Macon Reporter

Decatur Park District Board met September 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The Board of Park Commissioners of Decatur Park District, Macon County, Illinois, met in a regular session on Wednesday, the 19th day of September, 2018 at the hour of 12:00 Noon at the Decatur Park District Administration Office, 620 E. Riverside Avenue, Decatur, Illinois at which time and place there were present the following officers and members of said Board:

Chris Harrison, President

Chris Riley, Vice-President

Stacey Young, Commissioner

Jack Kenny, Commissioner

Bob Brilley, II, Commissioner

A quorum of the members of the Board of Park Commissioners being present, President Harrison called the meeting to order and declared the Board to be in session for the transaction of business.

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States was recited.

No. 15870: A motion to approve items 1 – 2 on the Consent Agenda was made by Commissioner Young and seconded by Commissioner Kenny. All voted aye.

1.Minutes of the Previous and Closed Session Minutes of the Previous Meeting

2.Bills for Approval

Presentation: Representatives from ADM presented a $25,000 check to the Decatur Parks Foundation to benefit youth recreation. President Harrison thanked ADM for the generous donation and for being a proud supporter for over 30 years. The donation was given through ADM Cares program.

Airport: Dunn Company should be done today with the pavement work at the Airport entrances.

WAND featured Coalten Camden, a Mt. Zion High School student, who is in the “train a pilot” program. At the EAA meeting last evening, he explained that he is taking training a step further and introducing the program at his school.

Golf: Autumn Greens is going well at both courses, with peak tee times being 7:00-10:30 a.m. Due to the heavy rain, the courses were closed on September 7, 8 and 9. Red Tail Run had 6 inches of rain and Hickory Point recorded 4 ½ inches. One outing had to be rescheduled and Special Olympics was canceled.

The process of replacing the golf simulator at the DISC has begun. Players will have many more options with the new version vs. the current 2000 version.

Plans are underway for the IHSA Girls State Golf Tournament. It takes all golf staff and 150 volunteers to run the tournament.

As of August 31, a total of 28,711 rounds had been played, compared to 36,544 rounds last year.

Stay & Play packages are ongoing at both golf courses.

Recreation: Although the event had to be moved to Sunday, Wags & Waves was well attended with 34 dogs. Fairview Pool is now closed.

Grandparents’ Day at Scovill Zoo had 444 in attendance.

Although the Shoreline Classic is not put on by the District, it involves a lot of staff time. Christy Foltz did a nice job of cleaning up the area to allow access to the road. There were over 600 runners for this event.

Decatur Games began last night with 8 teams. Last year there were six teams. Events are held at various locations, which exposes people to our facilities. It will wrap up on Saturday, September 29 with Game Day at Rotary Park.

Zombie Glow Golf will be held at Overlook Adventure Park on September 29 from 8:00-10:00 p.m.

CFO Buhr: August financial reports were reviewed, and discussion followed. CFO Buhr noted that a second page has been added to the golf section showing the monthly breakdown of rounds by course.

Staff is working on 2019 facility fee recommendations which will be presented to Commissioners at the next Board meeting.

The Distinguished Agency review team will be on-site October 11.

The auditors are still compiling numbers and should have the financial statements ready early in October to present to the Board.

Exective Director: There is a need for an executive session to discuss pending litigation.

Project Manager: At the amphitheater, contractors are forming and setting the two accessible ramps. They are ready to lay the AstroTurf and start grading for the lawn seating area. Installation of the irrigation system will follow.

Final grading is being done in the parking area of the aquatics facility. Westport Pools continues work on the leisure pool.

O’Shea Builders will be done soon with the new parking area at the Children’s Museum. They are forming and pouring the pier caps and abutments for the bridge. This will take a couple of weeks.

The soccer pavilion foundation walls are being poured today.

Commissioner Comments:

Chris (H) and Stacey attended the first intergovernmental working group meeting, which was a follow up to the meeting involving all three boards. They will be working to establish a mission statement and find efficiencies in this new partnership.

There was discussion regarding the near southeast area, including Johns Hill Park and School. As soon as District #61 makes a decision about the school, discussion will be held regarding our senior center.

Commissioner Young- shared that, at some point, everyone needs to get together to look at dreams and aspirations.

Commissioner Kenny- had a pleasant experience yesterday when talking with a lady who had been to Scovill Zoo. She raved about the zoo and was excited for the train extension.

Vice President Riley- ADM hosted a weekend at Scovill Zoo and Overlook Adventure Park. Over 350 staff attend OAP and over 900 attended the Zoo. He heard many good things, including how kind the staff was to the many patrons. This was the first year for this event.

Commissioner Young made and Commissioner Riley seconded a motion that the meeting move into closed session to discuss pending litigation. All voted aye and the meeting moved into closed session at approximately 12:45 p.m.

A motion was made by Commissioner Riley to adjourn the closed session and return to open session was seconded by Commissioner Brilley and unanimously approved.

A motion was made by Commissioner Riley and seconded by Commissioner Young to adjourn the meeting and was unanimously approved.

https://www.decatur-parks.org/event/board-meeting-agenda-minutes-for-september-19-2018/