October 4, 2004 Ellettsville Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes

The Ellettsville Parks and Recreation Board met on Oct. 4th 2004, at the Ellettsville Town Hall. Members present were Darlyne Sowder – President; Edwin Macatangay – Vice President; L.D. Axsom, Denise Knell and Jeff Frownfelter - Secretary. Also attending the meeting was Officer Michael Hendricks from Ellettsville Police Reserves.

Darlyne Sowder called the meeting to order at 7:08 PM.

Minutes from Previous Meetings

Edwin Macatangay motioned to accept the minutes from the August 2^nd Meeting, Jeff Frownfelter seconded the motion, minutes approved 5-0.

L.D. Axsom motioned to accept the minutes from the Sept 7^th Meeting, Edwin Macatangay seconded the motion, and minutes approved 5-0.

Floor Open for Public Comment

No public Comment.

Old Business

5-Year Master Plan

A final draft of the 5-year Master plan was given to each member for review and approval. Any changes to the plan will be formally presented at the next Parks Board meeting then sent to our plan provider for final copies to be made.

Skate Park

Discussion of the police log for watching the Skate Park and related facilities began with a review of the log and all incidents reported. Users of the park and others quickly learned of the increased police presence around the park area. Kids just hanging out have decreased due to police presence. Police presence has effectively shut down the vandalism and curtailed use of the park without safety equipment as well as cut down on the number of kids visiting the facilities. There are a few families with small children who utilize the park. Over the past few weeks there have been regular users of the skate park who have safety equipment. Officers have good report with most of the kids using the area. Unfortunately kids have now been seen skating on sidewalks around the town. Merchants are complaining again. There is a city ordinance prohibiting skating on walks, which could be used by officers for enforcement purposes. Sandy brought up the ability of the Parks Board to pay the officers. It was quickly pointed out that there were enough funds in the current budget to cover the costs of paying for the extra officers. The Parks Board members discussed and agreed to transfer funds from other areas to help cover costs. Denise Knell motioned to transfer money as discussed and Edwin Macatangay seconded, motion approved 5-0.

The current recommendation for patrols is to reduce the amount of hours of the patrols for the next month and finally stop the patrols altogether as weather turns unpleasant and park use is drastically reduced due to the cold temperatures. Jeff Frownfelter motioned to continue Police patrols 2 days per week on random days from about 3:30 PM until 7:00PM through October using 1 officer in each patrol. Denise Knell seconded the motion, motion carried 5-0.

Other safety issues involve the provided equipment and use of personal safety gear. The parks board reviewed an email from an insurance company (not our current one), which stated that due to the condition of the park supplied equipment they would not be able to issue a policy. A new policy situation is being investigated due to other problems with the current town insurer. A brief review of Bloomington Skate Park rules doesn’t require safety gear but also states the City is not responsible for injury. All of Bloomington supplied equipment is long lasting concrete and durable materials,

A proposal was made to pull the wooden structures inside the park due to their poor condition. Denise Knell motioned to remove all existing wooden equipment immediately and research the purchasing of professional grade equipment using the Build Indiana funds still available for the site. Jeff Frownfelter seconded the motion and it was passed 5-0.

Wishing Well Nature Park

L.D. Axsom remarks that it is a shame that the town of Ellettsville has 15 beautiful acres that is currently somewhat impassable due to poor maintenance of the weeds covering the paths in the park. L.D. requests that the main path from the lane to the well area be mowed down and that the trail needs to be cleared out again. There should be more attention paid to the property on an ongoing basis resulting in regular maintenance of the parks’ trails. The town street department will be contacted about mowing the trail section. The Parks Board should also check on the status of officially moving the privately owned fence cutting off property from the town for the Wishing Well Nature Park. This has been an ongoing concern and problem since the previous administration for the town.

Campbell’s Park

The reservation form is still waiting on a copy of the town seal for final completion. Edwin Macatangay motioned to approve the form with Denise Knell seconding motion. Motion approved with a vote of 5-0.

The reservation system cannot be implemented until signs have been created and posted. Jeff Frownfelter is to look into the costs of signs.

Budget

Edwin Macatangay would like more tracking of the part time labor used towards the Parks properties. This could take the form of a monthly accounting of the use of the funds or some other method to clearly show expenses as they are incurred throughout the year. This report would be followed by a review of the Parks Board and approval of the way the Parks Boards funds are being used. A system of this type is common with budgets.

New Business - None

The meeting was moved to adjourn by Denise Knell and seconded by L.D. Axsom. All members voted to adjourn; meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM. Motion carried 5-0

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Darlyne Sowder - President Edwin Macatangay - Vice President

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L.D. Axsom - Member Jeff Frownfelter - Secretary

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Denise Knell - Member