Minutes

City of Evansville Park and Recreation Board Regular Meeting City Hall, 31 S Madison St., Evansville, WI 53536 Tuesday, June 16, 2026 6:00 pm MINUTES 1. Call to Order: Fuson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call: Dan Stephans, Arthur McEvoy, Kris Thome: The Grove Society 3. Motion to Approve Agenda with adding leaves at Leonard Leota Park under Old Business by Barker, seconded by Merritt. Motion passed 4-0. 4. Motion to Waive the Reading of the Minutes from May 19, 2026 meeting and Approve them as Printed by Wallace, seconded by Barker. Motion passed 4-0. 5. Civility Reminder: Fuson issued a reminder to treat everyone with respect and kindness. 6. Citizen Appearances: None 7. New Business A. Ari Hermanson Senior Project : Run/Walk on July 11th 1. Motion to Recommend to Common Council waiver of Shelter Rental Fee ($70.00) and Rental Deposit ($100.00) After a brief discussion, the Board decided to waive the non-refundable Rental Fee and still require the refundable Rental Deposit. Motion to Recommend to Common Council waiver of Shelter Rental Fee ($70) and keep the Rental Deposit in place by Wallace, seconded by Barnes. Motion passed 4-0. B. Warming House Discussion with Grove Society: McEvoy shared a presentation on the Warming House at Leonard Leota Park. McEvoy reported that the Warming House is a key feature of the Park and an important part of history that has been neglected by the City. The Warming House started as a Band Stand and the enclosure was completed in 1940 for a place for the ice skaters to warm up. In 2018, Stephans completed an inspection and reported that the stone steps that were added in 1990 were the problem for part of the disrepair. The Grove Society would like the Park Board to give clear direction to the Common Council as to if the Board would like to have the Warming House saved or not. Motion to Recommend to Common Council that the Warming House structure should be preserved at the highest priority level possible by Fuson, seconded by Merritt. Motion passed 4-0. Members Present/Absent Others Present Alderperson Norman Barker P Scott Kriebs, Municipal Services Director Sue Merritt P Jason Sergeant, City Administrator Lyman Fuson P Ray Anderson, Park Custodian Chad Sigl A Elle Dalton, City Baseball Coordinator Chair, Matt Poock A Abbey Barnes, Mayor Kris Evans A Jeremy Cynkar, Destree Architects Sam Wallace P Ari Hermanson, Resident C. Review of proposed construction plans with Destree Architects for Park Store: Cynkar explained that the primary focus is to remove and replace windows and doors. Then the focus will be to start work on the interior by installing a restroom and perhaps some stubbed in plumbing that could be completed once future plans for the building would be established. There will still be additional work on the interior to make the building usable. D. Traffic speed in Lake Leota Park: Discussion resulted in Sergeant reach out to the Police Chief to ask for more patrolling in Leonard Leota Park to help slow down traffic and evaluate if and/or what can be done moving forward to reduce the excessive speeds in the park. 8. Park’s Report A. General Park Updates: Anderson reported that the deck in front of the Warming House is in dangerous condition. After discussion, it will be evaluated by the Historical Society the next night due to the dangerous conditions as how to move forward. B. Adopt-A-Park: Anderson reported that the Welcome sign coming into town from Madison had been relinquished and Tanner Van Drisse had asked about adopting it. Van Drisse had cleaned it up right away after getting permission. 9. Aquatic Center: Sergeant shared that Olsen had reported that the opening day went well. They were able to get some compressed training completed prior to the opening. 10. City Youth Baseball: Dalton shared that there are about 45 kids on 4 teams. Photos were held the night before after being rescheduled from the prior week. 11. Old Business A. Park and Outdoor Recreation Plan Update: Sergeant reported that the Transportation and Outdoor Trails portion is still missing and hoping for completed report soon. B. Canoe Racks at Lake Leota: No discussion with the absence of Evans C. Leaves at Leonard Leota Park: Barker shared that the residents around the Park are demanding a pickup in the Spring due to the late drop of the Oak leaves in the spring. Anderson had said that part of the reason why they get so bad is that one of the Park’s neighbors dumps their leaves over the fence into the Park. Sergeant explained that at this time, there will be no pickup. There will be a discussion with Kriebs, Foreperson Roberts, Anderson, and Sergeant as to what can be done in the future. 12. Upcoming Meetings: A. July 21st at 6:00 p.m. B. August 18, September 15, October 20, November 17, December 15 13. Adjourn: Fuson adjourned the meeting at 7:14 p.m.