Horner Park Advisory Council
Meeting Minutes
Jerry Giese, President, called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Larry Brown acted as secretary for this meeting. The council welcomes Boy Scout Troop 895, scouts Aaron Esparza, Zach Perkins and Joshua Swider-Rogers who are sitting in on the meeting as part of their achievement program.
Previous Minutes: December minutes were passed unanimously. There was no meeting in January due to weather.
Treasurer’s Report: Elaine Taylor Presented the report based on January figures.
- Checking $ 6,087.43
- Savings 4,158.15
- Total 10,245.58
The new balance shows an increase from a donation form an anonymous donor.
Council Business: Elaine Taylor, Treasurer, presented for archiving the IRS’s previous letters to the council authorizing the not-for-profit status of the council. Jerry Giese updated those in attendance of the impending April election for council officers. The slate is as follows: Larry Brown, President, John O’Connell and Jerry Giese Co-Secretaries, Elaine Taylor, Treasurer. The Vice President position is still open for anyone who is an active member of the council. John Lyman requested that a copy of the council bylaws be distributed to council members. All agreed to have them available for the next council meeting. John Lyman further requested that the previous months minutes to be distributed prior to the councils next months meeting via email. All agreed and so it will be done to the best effort of the secretary presiding over the meetings. A website was discussed and all agree that it is in the best interest of the council but more dialog and a committee will need to be formed to accomplish this endeavor. Once website would be established it was agreed that all previous minutes could be archived for access over the Internet. This motion was tabled for the meeting to be reopened for discussion at a later date.
Announcements: The annual Daddy/Daughter, Mommy/Son Valentine’s Dance will be held Friday February 11th in the Horner Park field house. The annual cleanup of the Henry Horner Memorial Garden will be on April 9th. Volunteers as well as members of the council are asked to report at 9:30am to partake in this annual event. The annual Earth Day Clean UP will be on April 23rd. John O’Connell will be coordinator at Manor Park and Terry Sweeney will be coordinating efforts at Horner Park. Volunteers are asked to report to the parks by 9:00am. The Friends of the Chicago River organization will be holding their River Day on May 14th. Volunteers are asked to visit their website at www.chicagoriver.org or call 312-939-0490 for more information. The annual Horner Park Talent Show will be on April 1st at 7:00pm in the field house. This shows offers a great chance to see how good the Horner Park Staff really is with working with the children.
Concert Committee: The committee will be meeting on February 16th to begin planning the upcoming 11th season. The meeting will establish concert dates and appoint responsibilities for raising funds and producing concerts.
Garden Committee: Susie Novak reported that approval for gardening position has not yet passed. She is still awaiting CPD paperwork to submit for the position. Susie is looking into additional revenue sources such as sponsors to pay for her invaluable gardening work in the parks that the council represents.
Park Briefs: There were no representatives from the CPD in attendance at this meeting.
Horner Park: John Lyman provided the council with the CPD’s proposed 2005 Horner Park Budget. The council reviewed the new changes in the CPD, which has revised the park system from five regions to three. Horner Park now resides Area 4 of the North region. The CPD management for our region is now Matt Moreno, North Region Manager, Dale Marie Grandys, Area 4 Manager and Terry Sweeney, Horner Park Supervisor. There has been a bench with advertising moved into the park from the street parkway during the Irving Park Gateway project, which needs to be relocated out of the park. The council will discuss with Terry Sweeney at the next meeting.
Baseball Fields: John Lyman reported that, although moving slowly, he is still pushing ahead with putting together a viable plan to get more involvement within the baseball and softball park users. John is planning to arrange a meeting with Terry Sweeney to lay groundwork for a plan to succeed in improving the baseball fields.
Ravenswood Manor Park: It was noted that 2-3 park lights are out in the park. John O’Connell volunteered to contact Terry Sweeney to get the lights back on.
Buffalo Park: John O’Connell presented a history and overview of the previously approved plan for a council ring to be constructed in the park. Mike Emerson presented ideas and designs incorporating limestone for the ring and donated pavers for the ground. A capital fundraiser was discussed to raise further funds to the $2,000.00 already budgeted for this project. Mike was to put forth a project budgetary cost estimate at the next meeting. The council will then finalize the plans and approve the budget.
Jacob Park: No Report
Sunken Garden Park: No Report
Horner Park Riverbank Initiative: No Report
Jerry Giese thanked all those in attendance and the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted, Larry Brown
Roster of those in attendance: Jerry Giese, President; ElaineTaylor, Treasurer; Larry Brown, Secretary; Alan Mueller; John O’Connell; Susie Novak; John Lyman; Peter Schlossman; Aaron Esparza; Zach Perkins; Joshua Swider-Rogers
