Business for the Waterloo Park Board last week included welcoming a new commissioner, talk about wrapping up the season for the Waterloo Community Splash Pad and other small matters, with the board also sharing its efficiency report which provides an overview of park district activity.

Following the resignation of Shelby Mathes last month, Curtis Haentzler was appointed as a new commissioner at the end of last Wednesday’s meeting.

Haentzler will hold the seat until the consolidated election in April, at which point this position will be on the ballot for the remaining two years of Mathes’ term.

The seats currently belonging to board vice president Michael Nolte and commissioners Keith Buettner and Gina Pfund will also be on the ballot.

Concerning the splash pad, the board approved its closure for the season on Sept. 15, recognizing that activity at the facility had declined significantly over the past few weeks.

While fewer residents had been stopping by recently, members of the board – including park board president Mary Gardner – were positive about the season.

“I have been very pleased by the participation of the community and the citizens and those that have gone and enjoyed the splash pad this season,” Gardner said. “It’s been nice to see.”

Much of the splash pad discussion revolved around winterization, with Nolte having asked around several nearby communities with splash pads to hear how they prepare their systems for the coming cold.

He reported that Dupo winterizes its own splash pad while Edwardsville contracts Capri Pool. O’Fallon also performs its own winterization, though it recommended Hydro Dynamics which, per Nolte, were uninterested – and rude, as though their time was being wasted – when representatives came out to assess the Waterloo facility.

From the discussion, it was ultimately decided that Murphy Company, a mechanical contracting firm out of St. Louis, seemed to be the best to work with, and a motion was made to allow Gardner the authority to negotiate with the company.

In this discussion, Waterloo Park District Superintendent Don Prater reiterated his intentions of learning the particulars of the winterization process from whomever the board hires so that the process can be done in-house in the future.

“In all honesty, I think I could close it right now myself if I had to, but I hate to take that chance because if I make one little mistake, it ain’t 100 bucks, it’s 100,000,” Prater said.

At the top of the meeting, Waterloo Citizens for a Pool President Amy Grandcolas announced that the second and final collection of tables and benches for the splash pad would be picked up within the next week.

Pfund also shared that the major barn feature for the splash pad will hopefully be ready by next spring, having spoken about the feature’s significant delays at last month’s meeting.

Another topic of conversation among the board included the creation of a Facebook page for the park district in order to better communicate with the public.

The particulars of administrator access were touched on, with park district attorney Paul Schimpf also bringing to the board’s attention the possibility of negative comments on the page – though the board ultimately motioned for Schimpf to begin creating the Facebook page.

Gardner, who has been working on procuring new signs for the disc golf course at Konarcik Park for some time, reported that the signs were finished and would soon be placed.

She also noted just how much use the course seems to get, having heard that players had logged their scores on a disc golf app 264 times just last month. This figure stands at 15,341 all-time scores logged, though Gardner pointed out this is likely representative of just a few of the people who have made use of the course since it first opened.

During the meeting, Prater noted problems with hoses at the dog park in Lakeview Park, also noting a dead Lakeview tree with limbs which had been hanging over the road was set to be handled.

Two matters of park donations were also discussed by the board, with one older woman having reached out to the district to express her wishes of donating a tree at Lakeview.

Waterloo Alderman Jim Trantham, who serves as the city liaison for the park district, also mentioned at the end of the meeting that the Monroe County Fraternal Order of Police was interested in purchasing a bench in honor of officers who have died while in active service though not due to on-duty incidents.

A dedication ceremony for two recently added military veteran statues at Lakeview Park will take place this Saturday at 10 a.m.

The district’s efficiency committee also held its final meeting as part of the regular meeting’s agenda, with copies of the committee’s final report available.

The committee was established in April of last year, with members of the board as well as Waterloo residents Grandcolas and Alan Mitan acting as committee members during the initial and closing meetings as well as two meetings that took place back in February and July.

The report includes a brief history of the park district as well as an overview of its activities, operations and facilities.

A major component of the report is an assessment of the district’s current transparency and efficiency as well as its plans for the future.

Noted in the report, one manner in which the district could improve its transparency is by placing various documents – including meeting minutes – online for public viewing. It’s also noted that several members of the public have asked for an additional opportunity to speak at the end of regular meetings.

As far as efficiency, the report states that, unlike many other local governments that can make use of funds from a variety of taxes, the park district is funded chiefly through property taxes and other sources like sponsorships and pavilion reservation fees.

On the future of the park district, a number of strengths were identified, including support from the community, high quality parks and facilities, strong and capable staff and collaboration with the city.

Noted weaknesses include inadequate funding to meet community desires – the 2023-24 tax revenue of $368,287.62 allowed for park maintenance but not requests such as additional pickleball courts and recreational programs – lacking communication with park patrons, minimal use of volunteers and a lack of a modern comprehensive plan.

Opportunities featured in the report include community wishes for recreational activities, the chance for the park district to establish a stronger identity and potential revenue streams, with the main one being ongoing establishment of the Waterloo Park District Foundation which will be able to accept charitable donations on behalf of the district.

As far as the district’s overall plan for the near future outlined in the report, five key recommendations were made.

These include establishing a new or updated website to allow for better communication with volunteers and supporters, posting meeting agendas and minutes on said website, establishing various social media accounts for the district, creating a volunteer coordinator position for the recruitment of district volunteers and the organization of district events and beginning a comprehensive planning process to take place over a five-year cycle.