South Cook News

City of Palos Heights Recreation Committee met Nov. 12

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Key called the regular meeting of the Recreation Committee to order at 7:05 p.m. at the Palos Heights City Hall, 7607 W. College Drive. In attendance were Chairman Key and Alderman Basso. Also present were Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Fairbanks, Lake Katherine Chair Paul Kubik, recording secretary Morgan Pukula and 1 guest.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Chairman Key motioned to approve the minutes of the October 8, 2024 meeting, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mike, a resident of Palos Heights, had concerns about the Silver Sneaker program at the Recreation Center. Conversation included residents that are not a part of the Silver Sneakers program who may have to pay more for their visits than non-residents. Matt stated he would follow up with Mike on more information about the Silver Sneakers program.

LAKE KATHERINE REPORT

Lake Katherine Chair Paul Kubik reported:

• Parking lot is now fully operational.

• Our pumpkin smash included 26 bins of pumpkins totaling 2.6 tons. We had 160 people this year compared to the 80-100 last year.

• We hosted our first wedding resale on Saturday as well.

• Gareth is attending a Night Hike tonight that was at capacity.

• We held a 2025 program meeting and discussed the upcoming 2025 calendar of events.

• Our Halloween night hike was at capacity with 65 participants.

• The Palos Park Women’s Club presented us a donation of $6,500.00 for the replacement of the shade structure in the Children’s Forest.

• A Green Team meeting was held to discuss ‘Buzz n Bloom’ and other Green Team events.

• Channel 4 interviewed staff about programs and events, including composting and seed collecting.

• Fall in the Forest was at capacity and was held in the Children’s Forest. Participants enjoyed a wagon ride and extra fall activities.

• Two native garden plants were installed, thanks to a Nicor grant and Troy Shorewood.

• Flossmoor senior club and SALT were given a presentation on the glacial past of the Chicago region.

• Canoe and kayak season came to an end in early October and brought in around $39,000.00 in rentals.

• An evening eerie kayak tour was hosted and held at capacity.

• Our newest fundraising hire has completed a 15-page plan with how she would like to handle the fundraising going forward, with input from the board and director. To date, she has received a $10,000.00 donation for Lake Katherine. She recommended Bloomerang, a donor software that was installed this past week and should be up and running shortly.

• Education classes and programs:

○ We held a meeting with Love on a Leash who now frequently visit our site for meet ups with Elim School.

○ We held 11 field trips, 2 outreaches and 4 scout programs.

○ A Nature Hour was held with the Palos Heights Public Library.

○ Junior Explorers held 3 sessions, Little Explorers held 2 sessions and Nature Tots held 1 session of fall programs.

○ We had a meeting with scouts about outdoor turtle enclosures and also received a Bronze Award.

PARKS AND RECREATION REPORT

Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Joe Smith gave the recreation report:

• Pool Phase 1 Update: During the past month, masonry work has begun shaping the interior of the bathhouse and locker rooms. Approximately 80% of the plumbing has been installed. Roof work and a new hatch has been installed for the roof. The concrete floor slab has been poured. Electric, including new heaters have been installed. Over the next 2 weeks, we have more masonry, electric and plumbing work that will continue. Once the new slide is delivered, installment will take place on that. It is scheduled to be delivered in December and we hope to have it installed by the end of the year. Staff has reduced the number of exterior lockers in order to reduce costs; we agreed the amount we had may have been extensive, so we chose to add later if necessary. As we move forward with the pool, there are more expenditures and work order changes that are listed in New Business. We have been utilizing social media and Channel 4 to provide updates on the pool project. Our tentative completion date for the project is April 1st, 2025.

• Orchard Park Update: The regrading of the turf to correct the 2% grade towards the rain garden and sewer, was finished at the end of October. Hacienda Landscaping has also come out to patch a few areas of concrete by the splash pad. We do have a year warranty on the work and material, so the architects recommended we wait to complete improvements until after winter. Hacienda still needs to complete damage to the storm door on the shelter. Once this is complete, we will be able to finalize all paper work. JSD is working with Jan to start on the paper work for the OSLAD grant through IDNR. We did receive $282,100.00 for this portion of the OSLAD. Staff has received quotes to have the fencing around the splash pad installed. Staff has also recently winterized the splash pad for the upcoming season. It was previously mentioned that staff wanted to install a plaque for a former Recreation Center employee, Linda Bauer. Her husband was grateful staff thought of her and wanted the Recreation Department to create something in her honor.

• Recreation Update: Our early childhood class, hocus pocus ruckus party, took place on October 18th. During the class, participants created a Halloween craft, played candy cornbingo and had a Halloween treat. 

On October 5th, we had our Mommy and Me bath bomb class, with 10 participants enrolled.

Our before and after care program recognized Lucas, as participant of the month. Lucas has shown kindness towards others and responsibility. He is always willing to help clean up, assist his peers with homework and include others in activities. During October,

PowerPlay activities included a Halloween themed craft: bats and ghosts figure marshmallows.

Classes for our youth program have included: kids’ night out, hocus pocus magic class, nature trail goat yoga and a Pokémon club.

Musical theatre classes include Stage Makeup with 9 participants enrolled, Sparkle Showcase with 20 participants, and in Refine and Shine we have 10 enrolled.

Our adult program took a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo with 10 participants enrolled. We host a lunch bunch every other month, that included 8 participants who gathered at the Dancing Marlin.

In October for youth athletics, we hosted junior tee-ball, junior soccer, youth soccer, tennis and soccer for children ages 5-12. We hosted a multi sports class for tots and hoopster tots, that are designed for children ages 2 ½ - 5 and ran on Saturdays from September 14th through October 26th. There were 14 kids enrolled in the multi sports class.

The Farmer’s Market ended October 9th where staff purchased coffee and breakfast to thank the vendors and volunteers. Accepting LINK continues to be a great asset to the community with over $6,000.00 spent at the market this year. There were a total of 37 different vendors over the months and averaged over 250 patrons each week.

Our Touch a Truck/Treat event was held on October 24th from 5pm-8pm. Kids had an opportunity to interact with 15 different vehicles. There was a sensory friendly portion from 5pm-5:45pm for those who benefit from a reduced sensory environment. There were approximately 2,000 people who attended.

NEW BUSINESS

a) Chairman Key motioned to approve the 2024 Holiday and 2025 calendar hours of operation at the Recreation Center, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

b) Chairman Key motioned to approve the 2025 open gym non-resident fees for participation at the Recreation Center, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

c) Chairman Key motioned to approve payment #3 to Simpson Construction in the amount of $393,359.58 for work completed for the Pool Improvement Project, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

d) Chairman Key motioned to approve payment #5 to Hacienda Landscaping in the amount of $64,723.35 for work completed at Orchard Park, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

e) Chairman Key motioned to approve payment #3 to Splashtacular LLC in the amount of $41,260.00 for waterslide design, materials, freight and installation labor supervision as part of the pool project, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

f) Chairman Key motioned to approve payment #4 to Splashtacular LLC in the amount of $13,752.00 for Escrow account of the new pool slide for the pool project, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

g) Chairman Key motioned to approve the purchase of restoration services for the current pool slide from Safe Slide Restoration in the amount of $42,260.00, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

h) Chairman Key motioned to approve purchase of concrete removal and replacement of pool entrance for pool improvement project in the amount of $13,975.50 for field order #006 by Simpson Construction, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

i) Chairman Key motioned to approve the purchase of a chain link fence for pool improvement project in the amount of $8,242.50 for field order #007 by Simpson Construction, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

j) Chairman Key motioned to approve purchase of ADA exterior drinking fountain for pool improvement project per the building department inspection in the amount of $6,442.80 for field order #008 by Simpson construction, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

k) Chairman Key motioned to approve purchase of a park sign for Orchard Park from Sign Outlet in the amount of $5,565.00, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

l) Chairman Key motioned to approve the purchase of fencing and installation for Orchard Park splash pad and recreation center dumpster enclosure by K Brothers Fence Inc. in the amount of $13,254.00, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

m) Chairman Key motioned to approve payment to Williams Architects in the amount of $5,238.32 for construction administrative services, reimbursables and unit billing items for phase 1 of the pool project, seconded by Alderman Basso. On a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS

None.

ADJOURNMENT

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

Meeting adjourned at 7:44 p.m

https://palosheights.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12102024-1099