[0:29] Good evening, everyone. I'd

[0:31] like to call to order the

[0:33] September 8th, 2026 meeting for

[0:37] found Missouri's Parks and

[0:38] Recreation Advisory Board. Can

[0:41] I have a roll call, please?

[0:42] Mr. elder here. Miss Hall Baker

[0:46] here. Mr. Hester here. Mr.

[0:49] Koester present. Mr. Trammell

[0:52] here. Miss Williams.

[0:54] Present.

[0:55] Council member Wexler present.

[0:58] Fantastic. We officially have a

[1:00] quorum. Jim, would you like to

[1:01] lead us in the pledge?

[1:05] I pledge allegiance to the flag

[1:08] of the United States of

[1:09] America. And to the republic

[1:11] for which it stands. One nation

[1:13] under God, indivisible, with

[1:16] liberty and justice for all.

[1:23] Okay. Next item on the agenda

[1:25] is approval of tonight's

[1:28] agenda. Everybody should have

[1:29] been sent that in advance of

[1:31] tonight. Are there any

[1:31] comments, questions or concerns

[1:34] in the agenda? No additions or

[1:35] corrections. If that's the

[1:36] case, can I have some make a

[1:38] motion to approve the agenda?

[1:39] Elder. Elder. Second. Williams.

[1:42] All in favor, say

[1:44] aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Okay.

[1:47] Tonight's agenda has been

[1:48] approved. Next is approval of

[1:51] the meeting. Minutes of the

[1:54] August 11th meeting last month.

[1:57] Were there any comments,

[1:58] additions or corrections to

[1:59] those meeting? Minutes? Hearing

[2:01] none. Can I hear a motion for

[2:03] approval? Elder. Elder, have a

[2:06] second. Williams. Williams. All

[2:07] in favor for approval, say aye.

[2:08] Anyone opposed? Okay. The

[2:11] meeting minutes for the August

[2:14] 11th, 2026 meeting is

[2:17] officially on the record. Next

[2:18] item is citizen comments. Do we

[2:21] have any citizen comments

[2:22] tonight? We do not. Okay.

[2:27] Moving on. We'll go right into

[2:28] the division reports. First up

[2:31] will be the parks report.

[2:34] Good evening.

[2:35] All right, so Parks Department.

[2:38] We currently have we're down

[2:39] three full time employees. We

[2:41] have made recommendations for

[2:43] two. So we have two kind of in

[2:45] the pipeline coming down. But.

[2:47] And as long as they're

[2:48] successful, then we'll only be

[2:49] down one person. But want to

[2:51] let you all know that also on

[2:53] August 12th we experienced a

[2:54] pretty good storm that really, did the most damage in

[2:59] Westhoff Park. We had some

[3:00] damage in Zumwalt, the Little

[3:02] and civic, some up here at City

[3:03] Hall, and then the majority of

[3:05] it was in Westhoff Park. So the

[3:08] team was on the scene right

[3:09] away that evening. Um, we had

[3:12] two full time staff in kind of

[3:13] assessing so we could get a

[3:15] plan ready for the next day.

[3:17] Um, if you recall, it was a

[3:19] very hot week. Um, so staff

[3:21] really did a good job. We ended

[3:22] up renting an extra chipper.

[3:25] Uh, the park staff and the

[3:26] landscape team teamed up and

[3:29] just just knocked it out. It

[3:30] did. We got best off parking.

[3:32] Really pretty good shape that

[3:33] first day. Um, there's still

[3:35] some remnants of the the damage

[3:37] in the park. Um, but by the by

[3:39] that following week, they they

[3:41] had things looking really good.

[3:42] So there's a few pictures in

[3:43] there for you guys to look at.

[3:45] Um, but, uh, yeah, it was, it

[3:48] was quite the storm. CarShield

[3:52] field. Just want to let you all

[3:53] know that the hoots are hosting

[3:54] tacos and tequila this

[3:56] Saturday. Uh, September 12th.

[3:59] Um, also at Dames Park, we've

[4:01] completed our field

[4:02] maintenance. So, uh, fields,

[4:05] uh, one through four are all

[4:06] open back up for the, uh, the

[4:08] rest of the season. And then I

[4:11] wanted to let you know some

[4:12] exciting news up at Ozzie Smith

[4:14] Sports Complex. The O'Fallon

[4:16] Convention and Visitors Bureau

[4:18] was gracious enough to donate

[4:19] US funds for an additional

[4:20] batting cage. So we're going to

[4:22] kind of duplicate what we have

[4:24] at the fourplex. It's two

[4:25] tunnels, but it's split into

[4:26] quadrants, so four players at a

[4:28] time. And that's going to go on

[4:30] the three plex side. So um,

[4:32] we're going to be meeting out

[4:33] there this week to kind of look

[4:35] where we want to put it. Um,

[4:36] tentatively we're looking at

[4:37] putting it behind field F in

[4:39] the outfield. Uh, there's quite

[4:41] a bit of space back there. Um,

[4:43] and just kind of get it also

[4:45] away from kind of set up and

[4:46] things like that. Um, so we're

[4:49] really excited about that and

[4:50] very appreciative of, uh, that

[4:53] gesture. Also want to let you

[4:55] know, uh, summer maintenance is

[4:56] also done at Sports Park.

[4:58] However, fields two and nine

[4:59] will be closed for the fall

[5:01] maintenance. So one of those

[5:03] fields I can't remember which

[5:04] one. I think it might have been

[5:05] field two. Um, it was one of

[5:07] the ones that we kept open and

[5:09] it took a beating through the

[5:10] summer. So now we're closing

[5:11] that one down and field nine,

[5:13] uh, just needs to be

[5:14] overheated, and we're going to

[5:15] give it a good shot. So, um,

[5:17] that's pretty typical for us on

[5:18] how we handle those things. And

[5:22] let's see. All right. We also

[5:24] have two new employees. I

[5:25] wanted to let you all know

[5:27] about, uh, we have Canon

[5:29] Patterson. Uh, he started on

[5:31] August 4th, and he's working

[5:32] down at Sports Park. And then

[5:34] I'll get to that last one.

[5:35] Well, I can do it now. Uh,

[5:36] Riley Decker, she started with

[5:39] the landscape division, and

[5:41] we're happy to have her on as

[5:42] well. Um, she brings a wealth

[5:43] of knowledge to the department.

[5:46] Westhoff park. Um, I think

[5:48] we've talked about this before,

[5:50] but fields five and seven,

[5:51] we're going to be renovating

[5:52] those fields. You've probably

[5:54] seen our dirt piles in Westhoff

[5:55] Park. Uh, in that lower section

[5:58] near diamond for, um, the guys

[5:59] continue to move dirt in. Uh,

[6:01] recreation is, uh, giving us

[6:03] those lower fields, uh, five

[6:05] through seven, beginning

[6:06] October 5th. So they won't be

[6:08] using those fields anymore so

[6:09] we can really get in, tear down

[6:11] the old backstops, really do

[6:13] some grading. And our goal is

[6:15] to have that ready for, uh,

[6:17] this upcoming spring. Um, we're

[6:20] gonna have a concrete sidewalk

[6:21] that goes all the way out to

[6:22] it. Um, currently, you've

[6:24] probably seen that we've done

[6:25] some, uh, Ada parking spot

[6:27] updates near the tennis courts.

[6:29] Part of that, um, that asphalt

[6:31] path that goes up to diamond

[6:32] for concessions, that doesn't

[6:34] meet Ada. It's kind of wonky

[6:36] and not great. So all of that

[6:38] new drinking fountain and then

[6:40] a concrete sidewalk all the way

[6:42] out to these, to these three

[6:43] new, uh, fields, uh, is our

[6:46] goal. Um, and we'll get rid of

[6:47] that chat. That is just a

[6:49] barrier to keep maintaining. So

[6:51] we're super excited about that.

[6:53] Um, a lot of exciting things

[6:54] going on. West Park. And then,

[6:57] of course, the Chamber of

[6:58] Commerce and Industries is

[7:00] hosting the Rail District

[7:01] Festival also on September

[7:02] 12th. So a lot going on in

[7:04] O'Fallon this Saturday. And

[7:07] then two of our staff, uh,

[7:09] attended Missouri Department of

[7:11] Conservation, uh, seminar on

[7:13] lake maintenance. We have a lot

[7:14] of new staff, and we're trying

[7:15] to get them caught up to speed

[7:16] on proper techniques and

[7:18] maintaining a variety of things

[7:19] in our parks. And then for

[7:21] those of you that walk over at

[7:23] Fort Zumwalt Park or have been

[7:24] through the park, I kind of

[7:26] debated on talking about this

[7:27] right now because I really

[7:28] wanted to do just a really good

[7:29] before and good after shot, but

[7:31] I also figured there'd be

[7:32] questions. So, um, right by the

[7:34] coal shed, there's going to be

[7:36] some shipping containers that

[7:37] are going to be put there. Uh,

[7:38] they're 20 foot long shipping

[7:41] containers, two of them. Um,

[7:42] and we rebuilt the landscape

[7:44] while we also took out the old

[7:45] footing of the old shed. For

[7:47] those of you that might

[7:48] remember that that shed that

[7:49] was there. And then landscape

[7:51] is going to come in and put

[7:52] some, uh, some, some kind of

[7:54] arbor ID type tree in there to

[7:56] kind of my goal is for so long

[7:59] you've been you come up that

[8:00] hill by the Heald home and you

[8:01] look at the side of the coal

[8:02] shed and it's overgrown with

[8:03] weeds and just doesn't look

[8:05] good. So I can't promise the

[8:06] trees will be at full growth by

[8:08] any means. It's going to take

[8:09] some time. Uh, but the goal is

[8:11] to properly, uh, protect that

[8:14] area. So you're not looking at

[8:15] those. Uh, we also added a

[8:17] sidewalk there so we could load

[8:19] people onto the hayride, wagon.

[8:21] The sleigh rides during college

[8:23] a little safer. Um, so we're

[8:26] making some changes over there

[8:28] that we're pretty excited

[8:28] about. So there's a few

[8:29] pictures in there for you to

[8:30] look at, but they're pretty

[8:31] much done with that project,

[8:33] except for landscaping needs to

[8:34] come in and do their thing, but

[8:35] we're waiting for it to cool

[8:36] off a little bit. Uh, facility

[8:40] maintenance, uh, was over at

[8:41] the, uh, over at the fort, and

[8:43] they sealed the exterior of it.

[8:46] So, again, you can look at the

[8:47] pictures, but if you go there

[8:48] and see it in person, it does

[8:49] look quite a bit different. Uh,

[8:51] when Bill first saw the

[8:52] pictures, he's like, that looks

[8:53] like AI. He thought we had done

[8:55] something funny with it, but,

[8:57] uh, it did change it a little

[8:58] bit. But it looks. It looks

[8:59] really good. Uh, facilities

[9:01] also touched up the train

[9:03] building, uh, repainted all the

[9:04] red on that. We are going to

[9:06] look, uh, next fall to doing a

[9:07] more extensive paint job on the

[9:09] exterior of that building. Um,

[9:12] so just a FYI on that. And

[9:16] then, yeah, like I said, Riley

[9:17] Decker, she started with the

[9:18] landscape department on August

[9:19] 10th with landscape. Um, and I

[9:22] think, uh, Theresa, I was

[9:24] reading the report that staff

[9:26] sent to me, and I noticed that

[9:27] they had, uh, done something

[9:29] with the flower bed over by the

[9:30] fort, and I had said something

[9:31] to Bill. I'm like, oh, my gosh,

[9:33] how does it look? Because I,

[9:34] they they took it upon

[9:35] themselves to do that. And I

[9:36] think you and Bill might have

[9:37] talked about it. Um, but sounds

[9:39] like it turned out pretty good

[9:40] for what they did. All right.

[9:42] Good deal. I was glad to hear

[9:44] that. Um, that's all I have for

[9:45] my report.

[9:47] Oh, could you. Oh, sorry. Um,

[9:51] you said you were going to put

[9:52] Arbor over at the shed. Are you

[9:53] going to, like, cover up the.

[9:54] So you can't see the shed along

[9:56] the side of the shed, or is it

[9:57] going to be towards the street?

[9:58] It'll be towards the street.

[10:01] Yeah, it'll be in that

[10:01] landscape bed that they just.

[10:03] carried over. Um,

[10:05] it'll. Yeah, it won't be

[10:06] against the shed because the

[10:07] shipping containers are going

[10:09] to go against the shed and lo.

[10:10] Oh, okay.

[10:11] Yep.

[10:12] Also, um, I don't know if you

[10:15] what you have to do with the

[10:16] log cabin, but in the small, piece of the log

[10:21] cabin, the little the little

[10:22] cabin, there's some kind of

[10:23] critter living in there. Have

[10:25] you guys?

[10:26] We'll check it out.

[10:27] Okay.

[10:27] Because every. time we went

[10:28] there. Definitely checked it

[10:29] out before. And that doesn't

[10:31] surprise me. So we'll get over

[10:32] and take a look.

[10:33] I'm pretty sure it's a raccoon,

[10:34] but, yeah, it's, uh, wreaking

[10:36] havoc on everything. That's

[10:37] okay. Every time we go in

[10:38] there, everything's all over

[10:38] the place.

[10:39] Okay. Yeah. Thank you for. Let

[10:40] me know. We'll get on that

[10:41] right away.

[10:43] Go ahead..

[10:44] On the, um, containers. That'll

[10:46] be there. Are those going to be

[10:47] owned by the city or rented?

[10:49] Could you could we be able to

[10:50] paint those somehow, maybe to

[10:51] kind of hide them.

[10:52] Or they're going to be one time

[10:53] use containers. So they're not

[10:54] going to be like the rusty

[10:56] containers that you might think

[10:58] of a shipping container. Uh,

[11:00] Jennifer is ordering those. I'm

[11:02] not sure what color she went

[11:03] with. Um, but the plan is, is

[11:06] to hopefully get the landscape

[11:08] in in such a way that

[11:09] eventually you won't see them.

[11:11] Okay, great. Thanks.

[11:15] Uh. Just curious. Jeremy, the

[11:18] storm on the 12th. Was there

[11:19] any structural damage to any

[11:21] thing other than just

[11:23] landscape?

[11:24] No. There wasn't, uh, some of

[11:25] the shade structures at diamond

[11:27] for for pickleball were laying

[11:29] down, and I was worried they

[11:30] were damaged, but they weren't.

[11:31] We were able to put them back

[11:32] up. Um, no. So no, no

[11:34] structural damage on our side.

[11:36] I know a lot of the trees were

[11:37] laying on power lines. Yeah.

[11:39] Um, so we had to deal with

[11:40] that, actually, you know,

[11:42] Ameren took care of us pretty

[11:43] good before we even got there

[11:44] the next day on some of those.

[11:45] But no, everything was okay.

[11:47] Good. Well, I'm glad it wasn't

[11:50] worse than it was.

[11:50] So I had one question I saw

[11:53] when I reread the, uh, advanced

[11:55] copy of this agenda you

[11:57] mentioned and damage to these

[11:58] various parks, but you also

[11:59] mentioned the Veterans Museum

[12:01] for my own education here. What

[12:03] does the city do for the

[12:04] Veterans Museum regarding

[12:05] maintenance?

[12:06] Yeah. So, um, we have a lease

[12:09] in agreement with them. Um, so

[12:11] there's certain things they do

[12:12] and certain things that the

[12:14] city does. I don't know all of

[12:16] them verbatim, but we maintain,

[12:18] like, the parking lot. Uh, we

[12:20] do help with the larger tree

[12:22] projects. They have a great

[12:23] volunteer base that that helps

[12:25] out there. And they've done a

[12:27] lot of, a lot of trimming the

[12:28] last year. Um, we actually

[12:30] walked the site about two weeks

[12:32] ago with them. And so, for

[12:35] example, Monday, we're striping

[12:36] the parking lot. Um, getting

[12:38] the Purple Heart spots painted,

[12:40] the Ada spots repainted, and

[12:42] then landscape is going to be

[12:44] going over there to assist or

[12:46] to help kind of get some weed

[12:47] control down to get get just a

[12:50] better stand of grass. So. And

[12:51] also our facility maintenance

[12:53] department will work on the air

[12:55] conditioners. I mean, it is a

[12:56] city I believe it's a city

[12:59] owned property. Um, don't quote

[13:01] me on that, but I can find out

[13:02] for sure on you. I know it was

[13:03] at one time what?

[13:04] storm damage did they

[13:06] sustain there at the Veterans

[13:07] Museum? Do you know?

[13:08] There was it was mainly just

[13:10] trees. Just downed trees, a

[13:12] couple of branches. Yeah. And

[13:14] then we're going back because

[13:15] there's some more that that

[13:16] everyone's worried about.

[13:20] How is everybody in your

[13:23] department dealing with the

[13:25] heat that we had recently? Did

[13:26] everybody fare okay through all

[13:28] that?

[13:28] Because I know it's been.

[13:29] Rough working.

[13:30] Yeah, it's been rough. Um, you

[13:32] know, we haven't had any

[13:33] illnesses. I'm sure the guys go

[13:34] home and don't feel the best at

[13:37] times. Uh, we encourage them to

[13:38] take extra breaks and, uh, do

[13:41] different things like that. Uh,

[13:42] a lot of the staff are on ten,

[13:43] so I was really glad that they.

[13:45] This week they switched to

[13:46] eight because of the holiday.

[13:47] So that a lot of them got to go

[13:49] home at normal or earlier time,

[13:51] uh, today and tomorrow. So I'm

[13:52] excited about that. Um, but

[13:54] yeah, it's it's been really

[13:55] hot. We've tried to adjust and,

[13:58] um, do the best that we can,

[14:00] uh, to, to be safe and to keep

[14:02] the parks to some kind of

[14:04] standard.

[14:07] Any other questions? That was

[14:09] very thorough, Jeremy. Thank

[14:10] you. I appreciate being so

[14:12] comprehensive.

[14:12] Yeah. No problem.

[14:13] Okay. Uh, we'll move on into

[14:15] the recreation report and.

[14:25] So our athletics team hired

[14:27] four umpires for the fall

[14:28] baseball season and softball

[14:29] leagues. Um, they're

[14:31] transitioning away from

[14:32] previous contracts with

[14:33] external umpire organizations.

[14:35] So we're bringing everybody

[14:36] in-house. Currently, we have

[14:38] 563 kiddos signed up for fall

[14:41] soccer, and they kick things

[14:43] off with their coaches meeting.

[14:44] That was on August 22nd. Um,

[14:47] they also are that the

[14:48] athletics team also are rolling

[14:50] out with a new scheduling

[14:51] platform and is now being used

[14:53] in most of the leagues. Right

[14:55] now for volleyball in the fall

[14:58] season, we have 24 teams with

[15:01] nine playing on Wednesdays and

[15:02] 15 on Thursdays. Birthdays

[15:04] brought in over $11,000 in

[15:07] August, and they're up to 283

[15:09] parties for the year so far.

[15:11] They're projecting to surpass

[15:12] last year's goal of 308.

[15:15] Sometime next month or this

[15:17] month, um, we are looking to

[15:20] add another dance instructor,

[15:21] as well as a tumbling

[15:22] instructor.

[15:25] Let's.

[15:26] Fall session of Civic Dance

[15:28] begins September 14th.

[15:29] Registration is open and the

[15:31] schedule is posted online. Find

[15:34] your fit returns Monday,

[15:36] September 22nd. Featuring free

[15:39] programs like Family Yoga,

[15:41] Puzzle Night Live, plus 10% off

[15:43] New Granada Center memberships.

[15:46] Uh, we are currently launching

[15:48] a proposal for community

[15:50] members to present us with new

[15:54] class ideas. Um, so we're

[15:57] trying to encourage residents

[15:58] and business or or business

[16:00] owners to submit these programs

[16:02] and help streamline instructor

[16:04] onboarding and broaden future

[16:06] programs. The aquatics team has

[16:10] revamped our swim lesson

[16:12] programs. We've reduced the

[16:14] number from 12 to 8 levels to

[16:16] improve scheduling and reduce

[16:17] cancellations. In September,

[16:20] September's enrollment saw

[16:21] gains with 72% increases on

[16:24] Saturdays and a 52% increase on

[16:26] Tuesdays. Thursdays. We also

[16:28] hired a new aquatics

[16:30] instructor, Janet Rice, who

[16:31] will be who will start teaching

[16:33] Tuesday Thursday morning

[16:35] classes. And she's already

[16:37] starting new things and

[16:39] introducing to class a new

[16:40] program, new activities.

[16:47] I have a question. Is it about

[16:49] the umpires? What drove the

[16:52] change from external to

[16:53] internal umpires?

[16:56] I believe it was just a rising

[16:58] cost. Um, by and also

[17:01] scheduling, by taking them in

[17:03] house, we're able to cover our

[17:06] fees a little bit better.

[17:08] Okay.

[17:09] And does that mean you've also

[17:11] established a training program

[17:12] and a performance review

[17:13] program for the umpires or.

[17:16] That one I'm not aware of? I do

[17:19] know they get a league handbook

[17:21] for them to refer to. And I do

[17:23] know there is a training. But

[17:25] beyond those two things, I

[17:26] don't know.

[17:30] This is more a comment from

[17:32] last month. Um, I noticed that

[17:36] the, uh, attendance for the,

[17:38] um, the tournaments, the

[17:40] baseball tournaments was, I

[17:42] think you reported 80% was

[17:44] outside of Saint Charles

[17:46] County. I think I saw what I

[17:47] read in here. Um, 20% coming

[17:49] out of state. Um, I think

[17:51] that's fantastic that we're

[17:53] able to draw people from that

[17:55] far away. So. And I assume we

[17:57] have tournaments still

[17:58] scheduled all the way to

[18:00] October, I would assume end of

[18:01] October.

[18:02] That is correct.

[18:04] Yeah, I would think so. So

[18:05] that's fine. Did we lose any

[18:07] weekends so far at all to to

[18:09] weather there?

[18:10] Uh, we haven't lost any to

[18:11] whether we had a, we had a lull

[18:13] that was scheduled that way or

[18:14] I believe the tournament

[18:15] director in August, there was a

[18:17] couple that didn't go because

[18:18] they didn't have enough.

[18:19] Teams.

[18:20] Which is pretty typical in

[18:22] August. We have experienced

[18:23] that. Um, but I think I, I

[18:25] would imagine we're going to be

[18:26] looking at that to see what we

[18:27] can do.

[18:27] Okay. That's exciting. I'd

[18:30] anxious to get an end of year

[18:31] report on, you know, just the

[18:33] overall attendance and revenue

[18:35] stream from that, since there

[18:37] was obviously a big investment

[18:38] with the turf. So, um.

[18:41] Okay, building on that, for

[18:43] those who hadn't read it.

[18:45] excuse me, in the Mid Rivers

[18:46] News magazine, there was an

[18:48] article, I think last week or

[18:49] week before about sports

[18:51] tourism and the importance of

[18:52] that to the local economy and

[18:54] how big it's gotten. And it

[18:56] mentions Ozzie Smith and things

[18:57] like that. So if you haven't

[18:59] read the article, you can go

[19:00] online and look up Mid Rivers

[19:01] News magazine. You can find it,

[19:02] look up sports tourism. It's a

[19:04] really good article. It's

[19:05] pretty long, but it also shows

[19:07] that it's a good thing O'Fallon

[19:09] got into that early because now

[19:10] everyone's trying to catch up.

[19:11] So it's nice to be a little bit

[19:12] ahead of the curve for a

[19:13] change.

[19:14] Right.

[19:14] And that's kind of goes with

[19:16] how the O'Fallon Visitor

[19:17] Bureau's helping us get this

[19:19] batting cage. They had heard

[19:20] from tournament directors. Hey,

[19:21] you really need another one.

[19:22] And, uh, they know it's

[19:24] important too, so it's been

[19:25] great.

[19:26] Yeah, it was probably a little

[19:28] difficult, actually. Not having

[19:29] those additional cages. Yep.

[19:31] Only having the ones that are

[19:33] there.

[19:33] Yeah, we had it in our five

[19:34] year CIP, but they definitely

[19:35] helped speed up sped up the

[19:37] process.

[19:37] Yeah. Yeah. Well that's good

[19:39] for us. That's fantastic. Um.

[19:41] Could I jump in real quick?

[19:42] Yeah. Uh, off of John's

[19:44] comment, um, O'Fallon actually

[19:46] received a an award from the

[19:48] Economic Development of Saint

[19:49] Charles County, um, for sports

[19:51] tourism. Um, so just a big

[19:53] shout out to economic

[19:54] development parks. Everybody

[19:55] that's involved in that.

[19:56] Congratulations, everyone.

[19:57] Yeah. It's fantastic. Um, okay.

[19:59] Any other questions or comments

[20:01] for for an. All right. Thank

[20:03] you. Appreciate it. We'll move

[20:05] on to the tourism and Festivals

[20:08] report.

[20:12] Um, there are currently working

[20:13] on freight and film. Um,

[20:15] they're working on a task list

[20:17] and they have confirmed screens

[20:19] for movies or col. They started

[20:22] an introduction of Col for new

[20:24] staff. Lights are being

[20:26] delivered. Staffs are having

[20:27] meetings, and they're posting

[20:29] part time positions. Um,

[20:31] they're contacting groups for

[20:33] gate nights and scenes. Uh, for

[20:35] the stroll. They're starting to

[20:37] work on their task lists, and

[20:38] they've reached out to parks,

[20:40] PD and volunteer services

[20:42] regarding staffing. Uh, Jasmine

[20:45] closed, um, on eight four with

[20:48] vote for Pedro, and the last

[20:50] concert was 11 for Johnny

[20:53] Rocket. For final. Voices were

[20:55] being paid. Um, they recapping

[20:59] with the county council having

[21:01] additional staff recap

[21:02] meetings, and they're sending

[21:04] out surveys for the vendors for

[21:07] Heald Home. And Fort. The third

[21:10] homestead days. And they're

[21:12] having they had interactive

[21:14] chores which had approximately

[21:16] ten per ten participants. Um,

[21:19] they attended a educators expo

[21:22] to promote, um, field trips for

[21:25] those locations fall into the

[21:27] arts. They have 24 audit

[21:29] artists, vendors, and all

[21:31] vendor fees have been collected

[21:33] and load in instructions have

[21:35] been sent to those vendors.

[21:41] Holidays and shop. Um, they

[21:44] created an application. They're

[21:46] sending an initial email out to

[21:47] past vendors, and they're

[21:48] setting up payments and rec

[21:49] track for the theater. They're

[21:52] meeting with contractors for

[21:53] renovations, and the troupe

[21:55] performed at Shakespeare, in the Park on

[21:59] August 26th. The city

[22:01] galleries, the artist reception

[22:03] on August 14th had low

[22:06] attendance. Um, and other

[22:08] things they've been working on

[22:09] are budget meetings, budget

[22:10] entries, staff meetings, AR,

[22:13] AI, software discussions, and a

[22:16] productive relationship

[22:18] training, as well as the

[22:19] Shakespeare in the Park

[22:20] performance at O'Day.

[22:24] Thank you. Any questions?

[22:27] Comments regarding the tourism

[22:28] and Festivals report? Okay.

[22:32] Thank you all for standing in

[22:34] tonight and giving us those

[22:36] reports. Moving on. Uh, next

[22:38] item on the agenda is old

[22:40] business, and it does not look

[22:41] like we have anything under old

[22:42] business. So with that being

[22:44] said, we'll move on to the new

[22:45] business. And we have two

[22:46] items. The first one is the

[22:48] aquatics presentation. By Wren

[22:54] Meeks and an..

[22:57] Hi everybody. My name is Wren

[23:00] Meeks. I'm the aquatics

[23:00] specialist for programming and

[23:02] events. Um, so just to get

[23:04] started here, um, I just have

[23:07] kind of my beginnings. I've

[23:08] been in aquatics since I was

[23:09] 15, so in 2020, I started as a

[23:12] lifeguard. Um, I've just kind

[23:13] of moved up from there. So I've

[23:15] gone to head guard. Last year

[23:16] in March, I went up to pool

[23:18] supervisor in full time

[23:19] position, and then October in

[23:21] 25, I moved up to specialist.

[23:23] Um, so you can kind of see some

[23:24] pictures here of our staff. And

[23:26] I've been very involved in

[23:27] events. Even just growing up.

[23:29] I've always lived in O'Fallon.

[23:30] Um, always been five minutes

[23:31] down the road. So I've just

[23:33] grown up going to school, going

[23:35] to events, and then then being

[23:37] a lifeguard and having a great

[23:38] staff. So kind of what I'm

[23:42] over. I have our group swim

[23:43] lesson program with our private

[23:45] lessons as well, and then our

[23:47] torpedo swim team, aqua

[23:49] aerobics, special events, any

[23:51] promo days we have. Um, and

[23:53] then collaboration with our

[23:54] other aquatic specialists as

[23:55] well. So we're sort of

[23:56] cross-trained so that I can

[23:58] help out with the lifeguard

[23:59] staff too. So my staff does

[24:01] include our swim coaches, which

[24:02] is two head coaches. And then

[24:04] we have three assistants as

[24:05] well. All of our swim

[24:06] instructors, including our

[24:07] private swim instructors, our

[24:10] orca aerobics instructors. I

[24:11] have some records that we kind

[24:12] of take and cherry pick from

[24:14] our aquatic staff as well. Um,

[24:15] and then I help out with the

[24:17] lifeguards, head lifeguards,

[24:18] pool supervisors and managing

[24:20] them as well. Um, so you can

[24:21] see I have some pictures there.

[24:22] I have one with our instructor

[24:24] of the summer this past season.

[24:25] I have some of our special

[24:26] events, um, kind of helping out

[24:28] in the Pump Room as well with

[24:29] our previous aquatic specialist.

[24:32] So programming this year for

[24:34] 2026 at Acac, we brought a lot

[24:36] of things back and we brought

[24:38] new programs in as well. So you

[24:39] can see I have river walking on

[24:41] that left side. So that's on

[24:42] our lazy river, uh, with our

[24:43] jets. That was very highly

[24:45] requested. So we were able to

[24:46] bring that into AKC this year.

[24:49] We offered that on Wednesday

[24:50] and Thursday evenings, and we

[24:52] pre-sold our passes that way.

[24:53] We were sure that we were

[24:54] covering our costs as far as

[24:56] staffing and everything. So we

[24:58] ordered punch passes. We were

[24:59] able to do six, 12 or 18, so

[25:02] that kind of allowed people to

[25:04] buy smaller if they wanted to

[25:05] try it out or buy longer if

[25:06] they wanted to just do the

[25:07] whole summer. And then next

[25:09] year we're looking to add

[25:10] additional times and a drop in

[25:11] fee option. Since it was so

[25:13] popular this year, we typically

[25:15] had 25 participants. I know our

[25:17] first night we had about 36, so

[25:19] it was kind of give or take on

[25:20] the weather, but we typically

[25:21] had a pretty large crowd, which

[25:23] gave us a total revenue of

[25:24] about $8,000. So that was

[25:27] awesome. And then our taught

[25:29] time just below that kind of

[25:30] allows for a quieter time for

[25:31] younger kids, just so that they

[25:32] can kind of get in the pool and

[25:34] have that time where they're

[25:35] not having older kids kind of

[25:37] over them. Uh, so we typically

[25:39] had about 25 participants in

[25:41] that. And we're looking to add

[25:43] drop ins to that as well,

[25:44] because we did have some people

[25:45] kind of show up and call up to

[25:46] Renard last minute to get

[25:47] registered for that. Our

[25:49] special events there in the

[25:51] middle, we had mermaids and

[25:53] mates, so that included a

[25:54] treasure hunt with our pirate.

[25:56] And then at the end of the

[25:58] treasure hunt, led them to an

[25:59] ice cream bar. And then they

[26:00] got to go swimming with their

[26:01] mermaid. Um, so we had 13

[26:03] participants for that, which

[26:04] gave us $265. Our cardboard

[26:08] boat races, um, we had 12 teams

[26:11] to sign up, and they made boats

[26:13] out of strictly cardboard and

[26:15] duct tape. Uh, they had a blast,

[26:17] and we made $573 from that. And

[26:21] then finally, we also brought

[26:23] group swim lessons back. So we

[26:24] used to have groups over at

[26:26] Acac, but we got to bring it

[26:28] back this year. We offered

[26:29] levels turtle and above. So now

[26:31] that would be guppies and

[26:32] above, which would kind of be

[26:34] like our base. So we just

[26:36] wouldn't have like infants and

[26:37] toddlers in there just because

[26:38] it can be kind of chilly. So

[26:39] finding the right time to bring

[26:40] those levels in hopefully for

[26:42] next year. But we had 23

[26:45] participants total, which

[26:46] brought us in $771. And then on

[26:52] that bottom corner you can see

[26:53] our cardboard boat races,

[26:54] pictures and our mermaids and

[26:56] mates as well. We had a great

[26:59] swim team season. All of our

[27:00] coaches came back this year and

[27:02] that just created a very strong

[27:03] environment. Our team loves our

[27:05] head coaches. They've been with

[27:06] us a long time and our

[27:07] assistant coaches are growing.

[27:09] They're doing really great to

[27:10] kind of follow in head coach's

[27:11] footsteps and learn more each

[27:13] season. We had a total of 187

[27:17] swimmers this season, which is

[27:19] higher than last year. We're

[27:20] hoping to keep going up from

[27:21] there to. That brought in a

[27:22] total revenue of 32,000 and

[27:25] 953. Uh, so that was an awesome

[27:29] season. They had a great time.

[27:30] We were able to accommodate a

[27:31] lot of kiddos too, especially

[27:33] with our new inclusion

[27:33] specialist, Evan Simpkins. So

[27:35] he was able to help us and kind

[27:37] of communicate with our one on

[27:38] one coaches as well. We were

[27:39] able to have a private lesson

[27:41] instructor step in as a one on

[27:42] one coach and great create very

[27:44] strong bonds to where now they

[27:45] can even teach private lessons

[27:47] with them in the off season. So

[27:49] that's been really awesome. Uh,

[27:51] next season we're hoping to add

[27:52] Friday morning practices

[27:54] instead of the dive clinics

[27:55] we've been having. That way.

[27:56] It's included in the

[27:57] registration fee as well, so

[27:59] that swimmers are getting more

[28:00] small group practice without

[28:02] having to pay like an extra

[28:03] cost or anything. Uh, then

[28:04] we're looking to increase the

[28:06] registration fee as well, just

[28:07] to kind of keep up as yours. Go

[28:09] on, make sure that we're

[28:10] staying in line. And then our

[28:14] revamp. So as Anne said in her

[28:17] report, we have cut down the

[28:19] number of levels that we are

[28:20] offering students that we don't

[28:22] really have starfish or turtle

[28:24] or seahorse anymore, kind of

[28:25] the in-between levels. We've

[28:26] kind of condensed it a little

[28:28] bit, but those age levels stay

[28:30] roughly the same as they were

[28:31] before. Um, so this kind of

[28:34] helps with how many options

[28:37] we're giving. So that way we

[28:38] are having less cancellations

[28:40] and families are able to sign

[28:41] up for the level that they

[28:43] need, not just the time,

[28:45] because that was something we

[28:45] ran into a lot. We want to be

[28:47] able to accommodate everybody's

[28:48] schedules. While we do offer

[28:50] different days of the week, we

[28:51] want to offer varying times as

[28:53] well. Um, and this also allows

[28:55] for a stronger team

[28:56] environment. So we're actually

[28:57] getting full classes and making

[28:59] sure that all kids can learn

[29:00] from each other and make the

[29:03] registration process smoother

[29:05] as well, so that it's more

[29:06] straightforward. And this also

[29:08] gives us kind of a new

[29:09] beginning to give high

[29:10] expectations and more clear

[29:11] goals to our participants. So

[29:14] this is a flow chart that we

[29:16] give to our participants as

[29:17] well. And this kind of allows

[29:19] us to place by skill. Because I

[29:20] know sometimes registration can

[29:22] be a little tricky because

[29:24] families may try to place by

[29:25] age. So this kind of allows to

[29:27] break down like the core skills

[29:30] that we are doing in each

[29:31] level. Um, and we also added

[29:34] our swim team prep onto there

[29:35] as well, because this year we

[29:36] are including swim team prep at

[29:38] the end of our group swim

[29:39] lesson program so that students

[29:41] are kind of getting placed in

[29:43] the higher level, where they

[29:44] can start to learn strokes off

[29:45] instead of being thrown

[29:46] straight into swim team prep

[29:48] and not knowing what's

[29:48] happening. So that way they

[29:49] kind of have a base layer to go

[29:51] off of. But of course there are

[29:53] exceptions and there will be

[29:55] case by case basis. But for the

[29:57] most part, this kind of helps

[29:58] with placement. So so far we

[30:02] just ran our first session with

[30:04] this revamp and it's going

[30:06] really well. Uh, Tuesday

[30:07] Thursdays we were able to

[30:09] cancel no classes that had

[30:11] people enrolled, so we were

[30:13] able to keep everybody in the

[30:14] original class that they signed

[30:15] up for. And then on Saturdays,

[30:17] we only had seven participants

[30:19] total. And a couple of those

[30:20] were the same families as well.

[30:22] So any of those levels that we

[30:24] did combine had at least two

[30:26] people in them, which is closer

[30:28] to reaching minimum enrollment

[30:29] for all of the classes that we

[30:31] offer, which is huge. Um, so

[30:33] we're getting closer to running

[30:34] more and more sections of

[30:36] classes and meeting our minimum

[30:39] enrollments as well. Um, and

[30:40] then those 72% of Saturday

[30:44] classes had 50% or more max

[30:46] enrollment, and then 56% of

[30:49] Tuesday Thursdays had 50% or

[30:50] more. So we're getting closer

[30:51] and closer to even those max

[30:53] enrollments, not just meeting

[30:54] minimums anymore. The front

[30:55] desk has said that assisting in

[30:58] level placement whenever

[30:59] they're getting calls up has

[31:00] been much easier. There are way

[31:02] more resources, and they're

[31:04] able to kind of answer

[31:04] questions more clearly as well,

[31:06] since it is more outlined. And

[31:08] then participants have said

[31:09] that registration has been way

[31:11] easier as well, since those

[31:12] goals are more outlined and

[31:14] that lesson times are more

[31:15] feasible. Uh, I am president on

[31:17] first day of lessons every

[31:19] session, so I'm able to connect

[31:20] with parents and kind of get

[31:21] them moved into levels. If they

[31:23] do end up signing up for

[31:24] something that may not be the

[31:25] right fit, I'm able to get them

[31:27] in another class because we

[31:28] have so many options for times

[31:30] available. Now. So if you have

[31:33] any questions, I am ready this

[31:35] time. But thank you so much.

[31:36] I have a couple. If I could

[31:39] just again to educate myself on

[31:41] this, this the swim team and so

[31:42] on. I'm trying to learn where

[31:44] the O'Fallon city programs fit

[31:47] versus the YMCA versus private

[31:50] swim school. So is this

[31:51] intended to be more accessible

[31:54] to people? What what's

[31:56] different about the city of

[31:57] O'Fallon programs compared to

[32:00] the YMCA or say, the swim

[32:01] schools? There's one in the

[32:02] streets of Caledonia, one up

[32:04] there next to Total Wine. Those

[32:06] are private. So how does this

[32:07] fit in those different

[32:09] categories? How do how do not

[32:11] compete? But what's the

[32:13] intended audience compared to

[32:15] the other school.

[32:16] Yeah of course. So swim schools

[32:18] are typically more for a

[32:19] private one on one setting.

[32:21] Kind of like our private swim

[32:22] lesson program is. Our swim

[32:24] team kind of offers more of a

[32:26] closer team environment, very

[32:28] strong, a lot of support. The

[32:31] swimmers on this team have been

[32:32] here for a long time, and we

[32:34] get new swimmers every year. So

[32:35] that just creates a stronger

[32:36] and stronger team environment

[32:37] with that as well. And we have

[32:39] a pretty large team. Uh, we're

[32:41] not the largest in the league,

[32:42] so it's still allows for a

[32:43] smaller group and still allows

[32:45] for that close connection. But

[32:46] it also gives a bigger team

[32:47] environment for everybody to

[32:49] learn from each other as well.

[32:50] And if I'm not mistaken, there

[32:51] are no equivalent programs in

[32:53] the school systems around here,

[32:54] right? This is it. There's no

[32:55] other place they can go.

[32:57] Correct? Yeah, there are, um,

[32:58] swim lesson programs within

[32:59] some schools, but swim team is

[33:02] typically strictly

[33:03] recreational. Although there's

[33:04] high school.

[33:05] Yeah. So this.

[33:06] Is but in the summer league we

[33:07] would be the.

[33:08] Grade school. Middle school.

[33:09] That's what. That's the

[33:10] audience that you're handling,

[33:11] right.

[33:11] Yes. Yeah.

[33:12] So the.

[33:13] Yeah the goal is also to catch

[33:14] them in the summer whenever

[33:16] they're done with their school

[33:17] swim season.

[33:17] Well, the swim team is all the

[33:19] way up to 18. Uh, 18. Right.

[33:21] Senior in high school. So you

[33:23] can compete all the way up to

[33:25] your graduating senior year in

[33:27] the summer on the swim team.

[33:29] That's why offer a swim team.

[33:30] Or is it just the swimming

[33:32] lessons that the guy offers?

[33:33] Yeah.

[33:34] I believe the I don't.

[33:36] I'm sorry. I'm gonna

[33:37] answer the questions for you

[33:38] because I've had kids go

[33:39] through the program. And so I

[33:41] don't think the I don't think

[33:42] the O'Fallon way has a swim

[33:44] team. They used to, but that

[33:45] would have been a, uh,

[33:47] typically that was a, uh,

[33:50] winter program. Winter, late

[33:53] fall, winter early spring

[33:54] program. Whereas this is

[33:56] summer, roughly, you know.

[33:59] I'm just trying to figure out

[34:00] why my grandkids went all the

[34:01] way through the Fort Zumwalt

[34:02] School system. I never heard of

[34:04] this when they had no interest

[34:06] in swimming whatsoever. I'm

[34:08] trying to figure out why they

[34:09] didn't. I never heard of it.

[34:10] So yeah, yeah, a lot of.

[34:11] swimmers do get

[34:12] caught, um, from the school

[34:14] year. And then in the summer

[34:15] they discover us and we're able

[34:16] to give that summer training

[34:17] and fun as well. Um, so, yeah,

[34:19] we do have that age group from

[34:20] six all the way up to 18, and

[34:22] we even have senior nights

[34:23] where we get to celebrate the

[34:24] seniors in their.

[34:24] Last year as we get planning

[34:26] for great grandkids.

[34:28] It's a ready form.

[34:30] Year and a half. You have them.

[34:31] Up there.

[34:32] Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's

[34:33] whether it's what, six teams in

[34:35] the league, I think I think

[34:36] something like.

[34:37] That division.

[34:38] Yeah. So it's a lot of fun.

[34:39] Some of us learn how to swim in

[34:41] Lake Erie, getting thrown out

[34:42] of a boat by your father,

[34:43] that's why.

[34:43] Yes, that.

[34:44] Is a little better.

[34:46] So. Are the the swim lessons

[34:49] that you're talking about. Are

[34:51] they only for swim teams, or is

[34:55] there just lessons? Or a kid

[34:56] can go and learn how to swim?

[34:58] Yes. Yeah. Those group lessons

[34:59] are just open, general public

[35:01] to kind of help learn how to

[35:03] swim in that safety aspect are

[35:05] lower level. So that shrimp

[35:07] level is going to be infant

[35:08] kind of parents in the water

[35:09] and getting used to being in

[35:10] the water. And then we

[35:11] transition up from there to our

[35:13] puffer fish where they start

[35:14] getting independence from their

[35:15] parents and going one on one

[35:16] with an instructor, so that

[35:17] from there, in future classes,

[35:19] they can be one on one with

[35:20] that instructor and learn

[35:21] safety. And we talk about water

[35:22] safety and what is a lifeguard

[35:24] and how do we be safe in a pool

[35:26] area? The goal is to be able to

[35:28] help participants be able to

[35:30] get themselves to safety if

[35:31] need be, and then from there,

[35:33] if they would like, they can

[35:34] continue on skills to work up

[35:35] to swim team or swim strokes.

[35:37] So swim team and swim lessons

[35:39] are two different things. In

[35:40] the swim lessons are available

[35:41] for all ages.

[35:42] Yes, yeah, that swim team prep

[35:44] class is just at the end of the

[35:45] group swim lesson program for

[35:46] those that are interested in

[35:48] eventually joining a swim team,

[35:49] that kind of helps transition

[35:51] their skills from a swim,

[35:52] stroke and technique to a

[35:53] competitive environment, and

[35:55] looking at what our DCS and how

[35:57] would that work in a swim meet?

[35:58] Thank you.

[36:01] I was.

[36:02] Wondering about your special

[36:03] events and they're relatively

[36:05] small. I guess you have, what,

[36:07] like 12 to 25 participants. You

[36:10] do parent surveys of them and

[36:11] you provide emails that they

[36:13] can utilize to invite other

[36:14] people to it and that they

[36:16] think might be interesting.

[36:19] Yeah. Um, we do typically have

[36:21] about 12 to 25 in the off

[36:24] season when we have things like

[36:25] egg hunt and pumpkin plunge, we

[36:26] tend to have about 50

[36:27] participants, especially our

[36:28] Nerf wars are very popular at

[36:30] the Reynolds Center. Um, I am

[36:32] wanting to instill some program

[36:33] feedback. I noticed that was

[36:34] something that we hadn't had,

[36:35] and we actually just talked

[36:36] about that the other day.

[36:37] Instilling that and having

[36:39] email chain kind of from there,

[36:40] our promos a big way that we

[36:42] kind of help families share.

[36:43] Facebook is a big winner with

[36:45] that, because one family will

[36:47] see it and be able to tag their

[36:48] friends as well. But I do want

[36:49] to instill that feedback as

[36:51] well.

[36:54] Yes, please.

[36:56] Thank you. Scott, quick

[36:57] question. At the beginning of

[36:58] your presentation, you had on

[36:59] there tot time. Yes. Um, what

[37:01] time is does that fall on

[37:03] Fridays and what ages does that

[37:04] cover?

[37:05] Yeah.

[37:05] That is 930 to 1030 and that is

[37:09] ages 0 to 5. Of course, there

[37:11] are going to be exceptions

[37:12] made. Of course there's like

[37:13] five and a half. So, um, that exception can be made.

[37:16] Cool.

[37:17] Thank you. Um, want to see what.

[37:21] Any other questions or are

[37:24] there more questions? Thank you

[37:26] for the report. It's very

[37:27] thorough. I'm a little partial

[37:28] to swimming, obviously, so I

[37:29] always like to see this

[37:31] information into the summer

[37:32] season. So, um, Thank you..

[37:37] All right. We have one other

[37:39] item on for new business. And

[37:42] that is the election of the

[37:45] secretary position, an officer

[37:46] position here on the Parks and

[37:48] Recreation, parks and

[37:50] Recreation Advisory Board. We

[37:52] all know Kathy Wilson stepped

[37:53] down from her, uh, time on the

[37:57] parks board. Spent. I don't

[37:58] know anybody know exactly how

[38:00] many years. It's a long time.

[38:01] 20. 20. Yeah. Was it 25? I know

[38:04] it was over 20. So she

[38:06] certainly put her time in,

[38:08] that's for sure. So, um, we

[38:10] obviously wish her the best. So

[38:11] with that said, um, do I have

[38:14] any nominations for the

[38:16] secretary position tonight?

[38:19] I nominate Mr. Elder.

[38:21] Okay. Are there any

[38:23] other nominations? No other

[38:27] nominations. Okay. Well, with

[38:29] that said, I guess we'll take a

[38:30] vote. Do we need to take a

[38:31] vote? Is it can we do it

[38:32] together? Does that an

[38:33] individual.

[38:34] Anybody have to say.

[38:35] Okay. So all in favor of, uh,

[38:38] Jim Elder taking the position

[38:39] of secretary and the Parks

[38:40] Board, please say aye.

[38:41] aye.

[38:42] Is there anyone opposed?

[38:45] Congratulations, Jim. You are

[38:46] now the secretary of the

[38:47] Missouri Parks and Recreation

[38:49] Advisory Board. So thank you, I

[38:51] appreciate that. Okay. Um, we

[38:54] are nearing the end here. Uh,

[38:56] all it's left is for the good

[38:57] of the order. So I'll open mic

[38:59] here for anyone who'd like to

[39:00] comment. Yeah, please.

[39:01] I have three things here. Uh,

[39:03] all parks related. Uh, I still

[39:06] do my walks five days a week,

[39:07] and I try to hit different

[39:08] parks I was in, uh, I want to

[39:11] pass along. Kudos. And a thank

[39:12] you to the parks staff. The

[39:14] supervisors and managers,

[39:16] because of what they did in all

[39:17] the heat and everything else.

[39:19] In spite of that, it was in

[39:20] James Park. I forget what day

[39:22] it was, uh, I guess was

[39:23] Saturday. It was amazing. You

[39:25] can't even tell that it was

[39:26] flooded unless you look really, close and nowhere to

[39:29] look at the base of some of the

[39:30] trees. And even they're hard to

[39:32] tell. So what a great job the

[39:33] staff did cleaning that up. I

[39:35] suspect people who had never

[39:36] been there before would walk in

[39:37] there and never, never realize

[39:39] it floods. So way to go there.

[39:41] The second one was Sports Park,

[39:42] which is where I spend most of

[39:44] my time. That has recovered

[39:46] incredibly well from not having

[39:48] water for 6 or 7 weeks. And

[39:50] amazingly, I didn't see any

[39:52] dead sod that was put down in

[39:54] front of all of the soccer

[39:55] goals. That all seems to have

[39:57] come through. So way to go on

[39:58] that one. Um, and last but not

[40:00] least, Fort Zumwalt Park. I was

[40:02] there Monday, Labor Day. I

[40:04] couldn't believe how many

[40:05] people were in that park. I had

[40:06] a hard time finding a place to

[40:07] park on the street. Uh, which

[40:10] is a good sign. People were

[40:11] hiking, walking to disc golf

[40:13] all over the place, kids

[40:15] fishing, adults fishing. Some

[40:17] little girl out there trying to

[40:18] find fish to feed. She she was

[40:19] having a lot of fun out there.

[40:21] Uh, and I looked at the, the,

[40:23] uh, the fort itself that were

[40:24] the, I guess it was record or

[40:27] whatever it was. The chinks of

[40:28] the logs. And I looked at the

[40:30] trim on the terrain building.

[40:32] Those things looked brand new.

[40:34] So again, kudos for that. And

[40:36] it was all done when it was

[40:37] nice and cool. 60 degrees.

[40:38] Right. So thank.

[40:40] You for doing that.

[40:40] Everybody. Way to go.

[40:43] Thank you.

[40:44] And by the way, those buildings

[40:46] look even better in person than

[40:47] they do in the photographs.

[40:49] Thank you. We appreciate.

[40:50] That.

[40:51] Yeah I don't hear nearly that

[40:53] much. I just had gone over to

[40:55] Fort Zumwalt Park too, and was

[40:56] amazed that it's in great

[40:58] shape. Despite all this heat.

[41:00] It looked terrific. As I was

[41:01] walking around.

[41:02] So yeah, the crew over there,

[41:04] uh, and all the crew does, but

[41:06] the crew at Zumwalt, there are

[41:08] newer crew to the park, but

[41:09] they are there on it, and they

[41:11] take a lot of pride in it. So

[41:12] we appreciate that.

[41:16] Just comment on kind of, uh,

[41:18] what was mentioned earlier is

[41:19] the the plantings and the

[41:21] watering. I'm just amazed at

[41:22] how consistently it's done and

[41:23] how good things look. I always

[41:25] see, uh, the modern in my

[41:28] neighborhood. I live in

[41:29] Avondale. And so the, the

[41:30] planters there along the

[41:32] median, you know, I can over if

[41:33] I don't see them, I always see

[41:34] the water kind of where and

[41:36] it's clockwork, you know, and they look fantastic. And

[41:39] it's been 100 degrees and it

[41:41] still looks good.

[41:42] So yeah, it definitely has had

[41:43] us worried where we know some

[41:44] of the areas we're struggling

[41:45] in, but they're uh, it's kind

[41:47] of kind of expected. But yeah,

[41:49] they've, they've had to do

[41:50] extra watering uh, for sure

[41:52] with these, uh, with the way

[41:53] the heat's been.

[41:54] Yeah. So I just I really

[41:56] appreciate that. But like

[41:57] everything else, everything

[41:58] else is kept up to. That's the

[42:00] one thing I can say is you

[42:03] rarely, if ever, go anywhere in

[42:04] the park and see something that

[42:06] just looks, uh, like it needs

[42:08] significant attention. That

[42:09] alone derelict, which you

[42:11] unfortunately will see in a lot

[42:12] of public parks, unfortunately.

[42:14] So thank you.

[42:17] Yeah. Just piggyback along

[42:19] that. And and what was said

[42:21] earlier about James Park being

[42:23] flooded in then the recovery

[42:24] was so quick. But I've noticed

[42:25] that it always it always floods

[42:27] down there. And the crews for

[42:30] the parks have always been

[42:31] right on top of it, just like

[42:33] they were on top of Westhoff

[42:34] Park after the storm. And I'm

[42:37] amazed how quickly everybody

[42:39] gets on things and how well

[42:41] they do. And and with very

[42:43] little interruption to the

[42:44] public being able to enjoy

[42:45] these parks. So I really

[42:46] appreciate all of those that

[42:48] effort from the staff that does

[42:50] all that. And I know it's hard

[42:51] work and I know that they do a

[42:52] really good job, and I know

[42:53] that they're very dedicated to

[42:55] making sure our parks are kept

[42:57] really good. And that's one of

[42:58] the great things about our

[42:59] parks in O'Fallon. So thank

[43:01] you.

[43:01] Appreciate that.

[43:02] Thank you for the comments.

[43:07] Okay, so.

[43:09] I'd just like to say I

[43:11] appreciate all the hard work

[43:13] and all the heat this summer

[43:15] because it has been awful.

[43:17] Yes.

[43:17] Thank you.

[43:20] Okay. Any other last comments

[43:22] before we make a motion to

[43:24] adjourn? All right. Hearing

[43:26] none. Do I have a motion to

[43:27] adjourn the meeting tonight?

[43:30] Elder O do I.

[43:31] Have a second? Williams.

[43:32] All right, all in favor, please

[43:33] say aye.

[43:33] aye.

[43:35] Opposed? Meeting adjourned.

Parks and Recreation Board Meeting 09/09/26 | O'Fallon, Missouri

Transcript