2022-10-12
Blair Park Board Meeting Minutes for October 12, 2022
Call to Order: The Blair Park Board was called to order by President Neil Jensen at 7 p.m.
Present: Neil Jensen, Sarah Boeka, Joe Burns, Kristi Rounds and Park Superintendent Pat Long.
Approval of Minutes: The August 10, 2022, minutes were approved by a motion from Joe Burns and
seconded by Kristi Rounds.
Approval of Bills: No bills were submitted.
Superintendent Pat Long reported that the Bike Race that was held at Black Elk Neihardt Park by the
Nebraska Interscholastic Cycling League on August 28, 2022, was a success. Everything went according
to the plan, and he believes the Cycling League will ask to have it here again next year.
The new Pump Track at Blair Elk Neihardt Park is coming along nicely, and he reports that it has had a lot
of use. He did not have an update on the small pump track that is going to be installed near the Dana
baseball fields.
The new park playgrounds at Ridgeview and Southern Hills are on hold until spring. The playground
company has a backlog and have lost some staff. The curb has been installed at Ridgeview. Even
though the playground equipment is delayed, our price is locked in. When it is delivered, the Park
Department will pick it up and store in inside for the winter.
The poured-in-place surfaces at both Rhodes playground and Daubenspeck playground were repaired
and sealed Sept. 30. If the weather stays warm, they will repair and seal the surface at Lion’s Club Park
this fall. Stemmermann Park and 2/3rds of Steyer Park playgrounds were done 2 years ago.
Superintendent Long reported that his staff has been busy with fall cleanup. They will also be doing tree
trimming, picking up leaves and limbs etc. They hope to plant trees on main street yet this fall to
replace some that have died. A catalpa tree that was donated has been planted at Black Elk Neihardt
Park. The Park crew recently completed a cleanup of the entryway to the city building including rubber
mulch and irrigation for the front lawn. They have removed some dead bushes and trimmed along the
trail by the library.
The city pool still needs to be winterized inside. There are some posts at the cemetery that need to be
straightened and prepped for painting.
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He also reported that the budget had been approved to add a 4 person to the park staff. The new
person will help the street department with snow removal this winter.
Adjournment: Kristi Rounds made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:37 and it was seconded by Neil
Jensen.
Respectfully submitted by Sarah Boeka for Betsy Anderson October 14, 2022