At the April 16 Parks meeting Director Justin Huss said East Mountain has more graffiti, Basin Park has an ill tree that will have to be removed, Lake Leatherwood dock repair is completed, and new paddleboats are fully stocked for the season.
Huss said the quarterly financials indicate “$2,300 to the good,” and commissioner Steven Foster requested a more itemized financial report from here forward rather than a brief summarization.
Chair Bill Featherstone stated there have been five applications received for volunteers, and to boost the number of volunteers he said they are not limited to city residents.
Huss stated that the main flatbed truck used by the Parks has broken down and it’s not financially feasible to repair it. He said the truck is about 30 years old and proposed buying a replacement in the range of $15,000-$20,000 which would be allocated out of the Lake Leatherwood tax fund.
He also said that the cost for paying mileage reimbursement to employees for using their own vehicles is rising, and requested the purchase of an additional all-purpose vehicle. For this, Huss said, the Police department has offered Parks a Ford Expedition that needs a new motor; total repair is estimated at $8,800 that would come from the Parks general fund.
Because neither of these expenses was budgeted, commissioners discussed these requests at length, deliberating for more than 30 minutes before ultimately giving approval.
The commission requested of Huss detailed financials, including itemized profit and loss, the balance sheet, and checking account transactions in at least 24 hours before each regular meeting.
Huss became visibly irritated, saying, “I will not hold a financial meeting,” saying he spends way too much time in meetings. Commissioners said an additional meeting was not necessary, just complete financials in a timely manner would be satisfactory.
Nine new policy items were approved and went into effect as of April 16. These consist of alcohol & drugs prohibited; concession leases and contract agreements up to one year must be approved by the Director; excavations and unauthorized removals are prohibited; items lost and unclaimed will become city property; parent/guardian must sign rental contract for a minor under 18; parking prohibited in unauthorized locations; unauthorized advertising is prohibited; amplified sound devices are prohibited; unauthorized pesticide and herbicide use is prohibited; and quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to sunrise.
Commissioners will discuss further policies at the next meeting, including but not limited to the sanctuary of wildlife such as prohibiting wounding, killing, or frightening wildlife.
The next meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21 at the Aud.