Park Board meeting 11-02-2015

Yesterday was election day for city government. There were three contested races and the incumbent won in each of them, Wood over Overton, Cover over Ludington, and Watson over Comingore.

The Park Board met on Monday night with three guests from Fair Oaks Farms. Fair Oaks Farms has agreed to give marketing advice to the Park Department and the Park Board. They said that the marketing will depend on what direction the Park Board takes. They were willing to begin working on a logo as part of branding. They also had some other bits of advice and information that may be useful. (Did you know that dog food companies often give grants to establish dog parks?)

After the team from Fair Oaks Farms left, the Park Board began to discuss the question of what direction they should follow. The recent purchase of the Staddon Field area by the Jasper Foundation and the move of youth soccer from SJC to the parks have changed the deliberations. After some discussion, a series of motions followed, all of which passed. First was a motion that the Monnett area be used for soccer with the fate of Staddon Field to be determined later. Second, that the Park Department take over the sponsorship of youth soccer except the traveling squad. Third, that Brookside Park will be the place where baseball will be located. Fourth, that Iroquois will be the location of a dog park.

There was some discussion about the old Admin Building that was once Monnett School, with some Board members wanting to keep it, though one Board member stated that she would rather see it torn down than sold.

One Board member made a case for public input and the Board, which normally does not have a December meeting, decided to have a special meeting with the public invited to see and comment on the priorities that they have set. The meeting is scheduled for December 7 at 7:00 and will be held at the library if space is available.

There was concern about the one Board member who was absent and was reported to have been injured in a fall.

We have another beautiful November day. Most of the leaves have fallen and are waiting for the green machine to vacuum them up.