Waukegan Park District Needs New Direction

[lindaryckman]

On April 7, Waukegan Park District voters will have a chance to decide if they want to continue down the road that has been laid by the current board, or change direction. The board’s decision in December, 2007, to destroy Orchard Hills Golf Course, and build soccer and softball fields there instead of at the Johns Manville site raised an outcry seldom heard from the Waukegan public, but that didn’t deter them. Except for Commissioner Bill Sarocka, the board has marched on with blind arrogance and dismissed opponents as being “a bunch of whining golfers.” That’s a mistake. There are a lot of people who aren’t golfers who don’t like this move, for a lot of reasons. One that seems universal, though, is that this board spends our money like it’s water, on things that many of us won’t use and/or can’t afford.

Take the “Sports Complex.” The park district plans to spend $22 million to demolish one valuable asset, and build 14 soccer fields and 4 softball fields on hilly land that will have to be terraced (wonder how much more that costs compared to building on flat land, like Johns Manville or Yeoman Creek?). That price does not include construction of the stadium, which is on hold because Robert Morris College backed out.

Then there’s the Field House, which cost $13.9 million and opened September 2006. Grossly already over budget, the board spent another $100,000 this year to add men’s and women’s 8-person saunas, despite the fact there are only 1,100 members and 20% of those are out of district. Low membership numbers shouldn’t be a surprise, as the Field House offers no family rate, even though 70% of Waukegan lives as a family unit. Membership for a family of five costs a minimum of $157 per month. Thank goodness for the YMCA in Waukegan, where a family membership is $61 per month and includes ALL dependents (and they have a swimming pool!).

Last, but not least, Bonnie Brook Club House is under renovation for the umpteenth time for just under $1.0 million.

This board repeatedly spends our money on over-the-top, high-end projects that drain the park district budget, run up debt (and ultimately, our taxes), and doesn’t leave much for anything else. Where is that long-promised aquatic center? Why can’t they buy us more land so we don’t have to tear one thing down to build another?

It’s time for a change of direction. Candidates Sue Rose-Sassone and Robert Taylor will be on the ballot on April 7. Both are pushing for more fiscal accountability, giving the public a voice in park district decisions, changing the board meeting time from 3:45 p.m. to evenings when the public can actually attend and provide that voice, improving our existing parks with such things as restrooms, running water, and more playground equipment, building an aquatic center, and providing more affordable programs for all ages.

We have seen what the current board has to offer. Vote for Sue Rose-Sassone and Robert Taylor on April 7. Let’s take a new direction.

[Greg Petry]

The Board of Commissioners have asked that I serve as the spokesperson for the district to address the issues presented by Ms. Ryckman...the posting above is filled with inaccurate information...please feel free to contact me at <!-- e --><a href="mailto:gregp@waukeganparks.org">gregp@waukeganparks.org</a><!-- e --> or feel free to call me at my home or at work 847-360-4721...as I will not participate in this forum...on Monday please visit the Waukegan Park District Website...www.waukeganparks.org...the home page for an update...thank you...Greg Petry

[Frankzilch]

The Board of Commissioners have asked that I serve as the spokesperson for the district to address the issues presented by Ms. Ryckman...the posting above is filled with inaccurate information...please feel free to contact me at <!-- e --><a href="mailto:gregp@waukeganparks.org">gregp@waukeganparks.org</a><!-- e --> or feel free to call me at my home or at work 847-360-4721...as I will not participate in this forum...on Monday please visit the Waukegan Park District Website...www.waukeganparks.org...the home page for an update...thank you...Greg Petry

Just call her some insulting names and then apologize afterward. Wayne does it all the time.

[lindaryckman]

The Board of Commissioners have asked that I serve as the spokesperson for the district to address the issues presented by Ms. Ryckman...the posting above is filled with inaccurate information...please feel free to contact me at <!-- e --><a href="mailto:gregp@waukeganparks.org">gregp@waukeganparks.org</a><!-- e --> or feel free to call me at my home or at work 847-360-4721...as I will not participate in this forum...on Monday please visit the Waukegan Park District Website...www.waukeganparks.org...the home page for an update...thank you...Greg Petry

Mr. Petry's assessment of "inaccurate information" does not mean much to me, as I have personally seen what his idea of "accurate" is - for example, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) question from me to the Park District of "what was the original amount budgeted to build the Field House?", he responded with "the intial amount budgeted for the Field House Sports and Fitness Center project was $16,105,272, and the amount spent was $13,853,368" (please see attached copy of that response) - it is general knowledge that the Field House was built way over budget - Park District Commissioner Bill Sarocka verified that the original budget was $8.0 million - purposefully providing incorrect information in response to a FOIA request is the same as committing perjury in court, yet Mr. Petry apparently feels free to provide whatever information he deems necessary to make himself and the Park District Board look good.....

This is not the only time Mr. Petry has accused me of providing inaccurate information in an attempt to run interference for the Board and its actions - in August of 2008, I attended a Wadsworth Village Board meeting which Mr. Petry also attended, and at which we both provided comments regarding Orchard Hills' redevelopment - in the August 26, 2008, News Sun article regarding that meeting, "Wadsworth wants retest of soil at Orchard Hills" (a copy of that article is attached), Mr. Petry said that I was spreading "misinformation" and "trying to create hysteria over what are non-existant environmental issues," despite the fact he knew that much of what I said in that meeting I read directly off of an email from an employee for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency - we now know that I was not spreading misinformation and that environmental issues (toxic levels of arsenic) are present at Orchard Hills....

And let's not forget what happened when I asked the Waukegan City Countil on December 15, 2008, to force the Park District to do appropriate soil sampling at Orchard Hills prior to its redevelopment - Commissioner / City Clerk Wayne Motley stood up on front of that Board and, among other things, called me a "liar" and opponents of the golf course "a bunch of whining golfers" ......

(for those of you have not seen the clip of this little show, please click on the following link)

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9TbfqKAd4U">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9TbfqKAd4U</a><!-- m -->

We need a new direction for our Park District - on Tuesday, April 7th, vote for Sue Rose-Sassone and Bob Taylor for Park District Commissioners........

[freedomisntfree]

Greg Petry promised an update posting on their website. I don't see anything, did I miss it?
I don't understand why they are not concerned about your tests? What's the big deal with more testing, it wouldn't take that long or cost that much and with the results you got, it should have been obvious that further scrutiny was needed.

I watched the video. Wayne Motley is not a professional and should not be in government. He should do himself a favor and never speak in public again. Where were his friends? Couldn't someone have just turned the microphone off and let him cool down? Was City Clerk Wayne Motley reprimanded for his outburst?

These video and audio recordings just keep tripping up those in government with actions that they would could otherwise get away with.

[justwondering]

I saw it on the park district's website around my lunchtime. Everything is there, as I said in the other thread about the park district...I called Mr. Petry, he answered my questions and I felt confident in the answers he gave me. The people over there are working with the EPA-Illinois and if people would stop with the rude and obnoxious statements and make the effort to call Mr. Petry, he will give you answers. Pretty simple, almost a no-brainer. But I guess it is easier to throw mean comments, sit and complain, and be a part of the problem rather than making an effort to be a part of the solution. Seems to me to be a bit more time consuming but to each their own.

[freedomisntfree]

Their press release does not state that the site meets the ingestion standards today or even that it would have is this arsenic testing issue had not been pursued by Ms. Linda Ryckman.

Their press release states after consultation with IEPA and Alpha Environmental the district has embarked on additional testing and will make modifications neccessary to ensure that that the ingestion standards will be met when the project is completed.

What it does not state is that the consultation and additional testing were the result of Ms. Ryckman forcing their hands despite their crude attempts at discrediting her and personal attacks on her. This seems like a complete vindication for Ms. Ryckman. Maybe the district should consider reimbursing her for the testing and naming one of the ball fields after her. Politics aside - Ms. Ryckman, thru her actions, has made the final project safer for everyone, especially the children that will use it. Thanks Ms. Ryckman!