The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By: Shirley Linder, Quill Editor
Jade Parker was present at the Stronghurst Village Board on September 2, 2014 to say, that after reading the article from the last village board meeting there seemed like there were some questions that needed to be answered regarding the spray park.
She also stated she wanted to write an article for the paper addressing some of the questions and wanted to make sure it was accurate.
Parker told the board the spray park has not gotten any larger, that the 2400 square foot is pretty much where it has stood the whole time. As for water usage 40 gallon a minute is what Ronnie Gittings had said they could pretty much top off at and no matter how many features are added it could still be set to use 40 gallon per minute. The water would just circulate throughout more features.
If the grant, which they have applied for, is received they will be able to add up to 12 above ground features, otherwise there will be 3 above ground features and the pipes underneath, capped off, for more features in the future.
The features will need to be manually turned on and will run for the set amount of time that is designated and then will need to be turned on again.
As to the issue of people in the community not being in favor of the spray park, Parker said no one else had come forward with any ideas or offer to do anything. It was also said the community had an opportunity to attend previous meetings and express their ideas and concerns.
Parker said, "We are not building a memorial for Doctor Pogue, we are just naming it after him."
Diana Taylor said at one time there was money donated for a pool and it got diverted to the ball field.
Parker had been in touch with two other cities which have spray parks, however, one had a 17,000 population and the other 35,000 so a good comparison as to what it would cost to maintain the spray park was not possible. Mike Bohnenkamp said probably $ 50-$100 per month would cover the costs of electricity and water, however, this does not include the liability insurance costs. Parker said the only maintenance would be power wash it occasionally, keep the debris cleared off, spring set up is a matter of starting up the system by flipping a switch and fall shut down would include blowing out the lines and capping them off.
Parker said the final design, in ground jets, features colors, etc. cannot be decided until a company is picked and a contract signed.
The next step for the board is to talk with Sally Waddell at Country Financial and get a price on the liability insurance.
Tony Anderson had received 3 bids for the installation of 5 cameras in the village park. After a lengthy discussion of the pros and cons of each bid the board voted to accept the bid from Burke Installed in the amount of $9,268.29.
Mayor Gary Root brought up the topic of a ban on leaf burning. Discussion ran from buying bags for bagging, to village picking up, burning only on certain days, how to enforce, etc. The village attorney said an ordinance was not hard to write but enforcing it was going to be a real problem. After going around the table and each member expressing their opinion the idea was dropped.
In other business the board:
Attorney Bill Rasmussen asked for executive session for pending litigation. Entered closed session at 9:28 p.m. and returned to open session at 9:37 p.m. No decisions were made.
Present: Mayor Gary Root; Trustees, Mike Bohnenkamp, Deb Hale, Brendan Schaley, Betty Waterman, Tony Anderson, David Vancil; Employees, Lou Ann Nortrup, Mike Nelson, Bill Rasmussen; Guests Yvonne Knapp, Jade Parker, Diana Taylor, Doug Hale, Shirley Linder.
The next meeting will be held on Monday, October 6, at 7:00 p.m.