Horner Park Advisory Council
Meeting Minutes
John Lyman as Vice President, presiding, called the meeting to order at 7:12 PM. Kevin Anderson acted as Secretary for this meeting. Introductions were made. See roster below for attendance.
Previous Minutes: Approval of the minutes of the previous meetings will be conducted on-line.
Treasurer’s Report: John Lyman, acting as Treasurer, distributed the JPMorgan bank statements showing $4,557.54 in checking, $33,360.37 in savings, for a total of $47,897.91. John didn’t present any income and balance statements as he is in the process of redoing them.
John will reapply for the state monument grant.
John explained the state’s letter refusing tax exemption status.
Announcements: Programs begin next week, mostly full but there are some openings left.
Sarah Faber’s program is moving to Horner Park almost exclusively.
Horner Park will be visited by Target Teams for cleaning this month.
The Pumpkin Patch will be held on October 6.
Concert Committee: No report.
Garden Committee: Susie Novak has completed 324 hours of an expected 500 total for the year.
Web Site: Greater independence on updating the website is sought.
Volunteer Committee: Kitty brought a printout of Service Learning coordinators and will email the Excel spreadsheet for further reference.
Park Briefs:
Horner Park: The California parking lot repaving project is waiting for pricing, and is contingent on a notice to proceed. This is expected to take two weeks. The sewer work has apparently fixed the problem with standing water. It isn’t known if the project will include new curbs as well.
Supplies for the little fieldhouse renovation project have been ordered. Work is expected to start at the end of September, after the HPBA season has ended. Tuckpointing in included, as well as a new water heater. Any more info in this would be appreciated.
Blueprints are in for the big fieldhouse’s bathroom renovation. There will be doors, a no reduction in the number of toilets, and Kitty is hopeful they will also install new sinks.
John Lyman brought two undated letters from Timothy M. King, Director, External Affairs Dept. for CPD. The letters listed the state money allocated for the park.
The issue of trash can placement was discussed.
The ballfield renovation project is finished, so no further reshaping of fields is expected. Issues related to holes and the changing contours of the diamonds resulting for the dragging of the infields were brought up. A dedication ceremony is still planned.
Complaints about the use of air horns during games were raised. Policing of the problem by HPBA was mentioned as a possibility to improve the situation.
There is a growing problem with homeless guys near the fieldhouse, and human waste has been found in the natural gardens. There was a call for volunteers to attend the park’s CAPS beat meetings to get this problem on their hot sheet.
It was reported that Larry Brown has contact and phone number for staying informed on the expected underbridge connector.
Jake as the plaque for the Horner monument and will reattach it.
Ravenswood Manor Park: Reseeding starts tomorrow. Suzie reported on the malicious destruction done to her recent plantings in the native garden. Several ideas for thwarting further abuse of this area were broached.
Jacob Park: CPD is waiting for release from the CTA of their adjacent work area, but the site must be cleaned up before any transfer will take place.
Buffalo Park: John O’Connell had two meetings in August with Chris Gentis and Matt Marino on the project. John O’Connell would like The Council’s input at the next meeting regarding the options for materials.
Sunken Garden Park: no report.
Flag pole: Kevin has learned from Tim in Ald. O’Connors office that the flagpole at the old Foster Ave. station is no longer available – the prospective new occupants now want to keep it. A target date for a plan presentation was set for January-February.
Other business: None.
New Business: A repeat of last year’s Executive Committee Visioning Session and a resulting statement is expected.
No other business presented, the meeting adjourned at 9:02 PM
Next meeting: Monday, October 1 at 7 PM at Horner Park
Respectfully submitted: Kevin Anderson
Roster of those in Attendance: John Lyman, Vice President; Kevin Anderson, Co-Secretary; Pete Schlossman, Co-Secretary; Larry Hodak, Alan Mueller, Susie Novak, Kitty Connelly Gale, CPD.
