Parks Committee
Robert McLeod			Mike Crawford, Chairman	Joseph Allen
Minutes
September 1, 2005
9:00 a.m.
Members present:		Joe Allen (left at 10:15), Bob McLeod and Mike Crawford
Members absent:
Staff present:		Peter Garwood, Joe Meyers, and Eileen Wallick
Others present:		Mark Randolph, Jerry Basch, Russ Blasdell, Janet Person, Mike Meriwether
1.         Meeting called to order at 9:05 a.m.
2.         Wetzel Lake/ACNA Grant Application Update
	Joe Meyers and Pete Garwood spoke to the Committee about the supplemental information that was submitted on Tuesday.  They informed the Committee that they must prioritize the grants per the DNR’s request.  They felt that the ACNA Grant had a better chance to pass due to the completeness of the package, and that the Wetzel Lake grant might be more of a challenge due to the lack of funds and a lease.  Janet Person disagreed because she has contacted many charities who are willing to help with the grant match.  Mr. Garwood and Mr. Meyers agreed that the Wetzel Lake Grant is a more needed project but, they felt that due to some of these factors, the grant was more challenging.  Motion by Bob McLeod, supported by Joe Allen, to approve the Wetzel Lake Grant as a first priority, pending Mr. Garwood or Mr. Meyers contacting Jim Wood or Linda Hegstrom, from the DNR, to see if the lack of a lease on the property will be an issue.  Motion Carried – unanimous.
3.         Barnes Park Grant Update
	Mr. Meyers updated the committee on the progress with the Grant. New building Construction *    Plan review – Complete *    Building Permit – Applied for could take up to a week *    Break Ground – After Labor Day *    Deadline – Move from October 31, 2005 to December 31, 2005 due to set back in       Plan Review Electrification *    DNR approved the company Alpine Electric *    The contract has been written *    Alpine Electric has been contacted
4.         Parks Update
	Eileen Wallick, Park Manager, updated the committee regarding the activities at Barnes Park. Mike Crawford asked Ms. Wallick about her capital outlay, due to the fact that capital outlays have already gone to the Finance Committee.  After going over the capital outlay, the most important thing is the basketball court and should be set as the top priority.

	Mike Meriwether, Forester, spoke to the Committee about the situation when he was at Noteware’s Landing cutting down trees.  He wanted to know if it was the Forester’s, Park’s, or Conservation District’s responsibility to take care of the County parks.  Ms. Wallick noted that all of the County parks are maintained by her crew and would like to be notified when things like this occur.  Mr. McLeod asked Ms. Wallick if she could start itemizing the time and expenses on all of the parks separately so we can find out how to budget for them. Mr. Meyers updated the Committee on the waterless urinal bill that was received from Arms and Cole.  The urinals were installed, as a Pilot Project, and did not meet customer satisfaction.  Arms and Cole billed more for the reinstallation of the old urinals then what was billed for the original installation of the waterless urinals.  Mr. Meyers informed the Committee that the distributor, Nichols, was willing to issue the County a check for $1000 and a $1000 credit for the hassle, (see attached letter from Nichols). Motion by Bob McLeod, supported by Joe Allen, to recommend the Board of Commissioners approve payment of $2,483.63 for the installation of the waterless urinals and reinstallation of the original urinals out of the Barnes Park Budget and accept the $1,000 payment and the $1,000 credit from Nichols, and apply the credit to Barnes Park.  Motion carried – unanimous.
5.         Grass River Natural Area  (GRNA) Update
	Mark Randolph, Director of the GRNA, gave the Committee an update on activities at GRNA.  Mr. Randolph asked the Committee if GRNA is to put up signs so people would not trespass on the former trail land, due to the fact that they still have a claim on the land.  The Committee advised Mr. Randolph to put up the signs so there were not any problems with the property owners.
6.         Parks & Recreation Update
	Mr. Meyers gave the Committee an update on the Parks and Recreation Commission activities. Mr. Meyers informed the Committee that the Commission would like to change the “All Antrim County Festival” to a “Petoskey Stone Festival”.  Ms. Wallick explained to the Committee that due to the lack of experience setting up a festival, the Parks and Recreation Commission feels that they should start smaller and in the future let the festival grow to the “All Antrim County Festival”.  The Committee agreed that the All Antrim County Festival could be a Petoskey Stone Festival.  The Commission would also like to create and distribute brochures of the parks and recreation opportunities in the County at the Petoskey Stone Festival.  The Committee agreed but thinks that the Commission should work with Jackie White, from the Antrim County News, because they put one out every year and maybe their could be a collaboration.
7.         Wetzel Lake Update
	Ms. Person updated the Committee about the Wetzel Lake project. Ms. Person spoke about the raft at the park and how it is locked so no one can unlatch it anymore.  She also spoke about the new grill and how it is frequently being used.  Ms. Person informed the Committee that due to her budget, the Conservation District could not have the Halloween Festival at Barnes Park this year.
8.         Communications
	None.
9.         Member/Public Comment
	Mr. McLeod asked if we could move Public Comment from the end of the meeting to the beginning so the public can comment and not have to sit through the whole meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 10:53 a.m.