MINUTES
The Monthly Board meeting of the Kewanee Park District Board of Commissioners was held at the Baker Park Office, Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 5:30 PM.
PRESENT: CommissionersAl Salisbury,Mike Nichols,Jacque Verscha, Jim Powelland Jim Heberer. Also present were Brian Johnson, Director and Michelle Anderson, Secretary
ABSENT: None
President Jim Heberercalled the regular Board meeting to order. The November 2016Regular Board meetingwere reviewed and discussed. Mike Nicholsmoved to accept theminutes as written. Al Salisburyseconded the motion. All in favor.
The November 2016 Financial Statement wasreviewed and discussed.Al Salisubry moved to accept the November 2016 Financial Statement. Jacque Verscha seconded the motion. All in Favor. The November/December 2016 Bills for Approval were also reviewed and discussed. Al Salisburymoved to approve the bills for December 2016. Mike Nicholsseconded the motion. All in favor.
TAX LEVY ORDINANCE 334: President Jim Hebererthen presented and called for a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 334, the Annual Tax Levy Ordinance for the tax year 2016 payable in 2017. Al Salisburymoved to adopt Ordinance No. 334 as written. Mike Nicholsseconded the motion. All in favor.Motion Passes.
OPEN BUSINESS: With no open business to discuss, President Jim Heberer turned the meeting over to Director Johnson for the Director’s Report.
DIRECTOR JOHNSON’S REPORT: Brian began his report by presenting the Board with Thank You notes the Kewanee Park District had received. The next item in Director Johnson’s report was to confirm all IAPD Convention reservations. The IAPD Convention will be held in Chicago from January 19 – January 22.
Director Johnson then informed the Board that Ken Nelson was responsible for providing the meat and cheese tray for the meeting as a thank you to the Board for helping the Northeast Referendum Project run so smooth. Director Johnson also informed the Board that at the end of the project, the ending balance was only $134.85 over what the original bid called for. Part of this balanced project is due to Ken Nelson Construction submitting a change order to eliminate the $20,000 contractor contingency line item from the contract as he did not feel he had incurred those costs. The Board thanked Ken Nelson and Brad Cessna of Ken Nelson Construction for their honesty and integrity during the project and for respecting the project as though they were citizens of Kewanee.
Director Johnson updated the Board on an estimate for the purchase of new golf carts from M&M Golf Cars. The estimate price is valid until April 1, 2017 and the trade in value of any carts the Kewanee Park District would like to trade in would be $1,500 per cart. The Board agreed to discuss the estimate at a later date since the pricing is valid until April.
Director Johnson then asked the Board for direction regarding User Fees for 2017. Fees have not gone up in a number of years but Director Johnson does not believe they need to at this point. Commissioner Powell suggested the possibility of decreasing the user fees for non-resident golfers to help entice more out of town memberships. Commissioner Salisbury disagreed with the idea due to the fact that residents pay taxes to the Kewanee Park District and deserve to pay less than those coming from out of town. Commissioner Salisbury went on to suggest Baker Park Golf Course is not retaining its patrons due to the fact that Baker Park Golf Course hosts too many playdays where the Kewanee Dunes does not host as many. He continued that outside of that, the Dunes is a tougher course and he believes that there is nothing additional the Kewanee Park District can do to slow down the migration of golfers to the Dunes as it is a matter of personal preference. President Heberer suggested the possibility of advertising Baker Park Golf Course in the Peoria, Quad Cities and surrounding towns’ newspapers to promote the 2 for 1 Greens Fees on Thursday and Friday that was adopted at the end of the 2016 golf season. President Heberer also suggested a 2 for 1 Family Day at the Oasis Family Aquatic Center for the 2017 season as a trial. After the discussion, the Board agreed to leave the User Fees for 2017 the same for Golf, Baseball/Softball/T-ball, Daycamps, Soccer, Shelters/Pagodas and the Oasis Family Aquatic Center. Mike Nichols moved to keep the current User Fees the same for 2017 with the possibility of offering a 2 for 1 Family Day on Sundays at the Oasis Family Aquatic Center. Jacque Verscha seconded the motion. All in Favor. Motion passes. Al Salisbury then moved to allow the Kewanee High School Breakfast and Lunch Summer Program to continue using the Shelter House at Northeast Park. Jim Powell seconded the motion. All in Favor. Motion passes.
Director Johnson then presented the Board with the Regular Board Meeting Calendar for 2017 for approval. Director Johnson pointed out a few changes to the normal 3rd Thursday of the month schedule because of conflicts. Mike Nichols moved to accept the 2017 Meeting Calendar with the noted changes. Al Salisbury seconded the motion. All in Favor. Motion passes.
Director Johnson acknowledged Al Salisbury by informing the Board that Commissioner Salisbury missed being named the IAPD Commissioner of the Year by only 3 votes. Director Johnson continued his acknowledgement of Commissioner Salisbury as President Heberer presented Commissioner Salisbury with a 30 Year Service Award received from IAPD. The Board congratulated Al on his award and thanked him for his time and dedication to the Kewanee Park District for 30 years.
With nothing further in his report, Director Johnson turned the meeting back over to President Heberer. President Heberer asked the Commissioners for any other items to discuss before discussing personnel wages and bonuses. Commissioners Powell, Verscha and Nichols all declined. Commissioner Salisbury informed the Board the Great Dane has asked to use Northeast Park again in 2017 to host another Company Family Day and would present the Board with more details as they came available. President Heberer inquired as to the progress of the installation of the Grand Entrance at Northeast Park. Director Johnson informed the Board he has been in contact with Interstate Fencing – contractor for the project. The Company fell behind schedule due to weather and apologized for the delay in the project. Troy Woller, owner of Interstate Fencing, assured Director Johnson that footing for the project will be poured by the next week. President Heberer then asked about the status of repair to the sign at the entrance of Northeast Park. Michelle informed the Board that the power issue has been resolved. President Heberer concluded by expressing his thanks for a great Christmas Party and complimenting the Senior Citizen Center for the delicious food.
President Heberer then asked Director Johnson to present the Board with his recommendations regarding personnel wages. The Board discussed the full time employee’s (Brian Johnson, JR Salisbury, Dan Erickson and Michelle Anderson) wages and agreed to give each an increase plus a bonus for their hard work and dedication to the Kewanee Park District and the citizens of Kewanee.Mike Nichols moved to approve the increases and bonuses for the 4 full time employees as discussed. Jim Powell seconded the motion. All in Favor. Motion Passed. The Board also discussed the non-full time employees who work year round (William Ince, Jameson Ireland and Shane LaFollette) and agreed to give each of those three employees an increase in hourly wages ranging from 50 cents per hour to $1.50 per hour. Al Salisbury moved to approve the increase to wages for the 3 non-full time year round employees as discussed. Mike Nichols seconded the motion. All in Favor. Motion Passed. The final group of employees the Board discussed included all employees who were employed by the Kewanee Park District the previous year and work 90 days or more. The Board agreed to give each of these employees an increase of 25 cents per hour in their wages. Al Salisbury moved to increase the hourly wage of all employees returning to the Kewanee Park District from the previous year and work 90 days or more. Mike Nichols seconded the motion. All in Favor. Motion Passed.
With nothing further to discuss, President Heberer entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. Al Salisbury moved to adjourn the meeting. Mike Nichols seconded the motion. All in Favor.