Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting – July 1, 2026
Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting – July 1, 2026
The Board of Park Commissioners held its regular meeting on July 1, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order, and the board approved the meeting memorandum from June 17, 2026, unanimously. The consent agenda was presented, followed by several new business items, including park improvements, memorials, and operational approvals. All motions carried unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- The board approved the following items without objection:
- Independent skating professional agreements with Mark Cody, Ariel De Hoos Grimm, Rebecca Hatch Purnell, Grace Meyer, Dana Tang, and Ewen Gregory.
- Permission to donate four golf passes for the Indiana Sports Hall of Fame fundraiser.
- Agreement with Three I for KC Newsom Playground Survey and Design.
- Agreement extensions with Oracle (doing business as Elevate) for elevator services at the Pagoda and Swander Ice Rink.
- Agreement with CentOS First Aid and Safety for fire inspections at various park facilities.
Discussion Items
- Center Point Encroachment for Eigelheart Splash Pad Project: The board approved an encroachment agreement for grading and storm pipe installation (one area) and parking lot resurfacing (three areas). The motion carried.
- Free Admission at Lorraine Pool on Opening Day: Catherine Van Hook, program director, requested permission to offer free admission on opening day (date to be announced within a week). Approved.
- Memorial Plaque at Mesker Park Zoo Disc Golf Course – Mike McKim: Charlie Aubrey requested permission to install a small memorial plaque for Mike McKim, who organized the annual Mesker Mayhem disc golf event. The parks department supported the request. Approved.
- Memorial at Freedom Tree, Garvin Park – 25th Anniversary of 9/11: Karina Walstrom, Jordan Baer, and Darren Morton of the Evansville Flag Group, along with designer Darren Wharton, presented plans for a memorial including a sign telling the tree’s story and two signs listing the names of 9/11 victims. The event will feature music, food trucks, water lanterns, and spotlights. No funding was requested from parks. Approved contingent on coordination with the parks department and ADA accessibility.
- Sealed Quotes for KC Newsome Playground Replacement Site Work: Playground equipment has been ordered (arrival end of July). Permission granted to seek sealed quotes for site work.
- RFP for Angel Mounds Boat Ramp Operator: The previous agreement ended due to disrepair and failure to meet Army Corps of Engineers improvement requirements. The board approved seeking a new operator via RFP.
- Reject All Bids for Wesselman Tennis Lighting Project: Purchasing director Dash Streeter explained that the first bidder lacked required contractor license and RBO certification, and the second bidder failed to meet MBE/WBE compliance (0% MBE, 0.56% WBE, insufficient outreach). All bids rejected unanimously.
- Permission to Seek Bids for Wesselman Tennis Lighting: The board approved re-bidding the project with expectations of full compliance.
- Director’s Report: July is National Parks and Recreation Month. Events include popsicle pop-ups, bubbles and chalk, tie-dye, family game nights, movies in the park, and a soda bar at Sunset Skate Park. Updates: Next Level Trails substantially completed (ribbon cutting date TBD); Eigelheart splash pad equipment delivered (targeting Labor Day weekend opening); CK Newsom playground removed, new equipment ordered. During heat advisory, maintenance staff work from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and CK Newsome Center is serving as a cooling center. The director announced she will not attend the next meeting due to a family trip.
- Payroll and Vendor Claims: Approved.
Key Outcomes
- All motions carried unanimously with no opposition.
- Next meeting is scheduled for August 2026 (director will be absent).
Meeting Transcript
I'd like to call to order the uh board board of park commissioners regular meeting for Wednesday July first. Uh first order of business is the meeting memorandum for June seventeenth, twenty twenty six. Do I have a motion for approval? Second. We have motion and approval. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. There are several items on the consent agenda. The approval, a request approval to execute independent skating professional agreement with Mark Cody. Second one is request approval and execute independent skating professional agreement with Ariel De Hoos Grimm. Request approval and execute independent skating approval with Rebecca Hatch Purnell. Request approval and execute independent skating professional agreement with Grace Meyer. Request approval and execute independent skating professional agreement with Dana Tang. Request approval and execute independent skating professional agreement with Ewen Gregory. Request permission to donate four golf passes with CART for the Indiana Sports Hall of Fame fundraiser. Request approval and execute agreement with three eye for KC Newsom Playground Survey and Design. Request approval and execute agreement extension one with Oracle doing businesses elevate for elevator services at the pagoda. Request approval and execute agreement ex extension one with Oracle doing businesses elevate for elevator services at Swander Ice Rink. Request approval and execute agreement with CentOS First Aid and Safety for Fire Extreme Insurance Inspections at various park facilities. The first item of new business request approval and execute center point approachment for IG Iigelheart splash pad project. There were four um areas of encroachment. One area impacted was for grading and the proposed storm pipe, and then the other three items two, three, and four were for the resurfaced parking lot. Any questions? No. Entertain a motion. Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Request permission to offer free admission at Lorraine Pool on opening day. Do we have a spokesperson? Hi board, my name is Catherine Van Hook. I'm the program director at Parks Department. And we're just requesting to allow and provide free admission to Lorraine Pool on opening day. We don't have an opening date yet, but we would like to be able to give the public that for their patients. Estimated date a week, a month, a year. A week. A week. Any other questions? No. I'll entertain a motion. So moved. Second. We have a motion of a second. All in favor say aye.
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