- All right. Good afternoon. I will call to order the June meeting of the Bloomington Board of
- Park commissioners and could we start with the roll call, please? Kathleen Mills here Ellen Rodkey here
- Israel Herrera Jim Whitletch Well, we can see him
- Jim can you hear us now Barely I can hear you guys loud and clear and my Oh, we're working on it on
- our end I think Could you try again
- Yeah, that's great. Thank you. Could you roll call Jim Whitledge? Yes Okay, all right, so we do have
- everyone here either in person or virtually and We will start with the consent calendar. So we have
- the minutes from the April meeting. We did not meet in May and the claims and payroll
- Expenses a little bit of surplus credit card refunds all that type of thing. We typically see and some
- smaller agreements or partnerships. So do we have a motion to approve the consent calendar? Move to
- approve the consent calendar Okay, and We don't need to do or we do Okay so
- Roll call both end of this favor the consent calendar Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Israel Herrera
- Jim Whitlatch. I All right motion carries and then in section B public hearings and appearances first
- up we have the Bravo Award and
- Good afternoon, Crystal Ritter, Community Events Coordinator. I am here today to recognize Rulia Hananiah
- from Smile Promotions with the May Bravo Award in recognition of their continued six-plus year commitment
- to the Performing Arts Series. Every year, Smile Promotions donates free concert fans that we distribute
- to attendees that have our full schedule for the concert season.
- them. They have served as our design and printing partner providing these high-quality concert fans
- that have become a staple of our summer concert series. Their durability of their work means that the
- fans often become souvenirs with some of our concert attendees even bringing back six years worth of
- fans with them in their picnic wagons when they come to Bryant Park.
- They do not just print the fans for us, they help us create a comfortable, welcoming, and professional
- environment for our concerts. So thank you to Smile Promotions. And Rulio was not able to attend today.
- She is actually out of the country this week, visiting family. But she sent a very short message that
- I'm gonna read. Thank you so much for the kind message and for this incredible honor. I am truly grateful to
- You, Julie, and Emily, and everyone at Parks and Recreation for thinking of me for the May Bravo Award.
- It means so much to be recognized, and I am thankful for the opportunity to support the performing arts
- series anytime. Thank you. Thank you, Gerulio. Yeah, very nice. I like the fact that people bring the
- fans back over and over again. Yeah. It's become a thing for some of them. They like collecting them. OK.
- All right, and then We will move on to number two in the public hearings and appearances is That our
- own Israel here is recognition of his having received the be more volunteer award Yes, I just want to
- take a moment. I'm Tim Street parks director for the city of Bloomington
- And congratulate our board member Israel on his receipt of the be more involved award a few weeks ago
- There was a really lovely ceremony Caleb from our office went there was able to get some pictures just
- recognizing Israel for his community service not just on the parks board but on various
- many different boards, volunteer efforts, things like that that just support community well-being. We
- really appreciate you, Israel, and appreciate you being on the board. And thank you for the $1,000 award
- donation that went to the Bloomington Parks Foundation to support scholarships. So thank you very much,
- and congratulations. Thank you, Tim and everyone.
- Alright, and then we have two staff introductions today. First. We have Zach Earl sports Winslow labor
- My name is Zach Earl I'm over at Winslow now I'm excited to be here looking forward to it. It's been
- a challenge and I'm Trying to come up with the word for it
- looking forward to the challenge of Recreating what's been going on at Winslow? So I bring more than
- 20 years of hands-on experience working as a skilled laborer with extensive knowledge and ground maintenance
- turf management Landscaping equipment operation and property maintenance Most recently I worked as a
- long-care technician leading landscape maintenance projects for both residential and commercial properties
- prior to that role and
- I served as a pasture and property management, property manager for Prairie Horse Farm LLC, where I
- managed over 15 acres of pasture and grounds, maintained farm equipment facilities, coordinated soil
- testing, pasture improvements, and oversaw daily property operations. In addition to my landscaping
- and property management experience, I spent several years working as a crew chief and instrument operator
- in civil surveying and construction industry.
- most recently on the I-69 project in Bloomington, as well as other projects across the country. These
- roles strengthen my leadership, teamwork, self-safety awareness, project coordination skills while working
- alongside contractors, inspectors, and field crews. Currently, I have my certification, my 3B turf management
- from the Indiana State Chemist, registered technician through the Indiana State Chemist, and I take
- pride in being dependable, hardworking leader and teammate
- I'm looking forward to the opportunity to serve Bloomington community and look forward to contributing
- to the continuous success and maintenance of city's parks and recreational spaces and Public speaking
- is not one of my favorite things to do That you have all that experience welcome All right, and then
- our next staff introduction is Kyra shank community community relations intern
- Everyone my name is Kira shank. I am The community events and community relationship intern for the
- summer I am currently pursuing my master's degree in public health at IU and focusing specifically on
- outdoor recreation and environmental education With this experience. I'm really hoping and I already
- have gotten a lot of experience doing hands-on
- Event coordination and management and all the things that I never really got an opportunity to do in
- school I can already tell that this is going to be an excellent experience and I'm very excited to be
- here. Thank you Okay, and then on to our section see other business Tim will tell us about
- resolution 26-02 which is the parks Master plan for the next four years Yes, Tim Street parks director
- once again Here we are at the end of a really large efforts spanning 14 or so months
- Lot of staff hours a lot of public engagement and a lot of really important work including workshops
- staff feedback sessions Focus groups all of the different things that went into this master plan and
- before you tonight is resolution 26-02 to adopt that master plan Which will allow us as a department
- to continue to target the goals that we've identified in here through the strategic action plan the
- four priorities that you see in the
- the resolution and in the staff report will guide our decisions for the next five years. And additionally,
- having this master plan qualifies us for so many different things from being a prerequisite for accreditation
- and some national honors and awards and things like that we might go for to qualifying us for state
- grants from the DNR and other state agencies. So very important effort. I'm grateful we're at the end.
- I'm grateful for everyone's input
- That has gone into this and we are ready to start moving on implementation Thank You Tim any questions
- about this resolution The resolution 26-02 for the 2026 2030 master plan adoption Okay, and
- Roll call vote, please of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Israel Herrera Jim Whitletch
- I Okay motions carried Thank You Tim and everybody who contributed to the master plan And the next step
- Item two in this section is the agreement with MSI for Browns Woods encampment cleanup and Amy will
- detail that one
- Amy land back operations coordinator and I am actually representing Rebecca Swift our operations and
- development director She is out of town right now. So I'm presenting this on her behalf
- So I'm just gonna read through it because I want to make sure I get everything that she put in there
- So we recommend this contract with MSI to provide cleanup and disposal services at Browns Woods This
- project is funded by the Community Foundation of Bloomington in Monroe County. The amount is for thirty
- eight thousand three hundred dollars They the MSI will be contracted to carry out the Brownswood site
- cleanup which includes the mobilization of heavy equipment and
- Qualified operators to remove and properly dispose of approximately 16 piles of discarded debris each
- estimated at 8 tons This effort will eliminate accumulated waste enhancing site safety accessibility
- and environmental quality MSI will ensure that all materials are transported and disposed of in compliance
- with applicable regulations and industry best practices
- The Brownswood property is owned by the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County and is
- managed by the city's Parks and Rec Department For use as a public asset following completion of the
- cleanup Park staff will initiate ecological restoration efforts on site and begin construction of a
- planned recreational trail So happy to ask answer any questions Any questions for Amy?
- Think I have a question will the $38,000 cover the entire cleanup of that property Yes, so last fall
- the Parks Department went in there and did some preliminary cleanup So we were able to reduce the cost
- significantly because of that prep work that we did And do we know how much we spend on that? I
- The community foundation actually reimbursed a lot of the costs for rental equipment So it was really
- just staff time That was for a few days. We had it was kind of all hands on deck But they they were
- they were immersed any of the direct costs for that effort I'm going to Kathleen I'm gonna recuse myself
- from a vote on this matter because of
- I was a long-term board member 15 years or something like that at the community foundation. I think
- I was on the board when this property was accepted and I act, our firm acts and I do specifically at
- times act as legal counsel to the community foundation. So I feel I need to recuse myself from any vote
- on this issue because of the foundation's involvement in it. Okay, all right, thank you Jim. I just
- have one more question
- Do we have any concerns that it's going to be coming encampment again after this cleanup? No, because
- the trail that we will plan Has and we have opened it up a lot so that it's not hidden. It's not off
- the beaten path We've created and we will have a nice Recreational path so that people can use it. That's
- the way it was accumulated over years is because it was really kind of does
- Off the beaten path and not easily accessed and so that's how people were able to like kind of fly under
- the radar for a long time So it's been cleared out a lot the new trail will encourage people to actually
- be walking back there and so it just it's not gonna be able to Happen like it did before accumulate.
- Okay Thank you any other questions for Amy I'll make a motion
- Approve the contract with martial security for Browns would site cleanup Okay, and roll call vote those
- in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Israel Herrera Okay motion is carried. Thank you, Amy and
- Next up in item three is the agreement with deem incorporated for the Frank Southern ice ice
- Arena repairs from Chris Hello again I'm Chris. I'm the facility manager for the ice arena. We've got
- a couple or we've got a contract here with team This is the follow-up to completing the items for us
- to open safely in the fall This covers all the items that deem is capable of completing
- Including the replacement of the e-stop the vent switches adding the alarm light and the ammonia recharge
- This work is required in addition to the usual service agreement just to get us all ready to go for
- the fall And staff recommends approval of the service agreement not to exceed $24,000 Okay. All right
- any questions for Chris? Okay, I'll make a motion to approve service agreement with deem
- And a roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodke. I Israel Herrera Jim Woodlatch.
- I Okay, that motion carries and then Chris also has item four, which is the agreement with CTM services
- for the Next year's is Amboni rental. Yep We've rented from this company for the last couple years.
- They've been really good to us. We've had great experiences with them they deliver the Olympia to us and
- And then we drive it in use it for the year and drive it back out to their truck and they take it back
- So staff recommends approval of the contract for the rental with CTM services not to exceed thirty two
- thousand dollars Do you get to drive it in to the we do? Yeah, I do. Yeah, I've driven it It's very
- enjoyable. You can come down and do it It does not Yeah, it's actually
- The Olympia is built on a GM chassis So it's it's really just exactly the same as driving a car Especially
- if that you're not driving on the ice the ice can get a little tricky. But yeah, okay All right All
- right. I'll make a motion to approve the rental from CTM Olympia for the Zamboni Okay, and a roll call
- vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodke. I Israel Herrera Jim Whitletch
- Okay, motion carried. Thank you Chris and then Yes, it is pool season So Tim will tell us about the
- agreement with ratio architects for the Bryan Park pool study Yes, good evening Tim Street parks director
- Really? I'm standing in for Satoshi Kido this evening who unfortunately could not be here when we kind
- of shifted our dates around this agreement
- With ratio architects is for fifty nine thousand three hundred dollars, which is slated to come out
- of the Brian Park pool non-reverting account and I'd like to explain a little bit of What this is about
- so in our master plan, obviously we have targeted a lot of strategic actions and questions around the
- Sports facilities in the age of our sports facilities specifically our two pools Which we know right
- now. We're having an issue at Mills due to its age We're having an issue at Frank Southern due to its
- age And thankfully we are not having an issue at Bryan right now due to its age, but we face that regularly
- this Contract with ratio is to basically take a next step towards
- from the facilities conditions assessment that we did in the master plan to actually look at what I'm
- kind of describing as a menu of options for renovation. And that would include realistic costs. Sometimes
- in the past, you know, we've had capital amounts, you know, set aside for projects. We've gone into
- the project and we've discovered, oh, you know what? That capital amount actually won't really cover
- what we wanna do. So...
- Want to say this is not this contract tonight is not in any way a decision about pools You know long-term
- future of pools, but it is a recognition that the opportunity to renovate a pool has much higher public
- impact at Brian Park pool additionally, we are looking at the land and water conservation fund grant
- cycle this summer and
- Which could award an additional 250 to 1 million dollars towards a qualifying outdoor recreation project
- and Both pools have similar issues But what we look at and when we see is that Brian Park pool has three
- to four times the amount of use as Mills pool it has Infinity the amount of parking Mills has none,
- but Brian has about 200
- Parking spaces and is centrally located. So while we are still diligently working on the issue We are
- facing at Mills right now and I can I can talk about that in my director updates at the end Or maybe
- you can ask me about that if you want to hear now what we want to do is is spend a planned cash balance
- expense here to help give us a better picture to to do better planning and
- and actually I've been discussing with Kathleen a little bit strategy about some of our facility investment
- decisions and capital dollars and I think likely what we're heading towards is some type of, I don't
- know if I wanna call it a town hall, but a public meeting slash town hall sometime when school is back
- in session and we're through the summer months where everybody's gone so that the board can specifically
- ask a lot of questions, get a lot of user group input, get staff input, have a report so we can be informed
- to make the best decisions possible which would then include
- Potential investment in one of these renovation options All right any questions for Tim about this Do
- you anticipate that the ratio like report would then be complete So we need to have something to the
- land and water conservation fund. I believe by August
- They may not be a hundred percent done with their report. But by that point we've talked to them about
- identifying Some amounts and basically what we're talking about is we're looking at You know
- Brian specifically looking at the facilities condition assessment. We're talking about the pump room
- has issues The bath house has issues. There's a men's and women's restroom. There's no family option
- There's no neutral option. Those are quite old as well. The concessions are separate if we
- put the concessions in with everything else. We could save an entire staff person. We can also look
- at accessibility issues, all these things. So they will be able to give us intelligent cost estimates
- and tell us what is even feasible and possible because they are doing similar projects like this elsewhere.
- So we actually landed with Ratio because right now, they are doing a very similar pool renovation in
- Terre Haute. And actually, earlier this year, or maybe it was late 25, Keto went over to Terre Haute
- and went to one of their Board of Park Commissioner meetings.
- And has been following along with that project where they're they're similarly renovating an old pool
- To bring it up to sort of some some modern standards update the equipment accessibility all of that
- And was there any consideration or conversation with ratio about presenting up giving them like a the
- opportunity to also make recommendations for Mills pool Not at this time. Yep
- Unfortunately, that was before we knew about the leak and anything like that that came up But we have
- not investigated that at this time, but I think logically we could draw some conclusions from this about
- You know how much something is going to cost in terms of a renovation Compare square footage compare
- some of things like that to get some good cost estimates that we could translate across to both Or we
- could also explore an addendum with them if we want to translate some of those costs to bills We've
- got some time
- I guess I wouldn't be opposed to considering that and of course it comes down to You know dollars obviously
- and how much that would cost to extend it just because I hate to see if we're exploring this to see
- mills left out of that At this point just because we are so early Yeah, just be one of my thoughts we
- can definitely explore that with them Yeah, she as they get started and have a project kickoff. We can
- say hey, what would it
- Be like to translate some of this stuff and look at options here as well. Yeah So team So they will
- be assessing but also suggesting right that you're saying is the way I've described it is Give us a
- menu of options so we can understand What we want to select and it wouldn't necessarily be everything
- it might be different combinations but that way we could be intelligent and
- about the costs of what that would take as we look at any type of capital investment It certainly wouldn't
- take that long we would anticipate getting preliminary report later this year, which could could feed
- into the aforementioned public meeting or town hall thing that we would want to do where we're trying
- to provide all of these options you've kind of seen we had a report two months ago, I think about Frank
- That kind of had some info we can develop that further where we started the stakeholder group We can
- continue the conversations with the consultant get more options there Likewise, we're looking at some
- options with another firm Just unofficially right now not not a contract option, but for Winslow, what
- would it look like there? So just looking across and also gathering other important capital needs like
- Banneker is going to need a new elevator. So what I anticipate is bringing
- this menu of options to the board, to town hall, get all the information out there so that the board
- can make intelligent decisions about where and how we need to invest, which unfortunately probably can't
- be everything that we need. And one other thing that I have is they will be coming from Wisconsin and
- they probably... That's just once. Ratio is in Indianapolis, and actually one of their staff is here
- in Bloomington. There's one visit from the firm
- Wisconsin so for them that would be the the mileage right because one coming Infer and the other is
- going to be paid. I believe if I remember correctly That the one trip is built into the contract if
- they had to come again Which I don't anticipate they had a mileage rate in there if they needed to come
- a second time I guess my only other question is the mention of the
- Grant I apologize if you had told us about that in the past. Is that just one of Other many options
- we have to think about what we're gonna use to fund any sports facility pool renovations in the future
- Yes, so You know as we think about master plan and capital investment, where is that capital investment
- going to come from? There's a few different options. So
- Land and water conservation fund is a grant that has funded Bloomington parks projects in the past,
- but it's been quite a while Right now it is not a consistent and reliable fund. It is not happening
- every year So we only received an announcement that it is happening this year. I think a month or two
- ago It was kind of in flux or in question before that That is the main High dollar grant that I am aware
- of that could could bring
- Money to an outdoor rec investment like this Other sources could include a capital bond Parks and Recreation
- has the authority to issue bonds, of course also with council approval and controller and everything
- like that That those are discussions. I'm having now to explore. What are all of our options? We have
- our our non reverting account which does not have a
- An excessive cash balance could not fund very many capital projects But we have assets owned by the
- Parks Department to we can look at I've been exploring some questions with those So so and then also
- the general fund of course, but you know general fund we expect Historically the Parks Department here
- along with Parks Departments across the country as a trend I have seen less investment in capital in
- the operating budget
- Over the past 20 years or so as more share of the budget goes to staffing supplies and expenses We are
- the same trend as the country with that So it's not possible for us to just say we're gonna put this
- back in the general fund especially when we know the impacts of Senate enrolled Act one are coming And
- we are facing quite honestly a very tough operational financial picture in the coming years so all the
- more important for us to lay out a
- Options and be clear-eyed about what things are going to cost What the operational costs the cost recovery
- the subsidy all the things we've been talking about with our master planning are Before making any decisions
- about where and how to target investment dollars for the maximum return One last question the 3000 is
- it's the whole thing the whole package for for a
- Reimbursement expenses always for a person from the company. I think I think again, I believe so the
- the lump sum covers Everything we anticipate doing at this time But if there was a need for additional
- scope additional visit that is there to cover those additional reimbursables that we would it's almost
- like a contingency if there's something that goes beyond or an allowance to the contract, but I anticipate
- we would do this for the amount listed there and
- But we will explore the question about mills and seeing adding on that might be something we bring back
- to the board of the near future So the 59,000 could be also extra troubles from from there based on
- the report based on the the assessment or that would be one that is already a pain here and if they
- say that they need to
- So if I understand the question correctly the the contract amount on the staff report 59 300 is the
- amount We anticipate spending that includes the travel that includes, you know the base everything we
- need if they were gonna go beyond that they would need to ask Permission to add that scope and we would
- need to approve that to add into that extra amount that's listed in there But again, I do not anticipate that
- What I anticipate maybe though is as we we kick off with them in June. Well, it is June this month And
- and talk with them we can explore the question about You know also taking a look at Mills and making
- sure yeah, we have all the options. I think that's fair Okay, all right if there aren't any other questions
- and we have a motion to yeah sure I'll
- Move to approve the agreement with ratio architects And a roll call voted those in favor Kathleen Mills.
- I Ellen Rodke. I Israel Herrera Jim Whitletch I Okay. Thank you motion carried. Thank you, Tim And then
- in item six, we have a policy update for advisory councils, which Heidi will tell us about and
- I'm Heidi. She maker the natural resources coordinator for the city of Bloomington I'm also the staff
- liaison from the environmental resources advisory council You were given a red line
- Edit version of the policies as they were written in 2020 We have recently run into an issue where a
- member stepped down from the council They were filling the role that someone had to come from the utilities
- service board We have been unable to fill that position. So at our meeting in April the council got
- together and discussed whether or not we wanted to continue to
- Keeping the policies the way they are and unable to fill that or to adapt our policies to make that
- position easier to fill or that chair seat easier to fill.
- So historically I looked back and found that this happened once before when there was a requirement
- for someone to be from Indiana University's outdoor recreation and environmental education program and
- when they were not able to fill that seat they broadened it to someone with an expertise in outdoor
- recreation and environmental education and so at this time the council is recommending and asking for
- approval to change the policy that that
- Person just has to have an expertise in water resource management Instead of specifically being from
- the utility service board While they were looking at the policies because they had not been written
- since 2020 They did notice some additional changes that they shot they thought should take place including
- saying if there are extenuating circumstances and we can't meet one month that that is okay. That was
- not in the policies before. And the policies also mention other groups and organizations that the council
- will work with. And they noticed that the Commission on Sustainability and Resilience was not listed
- in that and they asked to have that added. But I can answer any questions you have about any of the
- other red line changes that you see.
- Thank you any questions for Heidi about this policy update I'll make a motion to approve revisions to
- the environmental resources Advisory Council policy Okay, and a roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen
- Mills. I Ellen Rodke. I Israel Herrera Jim what latch I
- He's keeping us in suspense Okay. All right motion carries. Thank you Heidi and then in item seven in
- this section is the People's Park alcohol use for taste of Bloomington from Crystal Ritter Hello Crystal
- Ritter community events coordinator again I am here tonight to recommend the use of People's Park on
- Saturday, August 1st
- for beer and wine sales for the Taste of Bloomington. The event will run from 3 to 10 PM, and the rain
- date for the event is Sunday, August 2nd, and if the date does move to Sunday, it would be from 1 until
- 8 PM. And after a five-year hiatus, the Taste of Bloomington came back last year to Kirkwood Avenue,
- and they used, like,
- essentially the whole five blocks of Kirkwood from Indiana down to college and in that in order to keep
- some safety issues from people walking up and down the street because they had to keep done for at the
- request of Bloomington Fire Department and the Bloomington Police Department for emergency access to
- and from the event they needed to keep
- Dunn Street, as well as Grant Street open. And being able to move all of the alcohol vendors to that
- area, they're hoping will keep it more safe and within an area where people aren't crossing streets.
- And I'm happy to answer any other questions that you might have.
- Is it like a beer garden? So the beverages are only served and consumed within People's Park or it's
- just where the sales are taking place and then Participants are allowed to take their alcohol. So it
- People's Park would be where the cells would be taking place and they would be able they are applying
- for an alcohol Tobacco Commission festival permit so that people can walk up and down the street the
- festival permit allows them
- to walk anywhere within the event perimeter, but they do have to have signage at any crossing that is
- going with outside of that permit that says no alcohol beyond this point. In addition to that, they
- are going to have volunteers and security that will be helping monitor alcohol from leaving the festival
- perimeter. Okay, great. Okay, any...
- Motion to approve alcohol use in People's Park for the taste of Bloomington All right in a roll call
- vote those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Israel Herrera Jim White latch I Thank you. Thank
- you motion carried and then an eight Kevin Terrell will tell us about the MOU with MCC SC for summer
- food service at Banneker and
- Thank you all. Kevin Terrell here, the program and facility coordinator for the Banneker Community Center.
- Our staff recommends that we approve the memorandum of understanding with MCCSC to provide all of the
- breakfast and lunches for the Banneker Community Center summer camp program in 2026, which started today
- with beach week. Got my bracelet on. MCCSC offered to partner with us in the spring.
- to provide breakfast and lunches to the Banneker campers this year starting today, Monday, June 1st,
- until Friday, July 24th. They took over the responsibility of making and planning each meal, transporting
- it to Banneker Fresh each day, planning all the menus to make sure they qualify under the Summer Food
- Service Program's parameters, and providing all the necessary documentation to the SFSP.
- Essentially rather than us being our own individual site. We're using we're piggybacking off of the
- school being the side where a we're under their umbrella so to speak which has reduced the Stress level
- and reduce the the tracking and reduce the all of the administrative burden put it on them rather than us and
- The advantages are several I put a few of them on here the quality and the freshness of the food Served
- is much higher than it was before when we contracted with chef for hire out of Indianapolis The daily
- deliveries at meal times are way less intrusive To the overall operation of the camp and less time-consuming
- for our staff to be able to manage and organize meaning me
- We no longer had the responsibility of planning the meals ourselves that are compliant that falls to
- MCC SC It does eliminate any risk associated with either overspending our food budget Not being reimbursed
- by the state of Indiana. We no longer have to worry about that Or we do we have to worry with any acts
- of nature that would cause our stored food to go bad And which would result in financial losses that
- could have happened
- Couple years ago when we had that huge power outage and I had to come to Banneker at midnight and move
- food around all night to Make sure it didn't go bad Also, we found out today there's been a substantial
- reduction in our wasted food and our trash because of the way they pack it is much better and The food
- is better. So the kids are eating more of it. We have less Substantially less food that's gone to waste
- and there's been a
- pretty large increase and just on our parents satisfaction and our Student satisfaction with the meals
- programs in general the parents once they found out we were finally making a change away from What we've
- done previously and then the kids today were very excited about having fresh hot food to eat for lunch
- and chocolate milk So with that being said we we recommend to approve this Okay, and I'll answer any
- questions you have if any I
- Thank you for the details. Yeah, any questions for Kevin? No, it sounds like a really great Relationship
- so yeah as a background not that it Belabor it but I try to do this my very first year running this
- camp. I could not get MCSC MCC SC to cooperate with what I wanted to do and I've been struggling to
- do this year two year three so I was finally excited when they have new management and
- their nutrition program at MCC SC we were able to talk them into that and and coordinate it and have
- a good relationship with them and I think this is a really big positive for the camp Make a motion to
- approve the agreement with MCC SC to provide meals for Banneker Okay in a roll call vote those in favor
- Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Israel Herrera Jim Whitluch. I Okay. Thank you. Thank you
- Kids are excited about school lunch. Yeah All right, and then item 9 is the partnership with downtown
- Bloomington For the 4th of July, which is usually Bill Ream. I'm gonna do it today. You're gonna do
- it Okay, Bill is out prepping for an event for this weekend So I am filling in for him today staff recommend
- the approval of a partnership agreement between the city of Bloomington and downtown Bloomington Inc
- as you stated for the 4th of July parade and
- We do have a 50-50 split of revenue from parade entries after some expenses have been paid and that
- is Paid mostly out of our non reverting community events budget This is the 18th year for this partnership
- The goal is to combine resources with both parks and DBI to provide the 4th of July parade Looking forward
- to it happening. Once again, the parade is on Saturday, July 4th It'll take place at 10 a.m To noon
- with a performance by the Bloomington community band starting at 9 a.m. On the courthouse lawn
- Applications for the parade are available online right now And encourage those that want to participate
- to get their application in
- Important to note that this year because it is on a Saturday and because of the route that we have now
- used the last few years We will be doing the parade and having the farmers market at the same
- time essentially in the same place So a little chaotic here on Morton Street, but we feel confident
- that we can manage both large events at the same time and give Downtown community just a great morning
- to come spend time at the market visit the parade
- Check out our farm vendors and have a great day. Happy to answer any questions. Okay All right. No questions
- for me. No That's great. Yeah, I make a motion to approve the partnership agreement with city of Bloomington
- Parks and Rec and then downtown Bloomington, Inc Okay in a roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen
- Mills. I Ellen Rodke. I Israel Herrera Jim what latch I'm glad we
- Able to work in the market and the parade. Yeah We needed a little extra help from the trades district
- for a few more parking lots and solution tree has been great and donated their parking lots so we're
- just shifting the Staging areas down a little bit Working with Clarence and the farmers market to to
- get them in and out prior and after the parade. Okay. All right, great Thank you. So that motion is
- carried and then we have a partnership with mad for my dog for the annual drool in the pool and
- Yes, so staff recommend the approval of the 2026 partnership agreement between parks and mad for my
- dog There is no money exchange in this partnership. This is the 21st year for drool in the pool That's
- the 10th for this official partnership with mad for my dog, but they were involved long before our official
- partnership
- Last year we continue to have great success at drool in the pool 180 dogs over 300 humans visit the
- pool during the two days of drool in the pool at Mills the event of this year will be Wednesday and
- Thursday August 5th and 6th from 4 to 8 p.m. Again at Mills pool there's contest dog related businesses
- will be on site and of course swimming for the dogs and for the third year we'll be doing the VIP hour
- from 4 to 5 so people can sign up 20 participants
- pictures Time in the pool with less dogs and some specific goodie bags for those that sign up for the
- VIP hour No registration is needed except for the VIP hour We hope everyone comes out to Mills pool
- for drool in the pool. Happy to answer any questions Well, we'll be looking at that don't you
- This is the first year. No, that's the second year. We've done I'll pick a motion to approve the partnership
- agreement with mad for my dog for drool in the pool Okay We put this in the section C just because of
- what's going on with Mills right now, too Just to give an update there. We had a leak detection company
- out last week just getting findings from them not as conclusive as we hoped and
- We're gonna meet out there tomorrow. Our intent is still to find that and fix that and get that open
- But the situation is developing and of course details of this event could change based on what ends
- up happening with Mills and Startup shut down decisions that we may have to make things like that. But
- certainly we have another board meeting in July Where we can revisit if any updates need to be made
- Okay. All right. Thank you All right
- I think we do too. Okay So a roll call vote of those in favor of the partnership with mad for my dog
- for drool in the pool Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey Israel Herrera Jim Whitlatch All right motion is
- carried and then in number 11 Clarence will tell us about the farmers market advisory council appointment
- of two new members and
- Clarence Boone, Program Facility Coordinator for Parks and Rec. Staff recommends the appointment of
- the following two individuals to the Farmer's Market Advisory Council. Robin Katowski, Customer
- Representative, and Robin is a longtime community member and former market staff person. She wants to
- share her skills for the betterment of the market by serving as a customer representative of the Farmer's
- Market Advisory Council. And Robin spent 11 years serving as a market staff person.
- She served in the role of market master, and she is primarily an agriculturalist. She founded two different
- family farm entities in South Central Indiana and vended out the market in both cases. Robin promotes
- sustainable farming practices and seeks to help connect growers to the resources and tools they need.
- And she would be honored to serve the city, the vendors, and the market going public as a farmer's market
- advisor council member representing customers.
- And the second individual is Lori Bolin, who would come on as a food and beverage artisan representative.
- And since 2024, Lori has been a food and beverage artisan with the Bloomington Farmers Market. She and
- her family have experienced the best of what the market has to offer, a deep sense of community among
- farmers, growers, and makers, quality business relationships that have sparked new and better products
- for market customers, community connections with customers,
- and these relationships extend beyond the market and opportunities to contribute to the betterment of
- the community overall. And as a member of the Advisory Council, she will commit to sharing utilizing
- her decades of leadership and business ownership experience, small business ownership souls, all of
- the market vendors together, and there are unique challenges for small business owners and where she
- can provide optimism, empathy, and the idea is to ease those challenges
- In the context of the market, she would be delighted to do so. And as a longtime business owner and
- consultant, she would also hope to make calm and the storm contributions in those moments when emotions
- and conflict arise. That never happens, by the way. Also, staff further recommends reappointment of
- the following individuals to additional terms as permitted in the bylaws
- on the Farmers Market Advisory Council. In the role of customer representative, we have Carolyn
- Calloway-Thomas, Julia Fox, Ben Gardner, and Edward Robertson. And for food and beverage artisan, we
- have Louise Miracle. And farm vendor representatives, we have John Norton, Karen St. Rain, Kip Schlegel,
- and Patricia Sigmund. And again, as the bylaws permit, they can roll into an additional term.
- And the background, the Farmers Market Advisory Council consists of 11 members representing market vendors,
- customers, and food and beverage artisans. There are five customer reps, two FBA reps, and four farm
- vendors. And the council acts in an advisory capacity to the board of park commissioners and park staff
- on policy matters relating to the farmers market. And again, we seek to add those two new appointments.
- And I'll take any questions. Okay. Thank you, Clarence.
- Any questions about these market appointments? So the total would be 11 in the distribution would be
- for farm vendors and two for food and beverage artisan representatives and then five for Customer that
- might be because there are less
- A food and beverage artisans in the farmers market. Is that the reason is correct? Yes, and you mentioned
- they like the terms for the reappointments That would be for you mentioned the the term like one two
- years the other members that currently serve Their terms have come to it in their current terms and
- then they are permitted to serve additional Times no one can exceed over three but the terms last one
- or two years
- The food and beverages one all the farm vendors is two and the customer would be three In the previous
- ones the ones that um left any Reason why they were living or they were where we had one individual
- that did leave He basically had turned out all foreseeable foreseeable additional terms he had exhausted
- and now well and the other one
- Served his particular terms all can come back as public members and make contributions And if they sit
- out for say additional two years or maybe one year in some cases They can come back and serve again
- on the Advisory Council Thank you Well, yeah, I just
- Public thank you to all of all these folks for serving on the Advisory Council and appreciate their
- work. So I'll make a motion to approve the two new members Robin Katowski and Lori Bolin as well as
- the reappointment of the nine current members And a roll call vote of those in favor Kathleen Mills.
- I Ellen Rodke. I Israel Herrera Jim Whitletch I
- Motion is carried. Thank you Clarence and Then item 12 in this section is from Sean Marlar the agreement
- with mid-states for playground equipment. Good evening Sean Marlar recreation facilities general manager
- Parks is recommending a contract with mid-states recreation for the removal of the existing playground
- feature known as the accessible carousel and installation of a replacement feature
- The current feature has been a challenge since it was first installed in 2019. It's broken down at least
- four times Not including staff time and staff labor. That's cost us six thousand two hundred dollars
- the new piece the all of the together the remove line installation has a do not exceed contract of amount
- of twenty four thousand eight hundred and forty nine nine dollars to be paid for out of switch our parks
- non-reverting fund I'm happy to take any questions
- Is there any kind of a like a warranty on these things because it sounds like the other one suffered
- problems from the beginning It did suffer problems from beginning and we did take full advantage the
- warranty It just went beyond the warranty and not everything was covered basically the design of it
- and the use of it it had multiple spots where the weight and torque just put extra tension on it it
- had parts freeze up the brakes froze up and when that happened it wasn't able to actually spin and
- Carousel not much good if it doesn't spin. Yeah, okay I should point out the new piece. The new feature
- is a different design a much simpler design So hopefully we won't have those problems. It's also designed
- that's in here in town that we've had a chance to look at so Okay
- It is also an accessible piece although it does require somebody who uses a wheelchair To exit the wheelchair
- unlike the previous one, but it is a simple Act Okay, nice. All right I'll make a motion to approve
- the contract with Michigan playgrounds for the new unity spinner contract All right, and a roll call
- vote are those in favor Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodke I
- Israel Herrera Jim White latch. I Okay motion carried. Thank you, Sean. Thank you And then the final
- two items in the section 13 is the beeline trail closure request for Second Street Improvement Project
- Amy Amy line back operations coordinator staff is recommending approval of a full trail closure for
- the beeline trail for the Second Street Improvement Project
- Closures will occur at the beeline second Street intersection across various dates Weather pending the
- first closure will be for one day on June 8th The second closure would be for five days July 20 through
- the 20th 24th the third closure would be five days in September between the 14th and the 18th signed
- detours and pedestrian paths will be provided with the additional approval of the engineering department
- and the trail will be reopened between closures and
- Per parks policy the beeline trail is a class one trail that requires approval for the from the Board
- of Park Commissioners for non-emergency closures that last longer than one day and require a full closure
- These closures are related to the engineering department's West Second Street modernization and safety
- improvement project that is scheduled to kick off next month and
- The project includes installing two-way protected bike lanes from the beeline to South Walker Street
- along with upgraded traffic signals new stormwater infrastructure and improved accessibility features
- including sidewalks curb ramps and bus stops throughout the corridor Some of the related work will require
- a full closure The beeline trail will be closed at its intersection with West 2nd Street at various
- times between June 8 and September 18th
- And those dates may be extended depending on whether as they're working on these things The closure
- will be communicated via social media and on-site signage Pedestrian signs will be utilized to warn
- trail users of upcoming closures and detours There will be detour signs going around the trail closure
- closing with pedestrian channelizers and temporary ramps
- So, and this is another one that Rebecca is really the lead on. I don't know a ton, but I'm sure other
- people can answer questions that you may have. Okay. All right. Thank you. Any questions about this
- beeline trail closure? No. Okay. Okay. I'll make a motion to approve the trail closure for the beeline
- trail on various States. Okay. And a roll call vote with those in favor.
- Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Israel Herrera Jim Whitlatch. I Okay motion carry. Thank you and 14
- last item in this part is the agreement with Jack Laurie group for the TLRC floors
- Good evening Darren needs facility coordinator with the Twin Lakes Recreation Center you have before
- you this evening I started to afternoon but Is a service agreement with Jack Laurie floors? We're going
- to begin a restroom remodel on the main level restrooms in August actually mid-july Jack Laurie, if
- you remember did our recoat on our basketball floors back in 2024. They're great company to work with
- I know the city it has actually used them in multiple locations and
- And we look forward to having them committed to do the vinyl work there in the bathrooms total cost
- on that is 11,000 865 that had come out of the 5,000 capital line be glad to answer any questions that
- you might have Okay. All right any questions for Darren about this one? All right make a motion to approve
- the service agreement with Jack Laurie floors Okay, and a roll call vote of those in favor I
- Kathleen Mills. I Ellen Rodkey. I Israel Herrera Jim Whitlatch Thanks. Yep. Thank you motion carried
- and then we move into our section D reports So first we have the Recreation Services events annual highlights
- presentation Yeah, thank you again Leslie Brinson recreation division director change of date got all
- my staff out at
- Events or on vacation. So you're stuck with me again doing this report This is something we do annually
- just to highlight all of the community events Community events Programs that have been scheduled were
- a little later than normal. So several obviously have already taken place But wanted to give you a quick
- highlight of what we got going on Winter started with our winter Palooza event. We continue to offer
- Bloomington trivia series on a
- semi-annual or semi-monthly Basis this year winter blues as you remember we partnered with freeze fest
- We also offered Arctic adventure, which is a small program with scavenger hunts at the park
- New this year. We offered to sip and skate programs We worked with Chris at the Frank Southern ice arena
- and had some adult only skates at the arena They became really popular. The first one had over 300 guests.
- We ran out of skate rental It was packed. I don't know that I've ever seen the arena that crowded. It
- was really great with the DJ So we decided to run it back and do it a couple weeks later and had another
- great event I think adults enjoyed having the ice arena all to itself
- We did have alcohol sales as well as a DJ and games and a couple themed events Moved into the next month
- with Pet Expo continues to be crazy popular 42 vendors over 784 people came to check out the vendors
- bring their animals Children's Expo had a great year this year over 600 guests
- 50-plus expo continues to just grow record-setting numbers of vendors at 105 this year 20 some year
- program continues to grow with over 670 guests as well Another new event that we did this year was called
- free-range arcade. You approved a partnership for that back a little while ago Great first year over
- 500 people came out to try different video games board games virtual games
- I look forward to extending that event year after year and just continuing to grow that opportunity
- The gardens off to a great start if you haven't been by I would suggest you go check them out They look
- really beautiful right now 279 plots continue to host garden programs both garden bed both Willie Streeter
- and Butler now have new chain link fenced and we continue to repair and add raised garden beds as needed
- We hop into spring and summer. We have the community zoo by you program It continues on a monthly basis
- to explore all kinds of different animals mad paws. I love that picture Had some weather issues this
- year's we didn't have quite as good of attendance, but any dog Activity we can do continues to be popular
- another new event. We did this year was a dance walk where we just
- Had people gather at the plaza here and do a walk down the beeline with music and dancing for its first
- attempt 29 30 people came out and walked with us look forward to doing that again this fall Flights
- a fancy the second year for this one our new kites and bubbles activity Had five over 300 people this
- year out for that had another great day great wind Great kites. It's a fun act fun event to watch at
- switch yard
- We another new program history in bloom we continued kind of moved off our dearly departed and did some
- chores in the Cemetery that were not related to Halloween oriented but continued to be popular with
- over 78 people coming out to tour the Rose Hill hear stories about I think it was Bloomington history
- of Bloomington history people
- People who had been around a long time So we continue to partner with the macro County History Center
- for that event does great summer lunch party Again, another great event 575 we had to move it to switch
- yard this year But a good a good change there. The escape room is this weekend still spots available
- in partnership with get out Bloomington
- Continues to be super popular junk in the trunk We added a spring junk in the trunk that sold out very
- quickly over a hundred boost 1700 shoppers and the one we had in April look forward to doing that again
- in August the inside booth sold out in 20 minutes ish So continues to be crazy popular as well We already
- know about the farmers market. It's after some off to some record numbers of attendance
- Think over 5,000 were in attendance on Saturday with 59 vendors continue to look forward to a great
- season We've added some youth days at the market This is our third year looking at staff third year
- third year for youth days at the market continue to be popular I know the first one Filled and sold
- out and we had to add some more spots to get some people off the waiting list so a great opportunity
- for kids to come out and be entrepreneurs
- We're doing one at youth at food truck Friday again, and then we'll do another one in the fall First
- one coming up here this month in June and we're gonna try one at the Tuesday market as well The performing
- art series kicks off really this weekend. We had a movie last week two weeks ago, but really starts
- this weekend with a concert in Brian Park continue to have movies civic and taming of the shrew is happening
- right now at Waldron Hill and Buskirk Park, it's got one more weekend and
- We will do strawberry shortcake next weekend adding a jazz on the tracks several jazz and Community
- Orchestra events happening as well Tuesday tunes They'll now be music at every Tuesday market at Hopewell
- looking forward to that kicks off tomorrow with don't call me Betty as the band there
- Again Sundays and Brian Park we continue to do happy hours on the lawn and you can see all of our main
- stage Concerts there that continue to be popular Then we move into keep going rainbow ring 4th of July
- parade. We've talked about drool in the pool And a Bloomington branches event and Brian Park. This actually
- is Brian Park 75th Anniversary, so we'll be highlighting it at the Bloomington branches event as well
- Glow week will happen in mid September
- Splash pad event a scavenger hunt and then the big dance party on Saturday night all ages dance party
- I think the staff enjoy spraying paint as much as the people enjoy getting sprayed on Move into October
- obviously one of our busiest months trick-or-treat trail festival of ghost stories skate and scare at
- the ice arena dearly departed cemetery tours and then also the Bloomington pumpkin pumpkin launch all
- take place in October and
- Move into the holiday season. We have sensory Santa happy hours with our dog or yappy holidays with
- our dogs Of course the holiday market on that last Saturday in November and we kind of end the year
- with our skate with Santa program Looking forward to a continued 2026 couldn't be done without great
- community events and rec staff they they get all the all the Awards and and props for coming up with
- programs and running them in all weather and happy to have another year with them
- I'd be happy to answer any questions about anything in particular. All right. Thank you for that rundown
- and phenomenal attendance numbers, Mike We're off to a great year. I mean record numbers at a lot of
- programs. That's a really great start Yeah, I think that staff should do their example of the dance
- walk when they come Great
- Okay. All right. Thank you for that and then Number two in the reports is the natural resources 2025
- annual report Mary Hi everybody Mary Wells here natural resources manager to provide you with an overview
- of the 2025 annual part It's gonna be hard to follow up all those amazing events and
- So starting with this report, our natural resource area will provide a summary of the priorities and
- accomplishments for natural resources management, environmental education, and the Griffey Lake boathouse
- operations. It's all good. Stay there for a minute. Thank you. So yeah, sorry, you've got a lot to handle
- right now, so thank you, Leslie.
- 2025 we worked with three contractors for various ecological restoration and consulting services first
- of which was aquatic control They in 2025 they continued to build upon successful efforts Started in
- 2024 to monitor and manage the invasive Eurasian milfoil at Griffey Lake This work was partially funded
- through the DNR Lake and River enhancement or layer grant and
- Aquatic control also worked at Miller showers to continue their annual management of various nuisance
- aquatic vegetation that threatened our stormwater management operations We also worked quite a bit with
- ecological at various parks. They worked at Miller showers park 2025 was their year eight of a 10-year
- management plan
- For various invasive species monitoring and vegetation management and the three point one four acres
- of restoration areas at Miller showers And then they also worked over at Rogers Family Park they were
- involved in the design and install of three point six acre restoration planting from the Rogers Family
- Park project in 2223 so last year they kind of contracted
- Maintain and manage that restoration area Get us to that final mark of getting it installed a switch
- yard ecologics worked there for dating back to 2018 having been involved with the installation and management
- of the various
- Mosaic of restoration and existing natural areas. They again worked to manage 27 acres there and then
- new in 2025 They began a broad-level invasive species mapping effort to guide our future work We also
- wrapped up a contract with KCI Technologies. They contracted to work at two parks at Crestmont. They
- wrapped up they they finished up a About 3.5 acres of winter creeper treatment
- And they also worked in collaboration with our vegetation management staff to clear one third acre of
- very dense Asian bush honeysuckle at upper Cascades Click Thank you So speaking of our vegetation management team
- They focused on two kind of large-scale efforts in 2025 in addition to their ongoing work to manage
- a range of high-priority invasive species targets as well as managing native plantings, installing native
- plantings, and other activities. One of the projects I'd like to celebrate is they started in 2024 to
- work on clearing a dense mix of woody invasives within the 240-acre state-dedicated portion of Griffey.
- Basically the southern portion of Griffey so far as of 2026 March 2026. They've cleared over 40 acres.
- So pretty exciting work They also expanded upon their efforts with KCI technologies last year They worked
- along with our urban green space community outreach staff and volunteers to remove Asian Bush a very
- dense Asian Bush honeysuckle and
- and other woody invasives around the waterfall areas at upper Cascades. So it's looking pretty good.
- We've got some more work to do. But as of March this year, nearly six acres have been cleared.
- They have, I think I wrote 16 priority targets, but it's an underestimation. It's definitely in excess
- of 20 species. But one of which is depicted here as a high priority target right now, especially as
- poison humlock, which poses a human health hazard.
- And then click. We also were focused heavily on Tree of Heaven last year. Go back for a sec, sorry.
- Which is a preferred host plant for a spotted lanternfly, which is a fairly new invasive insect here
- in Indiana, first reported in 2021. Fingers crossed, not yet here in Monroe County. So we also did some
- tree plantings and quite a bit else.
- Click thank you our trails management strap staff are responsible for various ongoing maintenance and
- management activities For our 27 plus miles of natural surface and mountain bike trails on our managed
- property Outside of their regular duties just to celebrate a few highlights from 2025 we contracted
- with fire dogs to remove
- The old hazardous stairs on the north side of Griffey dam spillway. So the picture of before And then
- after we'd had to board them up a click. Yeah Just cleared that and then we're going to be working to
- restore that area and restrict access. Sorry And we also collaborated on some trail reroutes with Hoosier
- Hikers Council for the Griffey trail loop
- And we for our adopt a trail program. We hosted nine volunteers contributing over about 94 hours of
- service. Thank you Leslie So going on to the wildlife and habitat management various activities were
- taken to monitor support and manage Wildlife as well as to provide outreach and for out for wildlife at all
- Bloomington parks these efforts help sustain natural ecosystems prevent wildlife overpopulation Mitigate
- habitat loss and support our natural resource help. So first off was the completion of the report by
- our natural resources education staff specialists of the
- Griffey Lake Nature Preserve insect inventory which took place in 2024 the report documents 480 species
- of insects at Griffey including three species of special concern here in Indiana and depicted here is
- the Dusky azure state endangered butterfly click
- We also worked to Rededicate our both Bloomington and Monroe County in 2025 as a bird town official
- bird town status As well we worked with our staff worked with the environmental resources Advisory Council
- as well as other community partners to get recertified It's a two-year certification through the Indiana
- Audubon Society's bird town. Indiana program is a part of the national bird town effort
- And then, one more click on this slide. We also undertook our annual deer management efforts, contracting
- or building upon the work dating back to 2015. We contracted, again, with Ecologic to continue their
- ongoing deer browse vegetation monitoring, which began in 2018. New in 2025, we restricted the monitoring
- to only the herbaceous vegetation layer.
- at Griffey. Results are showing the average plant height of Solomon seal species, which is the deer
- browse indicator, has continued to increase each year since the species is directly impacted by heavy
- deer browse, which you can see the end of that plant has been eaten by something. I can't verify it's
- a deer, but the findings support that deer management efforts at Griffey are having a positive impact
- on our native plant communities. And then we also, oh, going back one more, sorry.
- are still on wildlife habitat management. We also, again, worked with White Buffalo, who have provided
- deer management services at Griffey since 2017. The annual deer hunt took place over four days in November,
- coinciding with the DNR rifle deer hunting season. For the first time in 2025, we started taking metrics.
- Chest measurements were taken to help us estimate weight and general health of the deer. We had 22 hunters
- last year and 26
- were taken as compared to 19 and 2024. Thank you. And then I just wanted to celebrate the fact that
- natural resources is able to provide opportunities through the IU O'Neill Leadership Program for graduate
- students to get hands-on practical experience while making a difference in the community of Bloomington
- Parks and Recreation.
- A good portion of the work of our fellows involves parks asset inventory and GIS data collection, so
- getting some pretty good hands-on experience on a very important skill. Abby was our outgoing fellow,
- and she assisted also with the creation of self-guided outings in the parks at parks property in our
- outer spatial mobile app. And incidentally, Abby's not depicted here, but she also worked as a trails laborer
- for natural resources seasonally. And then, our fellow Tristan, who's on the right in the corner over
- there, was our incoming fellow, and she provided planning and logistical experience or support for our
- deer hunt, as well as assisted with various other community events. Thank you. And then, I would be
- remiss in not celebrating all the work of our amazing natural resources education staff. They conducted
- a lot of amazing programs and outreach opportunities,
- including Griffey and Leonard spring nature days roving naturalists adopt a stream after school nature
- club programs as well as hosted several large community events over 1,500 people attending bugfest For
- the first time last year. We hosted the annual nature days with
- at Lower Cascades with a total of 138 attendees. Five of our staff were trained in monarch butterfly
- tagging, which Hannah's depicted here during that. And they were able to, through the Monarch Watch
- program, where they were able to tag 20 monarchs the first year of that program. We also hosted a pollinator
- habitat workshop in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. And for our Adopt-a-Spring
- Stream program,
- We involve 26 volunteers contributing 212 hours of service and we had 50 participants in our Hoosier
- River watch program opportunity and last but not least Griffey Boathouse I just want to mention some
- maintenance activities that were completed replacement of leaking skylights at our Boathouse comfort
- station and storage and We did some follow-up cleaning
- In to in follow-up to that repair and then some benchmarks for our boat house include Improvements to
- the Griffey 10 Lake Griffey Lake 10 punch rental pass resulting in increases in sales over 2024 So include
- in conclusion that was a lot It's been a good first year as natural resources manager and I'm excited
- to share a few next slide
- Things that are kind of up on the horizon. So we're working on In the future hopefully this year contracting
- for master planning at Wapahane mass mountain bike park we Started work on a restoration area along
- the creek at Roger Sam Lee Park We're in the beginning phases of working with DNR to put Leonard Springs
- into state dedication protections And we're considering
- We're drawing in proposals right now to do pre and post prescribed fire vegetation monitoring at Griffey
- We'll be continuing forest management activities at Griffey and we have goals for accessible and sustainable
- trail improvements And that was a lot. So please let me know if you have any questions Okay. All right.
- Thank you Mary I do have a quick question of something that just came up in my neighborhood people wondered
- about when you are removing
- Invasive species obviously you can just pull things out chop them down or spray some sort of pesticide
- Is there also any occasion where you burn an area to remove some of it? Yes, so we'll be covering that
- at our 2026 annual report But we were able to implement prescribed fire this spring or early late late
- winter. I will say Okay. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Yeah, appreciate all the details. Thanks
- And I would just comment that I'm excited to see that there's a potential to do semester planning at
- Wabahani I have heard lots of feedback that they'd like a pump truck and all sorts of other features
- They're definitely and it seems like an underutilized asset. So that's great Okay. All right. Great.
- Thank you And then the final report this evening is number three is the seminary and
- It's Amy's night. Yeah, and unfortunately, I don't think we saved the best for last I I wish that Leslie's
- had been the note to end on because that was really fun and uplifting but This is the reality of managing
- parks. So here we are Amy lineback operations coordinator when we initially when you all approved the
- contract to service and clean the seminary portal at a
- In January, we had some discussion about it at that time, and you had asked for an update as we go into
- the warmer months, busier time for that area and that asset. So I am here to report on that. In January
- through March, the unit was only serviced Monday through Friday with the weekends being off. And we
- were doing that as a trial basis to see if we could, you know,
- if it would be okay to not service it for a couple of days and then just really see what the use was
- over the winter. And it became very clear that the contractor provides me with a picture every day before
- and after. And those are available for you if you are interested and would like to see those.
- I have a file. But it became very clear that it was being regularly
- Trashed and vandalized Every day so it was not over. You know the weekend. It would be heavier trash
- I was kind of thinking that would be the pattern, but it really became clear that it's just regularly
- used heavily used we'll say So it does not seem feasible to go more than a day without
- cleaning it because it becomes unusable for anyone after someone has made a big mess in there, then
- the unit is unusable until it gets cleaned and serviced again.
- So that's how that's going Despite the challenges we also hear that the portalette is providing an important
- service to park area Park users and the area businesses and residents As we budget for 2027 we have
- received a budget commitment from the economic and sustainable development department to fund basically
- all of the cost for cleaning and servicing this portalette in 2027 and
- On on a daily basis. So these funds are being provided because of the additional service That this portal
- is providing to ease the pressure on downtown businesses and keep the area safe and beautiful So, let
- me know what what questions you have. I Have questions I want to see the pictures. So if you could send
- those to me, I'd like to see those They're in the drive Jim Okay
- Okay, thank you. Secondly, I suggested at one time that we consider putting a camera there. Is that
- an option that we can explore? So actually recently we've had some conversations with BPD about some
- additional security cameras in potentially Hopewell and Seminary Park based on some funds that we believe
- Could be available for that and the fact that seminary recently got connected up through ITS through
- Whatever fiber network Wi-Fi all that stuff that gives us greater options and capability So we are exploring
- that now And and Brian Giffin I'll just mention is also here from office of the mayor. He's the city's
- homelessness response coordinator and so can also Answer questions or speak to this as needed
- Yeah, I would like to strongly recommend that we have a camera there, that we have a sign that says
- this is video, you know, the outside of this is video monitoring and any vandalism of this will be,
- is subject to criminal or civil action. If we're spending this money on a daily basis because of people
- doing this to the,
- I think that at some point there should be some, if not criminal issues with it, there should be some
- civil issues. I mean, this is just simply not acceptable. I have talked to the local property owners
- who do think that it is a value to have it, but it's the same issue I have with the parking garage bathrooms
- that are locked.
- a large percentage of the year, probably because of vandalism as well. But this is under our bailiwick
- and I think we have a responsibility to handle it responsibly. And certainly cleaning on a daily basis
- is something we need to do, but we also need to see what steps we can take to eliminate or to try to
- better control this issue. So I'm happy to hear from the city's homeless coordinator.
- Would you like to say or add anything and and Jim? I do think we might be coming to you the board in
- the future here in the near future with some security camera options for review Brian if in city homelessness
- response coordinator Yeah, I mean just echoing what he already said we hear from the property owners
- around the area that you know They're not experiencing as many issues. I actually just don't hear from them and
- Which is always a positive right if they're not reaching out to me. That's a good sign for me It's rare
- that somebody reaches out to me with the positive but But yeah, I mean it's just it's serving a valuable
- resource to our community not just to the folks that are in seminary but the people that are around
- there and kind of helping with the hopeful economic development of that area going forward and I've
- also been in talks with the BPD on
- They've expressed interest in having cameras there as well. So that's something that we're going to
- work towards and any other questions I can answer No, that would be that would be great. I think in
- a minimum the next step we need to take is to have cameras there and And so I'd be very much in favor
- of that Jim I'll just mention there there is a security camera in seminary right now that is
- Quite dated I believe and so that's also part of it. It's just covers that Plaza area And some just
- typical security cameras could could help us out in that area Yeah, thank you Tim. I I think you've
- answered this before but I mean we have other portalettes in other locations and do they see as much
- trash and vandalism or Not as not as much but
- Nearly the same level but we do have staff that go to each of those on a daily basis and check to make
- sure that they're clean and and Available, you know ready for use for the public. So there is some and
- in all of them I mean just like any parks we have vandalism and trash but but the level is not nearly
- the same and even sometimes severe but just not with the frequency that we see in seminary the other
- one that we probably have the most problems with is the Brian Park pool
- Backside one, that one has a lot as well. Okay. Yeah, correct. I think that we didn't we used to have
- during, at least during COVID, we put some portalettes along the beeline trail and those experienced
- similar type vandalism, is that? Yeah, that was actually, that was not our portalette. That was the
- portalette for the emergency winter shelter, but it was along the beeline trail and did create issues.
- Yeah, thank you. So right now, we have only one, right?
- At Seminary Park. Yes, just one The voice or the roads requested by the economic and sustainable development
- department is to just to help with the Yeah, they're gonna continue funding the rental and cleaning
- it's it's not our unit that we don't own so it's a rental and cleaning fee Yes for that one
- And one other question that I have because I use that road. Is there any reason for the Portland to
- be on that corner between? It's for access. Just in case of an accident that we don't want. If someone
- is inside, is that not risky, maybe the person inside? Because I see that it could be placed in a different
- place. We have had in Bloomington.
- the situation in a restaurant, the corner, it was crashed by a car. And thank God, no one was there
- in that corner, that table inside. And also, close to the IU campus, there was one other accident, and
- thank God the person wasn't in that corner. So I'm thinking, we have four, we have one, and we have second.
- We don't want an accident but Things might happen. I don't know if it could be placed in a different
- in a different in a different location in the park I believe that the location was chosen for the ease
- of access for the truck that has to get in there to pump and clean and service it They're they're removing
- they have like a big hose vacuum hose that they stick in there to remove the waste So it's a big
- Vehicle and I believe that that was really the only area that the truck could easily access So that's
- and unless anyone else has other information about Yeah, we can certainly take a look at that as real
- but yeah Logistically right now that is the best and maybe only possible location there, but we can
- take another look Okay and
- Obviously there are trash cans in seminary and I know they Park spends a lot of time emptying those
- and I mean are they overflowing? Is there a need for more or people are just choosing to throw their
- garbage in the board? Yes, exactly. Yeah, okay That's what I thought but just checking. Okay Yeah, the
- staff meets there every day at 8 a.m. And they spend about an hour or more sometimes cleaning the entire
- park It's a daily issue
- And so more trash cans really isn't gonna solve anything. Yeah, okay So there has been both just you
- know being left trash inside but also there were a few fires started in the unit They have not
- The contractor has not charged us for anything They have not replaced it. So there are some holes Where
- you can see there was a fire started? So I and that does concern me safety wise So I think having cameras
- there and some language about you know, this is being monitored I think that would be a good a really
- good improvement Okay
- So it closes at the time the park is closed right the service I'm sorry, so they close the service or
- the Portland it's Yeah, we don't we don't lock it now or do anything to it. I mean the park is closed at 11 p.m
- So after 11 p.m. This is still
- We don't do anything to secure it because it's just a portal wet but technically the park is closed
- at 11 Which brings me back to my never-ending quarry of why we're opening in that park is open till
- 11 o'clock But that's something I'd like to continue to address Nobody nobody I don't know that anybody
- agrees with me, but I don't think there's any reason for seminary Jim, I don't disagree. It's just we haven't
- Had the bandwidth to get to that but maybe we need to get back to that and take a look I would like
- to Okay. All right. Thank you. Amy. Thank you Brian. Yeah. Okay. All right And then we go to public
- comment do we have any public comment this evening? No There's nobody online though. Okay. All right
- and anyone here in person don't see anyone unknown, okay
- Alright and then back to Tim for any final announcements. I will be as expedient as possible I know
- we're a little over time that what happens when we combine a couple months worth into one So thank you
- to everyone for being flexible. I want to recognize this was the first month of our new More digitally
- accessible board packet process. Hopefully it went well if board members have any feedback about how
- you're accessing items, please let us know we'll continue to evolve this but
- This will help us meet the standards that would have been in effect now, but have been delayed a year
- by the federal government So that said we are still very much working towards digital accessibility
- and being ready for all of this Super busy time of year. This is the time of year where we really get
- stretched thin excessive growth pools things breaking leaking
- Messes vandalism. This is the peak time of year. So kudos to all staff who are trying to keep up You
- know, we're working on the Frank Southern ice arena. We actually met with the US EPA today They were
- in town to follow up on the leak incident in March had a really good meeting with them out of Chicago
- We're gonna be meeting and talking tomorrow about next steps with Mills pool What are our options now
- that we've had this leak detection company out? What can we do?
- Obviously, we already kind of got to some of the facility master plan stuff I was talking about so a
- lot more to come on that But we will inquire about the Mills renovation thing with ratio and bring that
- back Sycamore shelter also got quite hit by that large burrow tree The good news is we were able to
- reopen the main part of the shelter likely for this weekend for our rentals We're working on cleaning
- it up this week insurance adjusters coming out to take a look at
- It will be some time before we are able to reconstruct and I say reconstruct not repair reconstruct
- the south end of the shelter because It was pretty well obliterated Big event Tuesday market starts
- tomorrow. Come on out. We'd love to see you that we'd love to see anyone there Performing art series
- Leslie touched on it lots of things going on Shakespeare Brian concert movies first grand balloon concert
- on the 20th Fourth of July parades happening. We've got pollinator week a lot of activities happening
- for that June 21st to 28th
- Can share more about that an email and our next meeting I can confirm as of tonight We will update the
- calendar officially will be July 23rd at 5 p.m I need to work on confirming a room and location because
- council chambers was taken We'll take the date. We found a consensus. We'll figure out the room. So
- thank you everyone for everything tonight
- Remind me the escape room is this weekend, right? RCA bar RCA Park there I believe this weekend Friday
- is full but there are spots available on Saturday and then next weekend I think Friday has spots available
- Friday and Saturday both I think have some spots available But yes this Friday and Saturday and next
- at RCA Park All right, thank you to everyone on staff and I
- And with that I'll adjourn the June meeting of the Bloomington Board of Park commissioners. Thank you. Thanks