The village of Godfrey Parks and Recreation Committee met July 8 to examine the Family Fun Fest firework snafu.
Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the committee:
"The Godfrey Parks and Recreation board serves in an advisory capacity to the Parks and Recreation Department. The board meets at 8:30 a.m. on the second Friday of each month at the village hall."
Village of Godfrey Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes July 8, 2016
Members Present: Trustee Eldon Williams, Ford Green, Max Heinz, Jess Woodman, Mark Lorch, Craig Rathgeb, Rob Hasse, Kimberly Caughran-Director of Parks and Recreation, Jim Lewis- Director of Parks Maintenance, Jessica Wiedman-Recreation Supervisor, and Angela Bosoluke- Administrative Assistant
Members Absent: Norma Glazebrook, Chairman Mike Walters, and Trustee Sarah Johnes
No Public Comments
Rob Hasse called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Rob introduced Craig Rathgeb as the new member of the committee replacing Don Long.
Jess Woodman made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 10, 2016 meeting minutes as written. Mark Lorch seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Kimberly Caughran reported she had checked with Fred Whitworth regarding the proposed Veteran’s Memorial and Fred stated he had not yet met with a repairman for estimates on the fountain, but stated the cost would be under $10,000.00. Jim Lewis commented the fountain has not worked in 15 years. The committee stated they would need some specific numbers presented before considering a recommendation to the Village Board. The committee agreed to table the issue until next meeting for more accurate numbers from Mr. Whitworth.
Kimberly Caughran reported she had met with a representative from Musco Lighting in regards to ball field lighting. She stated the representative suggested the use of LED light source which is more expensive, but is coming down in price. Kimberly also reported that she had met with an Ameren representative who stated the electrical transformer is there and underused, and was told single-phase could be used instead of three-phase wiring. The Ameren representative stated a commercial electrician would be needed to install the required system. Kimberly is to meet with a commercial electrician to get estimates. Jim Lewis stated 480 is used at original Glazebrook Park and has good usage. Kimberly Caughran stated $170,000 has currently been received from the video gaming monies and she is currently looking into the Baseball Tomorrow Grant from MLB and stated the preferred vendor for the lighting is Musco Lighting which has a 25 year maintenance program. She continued Ameren also has a commercial grant and she will further investigate this option as well. She stated $5-$7,000 is currently being received monthly from the gaming funds. The committee discussed which fields to be lit and suggested the smaller, new fields be lit first due to greater usage and Jessica Wiedman stated the newer, smaller fields need to be addressed to make more playable, better dirt in order to hold the rainfall and then address the larger, Field A. Max Heinz commented on the limited use of Field A due to the grass infield and Craig Rathgeb stated the way in which the field was laid out because the sun is in the pitcher’s eyes and batter’s eyes. Kimberly stated the IDNR required the angle of the fields at the time of the design due to the funds provided by the OSLAD grant. He suggested removing the grass in order to expand the use of this field. Rob Hasse suggested installing turf on field A to increase revenue and also use as a soccer field which would increase the use of the lighting, which would make it more plausible. He commented travel teams would rent this space. The committee agreed to table this issue until the next meeting. Kimberly will meet with a commercial electrician and Rob will get information on turf.
Jim Lewis reported the parks maintenance staff had been busy with preparation for the Fourth of July event and stated the exiting from the parks following the event went well. He commented they were short one police officer, but handled the flow of traffic well. He stated the crew has been busy weeding and mowing the park facilities. Max Heinz questioned the drainage at Homer Adams Park and Kimberly stated the drainage is tied into the farmer’s field adjacent to the park.
Jessica Wiedman reported the tee-ball and pitching machine baseball leagues had finished for the season with medals distributed at the Family Fun Festival. She continued that currently the office is accepting registrations for the youth soccer league, fall rookie soccer, rookie baseball session C, British Soccer Camp, and the July tennis clinic. Jessica continued the Little League tournaments will begin tomorrow in hopes to be completed by July 20th, weather permitting. She stated a Marquette High School softball camp will be held in July, a Marquette High School baseball camp, and the Ozzie Smith baseball camps.
Jessica reported she had spoken with representatives from other parks departments regarding the power caps on ball fields for the pitching machines and no one really has a good way of covering the power supply. She stated Jerseyville uses power from the backstop and runs the cord through the middle of the field for pitching machine games. Alton has theirs on the backstop and in the middle of the field on some, and does not cover the caps. Roxana just installed power on their fields this year and has it at 45 feet-in ground and do not have anything covering it, with no problems thus far. She commented that she likes Roxana’s set up at 45 feet, back far enough to not interfere with the pitcher, but commented there is no standard for this issue stating covering the power is the best way although the caps are an issue. Max Heinz suggested the caps be flush with the ground, to avoid tripping. Jessica commented fields #1 & #2 are not an issue, because those fields are primarily used for pitching machine games, with fields B, C, & D used for older age baseball and softball. She stated when the individuals came to look at the fields for tournament rental they expressed concerns with no lighting and the power caps on the fields. Jim Lewis commented that James Fowler, Maintenance Supervisor had expressed concern when putting the caps flush with the ground there would be difficulty getting to the power, with dirt building up around the caps. Jim recommended the lines be extended and spliced and made flush with the ground and have a wrench accessible in the event the power is tripped and must be re-set. Jess Woodman suggested the power outlet be placed in the ground with the gfi located away from the ground to avoid exposure of the gfi to the elements, similar to the way a boat dock is set up. Jim Lewis stated these outlets are not gfi but a special type of electrical outlet, which was recommended by the electrician who designed
the electrical at the time the fields were built. Fields 1 & 2 is sourced by a breaker box inside the concession stand. Jim suggested building a type of drywell with gravel to avoid moisture build-up underground and re-wire these outlets to remedy the issues with the caps. The committee agreed to have Jim Lewis investigate the best method to remedy the situation and report back to the committee. Craig Rathgeb commented that the soccer goals are not anchored down and had turned over in the weather. Kimberly Caughran stated these should be secured and she will address this issue. Jim commented the goals were previously anchored down with rebar and when kids move the goals, the rebar is thrown into the field and then the mowers hit it and damage the blades.
Kimberly Caughran reported the Family Fun Fest was held on Monday, July 4, 2016 with a snafu occurring with the fireworks in which the company shot off the finale at the beginning of the show. She stated the technician immediately contacted her and stated they were aware of the mistake and apologized and the company stated they would perform two finales during next year’s show. She stated the festival ran very well with only a minor rainfall during set up of the event and no parking issues to report. She stated there were four police officers, two at Stamper and Godfrey Road and two at Stamper and Pierce Lane and should have had another officer at the entrance/exit to Glazebrook Park. She stated this change will be made for next year’s event. She continued the event kicked off with a bike parade and decorating contest, Baseball awards ceremony, watermelon eating contest, Jim Mager playing music, face painting, balloons, cow train, and climbing wall. Knockerball was also an activity which was well received at a cost of $5 for 5 minutes. Max Heinz suggested the fireworks company add additional time onto the display increasing to twenty minutes instead of fifteen and Kimberly stated the display was supposed to be twenty minutes, but she instructed the technician to begin at 9:15 pm and end at 9:30 p.m. She stated she will talk to the company to extend the timeframe next year.
Max Heinz inquired if the bike route for the triathlon will be along Airport Road and Kimberly stated they will leave Glazebrook Park and proceed down Stamper to Pierce, then Airport Road, and back to Glazebrook. Max Heinz offered his driveway as a rest stop/aid station for the bikers. Kimberly stated the newer lake at Glazebrook will be used for the swimming portion of the competition and the 5K run portion will be within Glazebrook Park on the trail.
Kimberly reported the second movie night will be held tonight showing Minions. She commented Homer Adams Park is still not in good shape and the weather and the equipment needs to cooperate in order to get this job done. She continued the Maze design was announced at Family Fun Fest and is Happy Birthday Godfrey, celebrating Godfrey’s 25th birthday, with the maze opening on September 2nd at 6 pm with a birthday party celebration. Kimberly also reported a KidCation event will be held on August 3rd from 10-4 pm at Glazebrook Park in coordination with the Godfrey Fire Department and the Alton Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for children grades K-5th. She continued that sponsorship applications have been sent to St. Anthony’s Medical Center and WalMart to fund back-to-school supplies and supplies for the event.
Kimberly reported a survey is currently available on the Village website for the Bike & Pedestrian Plan to get feedback and she distributed a paper survey for the members to complete. She stated the surveys will be available at the movie nights and Mark Lorch commented Riverbender had published an article on the survey. She continued the open house event is scheduled for September and members will be needed to serve on a committee to develop the plan.
No public comments.
Ford Green commented that he has served on this committee since its inception and stated he will continue to come to the meetings, but will possibly leave if there is a quorum stating he feels he is not useful to the committee. The Mayor commented that he welcomes Ford’s input and feels good knowing that Ford agrees and/or disagrees with ideas/concerns brought to the committee. Kimberly Caughran stated Ford came up with the idea to hang flags along Godfrey Road, the cow train was Ford’s idea, and the ball program is what it is because of Ford. The committee agreed to keep Ford Green on as a committee member. Rob Hasse made motion to keep Ford on the committee, Jess Woodman seconded. Motion passed.
There being no further business, Max Heinz made motion to adjourn the meeting and Jess Woodman seconded motion. Motion passed and at 9:25 am the meeting adjourned.
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