With the Round Barn being an iconic historical structure in Manhattan, everyone is anxious to hear when it will be ready to host events. While the exterior renovations have largely been completed, the Manhattan Park District has been working to finalize the architectural plans for its interior.
Executive Director Jay Kelly advised the park board that the park district was working to complete an access road for vendors and equipment delivery, along with a path leading to the main doors.
The interior renovation plans are moving forward, with bid opening slated for June 29 at 10 a.m., with bid approval scheduled to be approved at the July 9 board meeting. Once the bidding process and approvals are complete, contractors will receive the green light to begin construction on July 13, with a tentative November 1 completion date.
Kelly also reported that the Manhattan Parks Foundation is working to put together a gala to be held at the Round Barn in the near future.
In other news, the park approved its budget and appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2026-2027. Nothing had changed since it was put on display 30 days ago. Kelly reported there were no inquiries into the budget.
The park district is preparing to move into the fire station building adjacent to Central Park. The park district acquired the fire district building (Station 81) in 2023 after an intergovernmental agreement was passed and has been leasing it back to the Manhattan Fire Protection District until its new fire station is completed. It is anticipated that the fire district will be ready to move into its new fire station early, as construction is ahead of schedule.
Kelly reported that the park and fire districts will soon be meeting to discuss and plan the transition to ensure everything happens smoothly. Once the fire district is fully moved out, the park district will paint and install new flooring upstairs, opening up a storage area to accommodate programming. The plan will be to transition The Den to the firehouse after the holiday break.
The board discussed the potential land transfer of property from McDonnell Development, which the developer had converted to prairie as part of a 2006 agreement. The board advised they were willing to entertain the transfer, for which more information would be available, potentially leading to a vote at the next board meeting.
Kelly also informed the board of a major legislative update regarding changes to DCFS and how they impact park districts. Essentially, DCFS is being disbanded, with an IDEC program replacing it. The major change for park districts stemming from this program was that any park program that was an hour long (or longer) without a parent present would need to be certified in the same way that a daycare is.
While the park district’s before- and after-school care programs adhere to those standards, not all short programs do, and doing so would be a large undertaking. In early May, the bill passed the House and Senate with language from the IAPD that limited its scope, allowing the park districts to continue operating as they have been. Governor Pritzker hasn’t signed it yet, so there is no implementation date.
Additionally, Kelly shared that as of January 1, 2027, a new e-bikes law would allow park districts the ability to independently enforce the use of e-bikes and motorized scooters within their parks. The park district intends to discuss this subject in depth in the future to establish a policy.