Meeting Notes
Washington Park Advisory Council meets the 3rd Wednesdays of every month at 7 pm, in the Fieldhouse on the west side of Washington Park located at 5531 S. King.
Our next Meeting will be;
Sept. 21st 2011 at 7 p.m.
Special Meetings;
None at this time.
Meeting Notes from June 15th, 2011
•WPAC treasury report
-$100 Teen Club & $100 Advisory Council
•REPORTS
•Ballplayers
-Sunday teams have only played two days so far this season due to field flooding.
-Players have talked to commissioners about flooding this year and have been told it's being look at.
-The park district is suppose to be putting a catch basin for water drainage by the diamond on field #17.
-Ballplayers have been moving their games to Calumet Park because of flooding.
-fields #10 through #15 along the East side of the park have serious flooding issues.
-Baseball players tip their caps to the grounds crew on Saturday, but Softball players don't feel the same.
-Half the bulbs are burned out on the field lights making night games impossible to play for the past two weeks on some fields.
•Boating
-Liz Milan from the park district has suggested that there may be room for the boats at 62nd & LaSalle
-Leroy Bowers suggested using the Pea Island story to help entice Dr. Adams at the DuSable Museum to have the boats stored on the Museum's grounds.
•Natural Resources Report
-Report by Cecilia Butler about Washington Park Discovery Day, June 8th.
-The planned Savanna restoration by the Army Corps. of Engineers has been canceled due to lack of funds.
•Advisory Council Bylaws
-A last minute change in regards to become a voting member was made. Switching the requirements from being 6 consecutive meetings attended, to 6 meetings attended over a 12 month period.
-WPAC Bylaws have been finalized and will be posted soon
•Report from the Park Staff
-No park staff this month
•Question; Should the WPAC support the Closer of 57th Street from Cottage Grove to Morgan Drive? The closure, which would be permanent, would
be used to create a connecting walk-way between the new & old wing of the DuSable Museum.
-The question was tabled to the next meeting, but some opposition was made briefly in concerns about traffic congestion if the project was to go through.
•Other Items
-A lengthy discussion was had about ways in which the WPAC could do outreach to the community to make them more aware about our mission and having their voices heard in matters related to the park
-A "Meet & Greet" day was set for out Aug 17th meeting
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-Go Fly a Kite, day was postponed because of bad weather in the spring. A new date has yet to be made.
-The newest version of the Washington Park Herald will be going to press by July 3rd. Deadline for submissions will be June 21st.
Meeting of the Washington Park Teen Advisory Council, will be at 6pm the 3rd Wednesday of each month.
The next WPAC Meeting will be July 20th at 7pm. |
Meeting Notes from Jan. 19th, 2011
•WPAC treasury report
-$100 Teen Club & $100 Advisory Council
-Boating $3,000
•Guest Speakers; Chicago Park District's Department of Natural Resources
-Presented a plan by the Army Corp. of Engineers to give a face lift to the Southern half of Washington Park. Plans include;
*Planting savanna grass in the 7 Hills area.
*Creating a board walk over the marsh area between 7 Hills & the lagoon.
*A fishing pier & boulders will be added to the south end of the lagoon to improve fishing areas & stop erosion.
*The gravel land bridge on the North part of Bynum Island will be removed to help water flow (this is not the cement bridge)
*New signage will be placed around the park.
*Possible timeline for a start date is June 2011.
The Advisory Council gave unanimous approval with the understanding that;
A. The large Black Willow tree Northwest of the lagoon no be disturbed. It is older than the actual park.
B. The youth football practice area be left in a useable manner for practice.
C. The plan for the 3 foot tall savanna grass be scaled back, in the 7 Hills area, so that it doesn't impede upon park goers from picnicking on the hills.
•REPORTS
•Report from ball players
-Drainage issues need to be address before 2011 season starts.
•Natural Resources Report
-Madiem Kawa, of the Washington Park Conservancy, logged in over 507hours from volunteers in 2010.
-The WPC will be starting their volunteer season in March. With meetings taking place every third Saturday of the month. More information can be found here
http://washington-park-greenspace-journal.blogspot.com/
•Advisory Council Bylaws
-Committee will be meeting soon to review and issue any changes to the WPAC Bylaws
•Report from the Park Staff
-Asaki Event is coming up on Feb., 25th, from 6-9pm.
-New Bleachers are being added to the boys gym.
•Other Items
-Elections for council members will be held next meeting. |
Meeting Notes from Jan. 20th, 2010
•WPAC treasury report
-$100 Teen Club & $100 Advisory Council
-Boating $130. Added a $150 gift from the 2016 Event fund, to make the current total $280
•REPORTS
•Commissioner's Meeting
-WPAC informed the commissioner's that. the boys gym needs new bleachers, Festivals need to be moved away from residential areas that border the park & we'd like to see approval & funding for the return of the boating program at Washington Park.
•Report from ball players
-2009 was a good year as ground crews performance was improved over past years. The intergenerational baseball league was proud to announced that several of it's 18 year old players had enrolled in local junior colleges. However fields need work as drainage issues were a major problem in 2009.
-The Hamil Park Baseball Assoc. has offered to donate a tractor to Washington Park so baseball diamonds can be dragged after each game. Mrs. Collins stated that
this would need approval for use from the regional manager of the park district, as there were liabilities issues that would surely need to be addressed.
-The Ball players as well as the WPAC, is also asking for the Park District to rescind blackout dates on field use before, during and after festivals that happen in Washington Park, as some festivals are not even on sporting event grounds.
•Dyett/Chicago Botanical Gardens mini-farm @ Dyett
-A rod Iron fence will be erected
-They're looking to make a greenhouse dome on the site to make it a year round project.
-Also, more market days to come in 2010
•Natural Resources Report
-Still waiting on 2 trees given to Washington Park after the 2008 Advisory Council appreciation party.
•Advisory Council Bylaws
-Committee will be meeting soon to review and issue any changes to the WPAC Bylaws
•WPAC Fund Raiser
-May 1st, 2010 (Sat.) 6pm-9pm "Honoring those who have helped us along the way"
-Honorees include: Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Edna, Sergeant Mac, Dub, Stanley Porter, Gerald Ross, L.I.S.C., CAN-TV, Arnold Kasserman & Boating helpers.
-Donations will be helping the Boating program, computer lab & teen club at Washington Park.
-Silent Auction, Entertainment, plus food & drinks
-Will be held at the park refectory building.
•Winter Fest 2009
-Organized by Pasha Hunt-Golliday in mid December to give out gifts to at need children. The event was held at the Refectory
and was seen largely as a success by the event organizers & a few WPAC members who attended, but Mrs. Hunt-Golliday, addressed some concern that she felt the event was treated poorly by the park's staff. While she wanted to remain positive about the event she did state the some staff were "inappropriately involved in the event" and that the event was closed early by park staff, unlike what was stipulated in the contract with the Park District.
•Report from the Park Staff
-Is backing the WPAC at petitioning the commissioner's office to help the field house acquire 8 new portable bleachers to replace the 1950's era wooden bleachers in use at the field house.
-Asaki Event is coming up Feb., 24-26, with the main event date being the 26th.
-The Washington Park Redskins will be holding their annual banquet in Feb. at the gym in the field house. The Redskins made another trip to the Mum Bowl this year looking to go back to back as champions, but finished runner-up.
-L.I.S.C. is looking at donating money for rain jackets for the football team as well as other equipment & possibly training equipment to be used by the team in a downstairs room at the field house.
•Other Items
-The WPAC talked about possibly setting up a snack fundraising booth a few Saturdays during the year to
raise money for WPAC projects. |
Meeting Notes from May 20th, 2009
•Guest Speakers;
NCP Garden Program at Dyett HS; In conjunction with the QCDC & Chicago Botanical gardens, a youth garden program has received the council's approval. The Garden would be placed in the area just East of the school.
•Al Holfield, spoke on behalf of the South Shore Credit Union, about using space at the Washington Park Field House for informal legal advice sessions. The idea gained the council's support.
•Sandra Womack from L.I.S.C.,talked about what LISC is and what they do for the community.
•WPAC treasury report
-$100 Teen Club & $100 Advisory Council
-Plus our newsletter & Computer Center Fund
•REPORTS
•Report from ball players
-Rain has made fields less than perfect. Players are hoping for better conditions. Would like to see the fields shored up.
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
-looking to raise funds to create an award & recognition for the boathouse & current storage provider for the boats. $40 was collected at the meeting.
•Teen Club Fund raiser
-Teens are looking to raise funds for a trip to Disney World. Funds would be raised by selling coupons books. Local resident Paul Minervino, who runs Liberty International Phone, would be supplying the coupon books which would be sold through pre-orders where $30 was collected in advance
and the Teen Club would receive $15 for each book sold, or more if quantities reached a certain level.
-Some opposition was raised from meeting attendees about the coupon books mainly being geared towards fast food chains. The Council didn't feel it detracted enough form the possible gains of the fund raising for the teens and backed the measure.
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Meeting Notes from April 15th, 2009
•WPAC treasury report
-$100 Teen Club & $100 Advisory Council
-Plus our newsletter & Computer Center Fund
•REPORTS
•Report from ball players
-Sunday League starts May 3rd
-High school teams have already started
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
-Boats have been moved to 60th & Calumet. Towing and Storage bill is $300.
-Looking to train youths to refurbish the boats over the summer
•Running/biking
-6th year of the running club
-First run is 4/18 9am
-Runners are interested in having the park district create a 2 foot wide path along side the bridal path similar to what runs along side of the lake front bike paths. The current crushed rock bridal path has little give and causes greater impact on the park's runners.
•Natural Resources
-Becky Schillo, from the Dept. of Natural Resources spoke on behalf of the Volunteer Stewardship Program. Madiem Kawa is the volunteer for Washington Park's program.
-The program meets every Saturday from 9am-noon at the Lagoon on the South East side of the park.
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Meeting Notes from March 18th, 2009
| •WPAC treasury report
-$100 Teen Club & $100 Advisory Council
-Plus our newsletter & Computer Center Fund
•REPORTS
•Report from ball players
-Sunday's Best will start it's 30th official season May 3rd (5 of the original 8 teams will still be playing)
-tree trimming needed along baseline for fields 8, 9 & 13
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
-Boats are in storage and need lumber, paint & man power to get them back in working condition
•Running/biking
-April 18th is the kickoff walk for 2009
•Natural Resources
-Two new trees will be planted in Washington Park, thanks to WPAC member Edna, who was the winner of a the plant a tree drawing at the 2008 Chicago Park District's annual Advisory Council thank you event. One tree will be planted near the new super playground and the other will be planted by the bolder designating Ulysses S. Grant's tree.
•Washington Park Jr. Olympics Week
-April 6th to the 10th.
•2009 Advisory Council Registration and Bylaws
-Can be viewed here
•WPAC back on TV
-The Washington Park Advisory Council will be featured every Tuesday night
on Hotline 21 (CAN TV) starting April 1st and running for 4 weeks. This will be a 30 minute show with live call ins. |
Meeting Notes from Jan 21st, 2009
| •WPAC treasury report
-$100 Teen Club & $150 Advisory Council
-$750 for newsletter & $3500 Computer Center Fund
•REPORTS
•Computer Center
-Council viewed different options on new computers ranging from Dell's at $599 to off-brand PC's at $399.
•Report from ball players
-letter from the Sunday's Best Softball League to the Chicago Park District
(view letter here)
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
•Running/biking
•Natural Resources
•2009 Advisory Council Registration and Bylaws
-Can be viewed here
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Meeting Notes from Sept 17th, 2008
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•WPAC treasury report
-The grant for community news papers has been given to the WPAC in the amount of $1,000. The Washington Park News will be a 4 page paper, hopefully published 4 times a year.
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
-Boats are still in storage, a deal has been worked out with the park to store them at Washington Park under the swimming pool bleachers, but transportation is needed to get them from the ship yard to the park. Possibly by renting a hitch & trailer from U-Haul.
•Report from ball players
-Compared with the last 3 baseball seasons, the ball players said they have limited complaints about overall support of fields & facilities by the park district. While they reserve the right to change their minds so far this season the park district and it's field crew have been really good.
•Running/biking
-Wesley Wiley says the running groups event in late Aug. was a success and they raise about $500. SOme of that money will be going to the Washington Park football team.
•The Super Playground
-Should be finished in 2 weeks with opening day slated for sometime mid-October.
•Computer room
-The WPAC has a verbal commitment for a $5,000 grant for new computers, with the specific goal of providing those computers for use by students with no personal computer access. •WPAC on TV
-The Washington Park Advisory Council will be featured every Monday night at 7pm
on Hotline 21 (CAN TV) starting in October and running for 13 weeks. This will be a 30 minute show with live call ins. |
Meeting Notes from June 18th, 2008
Guest speakers - Mike Kelley from the Chicago Park District & Jim McGravey from Thompson Dyke & Assoc. giving an update on the new super playground in Washington Park
•WPAC treasury report
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
-Boats are still in storage and money is still needed to get them out to implement a junior boating program over the summer.
•Report from ball players
-Ball players have been happy with field conditions since the start of the season, but still confirm that some maintenance is needed. Particularly with crowning of the infields to help proper drainage.
-A request for lights to be added on field #1 is still being looked at by the Park District, but a cost of roughly $60 to $70 thousand would need funding.
-Players would like a portable john closer to field #1. Although Washington Park
has already placed the dozen or more johns they have budgeted for evenly around the park. It was suggested by the Park District that if the ball players would like a closer john, they could do what the cricket players do and contract the same company the park uses and pay for it themselves.
•The Park District has reported that the permanent comfort stations have been open during the days, but vandalism of tissue dispensers and other items is becoming a problem.
•The Super Playground
-Mr. McGravey reported that the progress of the Super Playground. A estimated timeline places the finishing touches to be done within 4-6 weeks depending on weather or the first week of August. 30% of the playground was finished at the time of the meeting.
-Concerns were brought up at the meeting about how to stop vandalism of the playground once it opens. Padlocks on entrance gates were suggested by the council. The Park district also advised talking to the local CAPS beat commander to figure out the best possible signage that could be places around the park.
-The Super Playground total cost estimate was placed at $750,000. mostly made possible by a donation form the Parkways Foundations, which
was contributed to by the revenue generated from the 2005 Lollapalooza music festival held in Grant Park.
-The playground takes into account the historic value of Washington Park, with the playground floor made out as a map of Washington Park. Spring balanced sheep riders will be placed on the area of the map where sheep once grazed, acting as the park's first lawn mowers.
•An update on the Guidelines for advisory councils of Chicago Park Districts
-No major changes have been made for 2008
•Response to the Washington Park Conservancy
-WPAC President
Cecilia Butler, stated that while the Washington Park Conservancy has done admirable work around the park, the Chicago Park District only recognizes one community advisory group per park and that group in the Washington Park Advisory Council. The WPAC has no problem giving support, or approving projects by the Washington Park Conservancy, if those projects are brought before the WAPC and it's members.
•Bridal path
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Park District reports that the bridal path will be leveled off soon to even out divots and eliminate places where standing water is an issue.
-The Park district would like it to be know that horses are welcome on the bridal path, but proper permits have to be obtained through the park district first.
•Mayor Daley to visit Washington Park
-The mayor will be in Washington Park, Wednesday the 25th to look at the swimming area.
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Meeting Notes from Jan. 16th, 2008
•WPAC treasury report
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
-Boats are still in storage and money is still needed to get them out to implement a junior boating program over the summer.
•Report from ball players
-Ball players content that the Park DIstrict has not released the game cost for the 2008 season. Mr. Collins, a representative from Washington Park stated that there will be no change from 2007 when the fees were $30 per game, but will not have anything from the Park District in writing till April.
•Report from Wesley Wiley
-Running Club will be holding it's first walk & run of the year on April 25th. Contact Wesley Wiley.
•Residents on Cottage Grove are requesting that residential permit parking be set up in the areas surrounding the northeast section of Washington Park to allow residents to be the only ones allowed to use street parking during summer festivals at the park. Also, complaints about noise levels from band stages set up across from the residential buildings on Cottage is another issue. Another board member from the neighborhood just north of the park objected to parking permits, saying that festivals are part of living in the city and permits would create problems for guests of residents and would only work if it were strictly enforced, possibly just pushing the problem to other blocks of the neighborhood. Alternatives brought up included the University of Chicago opening it's parking garages to the public during the festivals, and or moving the festivals to a more central location in the park.
Washington Park will be holding a Skiing Trip for 9 of it's outstanding children in their youth programs. The Ski trip will be Feb. 9th, 2008 and the Advisory Council is looking to raise $180 to help send these 9 children to the slopes. Donations can be made directly to the WPAC via Cecilia Butler 773.667.4160.
The Washington Park Field House will hold it's annual Ashaki Celebration Feb. 28th & 29th. ("Ashaki" is an African word for Beautiful). Admission will be $2 per person.
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Meeting Notes from Oct 17th, 2007
•WPAC treasury report
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
•Report from ball players
-Ball players say Park District is not holding up their end on service to ball fields
-Gates are locked early, trapping players vehicles that were parked on Payne Dr & Elsworth Dr.
-Parking lot by the softball fields needs parking space lines repainted
•Report from Wesley Wiley
•Madiem Kawa, an area resident & WPAC member, will be leading a Volunteer Stewardship Program Workday at Washington Park, currently at the southern lagoon just west of the Fountain of Time, every Saturday Oct 20-Nov 10 from 9am till noon. For more info email Madiem sunshine0711@gmail.com.
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Meeting Notes from June 20th, 2007
•WPAC treasury report
•Festival discussion continued from last meeting
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
•Report from ball players
•Report from Wesley Riley
•Update of our "Ultra Playground"
•Beranrd Chestleigh, asstsitant to the 20th Ward Alderman Willie B. Cochran stopped by to address the council |
Meeting Notes from May 16th, 2007
•Festival discussion continued from last meeting
•Boating program update from Stanley Porter
•Report from ball players
•WPAC treasury report
•Call for support at Chicago Park District Commissioners meeting 6/13/07 4pm
•Open discussion on overall park conditions
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