Meeting Summary and Briefs: Litchfield Park District Board of Commissioners for May 6, 2026

The Litchfield Park District Board of Commissioners met for one hour and 20 minutes on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 1100 South State St., reorganizing for the year without changing its officers or committee chairs and taking four recorded votes on substantive items: approval of a Litchfield Baseball logo at the Schalk field concession stand, deferral of a $50,000 low diving board replacement, retention of the district’s first-Wednesday meeting schedule, and a 5% raise for the district’s director. Six of seven commissioners were present, with Christopher Bates absent. The agenda’s public comment period produced no entries in the minutes.

Full coverage of the diving board deferral and the pool’s May 23 opening, the director’s raise and the executive session that preceded it, the board’s reorganization and meeting schedule, the June 6 Celebrate Walton Park event and completed dugout work, and the nearly finished district building appears in separate articles. Remaining items from the meeting follow.

Board Approves Litchfield Baseball Logo at Schalk Field

Litchfield Baseball had requested permission to add a logo to the concrete in front of the Schalk field concession stand, according to the minutes. Director Bryant passed around the rendering during the Ball Parks committee report. Commissioner Jaylynn Taylor moved to allow the logo, Commissioner Jennifer Cearlock seconded, and the motion carried. No vote tally is recorded. The record does not include the rendering, the dimensions or design of the logo, who will install it, who will pay for it, or any conditions attached to the approval. The agenda listed the item as a request from “LBI”; the minutes identify the requester as Litchfield Baseball.

District Replaces One of Three Mowers on Rotation

Under the Park Maintenance report, Cearlock told the board the district recently replaced one of its three mowers. The minutes describe the district’s practice: mowers are typically replaced after about six years of use, on a rotation in which the oldest mower is replaced every two to three years. The record contains no purchase price, no vendor, no model information, no trade-in value and no funding source for the mower that was replaced, and it does not state when the purchase was made or whether the board had previously approved it.

Director Locates About $400 in Unclaimed Property

Bryant has located approximately $400.00 in Illinois unclaimed property belonging to the district, Treasurer Brian Kulick reported under the Financial committee heading. The forms have been completed and submitted, and the minutes state the district will be receiving a check soon. The record does not say what the funds are, what year or account they originated from, or which fund the money will be deposited into on arrival. No board action was taken on the item.

Annual Audit Awaits Closing of the Books

The district’s annual audit is due, Kulick reported, and Patton and Associates is waiting for the district to close out its books for the fiscal year before performing the work. That will happen soon as well, according to the minutes. No engagement letter, fee, scope or target completion date for the audit appears in the agenda or the minutes, and the record does not state the fiscal year the audit will cover. The item drew no motion.

TLC Sets Three Goals; LCP Did Not Meet

Commissioner Jaylynn Taylor reported under Recreation/Reinvesting that TLC has three goals in mind going forward: the cat project, the kickball tournament and the beautification of Litchfield. LCP did not hold a meeting this month, according to the minutes. Neither acronym is expanded anywhere in the agenda or the minutes, and the record does not describe the district’s relationship to either group, though TLC is separately identified in the minutes as the host of a kickball tournament at the district’s June 6 Celebrate Walton Park event. No action was taken.

Financial Reports Accepted With No Figures in the Record

On a motion by Kulick, seconded by Vice President Katie Cross, the board accepted all financial reports for April 30, 2026. The agenda and minutes list the documents presented — monthly balances, cash receipts deposit detail, cash disbursements and bills, monthly and year-to-date profit and loss, and profit and loss between fiscal years — but none of the reports themselves is included, and no dollar figures from them appear in either document. The board separately accepted the minutes of its April 1, 2026, meeting on the same motion pairing.

Commissioners’ $150 Allotment Largely Unused in FY2025-26

Both the agenda and the minutes close with a table tracking a “Commissioners’ $150 allotment for fiscal year.” The version attached to the May 6 agenda, covering 2025-2026, shows entries for only two of the seven commissioners: Katie Cross, $136.98 in April for a fiscal-year total of $136.98, and Jennifer Cearlock, $150.00 in April for a fiscal-year total of $150.00. All other cells are blank. The version attached to the minutes begins a new 2026-2027 table with all cells empty. Neither document explains what the allotment may be used for or how it is claimed.