Pelosi retires from Park Board
At the April 24 meeting, the Elmhurst Park Board recognized outgoing Commissioner Anthony Pelosi (left) on his retirement. With him is Board President Vince Spaeth, who is holding a copy of the resolution the park board approved recognizing Pelosi on his retirement. Pelosi is holding a similar document from the Illinois State House of Representatives, also in honor of his retirement.
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 April 24 at the district’s administrative office at 375 W. First Street. All seven commissioners attended the meeting.
There were no public comments.
• Fencing project at Fischer Park fields approved
Board members voted unanimously to accept the $42,620 base bid of Peerless Fence of West Chicago for the district’s 2017 fencing project. The scope of the project includes removing and replacing the backstops, fence and players’ benches at fields 2 and 3 at Conrad Fischer Park. Peerless Fence was the only firm to submit a bid for the project.
• Bid approved for paving, seal coating, striping
The board also voted unanimously to accept the base bid of Evans and Son Blacktop of West Chicago to conduct the 2017 paving, seal coating and striping project. Evans and Son’s base bid of $219,400 was the lowest responsible bid for the project. Nine firms submitted bids for the project, which includes the repaving and restriping of the parking lot at York Commons, repairing some sections of the Plunkett Park parking lot, repaving the path in Plunkett Park’s playground area, seal coating and striping the parking lots at Abbey East, Crestview Park, Golden Meadows Park and East End Park. The project also includes seal coating and striping the parking lot, basketball courts and paths at Washington Park, as well as the removal of the asphalt pavement driveway between the Depot and Safety Town.
The entire project is scheduled to take place between Aug. 3 and Oct. 6.
Evans and Son has completed previous projects for the district, including the tennis court projects at Wilder Park in 2010 and Berens Park in 2014.
• Executive Director’s contract amendment passes
Board members voted unanimously to approve a contract amendment for Elmhurst Park District Executive Director Jim Rogers. The board evaluated Rogers’ performance during closed sessions in late 2016 and the first quarter of 2017. Board members and Rogers discussed the terms of his current contract during in closed session on April 10. Effective May 1, 2017, Rogers’ contract includes a 1 percent increase in his annual compensation to $169,983, or a bi-weekly salary of $6,537.80. In addition to approving the 1-percent increase, the board voted to award Rogers a one-time bonus of $8,000.
• Retiring commissioner recognized
The board voted unanimously during the April 24 meeting to approve a resolution recognizing Commissioner Anthony Pelosi on his retirement from the board. Pelosi was elected to a six-year term in 2011. He did not seek re-election this year. The April 24 meeting marked Pelosi’s final meeting as a park district commissioner. Rogers read a proclamation recognizing Pelosi and his contributions to the board in the last six years. Rogers also noted that a similar resolution recognizing Pelosi was recorded in the Illinois House of Representatives.
Noting a new practice, Rogers stated that Pelosi had agreed to an exit interview to share information about his experience as a board member. Rogers also mentioned that he would soon meet with Timothy Sheehan, who was elected to the board on April 4. Commissioner Mary Kies was re-elected to the board on April 4. Kies and Sheehan will both be sworn in to six-year terms at the board’s next meeting—its annual meeting, which will take place on May 8 at the Wilder Mansion.
