Happy New Year Western Springs Park Patrons, As the year comes

Happy New Year Western Springs Park Patrons,
As the year comes to an end, I thought it would be a good time to recap our
accomplishments and progress for 2014 and set the tone for the New Year.
2014 - The year of improved communications, relationships and better playing
fields.
1. We began the year by implementing our 1st Resident Satisfaction Survey.
These results will be invaluable in driving our long and short term capital
improvement projects within the Park District. Board member, Jennifer
Dunleavy, was paramount in writing, distributing, collecting and analyzing
the survey. Thank you Jennifer.
2. We also launched our re-designed website and mailed 2 newsletters to
your homes.
3. A concerted effort was made to improve communications with the
residents of Western Springs; especially neighbors of our 13 parks. A
special thanks to the Zak family for their time and effort to insure we are on
a continuous path toward improvement.
4. With the help of a volunteer resident, we are committed to “going more
green” with a more conscientious IPM plan in place. A big thank you to
Brad Walse and his leadership in driving this needed improvement.
5. Great strides were also seen in notifications to our neighbors and schools
that border park district land, whenever fertilization and weed control was
scheduled.
6. We have started the process to implement transparent and visible user fees
which will off-set added expense in the future. Thanks to Board Member
Angelo Velliotis for his hard work in developing our user fee and field
scheduling process.
7. School District 101 came to the Park District with a proposal to expand their
schools. Their project was accomplished with the purchase of small parcels
of Park District land. It was our pleasure to see two government entities
working together for the betterment of the community.
8. We took on the greatly needed SRP field renovation (users were adamant
about this and the resident survey established a clear mandate).
Unfortunately, the project saw unforeseen delays and costs due to removal
and disposal of soil. However, the end result will be playing fields that are
both safe and best in class. These fields will be worthy of initiating user fees
to help offset the cost of maintaining them at the highest standard and
without an additional tax burden to the residents. Board member Art Frese
is to be commended for his constant/invaluable project oversight. We
especially want to thank the Central Avenue neighbors for their patience,
input and involvement.
9. And finally, I am happy to announce that the WSPD received an Award of
Excellence from PDRMA. Four of our parks received an A rating and they
presented us with a $1,500 award.
Looking to 2015 and beyond….
We will continue to precipitate improvement, seek ways to increase revenues and
drive operational costs to a minimum while implementing new processes.
You can be proud of your parks and how they are managed. The Park District
maintains 13 parks on over 90 acres of land. We accomplish this with the lowest
tax revenue for a Park District in the State of Illinois. A household paying
$8,000.00 annually in property taxes, contributes $131.00 to the Park District.
Our proposed budget for 2015 will increase your Park District portion on your
taxes to approximately $135.00. So, for a cost less than a cup of coffee at
Starbucks, we intend to deliver premier playing fields at Spring Rock Park,
improved washroom facilities, increased fibers on all play surfaces, greener/more
environmentally friendly park fields, community events, and updated playground
equipment. Our goal is to continue to maintain the parks and pursue alternative
revenue sources without asking for a tax increase. It’s been that way for over 60
years, and we intend to keep it that way.
We should all thank our Park District staff; Craig Himmelmann, Bill Raftery, Greg
Eggert, Dennis Conway, Maribeth Newell and Marcy Dusza. That’s right, only 4
fulltime and 2 freelance people accomplish all the work that goes into some of
the best parks in Illinois. And a special nod to our Director of Parks, Craig
Himmelmann who announced his June, 2015 retirement. He will be sorely missed
and difficult to replace. Director Himmelmann has served the community of
Western Springs for over 30 years and deserves sincere thanks for the pride and
commitment he has always given to his position.
The Board looks forward to continued improvements in 2015. Thank you all for
your interest in the Park District. We welcome feedback and are available for
comment the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. You can find us in the
Board Room of the Village Hall for our monthly meeting. I welcome each of you
to stop in and become part of the process. I look forward to meeting you and
serving as President of the Western Springs Park District Board of Commissioners.
I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year filled with fun and fitness in your
local parks.
Walt Knake
Board President
Western Springs Park District

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