Horner Park Advisory Council
Meeting Minutes
February 6, 2017
Attendees:
Peter Schlossman, President
Gretchen Helmreich
Jackie Aguilar
Alan Mueller, RMIA
Aliza Becker
Lara Prestipono
Allison Chapin
Carol Maher
Amy Jahnke, Co-Secretary
Deb Groh, CPD
John O’Connell
Diane Sutliff, Co-Secretary
John Friedman
January minutes were approved with minor change regarding Dog Friendly Area.
Treasurer’s Report
Kevin, our acting Treasurer, was absent but sent this info:
MB Checking 8,599.57
MB Savings 44,737.96
Paypal. 13,881.60
Total. 67,219.13
All accounts reconcile with QuickBooks.
We still need to update signature cards at the bank and resolve sales tax exempt status. HPAC can continue to work with Friends of the Parks when making large purchases.
Farmer’s Market – Gretchen Helmreich
This will be the fourth year of the HP Farmer’s Market. Applications have gone out to vendors. There will be 20 market dates this year and we will have the same layout and variety as last year. The HPAC Farmer’s Market received Time Out Chicago’s Award for “Retail”? Volunteers are always needed to work the market, shifts are short!
(Saturday Yoga in the Park in the summer is not affiliated with the Farmer’s Market. If the program is expanded to include teachers from multiple studios, each studio will need to get a permit or HPAC can be the organizer and can get a permit for the program.)
Concert Committee – John O’Connell.
Season schedule is set. Friday June 9 is the first concert date. Last show Aug 18. Wide variety of acts scheduled. A budget was approved of approx $15,200, with the same amount in projected sponsorship income. With an eye toward electronic fundraising, John still gets best results with flyers and direct mail. Committee heads who are soliciting donations might want to coordinate lists to see how much we are approaching the same neighbors for every event. Feb 26 is envelope-stuffing day for the direct mail campaign. Flyers will be ready by the next HPAC meeting for distribution.
HornerFest – John Friedman
HornerFest is scheduled for July 15. Movie and band must be chosen soon so they can be included in printed and other promotional material. Discussions continue for choice of film and band. Research continues on beer sales and a tent. John is looking for additional neighbors to join the committee. Next meeting is March 2. Location TBD. The schedule for the new bike path connector is uncertain, which will be in the middle of the Fest footprint.
Dog Friendly Area
Concept plan was reviewed last month by Erika, and she suggested looking at the plan afresh. The plan as presented does not meet the designated needs of the dog community and requests a revisiting. Alderman Mell is also advocating for a fresh look with CPD at plans for this space. Park District approved the larger size.
Website Committee – no report
New Business
Ecuadorian Fest
Jackie Aguilar, whose family has been organizing the Ecuadorian Fest for years attended to present ideas for a new plan for the fest, scheduled for August 5 and 6 and 7, 2017. In previous years, the parade portion of the Festival began at California and Montrose and marched west on Montrose to Kimball. Jackie presented the idea of reversing the path of the parade and marching to Horner instead. Last year, the festival portion of the weekend was held at Milwaukee and Lawrence at the Copernicus Center. This year she asked HPAC to consider having the festival portion at Horner Park, and expanding the festival to two days. The festival would be in the parking lot, it would be fenced off and there would be an admission fee. Potentially there will be rides for the first time, but certainly food, alcohol and merchandise vendors and music acts. The set up would be on Friday, the festival would run Saturday and Sunday and the break down would be completed Sunday night. Projected attendance of 6000 to 7000 people. Concerns were raised about parking for residents during the festival since street parking would be compromised, parking for attendees of the festival and parking for park users during the festival (weekend sports games would be scheduled as always). Horner Park West neighbors meet this week and can discuss the impact on the neighborhood.
Stewardship Committee
Neighbors Allison Chapin, Aliza Becker and Lara Prestipino presented ideas to tap the neighborhood dog walkers into a stewardship role by helping pick up trash, dog waste and generally help create a sense of ownership among park users. John O’Connell encouraged them to join the Stewardship Committee and establish a subcommittee for the dog walkers and all agreed to come up with meeting dates.
Earth Day Cleanup is scheduled for April 22.
Park Briefs:
Horner Park:
- 1027 people enrolled in winter programs, which places Horner in the top 20 of park participation in the city!
- Water fountains in the park have been turned off for the duration because of high lead levels. They will not be turned back on until that is fixed.
- There are damaged park benches along path.
- Valentines Dance will be held on Feb 10th.
- Park Advisory Council Conference will be at Malcom X College on Feb 25.
- Park Advisory Council annual report is due on Feb 15.
- Lunch with the Easter Bunny is scheduled for April 15, 11-1 for egg hunt and lunch, 1-3 for doggy egg hunt.
- John Friedman is in contact with Andrew Hart, liaison with US Department of Forestry to designate Horner Park as an Ash tree sanctuary. Part of this process might include a new tree inventory as well.
- Stargazing is scheduled for July 12 as part of Night Out in the Parks.
Manor Park: grassy lawn in Eastwood area needs reseeding and soil augmented and park bench needs replacing.
Jacob Playlot – no report
Sunken Garden – no report
Buffalo Park – no report
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Sutliff
Co-Secretary
