Peoria Standard

Village of Swansea Park Board met Sept. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Members Present: Mike Koeneman, Matt Lynch, Cynthia Stranis, Jonas Wilson Village Liaison: Marilyn Neumeyer Guests: Rick Tucker, Charlie Pitts

Chairman Mike opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance at 8:05 am.

Approval of August minutes: Motion to approve the minutes was made by Jonas, seconded by Matt. All in favor, minutes approved.

Clinton Hill Park:

We discussed requests for cross country event on 10/7, 10/10 and 10/21 were all approved with the caveat that they must provide Porta Potties. Cynthia will notify Stefanie at the Village to tell the requestors.

Rick Tucker updated the Board on the washed-out trail. TWM said not a design or construction issue – unusual large rain volume was the cause which insurance will not cover. Matt will ask pickleball players their thoughts on the courts.

Other Parks:

Splash Pad was a success this year. The Board asked Rick to install a sign with hours (i.e., open Memorial Day to Labor Day).

Swansea Kingdom demo done. Pavers with names were preserved and will be reinstalled. It will take 2-3 months for the new one to be built. Surface will be mulch. Mel Price: The Village should be able to apply for a grant to replace the playground soon. Fountain repairs need to be a top priority too.

Halloween Event: The event will be on Sat., Oct 19th, 2024, 4p-7p.

• Trunk or treat – Need 6-8 people to volunteer.

• Games (putt putt, puck slide, and ball roll) – We borrow these games from Tribouts each year. Key Club may be able to run this event including reserving the games, picking them up, and returning them. Cynthia to get Key Club contact info from Dave.

• One bounce house: Mike K has reserve one. He will send the phone number of point of contact to the group.

• Someone dresses up as Dracula. Last year it was Matt. Two years ago, it was Jonas. Need a volunteer.

• Kids art contest – Seeking a volunteer to run it.

• Swansea Fire Dept (FD) attends and gives the kids a tour of a fire truck. Plus FD provides ice, power cords, and gas grill. Cynthia contacted the FD and asked for their help.

• Advertisements – Rose will buy the banners. Cynthia designed the banners and flyers.

• Pumpkins for kids to take home. Rose will take care of this item.

• Food and drinks - Rose will be the lead for this. Rose will get hot dogs, buns, sauerkraut. Will finalize shopping list in Sept (napkins, plates, water, etc.). Cynthia will buy two large boxes of chips (50 count each) and condiments (Sam’s Club triple pack for ketchup, mustard, and relish). Hot dogs will sell for $1/each. Don’t’ forget to show tax-free letter.

• Bonfire – No bonfire this year.

• Decorations – Plan is to decorate as much as possible the day before. Items are in the Thompson Center. Wooden plywood gravestones are placed all around. There are dozens of decorated milk jugs with lights in them. Matt bought 800 feet of LED lights since many of the old lights are broken and hard to lay out.

• Volunteers needed for: Set up, break down, cars for trunk or treating, facilitating the games, cooking the food, playing Dracula.

Park Survey on Survey Monkey: Survey will close on Sep 30. So far 60 inputs and 20 people expressing interest in volunteering. Cynthia will take the survey input and create actionable items for the Board to prioritize no later than Nov 4th. We can then send the list to Rick Tucker (Street Dept) for his thoughts.

New Business:

Christmas Event –

Marilyn requested help with the ornaments. She is ensuring two Santa suits are mended and cleaned. She does have a key to the Thompson Center and one for the Santa house now. Cynthia proposed changing the days open to Dec 11-22 (vs Dec 2-23 last year). Same hours: M-F 6p-8p; Sat-Sun 1p-5p. She will send an email to the group for their thoughts.

Unfinished Business: Installing Wi-fi at the Norman Lehr building was discussed at the Village of Swansea Board of Trustees Committee Meeting on July 1st, 2024. It would cost ~$70/month. The issue was disapproved. Closed.

Public Comment: Charlie mentioned the Rotary is looking to donate two benches for Clinton Hill Park and asked about the area by the pickleball courts. Rick said that would be a perfect location.

General Discussion: Maximum nine Park Board members are allowed. We have six. Charlie Pitts volunteered to join the Board again. Looking for two more. Mike K. may step down as board chairman.

Motion to adjourned made by Cynthia, second by Jonas. All in favor.

https://www.swanseail.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09142024-68