Minutes: Park Board: March 2007

City of Evansville, Wisconsin
Park and Recreation Board Regular Monthly Meeting
Evansville City Hall Council Chambers
March 19, 2007

Draft Minutes

1. Call to Order at 6:0 PM and Roll Call: Chair Juergens & members Carlsen, Farnsworth, Jacobson, and Krueger present. Staff members Anderson and Hamacher present. Member Carlsen excused. Member Merritt absent

2. Minutes of February 19, 2007 meeting were unanimously approved on a voice vote.

3. The agenda for this meeting unanimously approved without alteration on a voice vote.

4. Citizen Appearances.
a. Tom Calley of Evansville Community Partnership presented a tentative schedule of events for the Fourth of July celebrations. A large number of events is proposed from July 3 through July 8. July 5 is reserved for events related to the Evansvile Youth Center. He requested that lights and temporary fencing near the upper diamond be provided as they were last year. He reported that ECP is seeking a Parade Coordinator; right now a committee is serving that function.

b. Ben Kraus, 19 W. Church Street, reported that his plans for the Evansville Duathalon on June 2 are proceeding, that he has been in contact with the Public Safety Committee to ensure that runners and cyclists are given appropriate protection on the public streets, etc.

5. S.O.LE. Committee Report
Gib Wiedenhoeft of SOLE reported that the creek through the lake bed is staying in place, not soaking the rest of the bed. SOLE has funding requests in to both Senator Kohl’s and Congresswoman Baldwin’s office.
He also reported that the next SOLE meeting would take place on Wednesday, March 28th, 6 PM at the Library. He invited PRB members to attend.

6. Discussion of Summer Baseball-Softball Policy
a. Melissa Hammann, 250 Eager Ct., had filed a “Citizen Action Request/Complaint” with City Hall on February 28th. This request was referred to the Chair for action. Hammann is dissatisfied with the Little League’s position on 10-year old girls placement. Prior to this meeting, the Chair called Hammann to get more information, and also spoke with Jenny Katzenmeyer who directs the Little League (baseball), and Kathy Hermanson, who directs A League of Their Own (ALTO)(softball). He invited all interested parties to this discussion.
b. The chair recognized Hammann to present her concerns to the PRB as a whole.
i. Hammann has a 10-year old daughter who wishes to play in the American League (AL). The “summer registration and league information flyer” states that American League is for 8,9 and 10 year olds. It does not state that 10-year old girls are to be assigned to ALTO, while boys may play in the AL. Only when Hammann went to register her daughter was she told there is such a requirement, which is noted on the registration form.

ii. Hammann claims that ALTO and AL do not provide equivalent experiences for their players. Only once a week in ALTO, vs. twice a week in AL; many more teams to play against in AL than ALTO; the co-ed nature of AL allows coaches to address gender relationships in a positive manner, and clearly: baseball vs. softball. Further, Hammann claims that the city could be opening itself to possible legal action if it appears there is gender discrimination for 10 year olds in AL. Hammann reports that her daughter tried ALTO in 2005 and had a bad experience, so in 2006 she returned to AL. In 2005 most of ALTO activity was devoted to practice and very little to actually playing games.

c. The chair recognized Kathy Hermanson of ALTO. She provided the Board with a “welcome” notice given to parents and girls who join ALTO. ALTO accepts girls ages 8-11. She also stated that she took over ALTO in 2006 and that the volunteers who assist her are trying to improve the program. She says they are trying to develop softball-specific skills in the girls in anticipation of their going on to competitive softball in a traveling league for older girls and in high-school competition, where girls play only softball. She stated that more time will be devoted to games this year. She also stated that ALTO organizers are committed to providing an experience that is based on feedback from parents as to scheduling and relative emphasis on practices and games. Other ALTO assistants also addressed the board, mostly reiterating points already made.

d. The chair recognized Julie Hermanson (no relation to Kathy) of AWARE. She provided a bit of history of how ALTO was begun with financial support from AWARE. AWARE has a stake in wanting to see ALTO succeed, which can only happen if enough girls are involved.

e. The chair recognized Jenny Katzenmeyer, director of the Little League program, including four leagues for kids of various ages, including AL. She has been directing the program for 13 years. She stated that most boys at age 10 are ready to play in the National League (10,11,12), which is for boys only. So they do. However, some are assigned to AL if they’re new to the program so they don’t have to face live pitching right away. AL uses a pitching machine. She also said that she wants to encourage the growth of ALTO by having as many girls as possible play in that league.

f. There were many questions and answers among board members and citizens concerning the issue of 10-year old girls. Member Farnsworth pointed out that because of possible legal issues involved that perhaps our city attorney’s opinion should be sought before making any decision on this issue. The chair said he would seek such an opinion. With that, the discussion closed, and the chair thanked all the parties who came and spoke.

7. Discussion with representatives of the McKenna School group regarding the skate park.
a. The chair recognized Brandon Frank, a staff member at McKenna Middle School. Frank reported that he was taking on organizing a group of students to revitalize the Evansville Skate Club, with the express goal of creating a healthy skate environment for Evansville youth. This has the support of the school principal, Bob Flaherty. He provided a hand-out to members of the Board, describing possible functions of the club.
b. Frank introduced the officers of the club, who each addressed a particular issue that is of concern:
i. Hunter Brown, President, stated that adult supervision would be an important factor in controlling vandalism, profanity, substance abuse and littering. All of these have been cited as problems at the skate park in 2006. The club wants to establish a contract for skate club members, spelling out rules and consequences of unacceptable behavior. This contract will be approved by the PRB.
ii. Adam George, Vice President, James Cothard, Treasurer and Hunter Palmer Secretary further discussed proposals to deal with specific problems of littering, vandalism, etc. These appear in their handout and are made a part of these minutes. Copies will be available to the public to read at City Hall.
c. There was question/answer and comments among members of the Board, members of the Skate Club, and several other interested parties in attendance, including parents of Club members. Discussion centered on how adult supervision might be provided. It’s going to be volunteers, probably mostly parents, for this season, as there is no city money appropriated to pay any staff. An increased police presence was suggested. David Rossmiller pointed out that parents don’t currently have any “authority” to deal with kids other than their own in a public park. Farnsworth mentioned a general “bullying” issue. It was suggested that use of the park be split up with times for older kids and other times for younger kids. Another idea was to speak with people supervising skate parks in other localities, such as Oregon, where it doesn’t appear that problems such as Evansville is experiencing exist. Tom Cothard, City Council President, pointed out that he had not been in favor of opening a skate park, because he anticipated the problems that in fact have occurred.
d. During the discussion it was clear that members of the Skate Club and their advisor want to address the problems. What is not clear is if they can be successful. No action was taken by PRB on when to re-open the Skate Park this spring. The chair will discuss with Frank further action that the McKenna group might take before a decision is made. This will be on the agenda for the April meeting. The chair thanked all interested parties for coming to the PRB meeting and participating in the discussion.

8. Chair’s report on any actions of City Committees and Common Council on items of interest to PRB:
a. Council adopted by resolution the recently drafted Park and Recreation Board Five Year Plan on March 13th. The Chair will file a copy with the DNR to regain eligibility for grant applications that may be submitted to that agency.
b. At a recent meeting of the Plan Commission, Member Hammann noted that there is a detailed plan, drawn up sometime in the 1990’s, available for a trail along Allen Creek from Leota-Leonard Park to the Main St. bridge over the creek. This plan will be sought out and considered in the future as a possible amendment to the Five Year Plan.

9. Reports/Updates on Pending Park Projects & Maintenance: Park Maintenance Supervisor Ray Anderson
a. Lake Leota Park: improvements to the press-box/concession stand area by the upper diamond are planned. Old refrigerators, etc., have been removed. Replacements are likely to be provided by Evansville Community Partnership. Painting and other refurbishments will be part of an Eagle Scout project organized by Ryan Ammerman.
b. Franklin Park: Discussions are being held with Mr. Kostroun on possible ways to construct the shelter/gateway. Trees and fence already designated for removal will be handled when weather permits.
c. Countryside Park: Restroom construction still on hold because of weather.
d. West Side Park: none
e. other projects, if any: A tree inventory is being conducted in Lake Leota Park. About 60 trees have been removed over the last dozen years, while only 12 have been replanted. Public Works intends to plant about 50 trees this year. Symdon Chevrolet has offered to donate $500 to assist in the cost of some of these trees, specifically those that will be planted to block the view from the swimming pool area to Symdon’s back lot. There was a discussion of possibilities of transplanting trees due to be removed from Main St. during the coming construction. The Chair will discuss this at the next Public Works meeting to determine feasibility.

10. Aquatic Report: Pool Director Rick Hamacher
a. Report on solar-panel project for 2007: The city engineer is in contact with the supplier of the solar panels in order to design the necessary panel supports adequate for the weight of the panels. Project is lower priority than engineer’s work on Main Street reconstruction. Little has changed since the February meeting
b. Summer staff hiring should be complete by March 26th. Lifeguard training for those hired will occur soon.

10. Old Business
a. The chair provided a report concerning the Evansville Soccer Club on its general structure and activities during the previous year for review by the Board prior to the next meeting.

11. New Business
a. The chair provided copies of an email from Jon Frey of Home Talent League Baseball concerning possible short-term and long-term improvements to the upper diamond. Ray Anderson is working with Frey to implement most of the short-term improvements this year, those which will fit within his established budget. Some of the suggested improvements are already done on an annual basis. The long-term improvements involve substantial costs and are not part of the PRB’s existing 5-year plan. Possible amendments to the plan can be considered in early 2008.

b. The chair reported a contact with Primetimers. The organization is considering establishing a garden club. The chair will discuss possibilities of such a club cooperating with the Park Board to enhance and maintain some of the plantings in parks around the city and report back to the Board at the April meeting..

12. Motion to Adjourn (Jacobson, Farnsworth) approved at 7:50 pm.

Minutes drafted by Fred Juergens on March 25, 2007. Minutes are not official until approved at a subsequent meeting of the PRB.