Weston committee advances Kennedy Park renovation steps, recommends marketing contract and approves several naming-rights recommendations

The Weston Parks Committee met April 7 and advanced multiple implementation and fundraising steps for the Kennedy Park renovation, recommending a marketing contract to be managed by the Friends of Kennedy Park and approving several naming-rights requests to forward to the Village Board.

The committee acknowledged moving forward with architectural and structural services for Kennedy Park and recommended that a GoFull Nelson marketing engagement be routed to the Board of Trustees with the Friends of Kennedy Park as the contracting entity. Committee members also approved recommending to the Board that Field 5’s first light pole be named in honor of Braden Bone and that Field 4 be designated the Karen and Gary Rayjack Memorial Field in recognition of a family’s $500,000 commitment toward that field.

Why it matters: Kennedy Park is the village’s flagship park renovation, with a multi-field build-out, buildings, parking and restrooms planned. The committee’s decisions set design and procurement steps in motion, shape how fundraising will be managed and accept donor naming requests that will be visible to park users and tournament teams.

Most significant actions - Architectural and structural services: The committee acknowledged contracting structural services ($424,200) and architectural services ($5,000) to advance designs for three park buildings (northwest corner building, central concessions/restrooms, east shelter/restroom) and the retaining wall and dugouts on Field 5. The motion was moved by Corvino and seconded by Easter and was approved by voice vote. - Marketing/strategic-plan contract: The committee reviewed a $3,000 proposal from GoFull Nelson (listed in the packet) to provide a set of marketing and fundraising deliverables. To reduce past coordination problems, members agreed the contract should be executed in the name of the Friends of Kennedy Park with the village providing the funds or reimbursing the friends; the committee voted to recommend approval of that agreement to the Board of Trustees, with an explicit split of deliverables so village-specific items come to the village and fundraising/press items remain with the Friends. The motion to recommend the contract to the Board (with the Friends as the contracting body) was carried. - Naming rights and donor commitments: The committee recommended (1) that the first center-field light pole on Field 5 be named in honor of Braden Bone and (2) that Field 4 be named the Karen and Gary Rayjack Memorial Field in recognition of a $500,000 family commitment for that field. Both naming recommendations passed at committee and will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees for final action.

Discussion and context Committee discussion focused on fundraising strategy and governance. Members and staff reported that two large prospective funders (the Impact Grant and the Davis Family Foundation) said the committee’s original $14.5 million, 10-year ask was difficult to commit to as a single request; those funders suggested breaking the project into smaller, tangible capital components (fields, lights, dugouts, signage). Committee members described a stepped approach: secure fundraising for Field 4 (the donor-backed field), then raise funds for lights and subsequent fields in smaller increments (examples discussed included $10,000–$500,000 asks for specific items).

Several members urged that the Friends of Kennedy Park — the village’s designated fundraising partner under a memorandum of understanding — be the contracting party for marketing and strategic-plan services to avoid the coordination problems experienced last year. Staff and Friends representatives agreed to split deliverables so village-specific items (for example, a letter of support intended for the village) would come to the village for review, while donor-facing materials, press releases and blog posts would be managed by the Friends.

Committee members also discussed formalizing a small liaison role from the parks committee to receive monthly progress updates so knowledge would not reside with a single volunteer if personnel changed. The Friends indicated they plan to formalize their internal governance (officers/board) as part of their strategic plan.

Clarifying details - GoFull Nelson marketing proposal: $3,000 (proposal reviewed by committee). Source: packet. - Field 4 donor commitment: $500,000 toward construction of Field 4 (family requested naming rights). Source: packet and committee discussion. - Kennedy Park overall project scope mentioned by staff: approximately $14,500,000 (described as the full project target; committee discussion noted fundraising will be broken into smaller pieces). - Architectural/structural services: structural services $424,200; architectural services $5,000 (committee acknowledged moving forward with these services). - Naming mechanics: REI (design consultant) will provide three signage options for the Rayjack family to review by April 1; options discussed included turf infield branding, windscreens/fence signage, signage on dugouts or scoreboard. - Friends / village MOU: committee reiterated existing MOU that designates the Friends as fundraising partner; committee recommended the Friends be contracting body for the marketing agreement, with village oversight on village-funded deliverables.

What’s next The committee voted to forward the marketing contract recommendation and the naming-rights requests to the Board of Trustees for approval. Staff will bring the finalized GoFull Nelson contract (revised to name Friends of Kennedy Park as contracting party and to split deliverables) to the next available Board of Trustees meeting. REI will provide signage mock-ups for the Rayjack naming by early April. Staff will continue fundraising outreach and refine the capital breakdown for smaller donor asks.

Speakers included in this article - Jamie Gilbert — parks committee member / meeting participant (mentioned throughout as participant in meetings with Marcus and Friends) - Sarah Lisonbee — identified in the record as a member of the DCR Youth Baseball Board - Marcus Nelson — consultant (GoFull Nelson Marketing; present via Zoom for portions of the discussion) - Corvino — parks committee member (mover on at least one motion) - Easter — parks committee member (second on motions) - Clark — parks committee member (participated via Zoom) - Sean — staff member (engineering/operations involvement) - Michael — staff member (architectural/operational questions) - Barb/Isker/Dino — parks committee members (participated in discussion)

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