STILL TALKING ABOUT TURF

The March 16 Regular Board Meeting of the Glen Ellyn Park District Board of Commissioners was called to order at 7:00 PM. Those in attendance included Mary Lou Lowry, an Observer from the Glen Ellyn League of Women Voters, former Park Board Commissioner Jeff Jourdan and Kathy Cornell, a Director for Citizens for Glen Ellyn Preservation. The Daily Herald and Glen Ellyn News were also in attendance.

The Consent Agenda including January and February Meeting Minutes, Pay Request #15 in the amount of $398,973.35 for construction costs related to the Ackerman Sports and Fitness Center along with the Voucher List of Bills totaling $633,868.88. The Consent Agenda passed unanimously with a motion made by Commissioner Melissa Creech and seconded by Commissioner Sandra Minogue.

Within this Meeting was a Public Hearing on the Amended 2009 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance. This Ordinance has been on display since January 19 for citizen input. This Budget has been approved by the Board and has been filed with the County. No one in the audience chose to comment on this Ordinance. Although some Commissioners voted against the Budget and the Ordinance in the past, this Amended 2009 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance passed unanimously with a motion made by Commissioner Bill Dallman and seconded by Commissioner Melissa Creech.

During Unfinished Business the discussion continued with regards to the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Glen Ellyn Park District and District 87 regarding Artificial Turf at Memorial Field. This latest version of the agreement was emailed to the Commissioners at 1:00 PM. Due to the lack of time the Commissioners had to review, Board President Ed Hess suggested placing this on the Agenda for the April 6 Workshop Meeting.

There is already a Special Board Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, March 23 at 3:00 PM to review bids and award the contract for the Virginia Graeme Baker Act renovations at Sunset Pool. In accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act the Agenda will be posted on the Glen Ellyn Park District website 48 hours in advance of the meeting and a notice will be placed in the newspaper. The Virginia Graeme Baker Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007 and established that all public swimming pools have anti-entrapment drains and/or devices installed. This is an American federal law.

Commissioner Sandra Minogue asked if the District 87 Intergovernmental Agreement could be addressed at the Special Meeting on March 23. The Board agreed to discuss the Baker Act and possibly discuss the Intergovernmental Agreement with District 87 at this Special Meeting.

Resident Thomas Waters approached the Board to state his continued opposition to artificial turf at Memorial Field and stated that artificial turf is not environmentally friendly. Mr. Waters thanked Commissioner Creech for emailing him the latest copy of the District Intergovernmental Agreement and proceeded to offer his advice and counsel to the Board point by point on many aspects of the proposal. No one else present in the audience had the opportunity to view this latest proposal Mr. Waters was referring to.

The Board and Park District Counsel Steve Adams discussed the timeline required for the Commissioners to send their comments and recommendations back to Counselor Adams. They also discussed the timeline with the District 87 Board. Upon reaching a consensus with all deadlines in mind, Mr. Waters again approached the Board to state his continued opposition to Artificial Turf at Memorial Field.

The Board addressed the Glen Ellyn Park Districts Environmental Policy and 2010 District Goals. Superintendent of Parks Dave Scarmardo mentioned that the previous policy adopted in 2009 was very basic. This revised policy can be found on pages 45-54 of the Board Packet for this meeting on www.gepark.org and is considerably more detailed than the original Environmental Policy.

During the discussion of the Glen Ellyn Park District’s Environmental Policy, Mr. Thomas Waters again approached the Board to state his continued opposition to Artificial Turf at Memorial Field. Resident Mark Dorn addressed the Board with concerns that Mr. Waters’s comments were vague and Mr. Dorn hopes that these comments do not dissuade the Board from entering into the Intergovernmental Agreement with District 87.
Mr. Dorn further remarked that artificial turf is being environmental as it is made from recycled rubber, and does not require the use of water and fertilizers.

The Board adjourned into Executive Session at 8:04 PM and re-convened into Open Session at 8:39 PM. The Agenda item Construction Management Fee Recap was addressed. A Change Order for the Ackerman Sports and Fitness Center was questioned by Commissioner Creech. In question were the additional charges by PBS, Professional Building Services. The original price bid by PBS was changed and approved by the Board of Directors on January 19 since the size of the building changed. It was commented that the confusion was the result of this change being classified as a Change Order, when in fact it should have been referred to as a Scope of Services Change.

Additional clarifications regarding payments to PBS were provided by Superintendent of Finance Laurie Woods. Superintendent Woods defined budget amounts for reimbursable expenses which seemed to be the main source for the questions and confusion regarding PBS. Reimbursable expenses for the Ackerman facility included dumpsters and port-a-lets which were paid for by the Glen Ellyn Park District in the Pay Requests approved by the Board throughout the construction process.

Superintendent Woods also provided an update on the Districts annual audit. The audit is performed by independent auditors. Woods further stated that they review in detail every bill over $5,000.00 and were requested to specifically check the numbers for the Ackerman Sports and Fitness Center. Some of the preliminary work is complete, however they need the Amended 2009 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance which the Board passed earlier in the evening to continue.

The meeting adjourned at 9:09 PM.

There is a Special Board Meeting of the Glen Ellyn Park District Board of Commissioners scheduled for Tuesday, March 23 at 3:00PM. This meeting will be held at the Spring Avenue Recreation Center (SARC) 185 Spring Avenue. As with all meetings, the public is invited and welcome to attend.

The next Workshop Meeting of the Glen Ellyn Park District is scheduled for Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 7:00 PM. The meetings are held at the Spring Avenue Recreation Center (SARC) 185 Spring Avenue. As with all meetings, the public is invited and welcome to attend.