Horner Park Advisory Council
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm by President Peter Schlossman. The meeting was at the Horner Park Field House and a quorum was determined to be present.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the September 2012 meeting were approved, with changes.
Election of Officers
President: Peter Schlossman
Vice-President: Larry Brown
Co-Secretary: Sarah Reiser, Lisa Cleveland
Treasurer: Kevin Anderson
Report of the Treasurer
MB checking 5,493.31
MB savings 14,862.95
Paypal 398.58
Total $20,754.84
No significant changes since last month; all accounts are reconciled.
River Front
Nicole Roach of the Army Corps of Engineers has reported that there is currently no funding for this project, but it is in the pipeline. At this time, there is no real urgency to obtain funding. The Army Corps of Engineers is looking at improvements on the west side of the river.
Openlands has a proposal to restore native habitat, which includes removal of invasive plants, on both sides of the river. There was discussion on how best to coordinate these efforts.
Dog Friendly Area
Erica Beutler spoke with Janice Taylor against grass area dog parks. The cost for a .1-.7 acre field starts at $150,000 using an approved surface. This is much smaller than the proposed grass dog park of almost 2 acres.
Peter recommended that the dog park committee re-meet to figure out a new strategy.
Erica Beutler will talk to the alderman.
Garden Committee
Ann Rozman is planning to plant the Liz Freese Memorial tree this fall.
A permit from the Bureau of Forestry is being obtained.
Website Committee
Sarah is taking over maintenance of the website. She would like to migrate from Joomla to WordPress.
John O’Connell enthusiastically complimented Rachael Brown for updating the website and helping with the email solicitations. Rachael also updated the look of the email, which incorporated the new logo.
At motion was passed authorizing Sarah to spend up to $50 for development of a WordPress theme for the new website.
Park Briefs
Buffalo Park No Report
Sunken Gardens
More landscaping is being done. They area will be cleaned and thinned-out and mulch will be added. The work is being coordinated by Luke Ross; he is encouraging community involvement. He plans to communicate with Bogdan and Bogdan for their input.
Luke and nine neighbors got together to discuss the direction for improvement. A Girl Scout Troop, plus parents and leaders, have volunteered to help. The initial focus will be on bulbs and the planters. The event is November 3 at 10am. Luke asked Tom if he could borrow rakes and other tools.
A question was raised about the sign saying the park closes at 10pm instead of 11pm like most other parks. Tom explained that he had been receiving several emails a week complaining about young people making noise in the park. These neighbors requested an early closing, and a sign was erected. Now, some neighbors with legitimate park activities are opposed to the sign. One individual was questioned by the police while doing astronomy activities. Peter suggested contacting the neighbors who asked for the early closing and letting them know of the negative effect on other neighbors. Tom suggested getting permits for larger activities.
Ravenswood Manor Park
There are dead branches of the ash tree hanging over the play lot.
The bollard has been removed.
John O’Connell has been adding to the branch fence, wiring it up. He also watered the new trees.
John O’Connell suggested that the low branch the the children bounce on should be removed.
Jacob
Neighbors still have a lot of interest in the CTA land. Ben Ranney is asking for suggestions from HPAC on how to further pursue this issue. Tom suggested that they look at Revere Park and develop a cost and timeline proposal, by concentrating on the Jacob Play Lot.
Horner Park
McFetridge has been privatized. Staff has been absorbed into the north sites. The park owns the building, but skating, tennis, and other activities will be run by a private commission. One of the staff has been transferred to Horner Park.
Tom is meeting with someone this week regarding the wood shop.
A high school, decorative arts program using metal and wood will be held in the wood shop. Various schools, including Roosevelt, Lane, and Lakeview will be invited. The maximum class size is 30; specific details, such as hours and days of week, are still under consideration.
We have a new, full time instructor. She will be responsible for teaching many of the classes.Mike Mackey is full-time at Horner; previously she worked here and at Portage. The lounge on the 2nd floor is now a pre-school classroom.
There have been two groups removing invasive species. 80 people, Friends of the River, trimmed along the river, almost to Irving Park. Previously, a consulting company came with 25 people and basically removed debris.
Garbage is supposed to be picked up by the city, but the bins must be move to the curb. Tile mosaics have been added to the front steps. The bio project received 15 loads that were spread over the grass fields.
New Business
Oct 20: Pumpkin Patch at Horner Park, 10am – 2pm
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm. The next meeting is November 5 at 7:00 Horner Park Field House.
Attendance
Peter Schlossman – President, Kevin Anderson – Treasurer, Lisa Cleveland – Co-Secretary, John Bernbom, John O’Connell, Rachael Brown, Tom McManamon, Alan Mueller, Erica Beutler, Theresa Hicks, Sarah Reiser, Luke Ross, Patrick Monaghan, Diane Sutliff, and Ben Ranney.
Respectfully submitted: Lisa Cleveland, Co-Secretar
