and said the volunteers are willing to attend every month. Alderman McGovern stated he thought the RAB’s duties were being stricken, and voiced his opinion about included staff members in this ordinance who seemed to be replacing the RAB’s duties. Crawford Park was also mentioned by Alderman McGovern due to its overwhelmingly unkempt. This park is an issue because of water line Oak Lawn was responsible for. Alderman McGovern and Alderman Bylut were hoping we could reach out to someone over there to get an update on the situation to potentially look into repairs.

LAKE KATHERINE REPORT

Gareth Blakesley provided the Lake Katherine update:

∙ The evening September canoe/kayak tour was held this week and was at capacity. Participants were able to see bats, herons, turtles and beavers on the tour.

∙ We had a booth at Trinity involvement fair, advertising Lake Katherine and the opportunities for students.

∙ We were able to attend the Palos Heights farmers market and promote Lake Katherine items and events.

∙ Mulching and watering of the butterfly garden began in preparation of setting the tent up for the monarch celebration.

∙ Shredding day was held on September 27th, in collaboration with Palos Heights library, the City of Palos Heights and Palos Heights Police Department. Around 190 cars dropped off items for shredding and pill drop off.

∙ We met with members from Park Lawn services to discuss ways of collaborating, including: volunteer opportunities for their clients.

∙ Fishing day was held August 20th and we had 12 participants come out despite the rainy weather.

∙ We held another archery class and had 35 participants. We have also incorporated this into some of our camps over the summer along with other children’s programs.

∙ We held our green team meeting and produced the latest “green notes” which was on storm water.

∙ We are conducting daily site inspections and corresponding trash pickup and removal.

∙ Education: There were several educational meetings to recap on the summer programs/camps and potential fall programs. Summer programs ended on August 18th to allow for the education staff to regroup, plan and prepare for the fall season. Fall programs began on September 6th for the Junior Explorers, and three sessions were offered for archery. All three sessions were at capacity with 15 kids and a waitlist of 5+ kids. There was also one scout group and one field trip.

∙ Trail mowing, maintenance and trash pickup are ongoing. The trails are currently being freshly wood chipped.

∙ We are currently gearing up for the Monarch Celebration which is on September 24th and 25th.

PARKS & RECREATION REPORT

Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Fairbanks, provided the Parks & Recreation update:

∙ Misty Meadows Update: As of mid-August, the park has been open for public use. George’s Landscaping has completed the final contracted work except for the installation of two informational sign boards, which are yet to be delivered. Recently we received the main park sign which is similar to the one that is in front of Meyer’s Park and Palmer Park. Public Works will be installing this sign in the front, within the next week. The date for the final ribbon cutting with Kendall and Michael was decided, and that will be on October 19th at 3:00 pm. We are coordinating special giveaways to be a part of the event, as well as Alderman Key and the Mayor to be there to say a couple thoughts. We are currently working on public relation invites that will be sent to all city officials, committees and agencies to be a part of the event on October 19th.

∙ Pool Update: The pool is now closed as of Labor Day. Our pool pass sales this year were just over $103,000 and our swim lesson revenue totals were just over $29,000. Staff began cleaning and annual maintenance the day of the pool closure, and at this time is overall complete. Beginning of next week, the pool will be drained and our staff is working on evaluations for the part time staff, as well as sending general evaluations out to all the pool pass holders. Inventory for shading and drainage of the baby pool are being looked at now and an end of the year report will be completed and shown at a future meeting.

∙ Staffing: We are in the process of hiring for an Administrative Support Supervisor. These listings are posted on the city website, the Park and Rec website, and just recently, Indeed. We were able to interview a couple people and are looking at possible candidates to start in mid-October.

∙ CAPRA: There are no new updates for CAPRA. We will be scheduling our site visit with NRAP within the next couple months. It has been determined with their newly accredited sites, will be coming out to Palos Heights; we plan on budgeting for travel, lodging and food for the three member site team who will be attending next year.

∙ 2023 OSLAD Application: IDNR opened their application for OSLAD on August 3rd to September 30th. The new maximum grant is $600,00, which is a match grant. The timeline of the master plan is to update the pool 3-5 years when it was published in 2019. We secured Upland Design to help us prepare the OSLAD Grant Application. We have also secured Williams Architect to prepare a feasibility study for the pool and bathhouse. Staff in Upland Design held a community meeting/open house on September 7th to describe the grant and always propose ideas for the redevelopment projects. Some suggested projects included, updates to the showers and both locker rooms, additional shading around the pool deck, lockers on the deck and a second slide. Upland Designs and Williams Architect will prepare a couple designs for us with feedback and we will host a second community meeting at the pool on September 20th.

NEW BUSINESS

∙ Request for motion to approve payment to Hacienda Landscaping INC. in the amount of $19,461.00 for work completed at the Palos Pool.

Alderman Key motioned to approve the payment to Hacienda Landscaping INC. in the amount of $19,461.00 for work completed at the Palos Pool, seconded by Alderman Bylut. On a voice note, the motion passed unanimously. - AGENDA

∙ Request for motion to approve Resolution of Authorization for the OSLAD Grant Program.

Alderman Key motioned to approve the Resolution of Authorization for the OSLAD grant, seconded by Alderman Bylut. On a voice note, the motion passed unanimously. - AGENDA

∙ Request for motion to approve Upland Design in the amount of $9,500.00 for the Palos Pool Master Plan and public engagement for the OSLAD grant.

Alderman Key motioned to approve Upland Design in the amount of $9,500.00 for the Palos Pool, seconded by Alderman Begley. On a voice note, the motion passed unanimously. - AGENDA

∙ Request for motion to approve 5th payment to George’s Landscape in the amount of $69,221.98 for work completed on the Misty Meadows Park Project.

Alderman Key motioned to approve the 5th payment to George’s Landscape in the amount of $69,221.98 for work completed on the Misty Meadows Park Project, seconded by Alderman Bylut. On a voice note, the motion passed unanimously. – AGENDA

∙ Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Fairbanks received a request from the Palos Area Chamber of Commerce requesting a facility waiver fee to use the Orchard Room. Currently once a month they utilize the Orchard Room for executive meetings. The request is for another night once a month for a networking meeting where they would host a guest speaker and have a luncheon.

Concerns from Alderman Bylut included the standard deduction of 50% for groups. Alderman Begley stated the Chamber of Commerce’s productivity and meeting volumes have grown, so this can benefit the community as a whole. Alderman Clifford suggested we table this to the next meeting when everyone is able to collect the full details of previous fees. The Palos Area Chamber of Commerce is not looking for this to occur until January of 2023, so the council moved to table it.

OLD BUSINESS

∙ Request for motion to approve updates to City Ordinances § 34.50 – § 34.54 pertaining to the Recreation Advisory Board.

Based on previous concerns, Alderman Key looked to amend the Ordinance in two ways. First, change the number of meetings the RAB attends annually, to 6 instead of the 3 originally proposed in § 34.52 (c). Alderman Begley wishes to also strike the language in prior to the “public recreation playbook at a time and place it shall designate”, since it would not be applicable. At the RAB’s next meeting, they would discuss the next destination and time of their meeting. Second, in the language of serving a 4-year term, there will no longer be a break in between terms. The member of the RAB will serve their 4-year term, and from there, at the mayor’s discretion, will that person serve again for their next term. The mayor overall will appoint members to this board, the same as all of our boards in the city. The appropriate version of the ordinance will be brought to the future meeting. Finally, there was an agreement to strike § 34.50 (c) 4 and 5. New improvements to the ordinance will be given to all 8 Aldermen to revise at the next meeting.

Chairman Key motioned to advise the new improvements, which was seconded by Alderman Bylut. On a voice note, the motion passed.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, Chairman Key moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Alderman Clifford. All in favor.

Meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m.