Metro East Sun

City of Belleville Parks & Recreation Board of Trustees met Aug. 13

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Regular meeting of the Board of Trustees for the Belleville Parks and Recreation Department was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Ms. Marge Belt.

Roll Call Board Members (Alphabetical Order) Ms. Marge Belt, Mr. Brennan Hartin, Mr. Mike Heisler, Ms. Sarah Lanxon, Mr. Scott Lanxon.

Roll Call Staff Members (Alphabetical Order), Mrs. Gina Hartin, Mr. Craig Maue, Mr. Jason Poole, Mrs. Emily Riedinger. Ms. Alicia Close was excused from the meeting.

Previous Minutes

Ms. Belt asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes for the July 9, 2025 meeting. Mr. Heisler made a motion that the minutes be placed on file; the motion was seconded by Mr. Lanxon. All members voting aye. Motion carried.

Introduction of Guests and Public Participation

Mrs. Alyce Lanxon, PTOEC Treasurer, introduced herself to the board members. Mrs. Lanxon stated she wanted to thank them for allowing use of the Belleville Campus Arena for the training for Special Olympics volleyball. Mrs. Lanxon stated there are two teams using the facility currently. Mrs. Lanxon provided the board members with an informational page regarding PTOEC and explained the organization to the board members.

Mrs. Lanxon stated the organization is not looking for any funding from the city. Mrs. Lanxon stated PTOEС would like to propose a partnership with Belleville Parks and Recreation to create an awareness of recreational resources available to serve the special needs of citizens in the community. Mrs. Lanxon stated they would also like to secure access to training facilities at cost-effective pricing.

Mr. Poole introduced Ms. Zoey Ward to the board members who served as a Recreation Intern throughout the summer. Mr. Poole stated that he appreciated all the hard work and energy that she carried for the department. Mr. Poole stated her last day would be August 16, 2025.

Correspondence

None.

Claims

Mr. Heisler made a motion that the claims for the month of July 2025 be paid, the motion was seconded by Mr. Hartin. A roll call vote was taken with all members voting aye. Motion carried.

Summary of Fund Balances

Mr. Heisler made a motion to have the finance reports for the month of August 2025 placed on file, the motion was seconded by Mr. Lanxon. All members voting aye. Motion carried.

Bids

None.

Recreation Supervisor - Ms. Alicia Close

None.

Recreation Supervisor - Mrs. Gina Hartin

Mrs. Hartin informed the board member that most summer sports have ended except for softball due to rainouts. Mrs. Hartin stated that there will be a pickleball tournament held at the Fall Festival at Bellevue Park on September 13, 2025. Mrs. Hartin stated that Baskeball Skills, Little Dribblers, Little Spikers and Belleville Spikers clinics all open for registration. Mrs. Hartin stated there are four pickleball leagues being offered that begin in September.

Assistant Director of Recreation

Mrs. Riedinger informed the board members that Camp Rec has ended. Mrs. Riedinger stated there were an average of 120 children each week, age ranges from 3 years to 12 years. Mrs. Riedinger stated overall the camp was very successful.

Mrs. Riedinger stated that Ms. Alicia Close will be returning to work on Monday, August 18, 2025, and many of her fall programs will begin in early September. Mrs. Riedinger stated tumbling will resume with morning and evening options and open play will also return to the NCC.

Mrs. Riedinger stated that there are currently ten children enrolled in the Alphabet Academy program.

Mrs. Riedinger stated National Senior Citizen's Day is next week and it will be a day of free badminton, pickleball, ping-pong, bingo and a resource fair for seniors at the Campus.

Mrs. Riedinger stated at the Fall Festival there will be a fishing derby for kids and seniors, kids' market, adult market, live music and food trucks. Mrs. Riedinger stated the event was planned by Ms. Zoey Ward, Recreation Intern. Mrs. Riedinger stated the End of Summer Celebration, and the Candy Fun Run were also events that were planned by Ms. Ward.

Mrs. Riedinger informed the board members that a new event coming will be a Pumpkin Derby. Mrs. Riedinger explained the event to the board members.

Assistant Director of Public Works

Mr. Maue informed the board members that the parks maintenance staff is busy keeping all the parks maintained.

Director of Public Works

Mr. Poole informed the board members that the construction is complete at the Citizen's Park upper diamond.

Mr. Poole stated they are just waiting for the power to be reconnected. Mr. Poole stated on the OSLAD grant portion of the construction the playground company will be coming back to complete a couple of pieces. Mr. Poole stated the project should be completed by the end of September.

Mr. Poole stated there is another OSLAD grant opportunity, and the plan would be to convert the six tennis courts at the Belleville Campus into twelve pickleball courts and install a playground.

Additional New Business

None.

Old Business

Mr. Lanxon made a motion to adjust the operating opening hours at the Belleville Splash Pad from 11:00am to 10:00am, the motion was seconded by Mr. Heisler. All members voting aye. Motion carried.

Mr. Lanxon stated he attended the splash pad and wanted to share what he observed. Mr. Lanxon stated the slide is the most popular piece with a line constantly. Mr. Lanxon stated someone brought their dog to the splash pad and was walking it around the area. Mr. Lanxon inquired if possibly signage should be installed stating that no dogs are allowed. Discussion was held regarding the splash pad.

Executive Session

None.

Questions From the Floor

None.

Adjournment

Hearing no further New Business, Old Business or Questions from the Floor. Mr. Hartin moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Lanxon. All members voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 7:04 p.m..

https://www.belleville.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08132025-3551