HomeMy WebLinkAboutNov 4th, 2013 Jeffersonville Parks Authority
Monday, November 4, 2013
The Jeffersonville Parks Authority met in regular session in Room 101, City Hall, Jeffersonville, IN on
November 4, 2013 at 6:OOpm. Members present: Zach Payne, Connie Sellers, Lisa Gill, Dennis Julius,
Nathan Samuel, Mike Smith, Bryan Glover and Matt Owen Absent: Board President Ed Zastawny. Also
Present: Board Attorney Scott Lewis, Parks Director Paul Northam, Matt Gullo with Kovert Hawkins and
Paul Duckworth with CCSA.
Attorney Scott Lewis requested adding an Agreement from Watson Water Company under 1.C.
DIRECTORS REPORT. Member Samuel made a motion to APPROVE the agenda with the change with
Member Gill seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8 -0.
Member Samuel made a motion to APPROVE the minutes from September 23, 2013, with Member Gill
seconding, PASSING on a vote of 7 -0 -1 with Members Glover and Owen abstaining due to absence at
the 9 -23 -13 meeting.
Member Samuel asked Mr. Northam about the purpose of a claim to the Jeff Girls Basketball and Mr.
Northam explained that it was for an ad in their program advertising Parks programs such as K -1 -2
basketball, basketball at the Fieldhouse and some other events that are coming up. Member Samuel
questioned the purpose of a claim to Chad Armstrong and Mr. Northam explained that it was a
reimbursement for bricks purchased for the Veteran's Memorial. Member Samuel asked Mr. Northam to
request that Controller Amy Deering include the claim descriptions on future Parks claims lists. Member
Gill made a motion to APPROVE the Parks claims in the amount of $54,508.75 with Member Julius
seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8 -0.
A. OLD BUSINESS
None
B. NEW BUSINESS
1. Sara Schutz — Ice Rink: Sara Schutz informed the board that the ice skating rink will be returning
for its third season. Ms. Schutz stated that the total projected cost is $125,000 with UEZ
approving $21,000 (and going back to request an additional $4,000), Redevelopment approved
$25,000 and Ms. Schutz is requesting the City Council commit $25,000 to help fund the project.
Ms. Schutz stated that the first year the ice rink brought in $75,000 in revenue and last year it
brought in $50,000 and expects to bring in $50,000 or more this year. Mr. Northam stated that
last year's revenue was down due to the warm weather which caused them to close 13 days,
mostly Saturdays and Sundays, which are days that usually generate the most revenue. Member
Smith asked Ms. Schutz about the problems with the "chiller" last year and she stated that they
are getting a chiller from a different company this year and they shouldn't have any more
problems with it. Member Samuel asked if there would be vendors at the ice rink and Ms.
Schutz stated that "Dogs on the Run" will be back again this year and they have discussed having
"food truck Friday" and rotate different food trucks. Member Julius inquired if advertising for
the ice rink would be mailed out and Ms. Schutz stated no, but they will be available at the ice
rink, all the downtown merchants, hotels, etc., and they were also handed out at Halloween
Downtown.
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2. Patty Simmonds — RiverStage Shows: Ms. Simmonds came before the board requesting
permission and funding from the Parks Authority to bring Broadway shows back to the
RiverStage. Ms. Simmonds stated that she has the connections to recruit a lot of talent for the
shows such as entertainers from Derby Dinner. Ms. Simmonds stated that she has had many
successful shows on the RiverStage and would like to do so again by presenting well -known
Broadway shows such as Guys and Dolls and Mama Mia. Ms. Simmonds stated that she has
mailed out forty fundraising requests to help finance the shows. Member Gill advised Ms.
Simmonds to speak to Sara Schutz who oversees the RiverStage and its scheduling. Member
Smith remarked that in the past the Broadway shows that would run for four weekends were
hugely attended and often the same people came back every weekend. Member Owen stated
that he is often asked why the RiverStage doesn't have the plays on the RiverStage like they
used to. Member Gill asked Ms. Schutz if the RiverStage schedule for next year has already been
determined and Ms. Schutz stated that Ms. Simmonds is requesting Saturday nights for her
productions, but Saturday night is kid movie night which brings in 500 — 1,000 people. Also, the
movies don't cost much versus a production which would cost the city approximately $12,000.
Member Owen suggested a small group of board members sit down with Ms. Schutz and discuss
Ms. Simmonds' proposal and the RiverStage schedule.
C. DIRECTORS REPORT
1. Matt Gullo, Kovert- Hawkins — Woehrle Athletic Complex Update: Mr. Gullo stated that
everything is going very well and on schedule at Woehrle. Grass is growing on the fields, all the
fencing is up, most of the grading and drainage is completed, the buildings are almost under
roof, the goal posts are up, the parking lot is soon to be graded and ready for asphalt and the
turf field should be installed next week.
Mr. Gullo stated that in order to get the road work completed this year the site contractor is
asking for permission to work over a 5 -day period, 24 -hours a day and shutting down that
segment of road for those five days. Mr. Gullo stated that the site contractor is guaranteeing the
work to be completed in 5 days, if not sooner. The board expressed concern for the noise it
would create for the neighbors with construction taking place at night. Member Glover warned
that due to the work being done on Hwy. 62, a road closure lasting more than five days creates a
problem for people in district six and Charlestown who use that as their only other thoroughfare
to get out of Jeff onto Hwy. 265 or Hwy. 65. Mr. Gullo stated the only other option would be to
extend the construction time to 4 to 6 weeks and allow the traffic to haltingly drive through lane
shifts and flaggers. Mr. Gullo warned that the work needs to be completed sooner rather than
later due to the asphalt plants shutting down. Mr. Northam stated that if the work isn't done
immediately, it will be next spring before the project could begin. Member Gill suggested having
a neighborhood meeting with the residents to see which option they would prefer. Member
Owen was concerned about the considerable amount of ambulance runs that takes place in that
area and thinks that closing the road would be unsafe. Mike Hutt informed the board that
Redevelopment has approved repairs to the railroad tracks at Keystone on Utica- Sellersburg
Road and advised the Parks Authority Board not to have both roads closed at the same time.
Member Glover stated that he will ask for the opinions of Police Chief Grimm and Fire Chief
Hedrick at the next BPW meeting and will then notify Mr. Gullo and the board with the results.
Mr. Gullo presented Change Order #7 for $54,683.65 for board approval. Mr. Gullo stated that
there is a remaining balance in the Contingency Allowance of $67,562.60 and $13,000 left in the
allowance for utilities,
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2. Attorney Scott Lewis — Proposed Agreement with Watson Water: Mr. Lewis passed out a
proposed reimbursement agreement to the board from Watson Water Co. which was given to
him for review. This agreement concerns the relocation of water lines which are owned by
Watson Water at Woehrle and the widening of Charlestown Pike. Mr. Lewis explained that
Watson Water is asking in this proposal for the city to advance one -half the cost of the
relocation expense that is going to be incurred by Watson Water and they will in turn reimburse
this back to the city thru credits for the water bills at that site over a period of time. Mr. Lewis
stated that Watson Water will also have the option to pay the balance of the reimbursement in
a lump sum payment at any time. Watson Water estimates the water line relocation to cost
$50,000, but they will bid the project out. Mr. Gullo stated that there is $13,000 left in the utility
fund so money would also have to be taken out of the contingency fund in order to pay half of
the estimated cost. Member Samuel asked Mr. Gullo how much he estimates they will still need
to spend from the contingency fund and Mr. Gullo stated that he hopes after necessary
expenditures there would be a balance of $20,000 - $30,000 left in the fund. Member Glover
stated that he would prefer Watson Water pay the money back within a certain time period
rather than with credits based on the water balance. Member Smith asked if credits could come
from all the city's Watson Water properties rather than just the Woehrle complex. After
discussion, the board asked Mr. Lewis to contact Watson Water's attorney and request a time
frame for payoff.
Member Smith made a motion for Attorney Lewis to approach the attorney for Watson Water
and propose a time frame for them to reimburse the city and then bring the agreement back to
the board for review, with Member Glover seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8 -0.
Mr. Northam requested that the board allow Mr. Lewis to also reach out to REMC and Time
Warner to receive payment for work the city performed, but didn't get paid for. Member Payne
made the motion to direct Attorney Lewis to approach REMC and Time Warner for
reimbursement for work the city performed, but didn't get paid for with Member Gill seconding,
PASSING on a vote of 8 -0.
Member Samuel made a motion to approve Change Order #7 for $54,683.65 with Member
Smith seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8 -0.
3. Paul Northam — Report: Mr. Northam stated that Parks had a successful weekend at the
Haunted Hayride at Vissing Park, the 5K Trick -or -Trot Fun Run downtown and Halloween
Downtown. Mr. Northam stated that football and softball seasons ended this weekend with 14
more teams playing this year at Vissing than last year at Colston. Mr. Northam reported that the
Vissing Park concessions, which they did not have at Colston, brought in about $8,000.The
RiverStage had some winterization done and will be moving in a couple of weeks downstream
for some minor work and K -1 -2 Basketball begins this weekend. Mr. Northam stated that he
received a letter addressed to the Board of Parks and Recreation notifying them of a
neighborhood meeting regarding Rose Hill School property. The meeting will be held tomorrow
night at Market Street Inn at 6:30pm. Mr. Northam presented a contract to the board for some
Parks radio ads with WXVW 1450 during the high school and Indiana University basketball
games for $250 per month and stated that he has money left in his advertising budget to cover
the cost. Member Smith made a motion to allow Mr. Northam to move forward on the contract
with WXVW 1450 for radio advertising at a cost of $250 per month with Member Payne
seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8 -0.
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Mr. Northam explained to the board that he would like to take money from the contingency
fund and upgrade the playground equipment at Woehrle to a state -of- the -art interactive system
at a cost of $60,000. Mr. Northam stated that he will bring this issue up to the board again in the
spring and will see how much money is left in the contingency fund.
D. REPORTS AND COMMENTS
1. Public Comments
None
2. Parks Authority Member Comments:
Member Smith: at some point the board is going to have to enter into some kind of discussion
concerning the maintenance of the additional property that Parks is going to have to take care
of. Member Smith also requested an accounting of the in -kind services that the city provides
and a true working number of how much the project is costing the city. Member Julius stated
that if Redevelopment is building a park, the Parks Department should be billing Redevelopment
for their services.
Member Payne: None
Member Sellers: None
Member Gill: None
Member Glover: None
Member Owen: None
Member Julius: None
Member Samuel: None
E. ADJOURNMENT
Member Julius made a motion to ADJOURN at 7:OOpm, with Member Gill seconding, PASSING
on a vote of 8 -0.
A !� .
Parks Authority Pre?. - nt
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