February 2, 2004 Park and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes

The Ellettsville Parks and Recreation Board met on Monday, Feb 2nd, 2004 at the EllettsvilleTown Hall. Members present were Darlyne Sowder - President, Denise Knell, L.D. Axsom, Jeff Frownfelter - Secretary, and Edwin Macatangay, Vice-President. Darlyne Sowder called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM.

Also attending the meeting was Professor Segedy from Ball State.

Minutes from Previous Meetings

L.D. Axsom motioned to accept the minutes from the Dec. 1st 2003 Meeting, Denise Knell seconded the motion, minutes approved 4-0, with Edwin abstaining from the vote due to a previous absence.

Floor Open for Public Comment

No public Comment.

New Business

There will be a supplemental meeting of the Parks Board to review the Tree Ordinance. This meeting will take place on Feb. 16th at 7:00 PM in the Town Hall.

Old Business

5 Year Master Plan

Professor Segedy discussed revisions to the Five Year Master Plan draft. These revisions will be added to the Draft. The Five Year master plan will then be approved by the Parks Board to be forwarded to the Town Council for final approval by the Town of Ellettsville. Several items were changed and listed below.

1. Brown County and Owen County were to be included by intention. Monroe County Parks places an emphasis on Brown County Parks and the proximity of McCormicks Creek Park necessitates the inclusion of Owen County into our plan. Both park systems serve as auxilliary resources available to Ellettsville.

2. The old elementary school properties will be deleted from the plan. The property has now been purchased by the private sector.

3. The little league diamonds near the skate park and Campbells Park are owned by a township entity and not the town of Ellettsville. The diamonds are run by the Richland Bean Blossom Youth Sports entity. They shall be included in a different section and not as part of the Town properties.

4. Additional goals for improvements will be added to the Wishing Wells property. These goals include accessable trails, Picnic areas and shelters, and re-establishing the correct property line.

5. The goals and objectives outlined by the plan were questioned as to the origin and accuracy. The survey results were based on the questionaires and the Charet held in the Town Hall. These results will be recounted and verified. This will result in a final resolution of the Demand analysis and questions about usage. Currently results seem to contain contradictory information.

6. There will be a section to allow the Parks Board to assign priorities and keep track of progress.

7. Some additional recreation facillities were added to the document to reflect what is available in the local communities.

Another draft of the plan will be sent to the Parks Board. This plan will then need to be officially adopted following proper procedure. The plan will be presented to the public for the opportunity to give comment. The second phase will be for the Town Council to give final approval. The Master Plan will then serve as a blueprint for promoting items and prioritizing which tasks will be performed.

The plan can be amended following traditional rules. An ammendment is generated and presented to the town for approval/addition to the plan. The document is a live and flexible plan bult to serve as a guide and tool for the future of the parks in the town. As the town's needs change or alter so too can the parks five year master plan.

Other topics discussed were next phases of implementation and grant writing. The possibility of hiring the County Parks Dept. or some other entity to administer the master plan was discussed. The reason for this is to have a knowledgable person experienced at grant writing and adminstration work with the parks board to get funding and projects completed. A grant administrator must be certified by the State of Indiana.

Other resources to help Ellettsville begin utilizing the master plan were discussed. Grant resources can be found on the free searchable web site from Ball State University. www.bsu.edu/cecd was suggested by Prof. Segedy. A toolbax can be found on this site listing available grants and this site is updated monthly. The site is geared mostly towards municipalities. The DNR and Monroe County Parks and Rec staff can also be of help. The town should also consider local economic planning office. Another resource would be the Regional Department of Commerce Representative which has an office in Bloomington. Any foundations both local and state that may be granting funds for local improvements should be considered as a potential resource. Professor Segedy suggested that the proper wording and goals in grant proposals could mean getting the grant which strongly suggests obtaining the services of experienced grant writer and or administrator for the town of Ellettsville.

Ball State submitted a bill for the second payment installment concerning the five year master plan. Denise Knell motioned to accept and pay the bill and Edwin Macatangay seconded the motion. The motion carried 5-0 to authorize payment of the bill.

Skate Park - None

Wishing Well Nature Park - Pat Stoffers will be contacted about the progress on the property exchange.

Memorial Park - None

Basketball court - None

Campbells Park - None

Budget - None

The meeting was moved to adjourn by Denise Knell and seconded by Jeff frownfelter. All members voted to adjourn, meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM. Motion carried 4-0