The first Board Meeting in 2010 of the Glen Ellyn Park District Board of Commissioners was called to order at 7:03 PM. All Commissioners were present, however Commissioner Julia Nephew was not in attendance, she was present via telephone.
Former Commissioners Bill Taylor and Jeff Jourdan were in attendance, along with Jim Markby, Bob Cornwell, Eleanor Saliamonas from Citizens for Glen Ellyn Preservation, and Mary Lou Lowry, an Observer from the League of Women Voters – Glen Ellyn. The Daily Herald and Glen Ellyn News were represented; Glen Ellyn Life did not attend to video. Another gentleman missed the first 30 minutes but nodded approvingly when Creech and Kinzler spoke but looked dissatisfied and angry when Aubrey, Dallman, Hess and Minogue spoke.
During Public Participation Jim Markby addressed the Board to complain again about the Ackerman Sports and Fitness Center (ASFC). He stated the public placed their trust in the Board and that ASFC was a wonderful idea but was dissatisfied with the cost and that the cost was higher than the amount asked for in the 2006 Referendum. Marbl Chastised the Board for doing this without any idea of projected revenue and with other Fitness Centers in the area. The Glen Ellyn Park Bench covered the Preliminary Budget for Ackerman in the August articles: Soccer Board Seeks More Space and Ackerman Prelim Budget Wins with 5-2 Board Vote. The Preliminary Budget called for 800 Fitness Center members the first year. The night of the meeting, they had signed 700 members. http://theglenellynparkbench.blogspot.com/2009/08/soccer-board-seeks-more-space.html
Mr. Markby further threatened the older Board Members that the newer members elected in April 2009 were the result of a mandate by the voters. In an interesting definition of the word Mandate, which Dictionary.com defines as:
a command or authorization to act in a particular way on a public issue given by the electorate to its representative: The president had a clear mandate to end the war.
However, according to the DuPage County Election Commission results for the April 2009 Consolidated Election, while Commissioner Melissa Creech garnered an impressive 18.12% of the vote, Commissioners Jay Kinzler and Julia Nephew received 15.57% each. The next person on the list, Commissioner Ron Aubrey received 12.27% of the vote. While no one can argue the results, one could question the use of the term “Mandate” to describe the 3.3% differential.
Markby further demanded that Board President Sandra Minogue apologize for her behavior towards Commissioner Nephew at the December 16 Meeting. For some reason he did not make the same demand, or even request of Nephew concerning derogatory and undocumented comments about Staff and her fellow Commissioners at the same meeting.
Resident Bob Cornwell mentioned that when he and his wife were seeking communities in which to reside before they even had children they settled on Glen Ellyn for the schools, the parks and recreational opportunities. Mr. Cornwell thanked the Board, past and present for having the vision and belief to plan and build the Ackerman facility and he thanked them for keeping his property values up. Cornwell further thanked them for there service to the community.
A lengthy discussion of reporting of Minutes was next. The Agenda listed 4 separate sets of Minutes and Park District Counsel Steve Adams recommended that all 4 could be voted and approved of together, Omnibus fashion. At this point Commissioner Melissa Creech said they never agreed to make any major departure from the minutes, Commissioner Bill Dallman remarked that in 11 years of reviewing the Minutes he did not think that they had. Creech said she liked the way Former Board Secretary Jeanine Sesto did the Minutes and Counselor Adams reminded Creech that Mrs. Sesto retired, had over 30 years experience and that there is an art to taking the Minutes.
Counselor Adams offered to direct Staff to comply with the Illinois Statutes and Commissioner Jay Kinzler commented that allowing Staff to do this was unacceptable. Commissioner Creech said that she Nephew and Kinzler ran on a platform of transparency. Commissioner Ed Hess reminded her of the changes in web site reporting, the media outlets in the room and the increase in citizens attending the meetings and remarked that the Glen Ellyn Park District is more transparent now than ever before. The Board voted 5-2 to approve the minutes with Creech and Nephew voting no.
Counselor Adams reminded the Board of the purpose of Minutes and the statutory requirements which is a summary of discussion, a summary of deliberation and a record of the votes taken. He further remarked that from a Risk Management standpoint this is also preferable. In spite of this Creech made a motion for the minutes to include a summary of public comments, a thorough summary of all discussion including opposing viewpoints, along with all motions and votes.
Commissioner Ron Aubrey questioned the language since opposing viewpoints would already be considered a summary of deliberation and discussion within the statutory guidelines. When asked, Creech could not define how her motion was different from the statutory requirements. Commissioner Nephew retorted that it was ridiculous for minutes to contain less data out of fear of being sued. Since this is obviously not the case, Counselor Adams explained the Risk Management process to her.
Commissioner Dallman thoughtfully remarked about the language and that the decisions the Board make, affect future Boards as well. While Dallman agreed with some comments, he did not feel he should vote yes without more reflection and perhaps seeing it in writing with additional input. Dallman did not want to vote no however as this was an issue that needed clarification for newer Board members. Creech offered to read her the motion again; Dallman declined and said he would prefer to think it over. The vote taken on the Creech Minutes Motion failed as Dallman and Aubrey abstained. Next time it is brought up before the Board for a vote, perhaps it will be more clearly defined.
Under New Business there was an Amendment to the 2009 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance and the Board needed to approve the 2010 Budget and Appropriation Ordinance. Superintendent Laurie Woods included in the Board Packet a memo per Commissioners Kinzler’s request defining the processhttp://gepark.org/assets/PDFs/Board%20Packets/2010/BrdPkt011910.pdf:
In spite of this information and in spite of Kinzler’s questions answered at the meeting by Superintendent Woods, Kinzler remarked that well, since he didn’t vote for the budget, he wouldn’t be voting for this. A Memo to the Board from Superintendent Woods dated November 19, 2009 and found on the Park District website provides the following summary: http://gepark.org/assets/PDFs/Board%20Packets/2010/BrdPkt011910.pdf
“The Ordinance is a legal document filed with the County authorizing the Park District to spend funds as designated in the Ordinance, It lists all revenue sources and breaks down the expenses by fund. It is a recap of the discussions held by the Board regarding the tax levy, operating budget, and capital budget projects and financing.” The vote passed 4-3 with Creech, Kinzler and Nephew voting no. One can only hope that if this vote failed the Park District would not be in violation of Illinois State Statutes.
The Pay Request for Ackerman was placed under New Business since a roof leak was discovered due to the formation of an ice dam in the south west corner of the building. In a memo from Dave Scarmardo, Superintendent of Parks dated January 12, 2010:
http://gepark.org/assets/PDFs/Board%20Packets/2010/BrdPkt011910.pdf
Scarmardo’s Memo outlines the problem with the roof at Ackerman and the solution Staff is suggesting to the Board.
One of the solutions to the Ackerman roof problem is to withhold payment to T.A. Bowman for $79,924.85, Entre Prises, USA for $12,383.70, Sportscon for $173,220.30, Manusos, $31,314.33, Korellis Roofing $11,058.66 and PBS $29, 245.28 until Staff is satisfied with the outstanding issues. Furthermore there is a 50% chance that the wood flooring may be damaged. Scarmardo advises that they are demanding that the 10-12 square feet of potentially damaged flooring be replaced. However the Park District will wait until the completion of the basketball season. It was also mentioned that the warranty on the roof for the Ackerman facility is 30 years and that the roofer will fix/repair the roof in the 3 unaffected corners of the roof at Ackerman as well.
The motion to pass Pay Request #14 for Ackerman with the Staff recommendations to withhold payment passed unanimously.
The Glen Ellyn Park District Board of Commissioners elects their Officers every year. This meeting called for the election of a President, Vice-President and Treasurer. The Open Meetings Act requires a motion to nominate, a motion to close nominations and a vote for all three positions. In a light-hearted exchange as they ensured all requirements were met, Hess was nominated for and voted President 5-0 with Kinzler abstaining with no explanation given and Nephew voting against Hess. At this time Commissioner Sandra Minogue passed the gavel to newly elected Park Board President Ed Hess.
When the votes were taken the person being voted for had to have their name stated by the Commissioner voting. Nephew wanted to know why the names were being read. Counselor Adams explained that since she was not in the room, and that the law requires the votes to be public, stating the name for the person you are voting for fulfills that requirement.
Commissioner Ron Aubrey was nominated for and elected unanimously as Vice President. Kinzler nominated Creech for Treasurer, Minogue nominated Dallman. Dallman was elected Treasurer by a 4-3 vote. Creech, Kinzler and Nephew voted against Dallman.
The Board appointed Executive Director Cory Atwell as a representative to WDSRA (Western DuPage Special Recreation Association). The Board also appointed the firm of Brooks, Adams and Tarulis as their Legal Counsel for the upcoming year and approved Resolutions designating bank depositories and authorizing signatures on checks.
Director Atwell and Superintendent Woods mentioned that the Glen Ellyn Park District was presented with a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the US and Canada. According to GFOA’s Press Release: “This is their highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.”
The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the Glen Ellyn Park District “has been judged by an impartial panel to meet their high standards including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.”
The meeting adjourned to Closed Session at 8:57 PM with plans for all to meet at Ackerman for the Open House on Saturday the 23rd at 10:00AM.
The next Workshop Meeting of the Glen Ellyn Park District is scheduled for Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 7:00 PM. The meetings are held at the Spring Avenue Recreation Center (SARC) 185 Spring Avenue. As with all meetings, the public is invited and welcome to attend.
