Special Council & Summer Rec Meeting Minutes April 27, 2020

Village of Edgerton Special Council Meeting Minutes

with Edgerton Summer Recreation Board

April 27, 2020 at 6:00 PM

• Mayor Day called the meeting to order at 6:00PM with the Pledge of Allegiance via Go-To Meeting Tele-conference

• Y – Yes, N – No, A – Abstain, Abs – Absent

• Roll Call:

 6 Members Present

Edgerton Summer Recreation Board Members Present:

• Chuck Wallace, Shawn Moreno, Rachel Moreno, Rachel Muehlfeld, Camie Hicks, & Scott Hartley-entered @ 6:14

Other Village Representatives Present:

• Charles Butler – Solicitor
• Denise Knecht – Fiscal Officer
• Zachary Dohner – Village Administrator
• Amanda Herman – Administrative Assistant
• Kip Pahl – Public Works Superintendent
• Keith Winebar -Parks
• James Walker – Street

Media Present:

• Cindy Thiel – The Edgerton Earth
• Max Rinehart – The Bryan Times

Public Present:

• Pam Fitzcharles 

DISCUSSION: Village Administrator, Zach Dohner had multiple talking points that were discussed and verbally agreed on between Village Council and Edgerton Recreation Association. It was decided to have Mr Butler draft a written agreement to bring before Council for approval and to be executed by Village Council and Recreation Association.

 The following topics were discussed and verbally agreed upon.

1. Village will continue to mow grass and trim weeds at Miller Park and Gerhart Park.

   2. Edgerton Recreation Association will be responsible for dragging and lining fields when ball season begins at Miller Park and Gerhart Park

3. There can be no application of chemicals to kill weeds at Gerhart Park.

Discussion- Recreation member Scott Hartley asked if there was a possibility the fields could be sprayed outside of the recommended 300 ft radius of the water wells that Gerhart ball fields sit on top of. Zach asked Kip to speak on this topic, Kip reiterated that the EPA wants absolutely no kind of chemical applied. Jason Gruver gave his opinion that another solution needs to be found; he’s not comfortable spraying chemicals over the Village’s drinking water system. Leslie VanAusdale agreed stating the amount of fines that the Village would incur if chemicals entered our drinking system are not in our budget. Mayor Day’s opinion is that it would be acceptable to use chemicals to kill the weeds and asked Roger Muehlfeld to give his thoughts. Roger believes it is possible to apply a topical weed killer such as Round-Up that would be safe. Hartley said he would be good with spraying the infield once in the spring and possibly again mid-summer, if the Village was willing to oversee the process. Kip Pahl would like all Council and recreation members to view the map of the radius that surrounds the wells. Denise Knecht was able to pull up the map through email/screen share to show that the well radius extends well beyond the area surrounding all three fields at the park, making it unsafe to apply chemicals per EPA regulations. After seeing the maps all agreed that gave the answer to us no chemicals on the fields. Chuck Wallace brought up that the Village will have to help maintain weeds if there won’t be any spraying done. Wallace went on to say Village employees used to assist with tilling the fields at the end of the summer season and leveling them in the spring. Dohner assured Recreation members that the Village would do everything possible to make the workload manageable for all parties. Wallace said that Keith Winebar and Kip Pahl do a great job at controlling the weed population at Miller Park. It’s easier to maintain at Miller Park because it has a clay base while Gerhart fields are mostly made up of sand, allowing weeds to overwhelmingly produce.

4. As a liability, only Village employees are covered to utilize equipment that the Village owns and maintains. At this point in time, Chuck Wallace is the only Edgerton Recreation member that is an employee of the Village.

Scott Hartley questioned if there was a waiver that could be drafted to allow someone else to use Village equipment in the instance Chuck or Keith would be unavailable. Denise Knecht informed members that Village insurance allows employees ONLY to be covered as a liability. Mr Butler suggested contacting our insurance provider to discuss other coverage options.

5. Edgerton Recreation Association will not store their equipment on Village property.

The Recreation Association utilizes the soccer barn located next to the park building to store summer equipment. Hartley added there are items in the soccer barn that could be cleared out to make more room for rec equipment. Shawn Moreno stated there are not many Summer Rec pieces of equipment that need to be stored. A question of who provided insurance for each building was addressed. Wallace explained the pavilion and storage building at Gerhart Park was built on donations and the concession building was donated by the Newman family. Both are covered on the Association’s insurance policy. The Village added the restrooms off of the concession building. Camie Hicks asked if the “FUN Committee” shed was still being used. Keith Winebar responded that it is used to store park equipment, tree bags, lawn sweepers, and a boat.

6. After large events or tournaments, renter/occupant is responsible for all clean up, including bathrooms and removing trash to large dumpster.

The biggest issue is being able to haul trash during large tournaments without driving a vehicle back to the concessions at Miller Park. Village Officials have discussed the possibility of donating the gator to the Edgerton Rec Association. This would allow the rec the ability to haul large quantities of trash and drag fields as a solution to calling Village employees in for overtime on the weekend to assist during large tournaments. Rec members agreed having the gator would be beneficial to accomplishing necessary tasks at the park.

• Zach will work with Mr Butler to prepare of a written agreement to be approved and signed by Council and Edgerton Recreation Association. There is not an immediate need for this agreement as Governor DeWine has not yet announced the reopening of parks or sporting events. Mayor Day feels there is still quite a bit of time left before the possibility of playing end of season tournaments.
• Shawn Moreno stated the summer softball league has been cancelled. One of the last items discussed was maintaining buildings at Miller Park. If issues are not addressed, structures will crumble. Money needs to be set aside for park building and asphalt repairs.
• Camie Hicks gave a shout out to Keith, Kip and the crew for all of their hard work.
• Zach Dohner thanked the Edgerton Recreation Association for everything they do for the community by volunteering their time to help the youth.

• Motion to adjourn at 7:20 PM:

Motion passed 6-0

______________________________                ______________________________

Mayor                                                                   Fiscal Officer/ Clerk of Council