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HARTFORD PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES Wednesday , June 3 , 202 6 5 :30 PM – City Hall Council Chambers Present: Todd Rusniak , Joe Kohler , Kate Carro ll, Scott Helms, Chris Beck er E xcused: Ken Mikulec, Dan Hummel 1. President Rusniak called the m e e tin g to or der at 5: 3 0 PM; "This is an open meeting under 19.81 to 19.98 of the Wisconsin State Statutes". 2. Approval of Minutes – - May Minutes tabled due to lack of quorum that were at the May m eeting. - February M inutes have been tabled again due to lack of qu orum at the June meeting that were also at the February meeting 3. Informational M onthly Staff Repor ts – Re v iewed 4. Co mmunication and Correspondence – None 5. Appearances / Public Comments – None 6. O ld Business – None 7. N ew Business ADMINISTRATION Eagle Scout Presentation – Patrick Button appeared in front of the Commission to discuss his Eagle Scout proje ct . Patrick would like to add some upgrades/ amenities to the dog park. His goals are to bu ild a dog ramp and culve rt pipe and install them , purchase a container to hold donated dog toys , and buy, a ssemble and install wind blockers near the entrance . 2 026-20 30 C api tal Improvement Projects (CIP ) Commissioners received the updated 5-year CIP list . While the CIP Budget is due to the City Administr ato r by June 1 5 , it can change dur ing budget pla nning . Some p rojects have been pu shed back to allow other proje cts with more imm ediate needs be moved up . T he C ity is on a 2-year b orrowing cycle with 2027 being the second year of that cycle. Therefore, any changes made to 2027 projects must remain within the finance restraints already approved a nd bo rrowed for. The Dire ctor plans to move the W illow brook Restroom Restorat ion proj ect, estimated at $225,000 , from 2027 to 2028 . T his will free up funds fo r the Parks Department Skid Loader Replacement which was in the 2028 CIP at a cost of $115,000 . The Skid Loader is in need of $15,000 in repair s so staff believes replacing it next year rather than spending money on re pairs is cost efficient . Also mov ed from 2027 to 2028 i s $100,000 Rubicon River Trial Design from Wacker Driver to Liberty Drive . This project was to be funded by Park Impact Fees and Fund Balance. However, t h at fund i s only project ed to have $70,000 next year a nd a re needed for other projects . In addition , staff is hopefu l that the trail design could be done in-house by City En g ineer staff. The Director also discussed the foll owing CIP i tems that c ould be done next year with the savings from the Willowbrook B athrooms and the 2026 Rec reation Center boilers coming in underbudget : - Independence Park Playground Replacement - $100,000 . This project has been added to 2027 . Parts of th e to ddler 2 -5 age playgrou nd have been removed since last summer due to damage. The ages 5-12 play ground is showing severe deterioration . The Director would like to use the $70 ,000 Park Impact budget f or this project . He would also use the $10 0, 000 s avings from postponing Will owbrook Bathroom restoration. In addition to those funds, t he Director hop es to f undraise for this project. - Willo w brook Park East Walking Bridge - $60,000 . T he center tr uss of this bridge is rotted as are the beams underneath . The deck 2x6 ’s are loose as there is nothing for them to secure to. The Director explained that thi s bridge was a project of the Great Depression WPA – Work Pro gress Admi nistration - and a co mplete re moval/ replacement may not be possible given its history . - Ro ad replacements for the two cemeteries and the south side of the Riverwalk from Main to Grand. While t he Director believes the Riverwallk would not have to be done next year, it wil l require attention soon a nd he prefers to have it d one before it gets too bad. There are a number of VMAC CIP projects on the 5-year list including pump r eplacements, shade replacements, slide refinishing and $600,000 for a Spla sh P ad to replace the sa nd play area. C o mmissioner Carroll asked if the Splash Pad would be a re circulating syst em . The Director s aid the initial quote was for a non-r ecirculating as a re circulating pad add s over $250,000 to the cost . Commissioner Car roll wondere d if the cost of not using a re c irculat ing system would outweigh the cost of having to pay for water going in and out every time it was running . The Director said that staff would be re se arching that in the next 5 years . The Aquatic/Fitness Supervisor s poke on how staff, even before he was hired, had visions of replacing the sand p lay area with a S plash P ad. Doing so benefits the pool in many ways in cluding less maintenance as the sand gets every where, including into the pool. C o mmissioner Carroll recalls the amount of staff time it took and how difficult it was vacu uming the pool in part due to the sand . She also recalled the number of times the vacuum had mechanical breakdowns . Th e A quatic Fi tness Supervisor also ackno wledged the need for more toddler features but it is d ifficult to in corpo rat e new f eatures in to the main pool. The S plash P ad is a solution. F inally, the Aquat ic/Fi tness Supervisor spoke on the importance to keep this a non-guarded area . Thus , particular attention needs to be paid to the features o f the Splash Pad. For instance, height of certain features and including slides would require a guard. Commissioner Carroll st ressed staff should confirm with the State that the features chosen would not require a guard . T h e Director commended all staff on the work they did on proposing CIP projects and researching cost estimates es pecially during this Departme nt -wide busy s eason . Recommendation to Withdraw the Award of C o ntract for Willowbrook Park Court Resurfacing – Executive Summary - Last month , the C o mmission approved K & S Driveway Guys for the refinishing the Tennis and Basketball courts. The compan y ha s not respo n ded to the notice of a ward which they are required to do within 10 d ays of receipt . They are 9 days beyond th e deadline . The Director called multiple times . Staff suggests returning their $3,000 se curity fee. Aldperson Kohler disa grees with r eturning the $3,000 stating the company entered into the bid fully aware of the requirements and sta ff has gone above and beyond to confirm the awarding of the bid. Commissioner Becker agreed with Alderperson Kohler , question ing why the City includes th ese d e p osits if they return them. Commissioner Becker also asked if the City had used this company before. The Dir ector said the City has not, but the company had a long list of referenc es including a solid history of working with other municipalities do ing sim ilar work. The Director found it very odd they have not respon ded . MOTION BY Kohler, seconded by Becker to withdraw the aw ard to K & S Dri veway Guys for Tennis/Basketball Court refinishing and to retain the bid secur ity d eposit of $3,000 . M OTI ON C ARRIED Recomme ndation to Approve Contractor for Willowbrook Courts Resurfacin g – Executive Summary - Staff recommend s the second bid from Parking Lot Maintenance (PLM) of Pewaukee for the resurfacing of the Willo w brook Park Tennis and Baske tba ll cour ts. Their bid of $6 3,328 is within budget but staff requests the entire budgeted amount of $65,000 anticipating crack repa ir exceeding 50 ’. Staff is familiar with PLM as we are currently working with them on the Homestead Basketball cour t proje ct. S taff confirmed with PLM that the submitted bid price would still be honored and they were still available to do the wor k. MOTION BY Helms, s e conded by Carroll to approve Parking Lot Maintenance out of Pewa ukee W I for the Willowbrook Pa rk Tennis and Basketball Court resurface project at a total cost not to exceed $65,000. MOTION CARRIED R ECREATION PROGRAMS / ACTIVITIES Su mmer Playgr ound Report – Staff ha s b een hired and began train ing. Regist ratio ns are above average for the first session. Playgrou nds wil l start on Monday, J une 15 . Cops Rods and Reels – This yearly event is co -hosted with Slinger and held at the Mil l Pond. It will be Wednes day , June 2 4 from 1- 2:30 PM for kids ages 7- 14 . Re gistrat ion numbers are very good. Sips Snacks and Sounds – The second of thr ee Parks and Recreation beer garden s at Centennial Park , spo n sored by Hartford C ommunity Ser vice, Inc., will be held on Friday, Ju ne 19 . B eer from Brewed Omen, food from Mr. P ’s Grille d Cheese and music by Van Bibber . 6- 9 PM . ADUL T / YOUTH SPORT Yout hball Report – A ll leagues have had their first game/clinic. Umpires are doing well. Concession sales are up. Baske tball – Ag es 6 -9 a nd 4-6 – St arts Saturd ay, Jun e 6 . Tennis Lessons – Lessons for y outh a ges 4-13 start the week of June 15. The Program Supervisor is very excited with the instructors hired . Changes were made to the schedule and lessons will be held late afternoon/early e vening to bet ter accommodate the High School practice sc hedule and thus instructo r availability. There are two classes on Monday and Wednesday nights and one class on Tuesday and Thursday nights for the next four weeks . Registration numbers are so lid . AQUA TICS Vetera ns M emorial Aquatic Center – SCHEDULE – Staff hoste d the annual Middle School Summer Splash to kick off the outdoor pool season. Open swim began on Saturday, May 30. Attendance is a bit low as weather has been a bit windy and not overly hot. Pre-season ho urs continue through June 10. Regular season inclu ding Thur sday night swim begins on June 11. The popular morning water walki ng will begin June 8. SWIM L ESSON S – T he first Monday through Thursday two-week session begin s M onday, June 15 . Session 2 begins Monday, June 2 9 . Session A, which is held T u esdays and Thursdays for 4 weeks , begins June 16 . Initial registration numbers are a tad low but nothing concerning . MAINTENANC E UPDATE – Maintenance Supervisor briefly m e ntioned the work done pre-season which included deep cleaning the fam ily changing area, painting the women ’s loc ker room, touching up the diving board bases. He also said th at he is working to create better logs and documentation on how to do the pool sta r t up, keeping track of mechanical/maintenance issues and maintaining a spot for equipment manual s. President Rusniak a sked if , with the work done on the leak issu es, th ere is noticeable change in water loss. The B u ilding Maintenance S u pervisor sai d yes , but time will confirm as it is s till early in the s eason. Indoor Family Aquatic Ce nter S p onsored by the Lut z Family Foundation SWIM LESSONS – Th e first se ssion beg an on May 27 and the second session begins Monday, June 2 2 and h eld Monday a nd Wednes da y nights for 4 weeks. Enrollments are doing well. PARKS Parks Project Report – - E xcavated and filled the Skate Park expansion saving the City $2000 . Originally the concrete company was to do this work . They reached out and asked if we could instead, to help keep the project on schedule . - Park season has begun so work is spent cleaning shelter s and bathrooms including on weekends. - Buri als have ke pt staff busy. - Mowing and trimming slowed down with the lack of rain. - Park staff r e viewed CIP and offered suggestions after they review ed and inspect ed all equipment - Prepped L ake view A cres for the donated playground equipment that staff should be install ing soon. Skate Park Expansion Update - The e xpansion pad has been poured and Am erican Ramp Company al ong with materials are expected to be on site June 15 . The Skate P ark will be shut down during installation. The work s hould be complet ed by the end of the week. Homestead Park Basketball Court Update - Bl acktop is in place . Basketball system/ho op ne eds to be installed and court lines painted. Once those items are done, this project is complete. Discuss July Commission Meeting and Park Tour – Next month ’s meeting is scheduled for July 1 . The Directo r wants to confirm Commission avai lability . As this is also the date of the annual Park Tour, the Director would like to know if C o mmission members have any parks they wish to visit. P r esident Rusniak will reach out to the members to confirm their ava ilab ility and any park recommendations and will get back to the D irector. OT HER RE PORTS / COMMISSION REQUESTS None ADJOURNMENT MOT ION BY Carr o ll, s econded by Rusniak to adjourn at 6:15 pm. MOTION CARRIED S ubmitted by, R a ndy W o jtas iak and S ara Cummings "Persons with d isabil ities requiring sp ecial a ccommodations for attendance a t the meeting should contact the City Clerk at least one (1 ) bus iness day prior to the meeting." Members o f t h e Common Council may attend the abov e mee ting. Pursuant to State ex rel. Badke v. Gr eendal e Village Board, 1 73 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 violati ng t h e open meeting law. "