(A) The Common Council hereby creates the Department of Parks and Recreation of the city and hereby repeals any prior ordinance or resolution creating separate park and recreation authorities. Said Department shall consist of a Park and Recreation Board, a Park Superintendent, and other personnel that the Board determines.
(B) All records, books, papers, documents, and other property of the former park and recreation authorities of the city shall be transferred to and become the property of the newly formed Park and Recreation Board.
(C) The city, as a third class city, hereby creates the Park and Recreation Board pursuant to I.C. 36-10-3-4, and said Park and Recreation Board shall consist of four members to be appointed by the Mayor. The members shall be appointed on the basis of their interest in and knowledge of parks and recreation. The Mayor, Park Superintendent, Workforce Manager, and Assistant to the Mayor shall be considered ex-officio members of the Board in an advisory role, but shall have no voting rights therein.
(D) (1) Pursuant to I.C. 36-10-3-5, initial appointments to the Park and Recreation Board shall be made as follows:
(a) One member for a term of one year.
(b) One member for a term of two years.
(c) One member for a term of three years.
(d) One member for a term of four years.
(2) As a term expires, each new appointment is for a four-year term. All terms expire on the first Monday in January, but a member continues in office until the member's successor is appointed.
(E) Regular and special meetings of the Park and Recreation Board; election of officers; quorum.
(1) All meetings of the Board are open to the public. The Board shall fix the time and place of its regular meetings, but it shall meet at least quarterly.
(2) Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President or by any two members by written request to the Secretary. The Secretary shall send to each member, at least two days before a special meeting, a written notice fixing the time, place, and purpose of the meeting. Written notice of a special meeting is not required if the time of the special meeting is fixed at a regular meeting or if all members are present at the special meeting.
(3) At its first regular meeting each year, the Board shall elect a President and a Vice President. The Vice President may act as President during the absence or disability of the President. The Board may select a Secretary either from within or outside its membership.
(4) A majority of the members constitutes a quorum. Action of the Board is not official unless it is authorized by at least three members present and acting.
(F) Duties of the Park and Recreation Board. The Park and Recreation Board shall:
(1) Exercise general supervision of and make rules for the Department;
(2) Establish rules governing the use of the park and recreation facilities by the public;
(3) Provide police protection for its property and activities, either by requesting assistance from state, municipal, or county police authorities, or by having specified employees deputized as police officers; the deputized employees, however, are not eligible for police pension benefits or other emoluments of police officers;
(4) Appoint the necessary administrative officers of the Department and fix their duties and compensation;
(5) Establish standards and qualifications for the appointment of all personnel and approve their appointments and compensation without regard to politics;
(6) Make recommendations and an annual report to the executive and fiscal body of the unit concerning the operation of the board and the status of park and recreation programs in the city;
(7) Prepare and submit an annual budget in the same manner as other executive departments of the unit; and
(8) Appoint a member of the Board to serve on another kind of board or commission, whenever a statute allows a Park or Recreation Board to do this.
(G) Powers of Park and Recreation Board. The Park and Recreation Board shall:
(1) Enter into contracts and leases for facilities and services;
(2) Contract with persons for joint use of facilities for the operation of park and recreation programs and related services;
(3) Contract with another board, a unit, or a school corporation for the use of park and recreation facilities or services, and a township or school corporation may contract with the Board for the use of park and recreation facilities or services;
(4) Acquire and dispose of real and personal property, either within or outside of the state;
(5) Exercise the power of eminent domain under statutes available to municipalities;
(6) Sell, lease, or enter into a royalty contract for the natural or mineral resources of land that it owns, the money received to be deposited in a nonreverting Capital Fund of the Board;
(7) Contract for special and temporary services and for professional assistance;
(8) Delegate authority to perform ministerial acts in all cases except where final action of the Board is necessary;
(9) Prepare, publish, and distribute reports and other materials relating to activities of the Board.
(H) Duties of the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation. Under the direction of the Park and Recreation Board, the Superintendent shall:
(1) Propose annually a plan for the operation of the Department;
(2) Administer the plan as approved by the Board;
(3) Supervise the general administration of the Department;
(4) Keep the records of the Department and preserve all papers and documents of the Department;
(5) Recommend persons for appointment as assistants if the Board determines there is a need;
(6) Appoint the employees of the Department, subject to the approval of the Board, according to the standards and qualifications fixed by the Board and without regard to political affiliation;
(7) Prepare and present to the Board an annual report; and
(8) Perform other duties that the Board directs.
(I) The Common Council hereby adopts by reference I.C. 36-10-3, as amended from time to time, as it relates to third class cities in the State of Indiana and the establishment and operation of the Department of Parks and Recreation and Park and Recreation Board, and said I.C. 36-10-3 is incorporated in full by reference herein.
(Ord. 761, passed 4-10-23)