Greenwood parks board approves contract amendments, equipment purchases, holiday installation and a consolidated recreation job description

The Greenwood Parks and Recreation Board approved several contract amendments, equipment purchases and staffing changes at a regularly scheduled meeting, voting to amend completion dates on a construction contract, authorize equipment purchases for Westside Park, contract Network Electric for holiday decorations, ratify subcontractors for a Westside Park renovation and consolidate two seasonal recreation positions into one recreation associate job description.

Board members said the actions address construction scheduling, park site amenities and seasonal staffing needs. The board recorded motions and votes on each item during the meeting; all motions carried as announced by board members.

The board approved an amendment to the partnership/membership agreement with MetroNet and T-Mobile related to the sports park Fieldhouse; the motion was moved by Mister Dietrich and seconded by Mister Prost, and members voted in favor. The board also approved an amendment to the construction contract with David Mera Construction to adjust the contract’s substantial completion and final completion deadlines to allow for the installation of lighting. The change was described in the meeting as extending completion to Oct. 1 with a final completion date of Jan. 1 to permit the lights to be installed.

Board members authorized purchases and site amenities for Westside Park from Landscape Structures. The staff presentation listed a purchase total of $28,785 for equipment and site amenities. Individual items discussed included benches and trash receptacles with a stated unit total of $3,615 and a “Skyway”-shaped site structure reported in the discussion as $2,125,170 (amount reported in the meeting transcript; formatting of that figure was unclear in the record). The staff presentation said the items will be funded with a forthcoming funding source (not specified in the discussion).

The board approved a service agreement with Network Electric to install brackets and hang holiday wreaths on poles along Madison Avenue and to remove them after the season for $13,000. Parks staff said the Parks Foundation purchased the decorations and is funding $25,000 worth of holiday decorations; staff also said the wreaths will be city property and that the city will store them after the season.

Members ratified subcontractors submitted by the prime contractor for the Westside Park tennis and basketball court renovation project; staff said the list was submitted after bids and the board ratified the attached subcontractor list.

The board approved an operating agreement with Greater Midwest Baseball covering spring and summer 2026 activities; staff said the contract covers roughly 20 to 26 weekends in that season.

On personnel, the board approved an updated recreation associate job description that consolidates multiple seasonal positions — including umpire/referee and food-and-beverage seasonal roles — into one year-round part-time recreation associate classification to reduce repeated hiring and improve retention. Staff said the consolidated job will allow the department to retain the same employee across seasonal shifts rather than terminating and rehiring for different classifications.

A routine financial update presented to the board noted the city’s main operating fund cash position was described as “just over $5,200,000.” The presenter said the city had banked $324,000 year-to-date and had spent down $111,000 in the prior month; the transcript also referenced other fund balances during the presentation (Boone fund overage and parking impact fee balances) and listed specific figures during that report.

Other business included routine staffing updates, recognition of a 25-year employee milestone for Jim Lamb and brief discussion of upcoming events listed by staff including an October 17 event (Foster Mash) and an Oct. 25 festival (Hall of Great Festival).

Votes at a glance - Motion: Approve amendment to partnership agreement with MetroNet/T‑Mobile for sports park Fieldhouse. Moved: Mister Dietrich. Second: Mister Prost. Vote: board members recorded verbally in favor; motion carried. - Motion: Approve amendment to David Mera Construction contract to extend lighting completion dates (substantial completion to Oct. 1; final completion to Jan. 1). Moved: (as presented in meeting). Vote: board recorded in favor; motion carried. - Motion: Approve purchase of equipment/site amenities from Landscape Structures for Westside Park ($28,785 total stated). Moved: Mister Dietrich. Second: Mister Prost. Vote: board recorded in favor; motion carried. - Motion: Approve service agreement with Network Electric for installation/removal of holiday wreaths and brackets ($13,000). Moved: (as presented). Vote: board recorded in favor; motion carried. - Motion: Approve agreement with Greater Midwest Baseball for spring/summer 2026 (20–26 weekends). Moved: Mister Prost. Second: Mister Berg. Vote: board recorded in favor; motion carried. - Motion: Ratify subcontractor list for Westside Park tennis/basketball court renovation. Moved: Mister Burton. Second: (recorded). Vote: board recorded in favor; motion carried. - Motion: Approve updated recreation associate job description consolidating seasonal positions. Moved: Mister Dietrich. Second: (recorded). Vote: board recorded in favor; motion carried.

Board attribution and documentation Speakers identified in the meeting record include board members who moved and seconded motions (Mister Dietrich, Mister Prost, Mister Burton, Mister Berg, Mister Croson), the meeting attorney (Eric), parks staff presenting contracts and purchases (identified in the record as Parks staff and by first names such as Nick and Andy McSherry), and employee Jim Lamb (recognized for 25 years of service). Where the transcript did not provide full professional titles, the article uses the identifiers recorded in the meeting.

What the board did not decide in detail The board approved the listed contracts and amendments but did not, during the recorded discussion, specify the funding line-item for some purchases (staff said the items “will be funded with the next” but did not specify the exact fund in the discussion). One item’s numeric amount (the Skyway-shaped structure) appeared in the spoken record with formatting that was unclear; the figure is reported here as spoken in the meeting.