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HARTFORD PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES Wednesday, September 2, 2026 5:30 PM – City Hall – Council Chambers Present: Todd Rusniak, Kate Carroll, Dan Hummel, Joe Kohler, Chris Becker Excused: Scott Helms, Ken Mikulec 1. President Rusniak called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM; "This is an open meeting under 19.81 to 19.98 of the Wisconsin State Statutes". 2. Approval of Minutes – MOTION BY Rusniak seconded by Carroll to approve the July minutes. MOTION CARRIED MOTION BY Rusniak seconded by Becker to approve the June minutes. MOTION CARRIED February Minutes – tabled due to lack of quorum that were present for the February meeting. 3. Informational Monthly Staff Reports – Reviewed 3. Communication and Correspondence – The Director shared a thank you from a park reservation group. The sender had rented Centennial Feature Pavilion and stated the shelter was perfect for their needs and found the facility to be very clean and tidy. 4. Appearances / Public Comments – Kurt Konkel, 2488 Lake Drive, Hartford, spoke about the Pike Lake Yacht Club being resurrected and hoped to have a partnership with the Recreation Department as there was 35+ years ago. President Rusniak asked Mr. Konkel to make an appointment with Recreation Director to discuss. Mr. Konkel also had some information/suggestions on the algae growth in the Mill Pond. The President asked Mr. Konkel to hold comments for later as that item was on the agenda. 5. Old Business – None 6. New Business ADMINISTRATION Executive Summary – Recommendation to Approve Design 2 Construct for Restroom Renovation – The 2026 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) includes $48,000 to replace the aging restroom partitions and grab rails at the Recreation Center. Work will involve removal of existing steel partitions and replacement with composite as well as new handrails per ADA requirements. Two quotes were received. Staff recommends the quote from Design 2 Construct. Not only were they the low bid, staff is familiar with them as they constructed the Centennial shelter. MOTION BY Becker, seconded by Hummel to approve Design 2 Construct of Jackson, WI to replace all Recreation Center restroom partitions and grab rails for a cost not to exceed $34.159. MOTION CARRIED Executive Summary – Purchase and Installation of Playground Equipment at Independence Park – Staff sought proposals to replace the 25-year-old playground at Independence Park. The current structure has sustained failures and staff has removed parts of the structure due to safety. This is a busy park with soccer games, practices, tournaments, shelter reservations and neighborhood traffic and thus the playground is heavily used. Staff received a total of 5 proposals from 2 different companies. Multiple staff reviewed the proposals and unanimously choose option 2 from Lee Recreation. The City has a long standing history with Lee Recreation. The $100,000 cost of this structure and installation will be funded by donations. Originally, the 2027 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), included $50,000 in Park Fund Balance and $50,000 in GO Debt for new playground equipment at Independence. Given the donation, staff’s plan would be to use $20,000 of GO Debt for an additional playground piece and to cover the cost of wood fiber chips, bringing the project cost to $120.000. Staff will be doing the demo of the old equipment except the swing and stand alone slide which will remain. MOTION BY Hummel, seconded by Kohler to approve the quote from Lee Recreation for the Burke Playground proposal 142-221865-1-R2 for $100,000 plus an additional $20,000 for an additional piece of equipment and wood fiber chips. MOTION CARRIED Recreation Center Facility Maintenance Report – August was a busy maintenance month at the Recreation Center. The gym floor was refinished which meant the gym was closed for one week while it dried. This is the required second coat after the complete replacement last year. The Indoor Pool has been closed since August 13 for annual maintenance, which will be discussed later in the meeting. Also, new boilers have been installed. This project also started August 13 and as such, the Center has been without hot water since. All projects have gone relatively smoothly. Fall Activity Guide Handout – Copies were given to the Commissioners. RECREATION PROGRAMS / ACTIVITIES Community Chorus – Community Chorus began rehearsals on Tuesday, September 8. Director Dr. Mark Weller, is eager to start work on the holiday concert music that will be performed in December at the Schauer Arts Center and Holy Hill. Fitness Classes – A new session will start the week of September 14. All classes have at least the minimum enrollments needed. Touch a Truck – This annual free family event is celebrating its 20th anniversary. It is held in the Recreation Center parking lot from 9-11 AM on Saturday, September 14. ADULT / YOUTH SPORT Fall Volleyball League – A Fall league will begin September 14. At this time, we have 8 teams registered with the early bird deadline on September 3. Late registrations are still welcome on September 4 or 8. Flag Football Update – Registration numbers are good for both age groups 6-8 and the 8-11. The two practices are being held this week with games starting on Saturday, September 12. Once again, the turnout of High School players to coach has been great. AQUATICS Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center – SEASON SUMMARY– Staff will be gathering season stats over the next month, but in general, it is believed to have been a successful summer. While it wasn’t a particularly hot summer, the overall attendance was steady. Pool staff was great with no major incidents due to being pro-active rather than re-active. MAINTENANCE UPDATE – Building Maintenance Supervisor spoke of a few hiccups this season, but said in general, it was a fairly smooth season. - Fish Slide Mat – this needed to be replaced and due to some issues with the eyelets for the fasteners, the slide was unusable for a number of weeks. The Director said this mat likely will be removed at the end of each season to pro long the life. - Sand – as discussed at the park tour meeting in July, this was a battle all summer. The seasonal maintenance staff spent about 6 hours a week cleaning the sand flow from the play area to the pool, the drains and water filtration as well as hand vacuuming. In addition, as usual, mid-summer ground wasp nests closed the feature for a few days. - Toddler Wall – while the new concrete has held up well, the paint did not. Staff will work with the contractor on problem solving the paint issue. - Staff concentrated on keeping the facility looking well with fresh paint where needed and good lawn maintenance. - The Maintenance Supervisor spent the spring learning about the water chemistry and had two other people cross trained so there are more staff able to handle this aspect of the pool. His goal is to also have better records and procedure documentation helping himself each year as well as others that may be working on pool start up and mechanicals. Commissioner Carroll expressed concern about the sand play area and the amount of staff hours it consumes as well as damage it can do to pool mechanicals. She encourages staff to look for ways to remove the sand and replace with other features. She understands the goal would be a splash pad but at this time it is cost prohibitive. She supports spending money now for something that would not be permanent as she believes it could be saving money in staff time and equipment upkeep. Indoor Aquatic Center MAINTENANCE UPDATE – After a longer shut down due to boiler replacement, staff is now filling the pools and working on chemical balancing and heating. During the shutdown, the key accomplishments, per Building Maintenance Supervisor, are: - 11 of 48 lights were changed out. The manufacturer of the current system is no longer in business. Staff diligently worked to find solutions that were cost effective as unofficial quotes were received for $100,000 to replace all the lights/structure or $50,000 for new fixtures. Staff was able to find new bulbs on Amazon for $100 each. Staff spoke with the manufacturer to be assured they would hold up to the heat and humidity of the environment. A few new bulbs were replaced over a year ago and they are still working. - Pool deck deep clean. - Grout repair as needed. - Enzyme treatment of the filters with the help from our chemical supplier, Carrico. - Working on a pro-active maintenance plan as many valves and other mechanicals are showing deterioration, often looking like something brought up from the Titanic. Alderperson Kohler stressed that the Commission needs to support and be pro-active with staff in developing maintenance plans to be able keep what we have working and looking well. SWIM LESSONS – Session 1 starts September 14. Enrollment numbers are good, for this first Fall session which is typically is a bit lower than our other indoor sessions. OPEN SWIMS – While many of our pool activities will resume on September 8, the Open Swim, Toddler Swim and Water Walking will begin October 3. September has shown to have less usage for these activities as families are still participating in outdoor activities and getting into the swing of school. PARKS OPERATIONS Park Project Report – August began another grass growing season so staff have been mowing. They have also done some landscaping at Homestead Park and the Skate Park. West Side Park Seating Area – This project will begin next week. Prospective Construction will begin grading for the concrete pad and will also construct the 20’x30’ open shelter which was donated by Zuern Building Products. Pickleball courts will be accessible and players will be directed to use the south gate. This project is anticipated to take 6-8 weeks. Centennial Park PIER APPROACH - With the help from the Street Department, the Parks crew connected the Mill Pond pier path to the walking path with asphalt. Previously this was crushed gravel. MILL POND ALGEA – The Department has received many inquiries from individuals and the Business Improvement District (BID) regarding the l algae and vegetation in the Mill Pond and the Rubicon River. The Director reached out to the DNR for options and regulations. Per the DNR, only 30 feet along the shore and 100 feet perpendicular to the shore can be removed without a permit. Plants removed must be disposed outside any wetland or flood plain and o mechanical devises can be used. Permits, per the conversation with the DNR, can be time consuming. They recommend a TEAMS meeting just to learn how to fill out the difficult application. Once submitted, approval will take 2-3 weeks before making the final stop to the desk of the representative the Director spoke with who said she is quite busy and it may take time for her final approval. It would likely will be early to mid October which is late in the year to spend the time and resources to remove the vegetation and algae. Representatives of BID agreed. The Director will continue to pursue permits in case it is needed next year. Kurt Konkel spoke on the difficulty to remove algae as when it is disturbed, some makes it way into the ground sediment. This increases the issue for following years. He states the best way to combat the issue is to find the source of the phosphate and eliminate the use, which is what the Pike Lake group did years ago to deal with the algae issues Pike Lake had. Mr. Konkel cautions using chemicals as there is often metals in the chemical which settles in the sediment. When the Mill Pond is dredged again, it becomes hazardous waste that becomes difficult to dispose of. Commissioner Carroll commented that the algae and vegetation becomes an eye sore for park users and tourism in the downtown area. She hopes a solution can be found. Mr. Konkel suggests forming a Lake District that can find donations and grant funds to address the issue. OTHER REPORTS /COMMISSION REQUESTS None ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY Becker seconded by Carroll to adjourn at 6:40 PM. MOTION CARRIED Submitted by Randy Wojtasiak and Sara Cummings "Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations for attendance at the meeting should contact the City Clerk at least one (1) business day prior to the meeting." Members of the Common Council may attend the above meeting. Pur suant to State ex rel. Badke v. Greendale Village Board, 173 Wis. 2d 553, 494 N.W. 2d 408 (1993) such attendance may be considered a meeting of the Common Council may attend the meeting without violating the open meeting law."