Attendees
Carla Bradshaw, Anita Force, Chris Neumann, Gretchen Walker, Lorraine Weckerly (new member)  

The newest member of the Delphi Parks Board, Lorraine Weckerly, was welcomed into the Parks Board.

Guests
Chad Gipson who is President of the Girls Softball Recreation League for Delphi shared information regarding permanent fencing around the Girls Softball diamond located in Riley Park.  He expressed the viewpoint of safety, decreased insurance costs for the girl’s softball league, and the possibility of holding girls softball tournaments in Delphi with the fence addition.

He also shared that the purchase, placement, maintenance, and mowing/trimming around the fence would be totally handled by the Girls Softball League. It was also shared that the Parks Board had already permitted a temporary fence to be used currently. However, Chad mentioned that the damage to a temporary fence would require costly repairs or replacement that would not offset the benefits of having it.

As stated, the desired 4’ tall chain-link fence would be placed 180 ft. from the home plate fence with yellow or black bumper guards along the top. There would be no sponsorship signage lining the new outfield fence so spectators could still view the games from the park benches, their cars, and their lawn chairs. Chad is going to provide a photo of what the new fence would look like in place. He also asked if a permit to put up the fence would be needed. It was discussed that Anita would follow-up on that issue after further discussion of the new permanent fencing was completed.

Meeting Minutes
The minutes from the last meeting were discussed and approved as written. Gretchen advised that the monthly meeting minutes are emailed to all Parks Board members for review and revisions prior to posting the final draft on the website.

Old Business
The energy grant that utilizes the economic stimulus funds to upgrade all the Parks lighting is still pending.

The event form will be presented by Anita to the City Council at the same time the summer sports proposal is submitted.

Superintendent Report
The Parks Board will hold a special executive session to discuss the sports associations’ utilization of the Delphi Parks. The date and time are yet to be determined.

Anita has been working on the Delphi Parks Spring walking program. She and Gretchen met Saturday February 20th to discuss some options for the program. It was determined that 8 weeks would fit into the school schedule so it would finalize just as school was over for the summer. Further details of the program are forthcoming as Anita will be working to finalize the dates and forms necessary in the coming week.

The REMC grant submitted for trail markers was not approved.. Chris mentioned that another grant is available and is due by March 31st. It was agreed that Chris could proceed with writing another grant to secure the funds for the trail markers.

Remodeling work is progressing on Riley cabin. Two new panic push doors are on backorder and will be installed upon arrival. Painting has been done by Chuck Foreman as well as Mike and Anita Force.

The budget for 2010 has not yet been approved. Therefore, expenditures of funds are on hold until the budget is approved.

All hazardous trees have been cut down and removed from the Parks. The Delphi Street Department has been grinding stumps in Riley Park from the trees that were cut down by Chuck Maxwell and his employees. Anita took cookies and lunch to the gentleman working so hard to help beautify the park.  

Gayle Conner, the new Summer Recreation Coordinator, has started working on new ideas for the 2010 summer program. The Deer Creek Township trustee has approved $3,000 for the 2010 Summer Recreation program and also $1,500 for the spring walking program. Upon budget approval, funds will be provided to the Parks Department for these projects.

Chuck Foreman has welded and painted all the soccer goals for the upcoming soccer season.

The OED lighting grant is still pending.

New Business
An update to the Parks policy and procedures manual regarding regular inspections of Park equipment is needed.  To avoid possible injury or liability claims for insurance purposes, new signage on Park equipment will need to be posted stating that this equipment is inspected regularly and if attention is needed to anything, it should be reported immediately to the Parks Department Superintendent with a phone number to call for attention.

Two already approved expenditures for the City Park Shelter remodeling and landscaping of both City and Riley Parks will need to be reviewed at the next Parks Board meeting.

Next Parks Board meeting 
The next meeting for the Delphi Parks Board will be Tuesday, Mar 30th at 4:00pm in the Stone Barn building