Parks gave the official name Spring/Garden Planting Guidelines to a plan gardener Scott Miskiel provided at Parks’ Nov. 19 meeting. Commissioner Steven Foster said that it would codify the move from general horticulture to the selection of native plants and would be a living document with nothing permanent. The guidelines are on Parks’ website, eurekaparks.com.
Afterwards, commissioners moved to the volunteer handbook also presented by Miskiel. Jason McAfee, Agriculture teacher at Eureka Springs High School, told commissioners about 110 students have volunteered to help with planting. He covered how the students will always be supervised, and when students complete 75 volunteer hours they get one credit.
Sharon Roberts also spoke about how volunteers meet with Miskiel for the initial project review and are overseen by him.
Miskiel said that the handbook is only to help promote volunteerism and that it was not to put the gardens out of Parks’ hands.
Commissioner Dave Hartmann showed concern that the program leans heavily on a volunteer coordinator. Miskiel said that one would be needed to implement website suggestions, volunteer hour tracking, and to coordinate with other organizations that want to help.
Miskiel said that he and Parks Director Justin Huss had discussed sharing the gardener title with a second person with that person handling volunteers as part of their duties.
Commissioners concluded that Miskiel would have to coordinate everything for now. Foster voiced concern about the concept of “adopt-a-park” and signage as an incentive for volunteerism. Chair Bill Featherstone said it could be adopted as a “living” document while striking signage out. Commissioner Ruth Hager moved for the motion of adoption and Foster seconded, striking out the section on signage. It carried unanimously.
Money talks
Commissioner Scott Bardin gave a report on Parks finances, saying there was a financial knowledge deficit and he wanted commissioners to vote to have an outside source manage Parks’ finances going forward.
One of Bardin’s main concerns was the use of Quickbooks® due to it not leaving an audit trail. Chair Bill Featherstone asked if it would run less than $5,000 a year, and Bardin said yes. Commissioners discussed the mechanics of making such a move from in-house to a private company, with Featherstone suggesting they move the conversation to a special workshop, as he was not ready to come to a decision.
Update: Parks to move forward with financial outsourcing
Parks commissioners met on Tuesday, Nov. 26 to discuss the possibility of outsourcing Parks’ financials. Commissioners’ main concerns were lack of time before the end of the year and the logistics of the switch. After much discussion and an amendment to a previous motion voted on, commissioners decided that they would speak with local accounting firms and present findings at their workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the Harmon Park Office.
Request for trails’ projects
Chris Fischer brought concern about the handling of the 2013 LLCP Master Plan, saying that it has not been formally reviewed. He said there is no report on the impact of the downhill gravity trail project and asked for a report on the Parks and Walton Family Foundation Partnership as the changes made to the Lake Leatherwood were the largest change of footprint since the Ballfields creation.
Jim Helwig suggested that Parks establish a Park Naturalist to assist in a bio-inventory of Lake Leatherwood to better balance recreational activities with preservation.
Pat Costner spoke last, saying that Featherstone was not civil during the Master Plan Town Hall on Nov. 12. Featherstone responded that he was in agreement more than she knew, and added that there is not a perfect plan to make everyone completely happy.
Director’s Report
- Repairs to the Parks office have been completed.
- Christmas lights are being tested and Parks employees are putting decorations out.
- The installation of a fish cleaning station in LLCP has begun.
- A canine search and rescue training weekend was held in Leatherwood with 46 participants.
- The Water Quality Fund is reaching a level that Parks may begin grant applications.
Other News
- Commissioner Christian Super and Chris Fischer gave an update on the Lake Leatherwood Enhancement Project. They have a rough plan to bring education around the Miner’s Rock area with panel mockups and possible locations.
- Parks took no action to approve Q3 financials due to Bardin’s concerns on their accuracy.
- Committee rules were finalized and approved unanimously.
- Parks Master Plan survey is available once more on their website. Parks has acquired larger email lists and paper copies are to be distributed. The survey will be available through the end of the year.
- Featherstone agreed to speak with the Community Center board about money for a waterline for the greenhouse.
- Parks went into executive session for the disciplining of a Parks employee. No action was taken.
- October minutes approval was postponed until next meeting, Dec. 17.