Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes - July 1, 2024

Parks & Rec Meeting Minutes
July 1, 2024 @ 7pm

Hybrid meeting was held both via Zoom and in person at the Township building.

• Call to Order
• Attendees
  • Board Members Present: Helen Eckel-Wiener, Anne Duzan, Brett Klukan, Sam Wiener, and Katy Brauchle.
  • Staff Members Present: Abbey Swan and Don Vymazal
  • Guests Present: None
• The Parks and Recreation July 1, 2024 agenda was posted on the Township website and at the township building on July 28, 2024. Agendas were made available to the public at the meeting. The 2024 Parks and Recreation meeting schedule was published in the Daily Local News on December 27, 2024.
• Public Comment
• Minutes Approved – June 2, 2024
• Old business
  • May Clean Up Recap – a small group came out to clean the entrance and exist ramps on Bondsville and the bypass. We did collect a lot of trash but only covered about 20% of the area. We should do this again next year but later in the year because it’s not as overgrown. We definitely need to invest in better grabbers that we bring to each event and collect at the end.
  • Summer Series Recap – Movie Night TMNT – It was a very hot day, but we went through 10 pizzas. Inviting the karate school added to our attendance total – approx. 40-50 attended. St. Joes festival was also that night (the third weekend in June for next year).
  • July Summer Series Update – The Lorax. Kim from One for All will be leading a Lorax craft from 7:30-8:30. We had a long discussion about recycling education and adding it to our events. The group will show up at 6:30 PM for set up.
• New Business
  • Community Day Table – September 7th. We plan to put up tables for coloring Liz’s sheets near the art show. Everyone liked the duck pull, but we need to get a smaller net so that everyone can only get one duck at a time. Abbey will try to get frosty coupons books for one of the prizes and maybe approach the rock store to see if they offer bulk items. Last year we also did candy, hot wheels, and lots of stickers. Helen offered to reach out to the OCHS flea market vendors to see if they want to also attend Community Day.
  • National Night Out planning - Abbey will reserve two tents and three tables for the Parks and Rec coloring area for National Night Out.
  • 2025 Budget Planning – The group brought budget wish list ideas to discuss for 2025.
    • Additional outlet in Pavilion 1
    • Art in the Park for next year – maybe $500 for supplies
    • For Chesco250 Liz suggested a Township story board for Caln’s history. A temporary mural timeline. Brett suggested teaming up with the Historical Commission for this.
    • Brett mentioned budgeting for a consultant to update the existing park plan.
    • New bathrooms!
    • Brett mentioned the sidewalks/paths in Municipal Park which could use to be re-graded.
    • The white gazebo in Lloyd needs a new roof and update.
    • The fence around the volleyball courts needs to be fixed.
    • The paving area near the dog wash needs to be fixed up. Abbey suggested tying it in to the stormwater facility that Ross is working on for the trail.
    • A picnic table for the meadow park and perhaps a small pavilion over it.
    • Additional play equipment at Dawkins
    • Parking spaces at Dawkins (gravel).
    • Art in the Park for adults – painting lessons at historic sites or meadow. Perhaps 3x year including different art forms (photography?).
    • Helen priced out purchasing our own kits for observing pollinators.
    • Some small amenities and signage for the Kings Highway Park (walking trail)
    • Brett suggested budgeting for an update to the 2007 Kings Highway Park master plan.
    • We also discussed parking options for the park.
    • Fishing line waste receptacles for Lloyd Park.
    • Public Works has asked about replacing the swing sets. Abbey will look into it. Anne suggested re-grading if we install new swing sets.
    • The group also agreed to explore new playground equipment to replace the sand box and small basketball hoops in Municipal Park. The sand has been put in the drinking fountain causing it to be turned off. We will explore adding accessible equipment.
    • Brett also spoke about evaluating the possibility of adding disc golf (possibly at Kings Highway Park) and adapting the municipal park hockey rink to a new use.
  • Brett discussed how to communicate the trail plans with dog park users before construction begins.
  • Abbey provided a brief update about the bathroom water leak in the park. The leak seems to be under the ball field parking lot. Public Works will dig up the parking lot next week to see if it can be repaired.
  • Anne provided an update on the urine-tolerant plant trial plantings in Lloyd Park. The plants are doing well! Once they grow a bit, we’ll add some leaf compost.
• Adjournment