Park & Recreation Commission — Minutes

MEETING: REGULAR MEETING OF THE PARK & RECREATION COMMISSION DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 5:30 PM LOCATION: Germantown Village Hall Board Room N112 W17001 Mequon Road MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER: This meeting has been given public notice in accordance with Section 19.83 and 19.84, Wis. Stats, in such form that will apprise the general public and news media of subject matter that is intended for consideration and action. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Depies at 5:41 PM II. ROLL CALL: Present: Chairperson Depies, Committee Members Steve Stapelman, Virginia Smith, Monica Stiebs and Trustee Meg Cutts Absent / Excused Committee Member Don Eby and School Board Member Tracy Pawlak Also present: Director Gil Standridge and Administrative Assistant Linda Granec III. CITIZEN INPUT: (Please be advised per 19.84(2) that information and comment will be received from the public. It is the policy of this municipality that public input be limited to a four (4) minute period per person with a time extension granted at the discretion of the Chairperson. Be advised that there may be limited discussion of the information received but no action will be taken under public comments.) Comments that may be injurious to village personnel or other individuals will not be allowed. IV. MEETING MINUTES: A. Meeting minutes from February 18, 2026 - Action Motion: Approve meeting minutes from the February 18, 2026, Park & Recreation Commission meeting as presented. Motioned By: Trustee Cutts Seconded By: Commission Member Stapleman Yes: Brian Depies, Steve Stapleman, Virginia Smith, Meg Cutts, Monica Stiebs No: None Abstain: None Motion Passed (Yes 5, No 0, Abstained 0) V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: A. Update on Firemen's Park Outdoor Shelter - Discussion Only Director Standridge gave the Commission an update on the status of the Firemen's Park Outdoor Shelter. The Board at this time does not want to see the shelter torn down but would like to see it repaired. DPW reached out to the original builders of the structure to see what repairs could be done to the deteriorating posts on the structure. Page 2 It was determined to do the following. All the posts on the north/south section will be stabilized with metal plates that will go into the concrete, partway up the posts and rods will be added to take the weight off the failing posts below ground. The boards that surround the east/west posts will be removed, and new boards will be installed. In the shelter where there are other boards that are showing deterioration, they will be replaced as well with new boards. All the posts around the entire shelter will receive a new coat of paint once the repairs have been completed. The outdated lighting in the shelter will be replaced with LED lighting. All of these repairs will be done before the 4th of July celebration that will be taking place in the park. With the work that is going to be completed, this should allow the shelter one to three more years of use. It will also allow Director Standridge more time to have more discussions with the Board and see the direction they would like to see the shelter go in. The remaining funds allocated for this project will be utilized to replace three exterior doors that are at Firestation One. All three of these doors face the park and will run approximately $5,000.00 each. DPW is still in the process of obtaining quotes for these doors. B. Update on site and sound system at the Senior Center - Discussion Only Director Standridge gave the Commission an update on the status of the Senior Center audiovisual upgrade. Global Site and Sound was the selected contractor for the upgrade of the sound system in four locations at the Senior Center. The upgrade will take place next week, Tuesday and Wednesday. With this upgrade, it will allow the senior center to market these spaces and bring in additional rental revenue. C. Update on the 4th of July and working with the American Legion - Discussion Only Director Standridge presented an update to the Commission on the 4th of July festivities at the Firemen's Park. -The American Legion will be selling both food and beverages in the Firemen's Park Indoor Pavilion. In future years, a percentage of their sales will be negotiated to go back to the Park & Rec Department in lieu of a rental fee. This year they will not be giving that percentage to the department. They will be sponsoring the Senior Center's monthly newsletter this year in its place. Director Standridge presented the background on the Senior Center's newsletter and what the future would look like moving forward. -Supervisor Sandy Doss has been working on having additional food vendors attend the event. To date, there are four food trucks signed up. Each food vendor has been charged $150.00 to participate. -Boot Jack Road will be playing at the event starting at 6:00 PM and will continue until the fireworks begin. -Wolverine Fireworks will once again provide the fireworks for the 4th of July celebration, and they will begin at 9:15 PM. -Working on having the Farmer's Market take place in Firemen's Park that day. -The timeline for the 4th of July festivities is tentatively as follows: 11:00 AM Parade will follow the route from last year. Noon - 8:00 PM activities in the park 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM music by Boot Jack Road 9:15 PM Fireworks The Scouts will oversee the parking at Kennedy Middle School and the Kiwanis will be Page 3 working with the high school athletics association. They will be overseeing the parking in Freistadt field, once again. D. Update on the hiring process for the Senior Center Coordinator - Discussion Only Director Standridge updated the Commission on the status of the Senior Center Coordinator position. Seven candidates applied for the position. Susan Tatalovich and Director Statndridge conducted the first round of interviews with four candidates. The second round of interviews with two candidates were conducted by Susan Tatalovich, Director Standridge and Senior Center Advisory Member Norine Janzen. A candidate was selected from that second round of interviews and was offered the position. That candidate turned down the position due to the low salary that was being offered. Director Standridge will go before General Government and Finance to request that the pay level for the Coordinator's position be upgraded from a level one to a level three pay scale due to the job description of that position. Discussion to follow regarding the current pay scale for this position. Support Service Manager Gosia Wormsbacher conducted a study of the surrounding areas to see where the Village came in and found that we are considerably lower than municipalities similar in size. VI. NEW BUSINESS: A. Presentation by Monica Fydach to host an outdoor fitness event at Kinderberg Park - Action Director Sandridge introduced Monica Fydach to the Commission. She gave a presentation regarding hosting an outdoor fitness event at Kinderberg Park on June 20th only. The class would run approximately one hour. Ms. Fydach would charge a small fee to participants for conducting the class: $10.00 - $15.00 per participant. This program would be conducted similar to other park & rec classes. Motion: To approve Monica Fydach to host an outdoor fitness class at Kinderberg Park. Motioned By: Trustee Cutts Seconded By: Commission Member Stiebs Yes: Brian Depies, Steve Stapleman, Virginia Smith, Monica Stiebs, Meg Cutts No: None Abstain: None Motion Passed Yes 5, No 0, Abstained B. Rate increase for van transportation at the Senior Center - Action Director Standridge presented a rate increase for transportation that is offered at the Senior Center. This transportation rate has not seen an increase for ten years. Director Standridge proposed the following increase. There would be a 30-day notice given before the increase goes into effect. The increase would be the following. Current one-way fare / Proposed increase Germantown $1.50 / $2.50 Menomonee Falls $2.50 / $3.50 West Bend $8.00 / $10.00 Brookfield $10.00 / $12.00 Mequon $10.00 / $12.00 Page 4 Brown Deer $10.00 / $12.00 Froedtert in Wauwatosa $10.00 / $12.00 Motion: Increase the Senior Center ride fairs as the proposed increase stated Motioned By: Commission Member Stapleman Seconded By: Trustee Cutts Yes: Brian Depies, Steve Stapleman, Virginia Smith, Meg Cutts, Monica Stiebs No: None Abstain: None Motion Passed (Yes 5, No 0, Abstained 0) VII. VILLAGE BOARD REPORT: Trustee Cutts presented her Village Board Report as follows: - Newly elected Trustees - 1st District Scott Hefle 2nd District Jim Stout 3rd District for a second 3-year term Jolene Pieper 4th District Patrick Kaiser - Matt Uselding Finance Director, and Kevin Driscoll Engineer, have both given their notice. - Mitch Reynolds will continue as interim Administrator until the new Administrator is hired. Applications have come in for that position. - Tim Zimmerman, Wastewater Superintendent, has accepted the position of Public Works Director. - Tim Zimmerman, Wastewater Superintendent's position, will be looked at internally to see if they can move someone up within the department. - The Village will be looking at architect / engineering firms to build the new Police Department building. - The new Village Board will start on April 21st. - GGF will be looking at reassessing pay scales at the next scheduled meeting. - Community engagements will be taking place shortly for both the Village Center Districts and Holy Hill Gateway. VIII. SCHOOL BOARD REPORT: IX. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: A. Director's report - Discussion Only Director Standridge gave the Directors report. - The Summer Park & Recreation brochure is out. Summer registration started on Monday, April 13th. - On March 28th we celebrated our 32nd annual East Egg hunt at Fireman's Park. 13,000 plastic eggs were set out for the hunt. - Kids Klub was held during spring break and the roster was filled each day. To date, Kids Klub is ahead by $30,000 more than from the same time last year. - Pickelball and tennis courts, Munson Inc. will be coming in to make any surface crack repairs once the temperature becomes warm enough for the material to make the repairs. - DPW has opened up the park restrooms, water fountains, nets for both pickleball/tennis courts, and basketball. Most of the nets were up before spring break. Page 5 - Kinderberg/Haupt Strasse baseball fields will continue to get the upgrades to the backstop netting and fencing projects this spring to complete these projects. - Update on Division Road trail. Due to the cost of the project, the improvements and an additional paved area will be constructed on the west side of Division Road. The path on the east side of Mequon Road will still exist. On the west side of Mequon Road there will be an 8-foot side trail that will be constructed and connected to the existing trail area. The first phase of construction will be from Mequon Road to Jefferson Creek and will be constructed in 2026, with the second phase from Jefferson Creek to County Line Road to be constructed in 2027. The dates of start and completion have yet to be determined. Discussion to follow regarding other trails and the trails that need repairs. Director Standridge stated that all the trails are in the Master Trail Plan, both existing and new, and will be reviewed. - Arbor Day will take place in Dheinsbille Park on April 23rd starting at 11:15 AM. Wendland Nursery has once again provided the tree but also provided the labor to plant the tree and also give a presentation during the Arbor Day celebration. Also, this year, Richfield Middle School students came out to help place ground cover on the walking areas in the Community Garden as part of their Earth Day project. President Soderberg will read the Proclamation. - Dan Kivela has worked for the DPW for the last twenty-eight years and has decided to retire from the Village. Dan has been a true asset to the Park & Recreation department in helping us to keep things in repair and working smoothly. He will truly be missed by this department. DPW has already moved someone into Dan's responsibilities. B. Recreation report - Discussion Only Director Standridge gave the recreation report. - The Glow Walk is coming up at Kinderberg Park on May 1st. The program begins at 7:30PM. This is a free event that the Park & Recreation Department hosts for the residents of the Village of Germantown. Pre-order glow T-shirts and glow kits are still coming in; other items will be sold at the event. The department has raised over $1,050.00 to fund the event to date. - Summer programs are open and filling up. - Summer Kids Klub sites are full with the exception of LCLC (Lutheran Church of the Living Christ). Site registration opened on March 2nd. Currently, we have 523 children enrolled. - The summer concert series will take place on the 1st & 3rd. Thursdays in June, July and August. The concerts will begin at 6:00 PM and wrap up at 9:00 PM. There will be a beer tent and 15 plus food trucks at each concert event. - The Farmer's Market is every Saturday from 8:00 AM until Noon and will begin on May 2nd and goes until October 31st. The Farmer's Market takes place in the parking lot of the Village Hall. - The Community Garden will start on May 2nd. The Community Garden is located at Dheinsville Park. X. ANNOUNCEMENT OF PUBLIC INTEREST: XI. ADJOURNMENT: Page 6 Motion: Trustee Cutts made a motion to adjourn the Park & Recreation Commission meeting at 6:59 PM. Motioned By:Trustee Cutts Seconded By: Commission Member Smith Yes: Brian Depies, Steve Stapleman, Virginia Smith, Monica Stiebs, Meg Cutts No: None Abstain: None Motion Passed (Yes 5, No 0, Abstained 0)