Horner Park Advisory Council
Meeting Minutes
Larry Brown, as President, presiding, called the meeting to order at 7:38 PM. Kevin Anderson acted as Secretary for this meeting. See roster below for attendance.
Previous Minutes: The minutes of the July 2008 meeting were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: The account balances are $23,454.57 in checking and $13,438.17 in savings, and both accounts reconcile. There are no outstanding checks for concert series talent. Tom McManamon has received a quote for the gym mat to be paid for from the Friends of the Parks grant.
Council Business: Nominations were solicited for the new term of officers to be voted on at next month’s meeting. The following slate was nominated and passed unanimously:
- President: Larry Brown
- Vice President: John Lyman
- Treasurer: Thadeus Kosmider
- Co-Secretaries: Kevin Anderson and Peter Schlossman
Announcements: The Pumpkin Patch will be held on September 27th at 10am. Friends of the Park’s meeting for advisory councils will be on September 22 at around 5:30pm. Over 700 people attend the Advisory Council Appreciation Day event.
Concert Committee: The committee will meet in January, if not sooner. The speakers need servicing, but it’s not know if they will be redone next year. The Friday night programs in Horner Park were awesome. The higher attendance this year did not translate into increased donations.
Garden Committee: No report.
Web Site: The paypal email works.
Volunteer Committee: No report.
Park Briefs:
Horner Park: There has been tree damage from the recent storms, especially split trees; Forestry has been out. Horner has received 14 new trees, and has lost seven or eight.
The bathrooms in the little field house are holding up pretty well, but a better way needs to be found to keep the women’s bathroom clean. Tom McManamon would like to have the bathroom floors repainted each year. John Lyman expressed disappointment that the field house was not tuckpointed as part of the renovation project.
Securing funds to complete the parking lot project is in the works. To date they have resurfaced 25% of the surface and some spot paving, improved the sewers and installed ADA-compliant curbs and gutters.
Ravenswood Manor Park: The grapevine fence needs repair work. It was suggested that north most planter box be relocated into the center of the grass area to deter soccer playing there. The pergola needs re-staining; the original stain used was Navajo Red.
Jacob Park: The hornet problem was addressed by spraying and digging. It was noted that the people living next to the park are having the problem too.
Buffalo Park: The project remains at an impasse, and no funds will be disbursed to the Park District until their matching funds they originally promised materialize. We are awaiting a response from the Park District and the alderman’s office to account of how the estimated $28,000-60,000 will be spent. Concern was expressed that the ongoing city budget negotiations are taking precedence over other activities.
Sunken Garden Park: The two dead parkway trees remain. An outside contractor (Autumn Tree Care Experts) gave Kevin an estimate of $525 to remove them and grind out the stumps. The benches have been repaired, and Tom McManamon has asked about getting their concrete supports re-set to a more comfortable angle.
Baseball: The HPBA has not completed their season yet. The HPBA’s fundraising ad book has brought in a good amount of money for their program. It was reported that an HPBA Treasurer allegedly stole $25,000 to $30,000 from their accounts, and that an arrest has been made. Tom McManamon has reported that there have been complaints about the program. There have been meetings and discussion about HPBA’s request to extend the hours for the ballfield lights, but there has been no change to the existing policy.
Other business: Planning is underway for another baseball clinic this winter. It will be earlier than it was last year.
Tom McManamon suggested the idea of a concert in the gym as a fundraiser, with a kids party in the basement.
New Business: B. Tersch brought concerns about the fencing of the CTA property adjacent to Jacob Park. Defoliation by workers has exposed the lot and the unsightly chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.
A motion to have HPAC act as fiscal agent for a Softball Tournament for the Horner Park leagues to be played held on October 4th was passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM.
The next regular HPAC meeting will be held Monday Oct. 6 at 7:00 PM at Horner Park.
Respectfully submitted: Kevin Anderson
Roster of those in Attendance: Larry Brown, President; John Lyman, Vice President/Co-Treasurer; Thadeus Kosmider, Co-Treasurer; Peter Schlossman, Co-Secretary; Kevin Anderson, Co-Secretary; Tom McManamon, CPD; John O’Connell, Alan Mueller, B. Tersch
