Will call to order this December meeting of the Bloomington Board of Park commissioners And we obviously
just have two of us here in person, but we do have Ellen there remotely And we don't have Kim but we
have Kim's step in person to help us. Can you can you do the roll call vote for us, please? Here Here
Jim Whitlatch
Okay, all right, and we don't have Israel but we do have a quorum So And just to confirm we do need
to do the roll call vote with every yeah, okay All right, so we have the all of the a 1 through a 15
consent calendar items We usually approve in one motion and
Move we approve the consent agenda items a 1 through a 15 I'll second Okay, and a roll call vote of
those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Jim Whitletch, hi Okay consent calendar is approved
and then in section B public hearings and appearances we have the Bravo Award and
Which Emily Boock will tell us about I'm sorry You're welcome, yes Good evening everyone Emily boot
community relations coordinator and I would like to recommend Alan Bully for the December Bravo award
I would like to recognize Alan with the December Bravo award in recognition of their exceptional
contributions as a makeup artist for our annual dearly departed cemetery tours at Rose Hill Cemetery
Crystal was on vacation so she couldn't be here, but she provided this that she would like me to read
for the past two years Alan has brought history to life
quite literally, through their artistry. This immersive experience would not be the same without the
remarkable work Alan does behind the scenes. Alan shows great attention to detail as they transform
volunteers into ghostly figures from the past using makeup not just as an art, but as a storytelling
tool. Their work adds authenticity and atmosphere, captivating guests and enriching the tour experience.
In addition to Dearly Departed, Alan also volunteered their time to help with makeup at Skate and Scare as well.
So on behalf of everyone, we're very grateful for Allen's generous contributions So is that one of Allen's
creations up there is that wow that looks like a mask that's fairly impressive Yeah All right. Well,
thank you Allen Okay, and then next in section C C 1 we have the
Non-reverting budget amendment for purchase of the new mobile stage which Leslie. Yes. Okay. We'll tell
us about okay Yes, thank you Leslie Brinson recreation division director staff recommend the approval
of a non-reverting budget amendment to allow for the purchase of a new showmaster mobile stage this
purchase price of the stage is 155
thousand eight hundred eighty two dollars the current winger mobile stage used for parks events and
various other community events was purchased in December of 2003 and it's starting to experience significant
wear and tear as well as challenges with its hydraulic systems battery and brake
November members of the parks operations and recreation divisions as well as our city fleet manager
took a trip to century industries in Sellersburg, Indiana to take a look at mobile stages Staff determined
that their stage was appropriate for our needs and also discovered that the stage if it were to be purchased
in 2026 that the price was going to increase significantly due to century injuries industries price increases
Tune of additional at least $30,000 in order to get the best pricing. We wanted to make the purchase in 2025
The Parks and Recreation Department's non-reverting overall cash balance is around 1.5 million and the
community events fund line in the non-reverting account has a budget surplus of this year of about $80,000
we currently project that the non-reverting account overall will have a budget surplus surplus at the
end of around 133,000 so making this purchase would ultimately have a budget deficit of around 22,000 in 2020
22,000 the production time for a new stage is approximately eight months So we will continue to use
our current stage until the new one arrives and then once the new one arrives We will look at surplusing
or selling our current stage. I'd be happy to answer any questions Okay, and mobile stage so this is
used in various locations around correct This is the stage we take to Brian Park for our concert series
which yard park It's also available to rent out to the community. So you might see it at taste of Bloomington
or different
Events around town as well. Okay Any other questions for Leslie Okay. All right. I move that we approve
the non-reverting budget amendment for purchase of new mobile stage Second okay in a roll call vote
of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodke I Jim Whitletch I Okay
Motion is carried. And then next in C2 is the updated rental agreement template from Mark Sterner. Good
afternoon. Mark Sterner, general manager of the Twin Lakes Recreation Center. The Twin Lakes Recreation
Center and the Twin Lakes Sports Park, along with Winslow Sports Park, are seeking to make changes to
our current rental agreement. Over the past couple of years, these facilities have experienced growing
number of cancellations from tournament directors
Is our intent to include a non-refundable deposit to secure the facility rental space for events?
cancellation seven days before the event per the existing agreement are causing a variety of issues
with revenue and staffing and The item that we're looking at is located on to see of the agreement And
so you're saying there's been sort of an uptick in people canceling at the
It's really kind of taken place over the last three years and kind of what we're seeing is the larger
events, the more premier events like shoe companies, those events are going up to where they can get
20 courts in a small radius. So the mid-range events that we get, they oftentimes, if they can get a
high school, they will do so. So they'll hold our facility in terms of time
Until they find out whether or not they get the high school and then they cancel on us and then that
point we've turned away vents So it's just turned into a real issue not just at the rec center, but
at the ball fields as well Cody Martin seeing the same thing in those areas, okay
Seems to me that's still a pretty short notice because you're not going to get another tournament in
there in seven days. It even eliminates a lot of the community from filling some of those spots as well
because they might have already checked and it's not available. So yeah, it's certainly something we
feel is necessary at this point. We only generate interest from serious event directors.
I'm just thinking it maybe should be 30 days or something like that so that you now I guess the question
would be if people would balk at that but I'm not I'm not sure they would quite frankly I just I think
seven days is pretty lenient we could look at that no I think it's too lenient I guess what I'm saying
it's way too lenient non-refundable will help us a lot well it's yeah I'm fine with it seeing what happens
Alan any questions
No, no nothing additional then the seven-day thing was what caught my eye to it feels really short so
But if we're asking for a non-refundable deposit and we'll get that Okay, you all disappeared for me,
but hopefully I didn't disappear we can still see you All right, I move we approve the updated rental
agreement template and
Second done. Okay and a roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Jim Whitlatch.
I Okay motion is carried. Thank you mark. Thank you And then in c3 is the service agreement with woods
electric for the 2026 services Darren Eads
Good afternoon during eats sports facility coordinator Yeah, you have before you this afternoon the
service agreement as you've been told over and over and over We're trying to bundle a bunch of these
agreements together Woods is one of the electrical companies one of the several electrical companies
Parks Department uses throughout the year. So we'll just look at a blanket agreement of $20,000 and
allows us to be able to bring them in throughout the year for unexpected repairs I'm glad to answer
any questions
Any questions for Darren? No questions, all right. I move that we approve the service agreement with
Woods Electric for 2026 services. Second. Okay. And a roll call vote of those in favor. Kathleen Mills.
Aye. Ellen Rodke. Aye. Jim Whitlatch. Aye. Thanks. All right. Thanks, Darren. And Mary Wells has C4,
the agreement with Habitat Solutions for 2026 Griffey prescribed fire.
Good evening, Mary Wells natural resources manager Here to recommend the approval of a contract with
habitat solutions for implementing prescribed fire and forest and Improvement services at Griffey Lake
Nature Preserve a total contract amount is seventeen thousand three hundred and eighty dollars Just
to give you a little bit of background, right?
Prescribed fire and forest and improvement are recommended forest management practices to improve it
forest health and wildlife habitat in both 2020 and 2023 habitat solutions successfully implemented
pretreatment fsi or forest and improvement and prescribed fire on 7.7 and 9 acre burns at the preserve
Under this contract habitat solutions will implement prescribed fire on a separate 15 acre burn
Unit which is north of Griffey Creek in winter through spring of 2026 as long as conditions are favorable,
which is a big if as with previous managed burns the Bloomington Fire Department will be encouraged
to be on hand to assist with hazard mitigation To minimize risk and then habitat solutions will again
be conducting the forest stand improvement as a pretreatment within the designated burn unit
Happy to answer any questions you might have Okay, so this is a this is a bigger area. This is like
twice the size. Yes a little bit bigger the Just to provide more impacts and the area itself is conducive
to a larger unit based on the natural fire breaks that already exist with ravines and trails so a unit
this size in that area will
Make our prep in terms of providing those fire lines secure fire lines a little bit easier So and it's
ideally situated in terms of aspect in terms of that south facing slope that we're looking for Okay.
All right any other questions for Mary? I Don't have any all right. Thank you Move that agreement with
habitat solutions for 2026 Griffey prescribed fire be approved a second
Okay, and a roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodke. I'm Jim Whitletch. Hi. Okay.
Thanks Mary motion is carried and Amy has the service agreement with Izzy's rentals for 2026 port-au-lettes
Yes, hi Amy land back the operations coordinator
This is a renewal of our contract with Izzy's to service our portable toilet units in on trails multiple
parks throughout the city Most of them are on a weekly basis They shift from once a week to twice a
week during the busier seasons So we have a pretty detailed schedule worked out with Izzy's and
Then we also use them on an ad hoc basis for other community event rentals that we need throughout the
year so Since I think it was last meeting we talked about the the portalette in Seminary Square needing
a lot of additional cleaning. Do you get any sort of report from Izzy's if there's if there are problem
units that are attracting a lot of
We have our staff are also going to all these units multiple times a week and so we'll get pictures
and reports from our staff usually okay, and then they'll go and and then we let Izzy's know if we need
a repair and they're usually really good at coming out and repairing units for us if something happens
to them Okay So does this include the one in seminary square? No separate content. Yeah, and it's it's
with a different company. Yes, I
So where are these port I get the temporary ones we bring in but where I'm trying to think where the
other ones might be there are Several you don't need to tell me all yeah, there's there's there's some
on Clear Creek Trail. Okay, there's one at RCA temporarily while the restroom buildings are closed for
the pickleball court there I'm Blinking but sorry Yes upper cascades
Wabahani Brian Park. Yeah, anyone else? I've got a very detailed schedule if anyone's interested I Spend
way more of my life than I ever thought I would Yeah, thank you Okay, so I think anything Ellen I
Okay, I move that we approve the service agreement with Izzy's rentals for 2026 Port-au-lette services
Okay, and a roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Jim Whitlatch. I Okay.
All right. Thank you. Amy motion is carried and c6 Heidi has the environmental resource advisory council
appointments and
Yeah, Heidi Jamaica natural resources coordinator and I am here to propose that you accept the reappointment
of four members of our environmental resources Advisory Council all four members have been long-standing
members of this group of individuals that help kind of guide Decision-making on natural resources properties
and facility facilities We meet six times a year for an hour and a half at various locations around
the community
the four members in question are Denise Gardner Bill Jones Marney Potter and Angie Shelton and They
will be four of the nine-member committee if they are appointed tonight We still have two openings for
this committee and are accepting applications Okay All right
These the only where there are other applications or these were the four that were on there agreed to
resurve and you're looking for two more Yes, so the these four the they serve a two-year term Their
term is ending at the end of December and they have reapplied to continue into another two-year term
We have one member that chose not to reapply and then we had one member that stepped down early from
their appointment And so that's where other two openings are but there have not been any other applications
that have come in
All right, I move that we approve the environmental resource advisory council appointments I'll second
and the roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Jim Whitletch Motion is carried.
Thank you. And I could just make one comment. Oh, yes, you one is the
Credentials of the people on Iraq are quite impressive. So just gratitude to those folks were continuing
to serve and a PSA that if anyone is Paying attention to this meeting, please apply and fill those other
two positions Okay, thank you. Thank you good
Alright and Joanna it sparks for c7 will tell us about the agreement with nature's way for downtown
planter replanting. Yes Yes, Joanna sparks urban green space manager here this evening to recommend
the approval of a contract with nature's way for landscaping services the courthouse square not to exceed
thirteen thousand five hundred and twenty dollars and This will convert the four remaining
Original planters on the courthouse square. We transitioned 12 planters the earlier this spring to a
different native forward palette and we had some outliers and Haskell has converted seven of those planters
to tree beds native trees and shrubs and We have four remaining. So this this is to fund the transition
of those final four so that we'll have a
symmetry around the square and brand it So they're they're all the same so happy to answer any more
questions or any questions And presumably a little bit lower maintenance by making some changes. Yeah.
Yes. Okay. Yeah All right move that we approve the agreement with Nature's Way for downtown planter
replanting second
Roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. All right, Jim Whitletch All right.
Thank you. Joanna motion carries and then see aid is the partnership agreement with visit Bloomington
for freeze-fress free freeze Fest that is hard to say
In a new location. Yes, thank you Leslie Brinson again Recreation Division director staff recommends
the approval of a partnership agreement between the Parks and Recreation Department and visit Bloomington
for freeze fest 2025 visit Bloomington will be providing parks with an $800 stipend to help cover costs
of the event
Would be deposited in our community and events recreation line. This is the first year for this partnership
But not the first year for this event freeze fest will be moving to switch yard park in 2025 It'll run
on Friday January 23rd and Saturday January 24th I've cut ice covers from ice of America will come to
Bloomington to create large ice sculptures that will be placed around the park throughout the week and
The event will also include a chilly cook-off on Friday night an ice battle also on Friday night winter
Palooza our Saturday kids event and different family activities along on Saturday Parks will be providing
the pavilion and surrounding park areas while visit Bloomington will be coordinating with ice of America
and work with a volunteer committee to organize the ice battle chilly cook-off food trucks and sponsorship
Parks will continue to run the winter blues event on Saturday the 24th from 3 to 5 but I've made the
event free to the public this year to Make it more accessible to those attending freeze fest. I'd be
happy to answer any questions Okay in the ice Carver battle is that sort of like the pumpkin launch
and that anyone can?
Do you have to bring a chainsaw? I like where you're okay So ice of America will provide to ice two
teams of two that will be on our mobile stage They'll have a certain period of time and then in teams
they carve large structures and the crowd gets to vote on who wins There's lights and music and it becomes
kind of a whole Event in itself, but we will be using the mobile stage for that event
Okay, that sounds fun All right any questions No, I move we approve the partnership agreement with visit
Bloomington for freeze fest 2026 I'll second a roll call vote of those in favor. I Ellen Rodkey. I Jim
went lunch. Hi. All right motion is carried and
Then in c9, Rebecca Swift has the MOU is southern meadows for the rail trail spur operations
and responsibilities Guys might get sick of me talking about this topic but Rebecca Swift operations
and violent division director and I've been here previously to talk about Accepting ownership of the
bridge getting in at the bridge inspected now I'm here to present and recommend an approval of this
memo of understanding of
Between the city of Bloomington parks recreation and the SOMA development company who's actually the
property owner then And this formalizes long-term responsibilities for the southern Meadows spur of
the Bloomington rail trail and this really outlines the collaborative development and also feature management
and maintenance of the bridge and the access to the trail for future management and maintenance needs
so SOMA will maintain the segment of trail on its property and
But still grant the city of permanent access and for rights needs to inspect maintain or repair the
bridge But the bridge itself and everything north of the bridge will become property of the city of
Bloomington Parks and Recreation So in the coming months I also expect to bring to the board a quick
date a quick claim deed to accept the parcel officially And make the new trail spur that was acquired
by Somo to facilitate construction of this trail so I'll bring forth the official quick deed for us to
Officially accept the property but just getting everything in line and really this is just an MOU for
maintenance of responsibilities Happy to answer any questions Okay, any questions for Rebecca? All right,
I move we approve the MOU with Southern Meadows for rail trails spur operations and responsibilities
again Okay, roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I
I Jim Whitletch. I Motion is carried. Thank you, Rebecca And then we move into our section D reports
where Haskell will tell us about the urban forestry fourth quarter risk report Good evening Haskell
Smith urban foresters. So to cap the year off here a report of what all we kind of did what's still
risk out there and
Won't go into too much detail to save our time. I think everybody's a little worried about the snow
that's moving in The beginning of the year identified 47 high-risk trees We've removed all but nine
of those are addressed their issues Those nine have still been inspected, but I've reassessed them to
a lower risk rating So that pretty well removes all our current high-risk trees. It doesn't mean there's not
Still trees out there that may fall into that category just as of our snapshot of inventory Those have
been addressed in here as well were 25 tree great issues that we Were hoping to address due to some
staffing issues. I was only able to address about 12 of them and I waited a last minute to put this
one together. So I didn't actually get those updates in here But they have been addressed
So yeah, our year-end numbers we've pruned 1,944 trees removed 307 planted 786 and inspected about 5,500
trees we've added in 1,300 trees to our inventory and I've gotten several thousand emails But altogether
with all those Those numbers we've worked on or inspected about 30% of our inventory and
Which I think's outstanding for the size of our crew It was in a separate packet so I I read it yesterday.
I don't have it in front of me There was that huge number of emails and phone calls that you get about
trees. Do you remember how many? Today I'm just shy of 5,000 emails a little over a thousand phone calls
Okay. Yeah
That's that's a lot of tree. That's why it gets it goes to voicemail more often And those are people
who are mostly concerned about safety issues no Any anything you can think of? Hey, yes, there are a
lot of safety concerns, but there's also Hey, my trees leaves are falling off. Well, it's October Okay
Happens or any other you know any number of things. Hey, I saw a kid hitting this tree with a stick
Can you go look at it or this one got hit by a truck? Hey, why is there somebody planting trees in my
yard? Yeah, anything everything to do with trees Okay, and so you 30% you looked at and then with the
goal be to try and get to another next next few months get to another chunk of trees to assess or
In general, so we try to do over the course of 10 years have you know the turnover the full reevaluation
So 30% pretty good as far as trees just worked on I'd like to get in a 10-year span the pruning cycle
and everything in there So we're working towards that. We're not quite there this year is higher because
I hired a inventory specialist and my staffing issue I have a
Full-time employee on a weight reduction. So walking around with a iPad is about all I could have him
do right now So my inventories inspections are way up. Although neither of those were qualified to do
risk assessments Okay, all right, thanks any other questions for Haskell about his report Not for me
All right, thank you for all the information I
Then Leslie will adeptly check online for public comment. Yes There is nobody online, okay, and is there
anyone here In person you would like to comment I Think I know all the faces here Okay, and then we
will go back over to Tim for some other announcements. I
Yes, good evening Tim Street Parks and Recreation director I think we have a knack for scheduling meetings
when it's gonna thunderstorm snow or Or something like that. So there's a little bit of distraction
out there I just want to add on the the urban forestry report there at the end I think being up a net
positive 300 400 on the year I think I was looking at there is is really incredible for our city If
you've been out and about in town right now
Bicentennial round three planting which you approved quite a while ago. These things take a while to
work out is going on We've had a good planting window here. And so I know I've seen it in my neighborhood
I've seen it in other places around the city A lot of fresh new trees going in in the streets and right
aways. So that's really exciting to see that and we also just had a big replacement of warranty trees at
Hopewell Commons for ones that didn't make it from their initial planting. So a lot going on there.
Obviously, we are here. This is our last meeting of the year. I want to thank the board. I want to just
take a moment to just recognize the outstanding efforts of our staff throughout the year. This year,
we had more than 400 unique staff members throughout the year.
By the time you count our full-time and our seasonal, temporary, everyone who touches work for us and
all the different ways we serve the community, it's been a really great year. We've obviously had some
big highs in terms of getting re-accredited and working on the master plan and a lot of great projects
that I look forward to putting in our annual report and bringing to you all early in the new year.
That said, we're heading into, I can't say it's a completely quiet time because there's still things
going on. Skate with Santa is this weekend. I'm excited that we are bringing Freeze Fest to Switchyard
Park. I think that's a great place for it, a great place to have this community event. And we will continue
our work on wrapping up our master plan. We have a staff strategic planning meeting scheduled for January 14th.
The surveys for the master plan, the final surveys are out now. We're hoping to get those results in.
Our consultants preparing to summarize all of the feedback efforts and surveying we've done for that
meeting on the 14th. And from there, we wanna wrap up the plan and bring a draft version to the board
for approval. One other thing I'm excited about here early in the new year is we're getting the new
lights installed in the Switchyard Pavilion that you all approved a month or two ago.
Right in time for the darkest part of the year. So that will be a nice improvement there as well Other
than that. Yes. I just want to thank everyone and get us out of here for the snow our meetings We have
managed to make a little more regular in the new year this year We got bounced around on the calendar
a little bit, but it is the third Thursday at 5 p.m And so the first one of those will be January 15th
here at 5 p.m. In the new year. Thank you All right. Thank you Tim and thanks to all the staff so
All right, and with that, I will adjourn the December meeting of the Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners.