February 17, 2010
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a
regular Wahpeton Park Board meeting was held on the 17th
of February, 2010 beginning at 5:15 p.m. at the Community Center
at 304 5th Street South in Wahpeton, ND.
Commissioners present:
Wayne
Gripentrog, Max Reinke, Steve Craig, Devry Klocke and Deb
Tobias.
Staff present:
Park Superintendent – John
Dassenko
Park Worker – Russ Robert’
Recreation Superintendent –
LaRee Bumgarner
Director of Parks & Recreation
– Wayne Beyer
Park Board Clerk – Connie
Raguse
Staff absent:
Zoo Director – Kathy Diekman
Also present:
Brad Riely
Mike Van Eps
Brandon L. Summers – Daily News
Meeting was called to order by President
Wayne Gripentrog.
Motion by Max Reinke, seconded by Steve
Craig to approve the minutes of the January 20th and January 29th
meetings. Motion Carried.
Citizen’s Request
Brad Riely and Mike VanEps, residents of
Rosewood Addition attended and expressed their interest in a
mini-park, including playground on lots 9 and 10. They
approached the Park Board to seek planning, grants and future
maintenance. Board Members requested Mr. Riely and Mr. VanEps
to contact residents regarding their interest in a park and
provide a larger drawing with rough placement of desired
amenities. Playground suppliers can provide designs. A
neighborhood Rosewood Addition meeting will be scheduled to get
interest and objections. It was assigned to the Planning
Committee.
Park Superintendent Report – John
Dassenko
 | Chalet tables and benches were
refinished. |
| Snow removal is on-going. |
| Multi-purpose court ice is melting
with the sun. Pond is buckling. They are putting water on
the ice in the morning with assistance of community service
workers. Staff were instructed to continue watering, and
schedule after-hours staffing, when needed. |
| John has been working on the golf cart
to see if it is fixable and will be repairing the Cushman. |
| Russ and Lynn did some Community
Center projects, including key box, office shelving and
bulletin boards. They will reduce the garage drain. |
| Staff put in a garage door with an
opener in the annex. Items were donated. |
| Max asked if the weekend on-call
person had a vehicle at their residence. They presently
need to go to the shop and take a park vehicle from there.
Max suggested consideration for the on-call person having a
park vehicle at their residence for those weekends. |
Recreation
Superintendent – LaRee Bumgarner
| Adult women’s and coed volleyball is
continuing through March |
| Boy’s basketball ends on February 18
with the Kiwanis Little Guy Tournament on February 20th.
28 teams are entered, with games at the High School and
Middle School gymnasiums. |
| Men’s basketball runs through March. |
| Girl’s traveling team practice is
going on at this time. Boy’s traveling team practice will
start next week. Gyms include NDSCS and the Community
Center. |
| A grades 6-7-8 dance is scheduled on
March 12th, sponsored by the Headwater Lions. |
| Warming house is open and going
strong. |
| Open gym is every Sunday through
March. We now have a work-study student to do the
supervising. |
| Upcoming basketball tournaments were
reviewed. |
| Summer sponsor letters have been sent
out; registrations are being taken for VFW girls |
softball and Babe
Ruth baseball. The Twin Town League is getting organized for
another summer and applications for summer recreation coaches
are being taken.
| Youth Volleyball will be starting next
week grades 3-6. Michelle Mennis will be supervising. |
LaRee asked about the snow on John Randall
Field. It was recommended that it be blown off the field as soon
as possible.
LaRee said that new sand volleyball poles
have been purchased. The sand volleyball courts have been
consistently under water in the summer time and wondered if a
new location could be considered. LaRee is supposed to check
out possible locations and report back to the Park Board.
Zoo Director – Kathy Diekman (written
report)
| AZA accreditation application is being
prepared. |
| Collection Care library grant was
written and received. |
| 2010 memberships are starting to come
in. There were 695 memberships in 2009 representing |
2,780 individuals.
·
Zoo Director volunteered for CVB Wahpeton
promotion in St. Paul in January.
·
Wahpeton Buffalo Club meeting was held on February
14, 2010. $4,000 was donated.
·
Crowned lemur, llama and cinnamon teal will be
received in the near future.
·
Clean-Up Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 17.
·
A water main broke in the bison pasture twice.
·
USFWS received a $4300 grant for the Red River
Festival to be held on May 6, 2010.
·
Cabinetry has been ordered from the IMLS grant
that was submitted and received.
·
The Boehning farm land has been leased out for
cash rent with assistance from John Bullis.
Director of Parks & Recreation –
Wayne Beyer
| Background check on Director was
included. |
| Emerald Ash Borer information was
provided. A response plan is being prepared. |
| Golf Club, City Council and other
minutes are included when Park Board is mentioned. |
| Ideas offering outdoor activities for
the Junior Wildlife Club were included. |
| There will be archery practices and a
tournament scheduled in March, with location to be
determined. |
| A Youth Ice Fishing Derby is scheduled
for Saturday, March 6 from 1-3 at Heitkamp Pond. |
| ND Game & Fish donated $2,000 towards
fish cleaning station maintenance. |
| The Richland County Historical Society
voted to include a Sports Hall of Fame in the museum. |
| A $14,200 grant was submitted for new
lighting at the Stern Sports Arena. We weren’t eligible this
grant round but it will be submitted at a later date. |
| There will be a Boat Safety Seminar on
March 16 from 5-9 p.m. at the Hughes Shelter. |
| There will be a Fishing Seminar on
March 19 from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. at the Community Center. |
| There will be Leave-a-Legacy /
fund-raising training on March 15, 16, 22 and 23. |
| The City Retreat is scheduled for
Wednesday, February 24 at Hughes Shelter. Don Frye,
Carrington will be making a presentation about their golf
course from 1-2 p.m. The Forestry Committee and flood fight
will also be highlighted. |
Director requested approval of the
Adopt-a-Highway program with NDDOT. Middle School students
clean the Highway 210 Bypass ditches in the local area. Motion
by Deb Tobias, seconded by Devry Klocke to approve contract with
ND DOT. Motion Carried.
Motion by Max Reinke, seconded by Steve
Craig to appoint Director of Parks & Recreation and Commissioner
Klocke to the Forestry Committee. Motion Carried.
Director reported that he has had
conversations with John Dassenko and Kathy Diekman about flood
fight preparations. Main area of concern would be the Kidder
Recreation Area comfort station. Flood insurance would cost
$885 with $1,000 deductible. The best protection would be a
ring dike around the bathroom area. The sidewalk area would
have to be left open for handicapped accessibility during the
remaining duration.
Recreation Committee
-A credit card for the ice arena manager
was approved with a $1,000 limit - $500 per day.
-The BW Winter Sports Association proposal
was listed in the Park Board booklet.
-Baseball Benefit is scheduled for February
27 at the Wahpeton Community Center.
-Sports Commission meets on Wednesday,
March 10th at 11:15 a.m. at the Community Center.
-EDC Track Meet will be held in Wahpeton.
-The baseball field west of the high school
needs to be finished.
-Three tennis courts at NDSCS will be
resurfaced this summer.
Maintenance Committee
-A flood light is up by the Hughes Shelter
parking lot.
-Devry Klocke explained the procedure for
getting the light by the Band Shelter.
Motion by Max Reinke, Seconded by Steve
Craig to approve this light. Motion Carried.
-Steve Craig presented two building
drawings for the cement slab at John Randall. Discussion
followed.
Motion by Max Reinke and seconded by Devry
Klocke to recommend #2 garage. Garage #2 is a two-story building
with a maintenance free exterior with space for concession
stand, crow’s nest and storage at a cost of $8700. Assembly of
walls would be done by park staff and put in place as soon as
the weather permits. Max amended his motion with Devry’s
approval to have the stairs inside the facility and as long as
the interior layout meets with LaRee’s approval. Motion
Carried.
-John Dassenko reported that the canopy for
the baby pool was ordered but still not received.
-Deb Tobias provided some carpet samples
for the carpet replacement at Hughes Shelter.
The option of carpet squares which can be
replaced individually when soiled was discussed.
It was referred to the Maintenance
Committee.
-Russ Robert mentioned that some groups
which use the Hughes Shelter at no charge are not cleaning it
before they leave. It was referred to the Maintenance
Committee.
Motion by Devry Klocke, seconded by Deb
Tobias to accept the committee reports. Motion carried.
Commissioner Requests
Max Reinke inquired when the lights at the
pond were put on in the evening. It was recommended that until
someone is skating on the pond that the lights remain off. He
also requested that some action be taken to remove the ice on
the sidewalks by the Community Center.
Financial Reports/Payment of Bills
Motion by Max Reinke, seconded by Steve
Craig to approve the financial reports and payment of bills.
Motion Carried.
Unfinished Business – None
Next Meeting will be Wednesday, March 17,
2010 at 5:15 p.m. at the Wahpeton Community Center.
Motion by Steve Craig, seconded by Deb
Tobias to adjourn the meeting. Motion Carried.
