With a quorum of three board members, the Peotone Park District discussed a variety of items pertaining to park programming and operations at its monthly meeting. President Barb Sim, Vice President Shaun Ziems, and Treasurer Aimee Saari were present to move agenda items along. Parks Manager Kelly LaMore was also present.
The board discussed its visit to the Illinois Association of Park Districts Conference, with LaMore reporting she attended sessions on difficult conversations with staff, finance for recreation leaders, and safety and board policy manuals.
LaMore indicated she felt the sessions were informative and gave her action items to complete, including creating a safety and board policy manual.
The board reviewed the agreement with the Peotone Baseball Softball Association (PBSA). It made some minor changes regarding access to concessions and bathrooms, which the PBSA has not utilized in the past. The agreement will need to be finalized before the spring season can begin.
Another spring preparation item the board discussed at length was the port-a-potties available to the general public, park attendees, and sports teams that utilize the park district’s fields. The board discussed their port-a-potty vendor options, the demand for porta-potties and how many are needed, the cost of the porta-potties, and whether extra cleanings or additional port-a-potties should be included in the PBSA agreement. Ultimately, extra cleanings were included as an option for the PBSA to request at their cost; no changes were made to the amount of port-a-potties rented at the meeting.
Programming Updates
The spring programming guide will be mailed within the next couple of weeks. LaMore advised the website currently has significant issues, specifically with registration, and they have been working with Chris Russell, who maintains the website, to try to address the problems before spring registration.
Sim advised that during the IAPD conference, she attended a seminar on Wits programming for senior citizens and inquired with the Board and Parks Manager if Peotone could implement a program like that. LaMore advised it is a brand new program the park district is offering through Catholic Charities. The first meeting was well-received.
The Wits Workout group is focused on brain health for experienced adults and features puzzles, games, and interactive engagement. The Wits Workout is held on Wednesdays through June 18, from 1 to 2 p.m., at the Peotone Park District. Registration is required, which can be done by calling 815-933-7791 ext. 9910.
LaMore advised that the popular Matter of Balance class previously offered by the Manhattan Fire Protection District through the park district will return. However, due to scheduling conflicts with MFPD, it will be run by a different organization.
The park district will not be moving forward with its Arbor Day cleanup event, as it has not been well-attended in the past few years. Instead, the park district was invited by Jim Williams, from Peotone’s Cornerstone Coffee House, to participate in an Arbor Day event with them, which the park district intends to do. Details are still being formalized.
The Daddy-Daughter Dance will be held on March 14.
The Get Fit women’s group fitness class has been successful and continues to grow. Saari explained it is a 45-minute fitness class that does HIIT workouts, and LaMore advised there have been about five-to-six people attending each class. Soon, the once-per-week class will be increased to twice weekly, with classes held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6 p.m.
Capital Improvements, Maintenance,
The board briefly discussed capital improvement items but ultimately determined it needed to finalize the budget before deciding which to address. The board has a master list of items it’d like to implement eventually, and it will review that list to take action on the most pertinent items after the budget is completed.
With regard to maintenance items, patching and sanding have been completed in the park’s main room and office. New signs indicating no swimming and skating have been ordered, and pricing was obtained for a pond aerator, which the board determined was unnecessary at this time.
The board is investigating the potential addition of lights at the park along Division Street. They may be able to use the electrical power from the pavilion, but they will work with ComEd to figure that out. Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Eschbach’s report indicated he looked into it but found the park district is not eligible for a free lighting program.
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.
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