Kaukauna Veterans Memorial Park Association Meeting Minutes – March 26, 2015

Thursday, March 26, 2015 – 4:00 PM
Council Chambers

A meeting of the Kaukauna Veterans Memorial Park Association was called to order at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, 2015, by President Rosin.

Members Present: Mayor Gene Rosin, Brian Roebke, Fred Cazzola, Mark Landreman, Troy Hanson, Andréa Meulemans, Karen Koch.

Absent:    Tim Roehrig, Eugene Schaefer, Lisa Wolfinger

1.    A motion was made by Hanson to approve and place on file the minutes of September 25, 2015. Seconded by Meulemans. All members voted aye. Motion carried.

2.    Discussion of 2015 Memorial Day ceremony:

• Hanson will contact Kaukauna High School regarding the band performing for the ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park.
  
• Closing of Catherine Street – Mayor will seek authorization from the Council to close Catherine Street during the ceremony as was done for the Veteran’s ceremony in November 2014. Mayor and Engineering Tech., Jason Holmes, will place the handicapped parking signs in the green area by Kwik Trip. It worked well for the Veteran’s ceremony in November. The Street Department will place barricades at the intersections, and the CSO will be present at the Lawe/Catherine Street intersection. Mayor will contact Expera to detour the truck traffic past the Chamber of Commerce. The busses carrying the Veterans and high school band will park on Catherine Street.
  
• Since it went over well to have the on-duty Fire Department staff assist people from their cars to the Ring of Honor at the Veteran’s Day ceremony last November, Mayor spoke with Chief Hirte to do the same thing again for the Memorial Day ceremony.
  
• Hanson will contact Breitbach/Dragosh to obtain permission to use their lot for parking.
  
• Mayor will speak to Pat Vandenheuvel and Tim Clark, Street Department, and ask them to provide extra picnic tables, benches, and some portable bleachers from Riverside Park the day before the ceremony for seating.
  
• Mayor has already spoken with the Manager of Kwik Trip regarding closing the carwash during the ceremony. He will touch base with him again as a reminder.
  

3.    Hanson discussed a program through the Legion that gives an opportunity to students to bugle for ceremonies and funerals for $25 per play. (One student turned in 875 slips from bugling through the years to use for his college expenses.)

4.    There was discussion regarding ways to assist individuals with finding the bricks they either purchased or for finding people they know while visiting the Ring of Honor. The group decided that it would be most convenient to put a copy of the map on a kiosk protected by a plexy sheet that also lists detailed instructions as to how to pull up the alphabetical or numerical listing from our web site.

5.    There are currently 10 bricks waiting to be ordered. After discussion regarding the balance of the brick account and the amount of shipping for quantities, the Association members decided that bricks would be ordered in accordance with the dates printed on the order forms – March 1 and August 1, no matter how many were in the order.
A motion was made by Roebke to order bricks March 1 or August 1 of each year, no matter how many bricks are in the order. Seconded by Mark Landreman. All members were in favor, motion passed.

    There was discussion on flag replacements. There are nine flags per set. Hanson will get in contact with Dale Siebers of the VFW for flag information. The VFW will make a donation for two, full back-up sets.

Hanson mentioned that Bubble Fresh will launder flags that are dirty at no charge. It was noted that when any flags are replaced due to damage, fading, etc., the whole set should be replaced with new flags, and then repairs and cleaning of the older flags be done before they are placed in storage as back-ups.

6.    Mayor mentioned that the KARMA (Kaukauna Area Recreation Music and Activities) group wanted to sponsor a music event this coming June (a take-off from Appleton’s Mile of Music). The Association members agreed that it was important to uphold the reverence of the park, as it is a memorial, and decided not to approve the request by KARMA for the use of Veterans Memorial Park for their June event.

7.    There was some concern about traffic noise and being able to hear the speakers at the ceremonies. It was the consensus of the group that moving the speakers towards those in attendance may help. The sound system will be tested before Memorial Day.

8.    The Association members decided that it was not necessary to meet again before Memorial Day.

    A motion to adjourn at 5:30 p.m. was made by Meulemans, seconded by Roebke. All members voted aye. Motion carried.

Submitted by:

Karen Koch, KVMPA Secretary