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Belvidere Township Park District
Board Meeting
March 10, 2015
Minutes
The Belvidere Township Park District Board of Commissioners board meeting was called to
order at 5:15 p.m. Roll call was taken. Those present were John Ackman, Jean Twyning and
Mary Marquardt. Absent were Jennifer Riley and Eric Dahl. Also present were Dan Roddewig,
Mark Pentecost, Kim Kirkpatrick and Debbie Kent.
Meeting Agenda
There were no additions or corrections to the March 10, 2015 meeting agenda.
Meeting Minutes
Jean Twyning made a motion to approve the February 10, 2015 and March 3, 2015 meeting
minutes, seconded by John Ackman. A voice vote was taken with all voting yes. Motion
carried.
There was discussion of having Executive Session meeting minutes on the tablets. In the future,
Executive Session meeting minutes will be provided to the board separately as a hard copy.
Kim Kirkpatrick also will share information with the board related to electronic communication.
The commissioners agreed that as a general policy, the tablets will be limited to park district
business only.
Bills for Payment
Jean Twyning made a motion to approve the bills from February 1 to February 28, 2015,
seconded by John Ackman. A voice vote was taken with all voting yes. Motion carried.
Public Input
There were no members of the public present for public input.
Director’s Report
Dan Roddewig shared with the board a letter he received from the Illinois Department of
Natural Resource (IDNR). Effective immediately IDNR is suspending Project OS 13-1829, Doty
Park Improvements. This suspension requires that Belvidere Township Park District
immediately cease incurring additional obligations, costs or spending for which grant
reimbursement would be sought until further notice.
March 10, 2015
Page 2
In addition, Belvidere Township Park District is to submit a financial expense report by March
23, 2015, detailing all expenditures incurred from the project start date through March 9, 2015.
Dan pulled out the Project Termination from the agreement with the State. The language is
that the State may unilaterally rescind the project agreement or the project sponsor may
rescind the agreement at any time prior to the commencement of the project by written
notification to the other party.
The board accepted the bid from Rockford Structures at the March 3, 2015 board meeting, but
an agreement has not been signed at this time. The board asked if there would be a penalty
with the contractor and how long the bids are good for. Dan will need to talk with Dave
Burbach and get his feedback.
The board discussed continuing with the project without the grant and seeking financial
assistance through our local bank, school district #100 or the anonymous donor.
Dan is leaving on vacation on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. He will send an e-mail to Dave
Burbach and Attorney Scheurich tonight and Mark Pentecost, Superintendent of Operations,
will follow up with them tomorrow. Mark will also try and contact the grant administrator for
more clarification.
This will be on the March 24, 2015 meeting agenda for further discussion.
Dan received a letter from Anderson Environmental & Engineering informing us that the City of
Belvidere adopted an ordinance prohibiting the use of ground water for potable water on and
around the Smith Investment Company properties. Our properties located at 1125, 1151 and
1129 West Locust are included in the affected area.
Operations Report
Mark Pentecost announced that Jonathan Cudzewicz accepted our offer as our Assistant
Superintendent of Operations/Safety Coordinator. He has been with Fox Valley Park District in
Aurora the past 10 years. Jonathan will be starting on March 16, 2015. Mark will introduce him
at the April board meeting.
Human Resource Report
Kim Kirkpatrick did not have anything to add to her report.
March 10, 2015
Page 3
Policy on Contracts between Belvidere Park District, Commissioners and employees as
Independent Contractors.
Dan asked Attorney Scheurich for a sample policy that would address Belvidere Park District
commissioners/employees/and immediate family members working separately as an
Independent Contractor for the district. This would avoid hiring or contracting practices
involving or appearing to involve improper nepotistic procedures.
Several items were discussed including 1) making these two separate items instead of one
ordinance that addresses both, 2) the definition of “immediate family members”, and 3)
changing the name of the ordinance on the board level from nepotism to Ethical Standards for
Board Members.
A policy would be created that would address employees and their immediate family members
and would be a part of the employee handbook. An ordinance would need to be adopted by
the board for commissioners and their immediate family members.
Jean Twyning made a motion to table the discussion of contracts between Belvidere Park
District employees and independent contractors, seconded by John Ackman. A voice vote was
taken with all voting yes. Motion carried.
Discussion of Renaming Doty Park
With the redevelopment of Doty Park, staff has discussed renaming Doty Park, naming the ice
rink and having a mascot.
Gabe Castillo compiled a list as per suggestions and rankings from staff. The top three names
for the park were 1) Riverside Park, 2) Kishwaukee Park and 3) Glacier Park. Commissioner
Twyning suggested three additional names for consideration including 1) River Flats, 2)
Kishwaukee Flats and 3) The Flats.
Top ice rink names were 1) Riverside Ice Rink, 2) Kishwaukee Ice Arena and 3) Glaciarium. Top
mascot names were 1) Ice Yetis, 2) River Otters, 3) Blades and 4) Ice Hawks.
Commissioner Twyning made a motion to change the name of Doty Park to Kishwaukee Flats,
seconded by John Ackman. A voice vote was taken with Jean Twyning and John Ackman voting
yes. Mary Marquardt voted no. Motion failed.
March 10, 2015
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Discussion of a Policy for Naming Rights, Donations and Donor Recognition
The district has several facilities that are named in honor or in memory of someone, but the
district does not have a policy that governs naming rights or how to recognize donors who have
given major gifts.
Dan circulated sample policies from Sampson County North Caroling for Western District
Community Park, Rockford Park District, City of San Carlos Parks and Recreation Department
and the City of Vancouver.
The board discussed naming rights based on the size of a project, a percentage of the project,
the amount of a donation, or establishing a sliding scale.
Jean Twyning made a motion to table the naming policy for parks and facilities, seconded by
John Ackman. A voice vote was taken with all voting yes. Motion carried.
Executive Session
At 7:45 p.m. John Ackman made a motion to go into Executive Session under section 2(C)(5) of
the open meetings act for the purpose of discussion of the purchase or lease of real property
for the use of the district, seconded by Jean Twyning. A roll call vote was taken with all voting
yes. Motion carried.
At 7:50 p.m. regular session reconvened. Roll call was taken. Those present were John Ackman
Jean Twyning and Mary Marquardt. Also present were Dan Roddewig, Mark Pentecost, Kim
Kirkpatrick and Debbie Kent.
There was no action taken as a result of Executive Session.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m.
Submitted by
Debbie Kent