The Waterloo Park District Board met last Wednesday evening to discuss various matters ranging from the district’s tax levy to developments pertaining to the splash pad project at William Zimmer Memorial Park.

Construction for the splash pad to be located off Rogers Street was approved at last month’s meeting, and substantial progress has been made in the weeks since, as reported by Waterloo Director of Public Works Tim Birk, who was given oversight on the project previously.

Birk pointed to work on several areas of the project, noting the dirt work done for the parking lot, completion of the detention pond and connecting stormpipe as well as work toward the bathhouse foundations.

He further expressed that good progress will continue to be made as the weather remains dry.

Birk also recommended a relatively substantial change requiring board approval, specifically that planned collection of drains scattered around the splash pad be replaced with a trench drain, adding that such a change would provide about $15,000 in savings as well as provide additional space for furniture – though the splash pad itself would require a relocation of about eight feet.

The board approved the recommended change.

Also relating to the splash pad, the board heard about a donation from Waterloo Citizens for a Pool of furniture, including shade structures, tables and benches.

WCP President Amy Grandcolas explained that these funds came from the William Zimmer Family Fund.

This is the same fund which had previously been in contact with the park district and WCP about potentially providing a donation for the project’s funding.

As Grandcolas explained, WCP would purchase the amenities on behalf of the park board and donate them to the district.

Grandcolas also said that in order to help pay for all the furniture WCP intends to donate, the group will be participating in an ABC Partnership Program with Green Tree Plastics, collecting plastic caps and lids from community members for a substantial discount on the furniture made from recycled plastics.

Drop-off sites to donate are located in the Waterloo City Hall lobby as well as the Morrison-Talbott Library circulation desk.

For more information, including a list of acceptable donation items, visit the Waterloo Citizens for a Pool page on Facebook.

Also at the meeting, the board approved the proposed tax levy for the year, summarized by Waterloo Park District Attorney Paul Schimpf.

“We will ask the county to collect as much taxes as we’re entitled to without raising the rates,” Schimpf said. “You are allowed to put in a request up to 105 percent, so that’s what we always ask them to do.”

The board also discussed a range of issues concerning city parks, including success of the recent pickleball clinics at Lakeview Park and the state of the Koenigsmark Park cameras which were down for two to three weeks.

Park District Superintendent Don Prater reported the installation of the remaining turf at the dog park, the removal of several large dead trees at Konarcik Park, as well as his efforts to fix a crack in a slide at Zimmer Park.

Commissioner Mary Gardner spoke about her plans to get new hole signs as well as direction arrows for the Konarcik Park disc golf course, relying strictly on sponsors to gather the funds. The board approved.

At the start of the meeting, Park Board President Gina Pfund shared correspondence regarding an idea for a community garden.

Pfund said she responded to the message saying that manpower to oversee such a project would be an issue, and she had not heard anything more about the subject.

Commissioner Keith Buettner also offered his sentiment on the idea.

“I see it as having some problems because, where my sister lived one time, they did that,” Buettner said. “People didn’t come back to clean it up after it was over in the fall. There’s vandalizing.”

The board also discussed other matters, specifically participation by members of the board in two events, the first of which – sending Schimpf to attend an Illinois Association of Park Districts symposium – was passed unanimously.

The second, which would see Commissioner Michael Nolte and another commissioner attend the IAPD annual conference, was discussed with some contention among board members.

Commissioner Shelby Mathes and Buettner argued against participating in the conference, with Mathes suggesting attendance is ineffective as projects and work discussed at the meeting are too expensive as focus is placed on the work of more northern counties in the state.

Buettner said that attendance had generally not been useful during his time on the board.

“I’ve been on the board eight or nine years. People go to that, I have not seen one benefit the park district got out of it that was ever brought back,” Buettner said. “Seems like it’s throwing money out of the window for me.”

Nolte and Gardner spoke in favor of attending the conference, with Nolte noting that attendance provides networking opportunities as well as a few ideas for the district, specifically the gaga ball pit and “other ideas that haven’t been realized.”

Gardner echoed Nolte’s sentiment about networking and gathering ideas.

“I think as our community is growing and the parks are growing and we’re adding things that it would be a good idea to have one commissioner, two commissioners to attend things like this just to get new ideas or even to brainstorm with other park commissioners as far as what’s going on in their town,” Gardner said.

The motion was ultimately approved, with Buettner and Mathes voting against and Nolte, Gardner and Pfund voting in favor.