South Cook News

City of Palos Heights Recreation Committee met May 14

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Key called the regular meeting of the Recreation Committee to order at 7:01 p.m. at the Palos Heights City Hall, 7607 W. College Drive. In attendance were Chairman Key, Alderman Bylut, Alderman Begley, and Alderman Clifford. Also present were Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Fairbanks, Lake Katherine Chairman Paul Kubik, recording secretary Morgan Pukula and 1 guest.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Chairman Key motioned to approve the minutes of the April 9, 2024 meeting, seconded by Alderman Begley. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

LAKE KATHERINE REPORT

Lake Katherine Chairman Paul Kubik reported:

• The boathouse is near completion and the project came in just under budget. On June 12th, Lake Katherine will hold an event to thank the donors and at a later date, host a Grand Opening for the public.

• Cicada Parada was installed, which includes individual giant cicadas that are mounted on the trees near the nature center. Chicago Wide Art installed the cicadas, that display informational facts.

• Fundraiser job posting is scheduled for May 31st, interviews to start the first week of July.

• We consulted and are contracting a landscape design for a resident’s house.

• Volunteer orientation started for new volunteers, which included safety training and FAQs.

• We attended and tabled at the Earth Awareness Fair in Frankfort, as well as the Earth Day Fair in Tinley Park.

• Arbor Day tree drop off cost was offset by beautification committee and the Arbor Day tree planting for staff who usually do not help on the grounds, were involved.

• Lake Katherine became an official Chicago public school vendor, allowing us to work closely with CPS and projects.

• Our monthly fishing days started and will occur once a month from May to October.

• Staff held the Nicor gas retreat and presentation at Lake Katherine Nature Center.

• Oak Lawn High School students and Ecological Restoration volunteer group cleared buckthorn around the lake.

• The annual native plant sale was held on Saturday, May 5th.

• Our migratory bird walk was on Saturday with a variety of migratory birds recorded, including the night crown heron.

• The Palos Women’s Club Mother’s Day walk was on Saturday at Lake Katherine. Palos Park Women’s Club will be giving a donation to Lake Katherine,

• The mental health morning walk was held on Friday, May 10th at dawn. It included elements of Shinrin-yoku (Japanese forest bathing), in support of Mental Health Awareness month.

• All tree dedications were planted for the season and DePaul students interviewed staff on our heritage garden.

• Chicago Christian High School continued our partnership learning with macro invertebrates.

• Volunteers, employees from Public Works and Police Department helped to clear trash for a city cleanup day on April 13th. Trash was collected from roadsides and other areas in the city. 41 bags were collected by more than two dozen volunteers.

• The Chicago River cleanup day was held on Saturday with volunteers who signed up through the Chicago River organization. They helped remove rubbish, clear invasive plants and completed other work.

• Our monthly senior class was on constellations and plants, and the Green Team meeting discussed the green notes and organized the city cleanup day.

• Education classes:

◦ Nature hour at Palos Library allowed for the attendees to learn about Earth Day.

◦ Presentation at local senior center on the night sky.

◦ One of our part time educators was trained and certified in interpretative guides from NAI

◦ Little and Junior explorers – scout sessions, tree climbing, geology, fishing, camping, Earth Day and April showers classes.

◦ Nature tots – sessions of coloring classes and frog programs.

◦ School programs – after school session of nature art and rabbit program, 16 school groups were taught on a variety of nature-based topics from animal adaptation to water quality. 7 field trips came to learn about animal adaptations, seeds, habitats, insects, owl adaptations and herbs.

◦ Scout programs – programs about your senses, geology, fishing and camping

◦ Education tabling outside with one of our volunteers. 40 people came to learn about frogs and toads. We also extended our partnership with Trinity throughout the summer.

◦ We held a spring ephemerals walk, a bee house adult program and an outreach class on composting.

PARKS AND RECREATION REPORT

Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Fairbanks gave the recreation report:

• Orchard Park Update: Over the past couple weeks, the splash pad plumbing was completed, and concrete was installed into the shelter and splash pad area. Water pressure testing, the installation of landscaping, site furniture and striping of the parking lot will take place in the next couple weeks. In the next 2 or 3 weeks, we should be able to do a soft opening and are looking at a date in June to open the park.

• Pool Phase 1 Update: Staff met with Williams Architects last Thursday and hosted the prebid conference for the contractors. They were informed of the OSLAD grant, origin of the pool itself, and the time table associated with it. 8-10 contractors showed up for the prebid meeting. The project does have specifics for IDPH so the contractors are required to hold certain certificates. At the last RAB meeting, members discussed colors of the slide and other elements of the project. They are deciding between a dark green, light green slide to tie in the new colors from the turf area or a dark blue, light blue slide to match the original blue/yellow theme. In the new slide, there can also include stenciled pictures where the light shines through, for the riders when they are going down the slide. Alderman Begley suggested lighter, pastel colors for the new slide to eliminate the colors from fading so quickly.

• Veteran’s Playlot Update: Public Works and the Recreation Department staff have been working over at the park this last month to reconfigure play equipment and the layout of the space. The new ADA compliance ramp and the playground boarding have been ordered and should be installed this week. All the other equipment is already installed, including the new slide. Mulch and landscape will be updated around the park as well.

• Recreation Update: The ComEd recreation 10-year lease is up for renewal in October. The land is from Route 83, that includes the PBO fields and Community Park, to 131st Street. Per ComEd’s renewal requirements, the process must be started no later than 6 months before the lease ends. Matt has been in contact with a woman from ComEd, who stated we needed to submit photos, an aerial shot of the land, and also gave insight on how to facilitate the process. She stated they are on a 90 day plus back log. The packet has been submitted for review as well as the fee associated with it.

The Farmer’s Market opened last Wednesday and wasfull with 35 vendors in attendance. The community tent spots were also filling up quickly. The frequent shopper card was brought back, in suggestion of RAB. Patrons who fill their card with 10 punches are eligible to enter their card into a raffle and there are three drawings throughout the season for a prize.

On Saturday, April 20th, Grandparent and Me day occurred at the Recreation Center. There were 6 participants and the class ran from noon – 1pm. Participants spent time with their grandparents playing bingo, making a craft and enjoyed ice cream. Friday, April 26th, was Trivia night for adults. Bag of Tricks was the host for the event and there were 99 participants registered. The top two teams won prizes that were sponsored by local businesses.

The next session of group exercise classes started on April 22nd and have 82 participants enrolled in over 14 classes. A free week of classes will be held between sessions; the first week of free classes will begin June 10th – June 15th. Rachel looked at the group schedule overall, and thought the free sessions would be a great way to bring in new comers.

Linda Schiappa and Denise Hyker informed us that they are not seeking reappointment for RAB. We would like to thank them for their years of volunteering and contributions to the Recreation Department and community. At the next RAB meeting, June 26th at 5pm, we will be recognizing both Linda and Denise, and will be presenting them with awards.

NEW BUSINESS

a) Chairman Key motioned to approve payment to Williams Architects in the amount of $45,559.51 for construction document development, additional bid services, reimbursables, and unit billing items for phase 1 of the pool project, seconded by Alderman Begley. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

b) Chairman Key motioned to Palos Baseball Organization and Power Softball request for extended use of lighting on Pony Field, North Field and Power #1 on June 1 and 21, 2024 until 11:00 pm and rain dates of June 28 and 29, 2024, seconded by Alderman Begley. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

c) Chairman Key motioned to approve annual payment to TimeClock Plus in the amount of $6,573.92 for administrative equipment and services for the Parks and Recreation Department, seconded by Alderman Begley. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

Chairman Key stated Alderman Lewandowski was approached with a petition from pickle ball players. With the rise of pickle ball in the community, residents have requested to change the second tennis court at Palmer Park to a pickle ball court. The petition is requesting to stripe the court, because the present users bring portable pickle ball nets currently. Matt will obtain quotes to stripe the second tennis court with pickle ball boundaries at Palmer Park.

OLD BUSINESS

None.

ADJOURNMENT

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

Meeting adjourned at 7:28 p.m.

https://palosheights.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06112024-1017