Wicker Park Advisory Council Meeting Minutes

Location: Wicker Park Field House…1425 N. Damen

Present: Cynthia Rosario, Marilyn Morales, D. R. Edwards, Doug Wood, Josh Taylor, David Wagner, John Shirk, Susan Fontana, Bill Murray, Adam Housley, Richard Tilley, Denise Browning, Tiffany Dean, Julie Dickenson

  1. Approval of February Minutes (Ms. Edwards). Ms. Edwards submitted the minutes and resigned. The minutes were tabled and will be edited and then reviewed at the March meeting. Doug Wood was elected secretary.
  2. Treasurer’s Report (Mr. Tilley). Mr. Tilley presented a written report. He also stated that he submitted the IRS report.
  3. Supervisor’s and Area 2 Manager Report
    –REPORT Presented by Cynthia Rosario, Area 2 Manager-Chicago Park District:
    • STATUS-PARK SUPERVISOR: Mr. Torres was not present. Mr. Torres will be on the Park District payroll through March 31; he will retire on April 1, 2008. The position of Park Supervisor is advertised.
    • MEETING WITH STAFF: Ms. Rosario met with the Wicker Park Staff. Tthe attendants are using new products. Ms. Morales arranged a training session for the attendants on how to use a graffiti remover on the benches. The remover must be applied within the first 24 hours.
    • NEW STAFF: Wicker Park has a new staff on duty in the park: Jose Vargas–Part-time Physical Instructor is on the Wicker Park payroll. Mike Zarzone, part-time attendant is working in our park on loan from Humbolt Park.
    • PILLARS AT ENTRANCES: Trades installed 2 pillars at each of the two entrances to support damaged brickwork, resulting from water leaks.
    • STAFF PRODUCED EARTH DAY: Wicker Park Staff will host and staff an Earth Day event on Saturday, April 26 for children and their families that are registered for the Mom, Pops, and Tots Program, the Park Kids, and sports programs.
    • MOVIE IN THE PARK: Surfs Up will be shown outside on Thursday, August 7 at dusk. The Chicago Park District has arranged to provide the movie to our park–free of charge.
    • STAFF PRODUCED TEEN NIGHT: the Wicker Park Staff will host Teen Night on Thursday, May 15 from 6-8pm. Staff members will organize and supervise activities for the youth. The Park District will bus in some of the teen participants.
    • LIGHTING AND SECURITY: Ms. Rosario reported that she had a special focus on installing lighting to illuminate the fountain court area. Work should be completed soon. She is also working to obtain video cameras to enhance security in the park.
    • NEW PARTNERSHIP FORMS–ROOM USE AND EVENTS: All groups that utilize the field house or park for meetings or events must submit the dates of these meetings or events to Ms. Rosario. These requests will then be submitted to the downtown executives on a new Partnership form. EMAIL info to cynthia.rosario@chicagoparkdistrict.com and cc art.richardson@chicagoparkistrict.com. The details of the approval process, fees, waivers, or turn around time were not discussed.
  4. DONOR PLAQUE STOLEN (Mr. Wood): The 22 X 22 in bronze donor plaque was stolen from the fountain court. Replacement and installation are estimated to be $4,000. The plaque was installed incorrectly by Park District Trades. The Park District is not insured to replace the item.
    Mr. Wood will continue to discuss the replacement with Park District staff and Alderman Manny Flores.
  5. NEW PAC DOCUMENTS FOR REVIEW (Ms. Fontana): Ms. Fontana distributed copies of the new PAC documents. These documents were sent to 17 Advisory Councils in Chicago. WPAC copies of the documents were sent to Julie Dickenson. We will contact the Park District again and inform them of our current officers and their addresses (email and postal).
  6. Dog Park (Mr. Housley). Mr. Housley reported that there will be a spring fundraiser and spring-cleaning. Dates will be set when the weather improves. He reported that the trash is not being emptied in the dog park. Ms. Rosario said she would check into this.
  7. Wicker Park Trio–Music Series (Doug Wood) Mr. Wood distributed a copy of the promotion package and press package that is being used for the event. He explained that the event was three fold: 1) produce a music series 2) promote park development 3) promote the neighborhood, businesses and community groups. Mr. Wood stated that he requested in January a 20 X 20 ft tent for each of the six music performances. To date, he has not received confirmation from Ms. Rosario that the tents have been booked. He stated that the signing of the contracts with the musicians has been held up due to this delay in confirmation. Ms. Rosario and Ms. Morales said they would work on the tent confirmation. He will submit a quote from Kinkos for printing to Ms. Rosario. The funding for this printing is to come from the Wicker Park Budget–$1,200 allocated to the music series He distributed the detailed programs for all six performances. The department of tourism has shown interest in promoting the event. He stated that he would contact all press and the park district web site coordinators to post the performances. He is working with Parkways Foundation to set up an endowment for the park–details should be finalized and presented within the next 2 months.
  8. Banner and Webiste (Mr. Kolecke): Mr. Kolecke was absent, but reported via email that he had done some work on the website. Mr. Wood stated that a music banner will be up on the Damen banner board by May 1 and if funds permit, a Carnival strip banner would also be installed (1ft X 8 ft).
  9. Children’s Carnival June 8, 2008 (Mr. Taylor): Josh Taylor and Citichurch organized a meeting and/or spoke with interested individuals including Sylvia Ramos, Julie Dickenson, Jeff Allen, KC MacQueen, Angela Strater, and others. Sylvia Ramos will be in charge of involving the area elementary schools as she did last year. Mr. Torres submitted requests for equipment, but no equipment has been confirmed by meeting time. Ms. Dickenson stated that she was working with community members to raise funding to upgrade the small play lot located on the south side of Pritzker. She proposed that the Carnival be a focal point in this group's fundraising efforts for this Pritzker improvement, and that proceeds from the carnival be donated to this project. After discussion, the proposal was withdrawn. Mr. Taylor stated that the event was for the enjoyment of all and that the event will not be produced as a fundraiser for the WPAC's projects. At the April WPAC meeting, the committee will present a budget, event layout, and details of the schools and community groups that will participate in the event.
  10. Wicker Park Festival on Damen: No details were discussed. Mr. Wood stated that he submitted a map of the fences for 2008 to the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber.

Meeting was adjourned by acclamation.