October 12, 2021
Present: Richard Ballard, Rik Ritzler, Chris Lawrence, Karl Swihart and Attorney Lucas
- The meeting was called to order by Mr. Ballard at 6:00 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
- DISCUSSION
- Rik Ritzler made a motion to accept the minutes from the September 14th meeting. Chris Lawrence seconded. All approved
- Rik Ritzler made a motion to accept the claims as presented and Karl Swihart seconded. All approved
- Marc Vendl gave his superintendent’s report. He stated over the past month he had been meeting with people and getting acquainted with members of the community. He mentioned that there is a survey on the park board website and Facebook page that pertains to the 5 year plan. Members of the public were encourage to fill out the survey. The rocks at the beach should be put into place near the end of the month. Mr. Vendl mentioned that the campers at the Bass Lake Campground have been very helpful. He stated that the campground will close on October 31st.
- Mr. Ritzler inquired on the next step of the 5 year plan. Mr. Vendl explained that at the next park board meeting their will be an open meeting where the public can state what they would like to see and provide input.
- Mr. Vendl provided the board with a quote for $1,300 to have the piers removed by Steve Berndt. Mr. Ritzler made a motion to approve that and Chris Lawrence seconded. All approved.
- Mr. Vendl received two quotes for a new pier purchase. His opinion was to purchase piers in the spring and utilize the money the park board currently has for items equipment that the need now, such as a lawn mower, weed eater, chainsaw. The board asked Mr. Vendl to send them the quotes by email so they could reviews those and to table the purchase for now.
- Attorney Lucas entered the property analysis at Koontz Lake into the record and it was discussed.
- Mr. Vendl gave an update regarding the kayak purchase. All of the kayaks are purchased and have been picked up. He was waiting to receive the bids back on the paddle boards.
- Mr. Vendl will contact Mirth & Whimsy regarding an update on the logo.
- Mr. Ritzler mentioned that the board needed to approve an amount that the parks superintendent can spend without first needing the board approval. Chris Lawrence made a motion that the board approve the park superintendent to be able to spend up to $2,000 without board approval and Mr. Ritzler seconded. All approved.
- Mr. Wakeland with the Starke County Forest mentioned the possibility of offering cross country skiing at the forest. Mr. Wakeland provided information to the board on what equipment would be needed to groom the trails. Most of the grooming is done with a roller that is pulled behind a snowmobile. Mr. Wakeland recommended that the board acquire a roller and any snowmobile at this time. He asked the board how to proceed if they’d like this done this winter. The board agreed that Mr. Wakeland should work with Marc on getting prices on what he is looking at and go from there.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m.