Question 1: What motivated you to seek a seat on the Park District Board?
Ron Aubrey: Initially, I finally had some time to volunteer and was looking to serve our children, families and the community in some special way. I have served as Park District Commissioner for over 5 years now and there are still some things left to do, such as completing:
• Ackerman Sports Complex
• Churchill Nature Center museum w/ new restoration and educational programs
• Safety Village
• Madonnari on Main 3D sidewalk chalk art festival
• Final phase of Mary Knoll family park
• 5-year Comprehensive Plan
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Melissa Creech, Jay Kinzler and Julia Nephew: Jay Kinzler, Melissa Creech and Julia Nephew joined forces during the campaign to Save Ackerman Woods in the spring of 2008. They spent many hours talking with neighbors and attending Park District board meetings in support of the trees. It was through this process that Jay, Melissa and Julia, became aware of the disconnect between the current leadership at the Park District and the residents of Glen Ellyn. Inspired by a desire to help improve the Park District Jay, Melissa and Julia decided to become more involved and are running for the Glen Ellyn Park District Board.
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Jeffrey Dickson: Our Park District is a great asset to our community. My family and I have actively participated in their programs and used the facilities since we moved to Glen Ellyn in 1999. I am running for Commissioner with no formal agenda or platform other than I want to give back to an organization that has enhanced our Glen Ellyn experience over the last decade.
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Jeffery Jourdan: I feel that after coaching youth soccer and watching my wife and children go through many park district programs it was time I should give back to this organization.
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Keith Schoen: I have been serving on the Park Board for the residents and would like to continue. I would like to be on board to have involvement in many projects started but not completed. I strongly feel that I have done an excellent job with growth, been a good steward with Park district Funds and listened to my electorate.
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William Taylor: Prior to 2005, I had served as project manager for several engineering/construction projects my current employer had done for the Glen Ellyn Park District. I had the opportunity to meet district staff and observe the activity of that aspect of park operations. At that time I had been a resident of Glen Ellyn for 25 years and when a board seat became available prior to the 2005 election, I determined that serving on this board was a great opportunity through community service to give back to an organization which had always been professional and courteous in dealing with the community.
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Question 2: How do you view the role of a Park District Board member?
Ron Aubrey: Of utmost importance and paramount responsibility are financial oversight tax-payer funds; the Park District's operating budget; and the long-term capital expenditure programs during this very difficult economic environment:
• Maintaining a balanced operating budget every year, verified by independent audit
• Continuous investment in our 29-park system including maintenance of over 322 acres of open space via prudent capital expenditure planning and implementation
• Offering a diverse menu of program choices to meet resident’s varying needs
Other Board Commissioner primary responsibilities include:
• Establishing policies based on sound research and consideration of pros and cons of each issue
• Adopt policies for Park District to run efficiently, effectively, legally and ethically
• Request, receive, evaluate and make decisions based on effective and wise guidance
• Interpret the Park District's mission, values and vision to Glen Ellyn residents
Vote for Ron Aubrey Park District Commissioner www.vote4ourchildren.com
• Set a strategic direction that adopts goals relating to our mission
• Secure adequate funds to carry out the Park District’s goals
• Act as a resource, as a sounding board and as the eyes and ears of the citizens of the community, making sure that the Park District is meeting their needs
• Develop, maintain and update long-range plans
• Adhere to a code of ethics, define and enforce operational policies
• Support board decisions even when a decision conflicts with an individuals personal views, recognizing the authority rests with the board, not with one board member
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Melissa Creech, Jay Kinzler and Julia Nephew: Park District board members are elected by the community and must always be responsive to the needs of the community. They must seek community input and be available to residents. They must carefully research the issues before the board and ask probing questions. They must always vote on the issues, even when faced with difficult choices.
We feel that it is of the utmost importance that the citizens we serve have confidence that we are making our decisions in their best interest. It is not possible to have this confidence when significant conflicts of interest exist. We have no financial interest in companies doing business with the Park District.
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Jeffrey Dickson: The role of a Park District Board member is to represent the interests of community members when setting long range plans for the facilities and our parks. Additionally, the Board should provide direction to the staff in line with the long term needs of the community and then let the staff implement actions to address the identified needs. Finally, Board members need to be good stewards of our financial resources.
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Jeffery Jourdan: My roll with the Park District Board is to bring my 25 years of business management, accounting skills and communication skills where needed to assist as a liaison with the community and the staff of the Park District.
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Keith Schoen: My role is to work with the other commissioners with an open mind and to listen to the voters, then formulating my opinions with my extensive background and knowledge, working with staff and coming up with correct solutions.
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William Taylor: The role of a volunteer board member, working as a whole with the entire board, is to be a responsible steward of the public trust and to continually exercise proper fiduciary responsibility with tax payer dollars. This can be accomplished by providing direction to staff on matters of finance, personnel, operations, and recreation in order to establish goals and formulate policies. This direction should come in the form of experience the individual has gained through their own profession or has obtained by being an active member of that community for a number of years. This experience and insight allows that person to reflect on what their neighbors are thinking in terms of important issues regarding the District and represent them accordingly.
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Question 3: What’s been your prior involvement in Park District activities?
Ron Aubrey: I’m known for idea creation and also actively getting involved with others to identify common interests, and leveraging our finite tax resources to better serve our community. For example, I’m currently working with local businesses and non-profit agencies to support our new Safety Village project, which will teach our 4-7 year old children fire, train, car, bike and water safety. Through my Make a Memory family charitable foundation, I’ve financially supported the Park District’s Churchill Nature Center’s new restoration and educational environmental programs.
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Melissa Creech, Jay Kinzler and Julia Nephew: Jay Kinzler has coached Park District soccer, basketball, football and baseball programs. He is most active in the Glen Ellyn Youth Baseball Association (GEYBA) and has served in several leadership positions there. Melissa Creech and her family enjoy Park District programs such as music, art, ballet, gymnastics, pre-school, toddler classes, swimming, yoga, and fun family activities like the Polar Express. Julia Nephew and her family enjoy ice skating on Lake Ellyn, fireworks, Freedom Four. Her 13-year-old stepdaughter has participated in numerous Park District programs including preschool, dance and music classes, soccer, and is currently enrolled in fencing.
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Jeffrey Dickson: I am currently an officer on the Glen Ellyn Travel Soccer Board of Directors. I’ve been an active volunteer and coach for my children’s sports teams. We swim at Sunset, run at Newton Park on Tuesday nights during the summer, picnic and play when we can and love the summer boat regatta.
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Jeffery Jourdan: Besides being on the Park District Board for the past 4 years I have coached youth soccer. My family has taken advantage of the programs offered through the park district for the past 22 years.
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Keith Schoen: Mostly with children as I coached girls softball for 25 years and also soccer, football and basketball. I am former president of GEGSA and this was during a tremendous growth time for this sport as this was some 20 years ago.
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William Taylor: My prior involvement with the park district had come in the form of volunteer coaching in soccer, baseball, softball and basketball.
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Question 4: What steps would you take as a park district board member to improve the Park District Board image in the community?
Ron Aubrey: About 3 years ago, a new marketing position was created to address this and handle all Park District communications including:
• New on-line registration system that has proven to be extremely popular with over 90% of program registrations completed online.
• Upgrade web site with improved features and ease-of-use functionality
• New opt-in E-mail newsletter with current distribution to over 5,000 residents
• Utilizing the many new forms of technology and communication tools to stay connected to our on-the-go residents
• Public announcements including professionally written articles on major program offerings to media outlets and other agencies.
Over the last year, we have extended our marketing efforts to also include public relations, to build awareness for the many Park District’s positive contributions to our community. For example, this year a new e-mail publication was launched called, “Leisure Time”. Finally, I am personally exploring other public relation alternatives to help the Park District tell their compelling story.
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Melissa Creech, Jay Kinzler and Julia Nephew: As Park District board members, we will listen to the community and make decisions based on the desires of our residents. We will strive to make our meetings and documents more accessible and open. We will be fiscally responsible so the community never feels as if there money is being wasted on unnecessary projects.
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Jeffrey Dickson: The Board needs to identify common interests with the School Boards and Village Boards to leverage our resources for the benefit of all Park District residents. I support the idea to hold one joint meeting with each Board annually where common interests can be identified and joint plans can be proposed. Additionally, the Executive Director and Board President should have standing meetings with their peers in the other civic groups. The goal of these joint meetings is to improve communication and coordination between the elected officials and professional staff.
We need to better utilize our on-line resources to promote our programs and update the community on what we are doing.
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Jeffery Jourdan: I would use my accounting and budgeting skill to keep the revenues up and the expenditure down so the park district can maintain their AA Bond rating and their positive fund balance. It is also important that all programs are priced appropriately and the cost to run is minimal. It is important to continue being a good steward of the community.
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Keith Schoen: I believe all it would take is awareness to the public as we have an excellent staff, beautiful parks, well maintained, excellent programs with a large variety for all concerned from Tots to Seniors. Sometimes the largest hurdle is educating the residents as to all we offer and that we are a seperate body from the village. Public Relations and Awareness.
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William Taylor: My experience serving on this board tells me that a majority of residents have a favorable opinion regarding this board and the park district in general. I know that current board members are acutely aware of the passion that residents of Glen Ellyn possess for preservation, restoration and the environment in general. Understandably, the image of the park board was brought in to question last year during the debate over stormwater issues at Ackerman Park. The board proved, beyond a doubt, that it listens to the residents that it serves.
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Question 5: What are the 3-5 top issues you’d want to address as a park district board member?
Ron Aubrey:
1) Continuing to maintain a balanced operating budget and capital expenditure investment in our 29 parks and over 322 acres of open space for multiple uses
2) Completion of Ackerman Sports Complex and finalization of a balanced operating budget
3) Completion of our next 5-year comprehensive plan.
4) Completion of:
• Churchill Nature Center museum w/ new restoration and educational programs;
• Launching Safety Village
• Launching Madonnari on Main 3D sidewalk chalk art festival
• Complete the final phase of Maryknoll Family Park.
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Melissa Creech, Jay Kinzler and Julia Nephew:
Fiscal Responsibility- We are concerned that the Park District is unprepared to deal with falling housing values and the impact this will have on Park District revenues. The current plan to deal with this situation is to raise tax rates. This is unacceptable, given the current economic crisis. The Park District must control its spending on capital projects and trim down its own budgets before even considering an increase in our taxes.
Responsiveness- The Park District must communicate with residents and listen to their needs. During the Ackerman Woods controversy, we found that the Board made their decisions without seeking input from the public and was unwilling to listen when the community disagreed with them. We believe that the Park District should survey the community on a regular basis and use that data to make decisions, especially for capital projects.
Transparency- We believe that the Park District should operate as transparently as possible. Important documents such as budgets, expenditures, board packets, policy manuals and long-range planning documents should all be readily available in the Park District website. Long-range planning sessions by the board should be conducted on-site, in the Park District boardroom so the public can easily attend them. If elected, we will work to broadcast all Board meetings either on the local cable channel or via Internet.
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Jeffrey Dickson:
Promote fiscal responsibility that balances the needs of the community with our available resources.
Identify common interests with the School Boards and Village Board to leverage our resources for the benefit of al Park District residents.
Work to improve communication with the community and volunteers.
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Jeffery Jourdan: The top issues are:
- controlling expenditures
- making sure capital expenditures are done, and within budget
- making sure the director and staff keep abreast of the communities needs and wants
- make sure all facilities and parks are up to the communities standards
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Keith Schoen:
1. Completion of Ackerman Park project and land acquisition.
2. Churchill Park for the school children and nature museum.
3. Maryknoll Park with Safety Village for the kids and some of the outdoor improvements enhancing the park.
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William Taylor: 1.) Maintaining the high standard of quality offered by the Park District given the current economic crisis. 2.) Creating recreational opportunities for an aging population. 3.) The continued acquisition of available properties to be turned in to available park land. 4.) The successful completion of Safety Village at Maryknoll Park.
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Question 6: Why are these issues important to the community?
Ron Aubrey:
1) Maintaining a balanced operating and capital expenditure budget demonstrates my responsibility as a Park District Commissioner to be a prudent steward of tax-payer funds and upholding the Park District’s founding mission to foster diverse, community based leisure opportunities, through a harmonious blend of quality recreation programs, facilities and open space which will enhance the quality of life in the future.
2) Completion of Ackerman Sports Complex fulfills our voter mandate from the 2006 referendum to finish this project and also operate it efficiently.
3) Completion of our next 5-year comprehensive plan, is designed to address the natural, cultural and educational opportunities that our great parks and facilities can provide including review and prioritizing long-term goals, objectives, land acquisition/capital projects plan, bond payment schedule, future funding availability forecast, etc.
4) Churchill Nature Center started with a Park District land acquisition program in the early 1970’s, and culminated with an intergovernmental agreement with the DuPage County Forest Preserve in 2001 to purchase more land for open space and preserve it for outdoor use. For the last 3 years, the Park District has been systematically restoring this area to its natural prairie and woodland roots. Starting in 2008, the Park District started restoration work days and the development of environmental curriculum for the school system’s use. The ultimate goal is to add an outdoor nature museum to offer both indoor and outdoor educational programs for our children.
*Launching Safety Village: the concept for this project dates back 14 years and recently became a major focus of the Glen Ellyn Park’s non-profit Foundation. The plan includes reproducing our downtown with authentic replicas of our historic homes and buildings in a miniature scale. The Safety Village will be used by our 4-7 year old children in an interactive way to learn about biking, railroad, police, fire, and water safety. A Phase I ground breaking is planned for fall 2009.
*2nd Annual Madonnari on Main - 3D Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival The Park District is the lead agency along with intergovernmental support from the Village, downtown businesses, schools and library bringing this wonderful event back to Glen Ellyn. This unique event will bring together children and families from in and around Glen Ellyn and increase the awareness of our cherished downtown. Many educational opportunities are also planned to educate all on this exciting new art form.
*Complete the final phase of Maryknoll Family Park. This fulfills the Park District’s commitment to the community as detailed in the comprehensive plan after these 25 acres of open space were purchased in January 2000.
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Melissa Creech, Jay Kinzler and Julia Nephew: These issues are important so that Glen Ellyn residents know that their tax dollars are being spent wisely, can participate in the democratic process and can trust their elected officials.
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Jeffrey Dickson: With the outlook of limited financial resources in the next few years, we need to closely examine proposed capital spending and optimize the funds and resources we have available. Additionally, we need to review our programs to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our users with our offerings.
Local elected officials need to work in partnership to best serve the community as a whole. We need to move beyond finger pointing when faced with tough civic issues and address the concern as a unified body, working together in the best interest of the community at large.
People want to know what is going on. Analysis, discussion and healthy debate are good for any organization. People might not agree with a final decision or outcome, but if they are informed along the way, there is minimal chance that one will feel blind-sided or deceived.
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Jeffery Jourdan: This is a strong, beautiful community with a lot of pride. With the park district being a piece of the puzzle the park district must maintain its high standards.
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Keith Schoen: This is one of the reasons people move to Glen Ellyn over other suburbs and also one of the reasons the homes retain their higher values over other suburbs. There are many choices in park programs and activities for all ages.
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William Taylor: Issue 1 is important to the community because, even in difficult economic times, residents continue to pay real estate taxes, a part of which are proportioned to the operation of the Park District. It is a matter of service. Residents should not expect nor accept a reduction in the level of service the Park District provides with regard to its programs or facilities. Issue 2 is important because older adults today tend to be more active than their counterparts of a generation ago. The district must recognize this and program accordingly. Issue 3 is important because as parcels of property become available, if they are secured by the park district, they will forever remain park property. If the district misses opportunities to purchase this land and it is acquired by others, that opportunity will never present itself again. Issue 4 is important due to the fact that the Safety Village program has been extremely successful in the village for more than a generation. Young children must continue to receive the practical safety training necessary in day to day life.
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