Pictured is the entire Park Board including those who were recently elected or re-elected in April. Pictured are (from row, from left) Mary Kies, Patricia Morissette-Moll and Carolyn Ubriaco; (back row, from left): Doug Ennis, Vince Spaeth, Tim Sheehan and Kevin Graf.
Park Board Capsules
Here’s what’s going on at the Elmhurst Park District…
By Chris Fox
For The Elmhurst Independent
The Elmhurst Park District Board held a regular meeting on May 8 at the Wilder Mansion, 211 S. Prospect Ave.
Circuit Judge swears in newly elected, re-elected
The board held its 2017 annual meeting right before the regular meeting. The brief annual meeting, which lasted about 10 minutes, included the swearing-in of the two residents who were elected to six-year terms on the board in the April 4 election. Incumbent Mary Kies and newcomer Tim Sheehan were elected to serve on the board last month. DuPage County Circuit Judge Paul M. Fullerton administered the oath of office to both Kies and Sheehan.
Officers elected; Spaeth to serve as president
Moments after Kies and Sheehan were sworn in, the seven park district commissioners selected the board’s president and vice president for the next year. Elmhurst Park District Executive Director Jim Rogers asked all seven board members if they would like to be considered for president and vice-president. Commissioner Vincent Spaeth, who served as president of the board during the last year, was the only commissioner who said he’d like to be considered. Board members voted unanimously to select Spaeth to serve as board president for the next year. Commissioner Kevin Graf was the only board member who expressed interest in being considered the board’s vice president. The board voted 7-0 to select Graf for the position. Commissioner Carolyn Ubriaco served as the board’s vice president during the last year.
Bid for admin office repairs accepted for $54,000
Board members voted unanimously during the May 8 regular meeting to award a repairs contract of nearly $54,000 to Garland/DBS, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio. The contract calls for the firm to conduct repairs to the roof of the district’s administrative office at 375 W. First Street. According to information provided by the district, the original construction date of the building is unknown, but believed to me sometime in the 1950s. In 2004, the building’s tenant at the time installed the existing green roof system and plant materials. The district acquired the building in 2012. The repairs, which are scheduled to take place in August, will reportedly resolve water infiltration issues.
Ubriaco reports on IAPD Conference in Springfield
The meeting also included a report on the recent Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) annual conference, which took place in Springfield on May 2-3. Commissioner Ubriaco joined Rogers and other park district staff members in attending the conference, which provided an opportunity to visit state legislators. Ubriaco said that two key issues in Springfield that could affect park districts in Illinois are the possibility of a property tax freeze, which would affect the funding of the state’s park districts, as well as a potential minimum wage increase. Ubriaco said that many of the district’s teenage employees are not dependent on those jobs for a living wage. She said park districts are interested in an exemption for teenager workers. She said the implementation of a minimum wage increase without an exemption would result in far fewer teens being employed by the district.
The park district board will hold its next regular meeting on May 22.
