Parks Committee Meeting — Minutes

Town of Oregon Park Committee Minutes Wednesday August 27, 2025 1) Meeting was called to order by Dave Frankson at 6:01 PM. 2) Roll call: Jeff Nelson, Dave Frankson, Gloria Compton, Eugene Lewis, Diane Packett 3) Approval of prior minutes 7/30/25: Correction to item #5: Lee “Recreation”. Correction to #11: Town is prepared to pay but may get some money from the Village when we get required approvals. 4) Kennedy Park Update– Eugene Lewis a. Pat from Lee Recreation wants the site prepped by the shipping date of September 24th. Eugene asked about water for mixing concrete. There may be a neighbor who could let us use a hose at the park, and the tools could be cleaned at town buildings. Eugene will contact Ryan and Abel about prepping the site. b. Discussion of what to do with the old equipment: o Sell at auction in Mt Horeb o Donate to Kids Around the World in Rockford, who might haul it away and refurbish – selected by Committee as the preferred option. o Take to recycling on Park St. and maybe get funds for it c. Eugene has had some comments from residents about thistles growing in the unmowed patches, and about possibility of gravel path around the perimeter. He removed the thistles. Dave suggests telling people that we would need to get buy- in from Town of Rutland before constructing a gravel path. d. Dave noted that most of the miscellaneous items are still on the neighboring property, including the shed that extends into the park. He asked Jennifer to follow up with the County on the clean-up order given to the property owner. e. The recycling container has arrived. f. Eugene is looking at options for painting the old swing set with colors that will complement the new equipment. The Committee would like to see the swing set stay at the park for older children and adults to use. Eugene will put together prices for the next meeting. 5) Hillcrest Park – Gloria Compton a. The pea gravel has been delivered and mostly spread. b. Gloria followed up with Pat Groom about purchasing a new 3-bay swing set to be put in next year. The equipment quote was $6,000 and installation would be another $2,000. 6) Ravenoaks Park – Eugene Lewis a. The Town crew will seed the playground border areas and spread straw sometime in September. They will get some soil from TORC or Mandt. 7) Town Park – Jeff Nelson and Duncan Kosharek (Eagle Scout candidate) a. Duncan asked if we have any changes to the shelter plan. We still want the 16 X 24 X 8 shelter, with the base material to be decided later. We haven’t decided on the exact location but that shouldn’t make a difference to approval. Duncan will go door-to-door in Town Park neighborhood asking for donations; if he doesn’t meet his goal there, he will then go to other neighborhoods, then contact Culver’s about holding a share night. Purchasing materials won’t be for at least another month. It might be easier for the Committee to do the actual purchase of materials. Dave suggested that Duncan ask the Chamber of Commerce for names of local businesses that typically donate funds to local projects. b. Mulch is on the path leading to the new bench on the east side of the woods. Jeff has put tape around 13 trees that are dead and need removal, as well as 4 or 5 on bike trail. c. People are talking about kids on ebikes on the trails; one lady complained about having to jump out of the way of an oncoming bike. People have also mentioned the ruts the bikes are leaving on the walking trails. The committee discussed options for putting up “No Bikes” signs along the walking trails. This issue may go away when school starts. 8) Bicentennial – Diane Packett a. Diane finally heard from Shawn Sutter about the timing of his erosion bar installation project; he had mentioned late August as a possible work date. He says he has been waiting for one more approval from the scouts. He will let Diane know when he sets the date to make sure the trails can get mowed if necessary before work commences. b. The new benches have been moved from the parking area to the spots Diane flagged on the trails. 9) Lake Harriet Cemetery – Dave Frankson He is collaborating on a sign with Jeff Lundgren, who wants to design it despite recovering from a recent hospital stay. Dave sent him a picture of the Oak Hall Cemetery sign. 10) Storytown Cemetery – Gloria Compton The driveway has been relocated and the shrub on the east side of the monument removed. Tallgrass Restoration has done the first spray to kill the vegetation in preparation for re-seeding. Gloria is considering signage options for the wildflower plantings next year. 11) Meeting was adjourned at 7:58 by Dave Frankson.