NOTICE OF MEETING TUESDAY, October 14, 2014

6:00 p.m.

Park District of Highland Park Board of Park Commissioners

West Ridge Center 636 Ridge Rd.

Highland Park, IL 60035

WORKSHOP MEETING AGENDA

I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA IV. MILLARD PARK – ROCK GARDEN/GEOLOGIC DISPLAY DONATION V. PARK AVENUE VI. TRAVEL SPORTS PROGRAM POLICY VII. 5-YEAR CAPITAL PLAN VIII. REVIEW OF VOUCHERS IX. OPEN TO PUBLIC TO ADDRESS BOARD X. CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS OF THE OPEN MEETINGS

ACT: Section 2(c)1 – the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline of the District including legal counsel for the District; Section 2(c)5 – the purchase or lease of real estate including discussion on whether a certain parcel of property should be acquired; Section 2(c)6 – the setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the District; Section 2(c)8 – security procedures and the use of personnel and equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees, students, staff, the public, or public property; Section 2(c) 11 – litigation against or on behalf of the District or where the District finds that an action is probable or imminent; Section 2(c) 21 – the discussion of minutes lawfully closed under the Act, whether for the purposes of approval of said minutes or for conducting the semi-annual review of the minutes as set forth in section 2.06 of the Act.; Section 2(c) 29 - for discussions between internal or external auditors and the Board. Possible action by the Board on items discussed in closed session.

XI. ACTION FROM CLOSED SESSION IF ANY XII. ADJOURNMENT

Persons with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodation to participate in this meeting should contact the Park District’s ADA Compliance Officer, Liza McElroy, at the Park District’s Administrative Office, 636 Ridge Road, Highland Park, IL Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Requests for a qualified ASL interpreter require five (5) working days advance notice. Telephone number 847-831-3810; fax number 847-831-0818.

MEMORANDUM To: Board of Park Commissioners From: Director Stumpf Date: October 9, 2014 Re: CHILDREN’S ROCK GARDEN / GEOLOGIC DISPLAY DONATION C: Executive Director McElroy, Manager Grill SUMMARY On the following pages you’ll read details about the proposed Children's Rock Garden for Ravine Drive beach. This project is in response to Marjie Ettlinger's long time desire to create an informational exhibit about Lake Michigan beach stones. Rebecca Grill, Natural Areas Manager, has met numerous times with Marjie and has guided the design through a hand-picked artist, knowing that our intent is to provide a safe and well-conceived result that educates the community about our unique resources while providing a functional attraction. Marjie will attend the Tuesday October 14 Park Board Workshop to talk about her passion and proposal. Rebecca will also be available to discuss the project and respond to questions Marjie has indicated that she and husband Richard will underwrite the projected $3,500 budget. Community Benefits

• Brings to the beach our commitment to Outdoor Play concepts as embodied in the successful Wander Woods.

• Provides a small seating bench and imaginative play space for the beach which now has neither.

• Gives us a way to inform the community about geological treasures they usually overlook (or don’t like).

• Website component can be used for programs at the Interpretive Center • Can be done in partnership with community volunteers • Cost is largely underwritten by long time community resident • Very low maintenance – boulders, no plantings, small bench

RECOMMENDATION It is our recommendation that the Park Board accept this gift from Marjie and Richard Ettlinger and direct staff to complete the design and installation of this unique gift on the north beach of Millard Park. SUPPLEMENTAL DETAILED INFORMATION Following pages

Proposal for: A Children’s Lake Michigan Rock Garden According to the Lake Michigan Rock Pickers Guide (Bruce Mueller and Kevin Gauthier) Great Lakes beaches have more color and variety of stones than anywhere else on the planet. Children (and adults) delight in picking up pocket treasures, sometimes smooth, sometimes shiny or translucent, often shot through with sparkles like diamonds. But what do we really know of these stones? How old are they? Where do they come from? Why are there so many? Marjie Ettlinger has lived in Highland Park for a full and varied lifetime, with many happy hours spent on its beaches. Her childhood delight in beach treasures has never faltered, only grown with appreciation for the story of the stones. She would like to share that enthusiasm with the rest of the community. The Ettlinger family wish to contribute to an educational component about beach stones for the newly restored Ravine Drive beach (our community’s first public beach). Staff has met with Mr. and Mrs. Ettlinger and John Dalton, a respected exhibit designer, who has donated his time to infuse Marjie’s concept with current educational thinking and very importantly—FUN! Coastal Geologist Charles Shabica helped us learn more about the remarkable history of stones commonly found on our beaches. Proposal

This proposal is to create a Children’s Rock Garden on the north beach of Ravine Drive (Millard Park) where children and adults can bring stones they collect to engage (sift and sort) in a friendly outdoor play space while learning to identify at least five of the key types of Lake Michigan beach stones. Additional information about the stones will be available in poster form on the nearby kiosk and also hosted on the Park District website (making the Highland Park Children’s Rock Garden virtually accessible to anyone with a computer).

This will be a place for outdoor play and learning where stones can be sorted to make music via a Pebble Harp and sifted through a special inset on a spacious wooden bench. Visitors will “meet” the parent material for at least five of the important rock types on the beach: Basalt, Granite, Quartz, Sandstone and Limestone. This will be accomplished by installing large boulders of these rocks and engraving them with their names. Importantly, the garden will provide a sheltered spot to sit and contemplate the beautiful beach while listening to the stones rolling together in the waves. At the moment, there are no other places to sit at the Ravine Drive beach . Budget We anticipate a budget of $3,500, including a contribution from the Ettlingers. Details of material costs are on the next page.

Pebbles have Parents (Rock ID) Concept: The small stones we find on the beach were once (millions and even billions of years ago) giant rock formations. Many (certainly the speckled pink, white and black rocks) once formed the Granite core of the North American continent: the Canadian Shield. A second component (usually white with surprising sea creature fossils) comes from Illinois bedrock which is Dolomite Limestone formed when North America was covered by a vast ancient ocean. A third component (often composed of thin layers) comes from sediment (sand, mud and silt stone) deposited by ancient seas and glacial lakes and hardened over time. A fourth component (plain black stones) is basalt which is hardened magma from volcanic action at the time the continents were formed. Not to be forgotten, sand on our beaches is mostly made up of Quartz ground to a powder by time. Component: We propose purchasing large boulders of five key beach stones: Granite, Basalt, Quartz, Limestone and Sandstone and engraving them with their names. These would be installed in the sheltered foredune on the north beach, along with the bench and pebble harp described below to form a touchable sculptural rock garden. Imagine a child pouring a bucket of water over the large quartz boulder (pictured right) to make it shine. Or comparing his or her small pink, black and white stone to its parent boulder while wondering what forces turned this 500 pound rock into a pebble that fits in one’s hand.

See http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~raman/SilverI/Boulder_Garden/Welcome.html for an inspiring virtual (and real life) rock garden.

Materials: $450 – 650 Engraving : $360 - Five stone names Installation $550 - anchor stones for security Sifting and Sorting (Outdoor Play) Concept: Heller Nature Center staff has years of experience in teaching children about our wonderful lakefront. We learned from them that sorting stones is a favorite activity for many ages. Also in Heller’s Wander Woods play space, children gravitate to the Pebble Harp, in which pebbles cascade to create a tinkling musical sound. Young children love to sift sands to find rock treasures. This can be accommodated with a sieve inset on the wooden bench. Component: It is anticipated that we can build the pebble harp with the help of staff and volunteers. We also believe that the bench can be built with volunteer help. Parks crews can assist with installation, but some special help may be needed to fabricate a sturdy and attractive base for the bench. Wood Materials: $950 Labor: Volunteers and Staff Installation: $1,000 (bench and harp)

1 Quartz Stone: Parent Material of Sand

Origin Size

Unit Price Cost

Granite boulder

Ontario 500 lbs

70

Basalt columns

China* 18-24" $34/piece 102

Dolomite limestone

Illinois 600 lbs

78

Sandstone boulder

Montana 500 lbs

$70.00

Quartz

Wisconsin 500 lbs

$120.00

Total Materials w.out shipping.

$440.00

Additonal Stones e.g., Gneiss

$200.00

Cost to engrave names per letter

Engrave Names

36 10 $360.00

Installation

$550.00

Bench

Wood Materials

$300.00

Inset Materials

$400.00

Labor (Scouts?)

Installation

$500.00

Pebble harp

Wood Materials

$250.00

Labor (volunteers?)

Installation

$500.00

Project Total with Additions

$3,500.00

*We now have a source for local (Michigan) Basalt boulders.

MEMORANDUM To: Board of Park Commissioners From: Liza McElroy Date: October 10, 2014 Re: Park Avenue The Park Avenue Task Force purpose will be to provide the Park Board with a recommendation that adequately meets the community’s recreational needs outside the secure perimeter of the water treatment plant. The task force will be chaired by Highland Park resident David Fairman and will include two members representing the North Shore Yacht Club, two power boaters, two sail boaters, and one general interest resident. Members of the Park District and the City will serve in an ex-officio capacity. The deadline for applications for the Park Avenue Task Force was Friday, October 10. Twenty applications have been received. The applicants are a mix of NSYC members, sailors and power boaters. Three non-boaters also applied. At Tuesday’s meeting staff will update the Board on the task force member selection process. The first meeting will be scheduled for the first week of November. We anticipate the task force will take six months to prepare its recommendation for the Board. Attached is a letter from the City of Highland regarding Park Avenue Beach.

CCIITTYY OOFF HHIIGGHHLLAANNDD PPAARRKK 1707 ST. JOHNS AVENUE

HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS 60035 (847) 432-0800

  October 9, 2014  Ms. Liza McElroy Executive Director Park District of Highland Park  Via email:  lmcelroy@pdhp.org  Subject:  Central Park Lower Level Lease    Dear Liza:   This  is a  follow‐up  to  the Park District Board of Commissioners meeting on September 23, 2014 and our conversation last week.  The City is committed to maintaining public access to the south beach property at Central Park.  Although it is best to enter into a formal lease arrangement as soon as possible, because the Park District’s Boating Task Force is anticipated to begin meeting in late October or early November, we will refrain from drafting a lease extension until the Task Force has completed its review and recommendation.   The City will allow continued public access  to  the south beach area of Central Park while  the Task Force conducts its meetings, subject to the provisions in this letter.  It is our anticipation that the Task Force will conclude its work by April, 2015.  In the interim, the City’s staff has identified the following provisions for use of the south beach area: 

1. Public access will remain accessible to the south beach area as permitted by Park District 2. The Police Department must have access to the structures on the premises at any time if there is a 

security concern  Again, we  are  committed  to  allowing  continued public  access  to  the  south beach.   We  look  forward  to working with the Park District officials, staff, and residents on the Task Force.   As always, we look forward to your feedback and recommendations so we can explore solutions that meet the needs of our community including enhancing security at the Water Plant.    Should you have any questions or concerns with the bullet points noted herein, please contact me.     We look forward to receiving information from you when the Task Force agenda is developed and a meeting is set.  Sincerely, 

 Ghida S. Neukirch Deputy City Manager 

cc:  Mayor Rotering & City Council Members David Knapp, City Manager Ramesh Kanapareddy, Director of Public Works Chief Paul Shafer, Police Department Chief Pat Tanner, Fire Department Steve Elrod, Corporation Counsel 

MEMORANDUM To: Board of Park Commissioners From: Brian Romes, Assistant Director of Recreation Cc: Liza McElroy, Executive Director; Kathy Donahue, Director of Recreation and Facilities Date: October 9, 2014 Re: Policy Regarding Participant Withdrawal from a “Travel Sports Team” Staff is requesting approval from the Park Board to adopt a Policy regarding participant withdrawal from a “Travel Sports Team”. It has been a long time practice of the Park District to inform and enforce a penalty on players whom register for “travel sport,” participate in a tryout, are selected to play on “travel team”, and withdraw from the sport, after teams have been selected and posted. The reason for the penalty is to discourage players from withdrawing because it may lead to the team being dismantled, which may ultimately result in the remaining players having no opportunity to play on a “travel team”. Staff is proposing to adopt a formal Park District policy.

Below is the current practice as detailed in the Park District Brochure and Travel Sports Manual(s):

It is a long-standing policy of the Park District of Highland Park that if a child attends any travel program tryout and is selected to any travel team and any of the following occurs:

1. The player withdraws from the team prior to the first scheduled practice or 2. The player quits the team after the date of the first scheduled practice for any

reason other than family emergency or a specific medical problem or 3. The player is removed from the team by the Park District of Highland Park

management for violation of any team rules, as specified by the baseball travel team policy.

In any such event, the player will be prohibited from future participation with his/her team or from attending any future Park District of Highland Park travel sports tryouts. If the player, in any of the circumstances mentioned above, desires to return to his/her team or attend a Park District of Highland Park travel sports tryout in the future, a request for a hearing must be made to the Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of Highland Park and the Board will decide the outcome on a case-by-case basis.

Below is the proposed Park District Policy:

For the purpose of this policy, “Travel Sports” are defined as any sport that requires a tryout in order to be selected to a team. “Travel Teams” are any team that requires a “tryout” in order to be selected to that team.

If a child attends any “travel sport” tryout, is selected to a “travel team” and following the posting of that team voluntarily withdraws, quits, or is removed by Park District management for any reason other than family emergency or specific medical problem, that player will not receive any refund. Additionally, that player will be prohibited from participating in any “travel team” tryouts for the 12 months following the withdrawal date for all “travel sports”, including tryouts for the “travel sport” in which they withdrew, quit or were removed from for the following season.