• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Hoffman Estates Parks Candidates Support Expansions

Posted on: Thursday, 14 April 2005, 21:00 CDT

Five candidates are vying for four commissioner seats on the Hoffman Estates Park District. They are incumbents Lollie Guiney, Scott Triphahn, Kaz Mohan, Craig Bernacki and community volunteer Victor Katis.

Below are their written responses to survey questions from the Daily Herald:

Q. Do you support the many expansion efforts of the park district, including the building of an aquatic center, the ice arena, the golf club and the health and fitness center, and why or why not?

Bernacki. Expansion of park district facilities is needed to continue serving our residents changing needs. Building the Seascape pool, replaced an antiquated pool that required costly repairs and did not fully serve the needs of the community. Before we build Prairie Stone, expanded Willow or entered into a joint venture with the Chicago Wolves to build the new ice arena and expand Blackhawk, independent studies were done as well as surveying thousands of residents. There was overwhelming support from residents. Working within the financial means of the district, and finding alternative revenue sources allowed us to proceed with these projects.

Guiney. As it stands now, I am very pleased with the results and the use the aquatic center gets. There have been very positive remarks about how well cared for it is. It is budgeted to break even. Prairie Stone Fitness Center is a feather in our cap. It is a work of art. What makes it even better is that it is not tax supported. The golf course is doing its job and keeps up grading and continues finding new ways to improve. This, too, is not tax supports and pays its own way. The ice arena, so far, has more than met my expectations. It was a beauty in the making and I always looked forward to our "tours of progress." The only problem I can see is I guess I'll have to learn to skate.

Katis. The responsibility of the park district is to give the residents the highest possible quality through programs and services. Having the ability to build a world-class facility with financial help from the Chicago Wolves is a huge benefit for the whole town of Hoffman Estates. These facilities enhance the quality of life for families in our town. As long as the financial numbers make sense for the residents, the park district has the responsibility to bring these areas of fitness and fun to the village.

Mohan: I support all future growth to benefit the citizens. As taxpayers, the deserve the best possible programs to fulfill their families recreational needs.

Triphahn: I do support the many expansion efforts of the district. It is our mission to meet the varied recreation needs of our residents, and I do and will support affordable projects that meet that mission. While I was not on the board when the aquatic center was built, I know it is a valuable asset t our residents. The ice arena has been a huge success. The district found a way to provide a recreation opportunity that few districts can. The golf club is a true asset to the district and meets the recreation needs of so many people, both young and old. The health and fitness center is an amazing facility that not only provides the fitness club, but the much needed gymnasiums our community needs for our programs. It is our responsibility to review and analyze every recreation opportunity to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our residents while continuing to make it affordable, all without using a single tax generated dollar.

Q. Are there residential needs the park district is not meeting? If so, what would you propose to do to meet those?

Bernacki. Meeting every resident need is impossible. However, from input received from resident surveys, resident input from meetings, letters, e-mails and talk around our community in general: consensus is very favorable. We have gone to great lengths to improve all of our parks, facilities and programs. Additional teen and senior centers are already planned at Blackhawk. Running a district with 50,000 residents is ever changing, and we will never stop trying to make things better for all.

Guiney. At the present time I can't think of any expansions that have not been met. With the disparate configuration of our community, sometimes it is a real challenge.

Katis. I think there is a need for more afternoon activities for pre-school and morning kindergarten children. Also, more open gym time needs to be allocated for teens and young adults. The park district needs to also sit down with the senior citizen group and become more aware of their needs. The areas of special events, such as the half marathon and the family bike ride I hope to bring, would appeal to a wide variety of residents.

Mohan. The district currently has a wide variety of programs in place. We always listen carefully to the residents needs and thoroughly evaluate their concerns and suggestions.

Triphahn. There are always ways to add, to improve and create recreation programs to meet the recreation needs of the residents. It is a dynamic operation, and one that we don't take lightly. As president, the board created a recreation committee comprising of two commissioners and five residents. Those community representatives came from a cross section of the village, younger, older, north, south, small kids, older kids, etc. The purpose of the committee is to constantly monitor the ways we meet the recreational needs. They constantly challenge the programs and help in identifying the needs of the community.

Q. Has the park district adequately kept up with maintenance at its many facilities?

Bernacki. Our number one goal is to keep up with maintaining our parks and facilities. We have over 60 parks, three health clubs, a golf course and new ice arena in addition to a newly remodeled Vogelie house and barn. No playground equipment is over 10 years old. We have recently improved athletic fields, and are continuing to bring new fields for soccer and baseball online. Our golf course has state of the are GPS golf carts, irrigation systems and new sand traps and a first class learning center. Bottom line is first class facilities deserve first class maintenance. It's a top priority and it will continue.

Guiney. When I was elected in 1997, the playgrounds were in bad shape. We have since that time brought everyone of the up to what they should be. We have a schedule to work on them on a regular time schedule. If we receive a complaint of damage we tend to it on an as need basis.

Katis. The parks are on a current program to update a certain amount each year on a rotating basis. I have personally been on two overview tours of them, which looks at the appearance, age and condition as well as functionality. Just remodeling Willow Recreation Center and the Hoffman Estates Community Center and Ice Arena has put our facilities in top shape for our residents.

Mohan. One of our goals is to protect our investment of our parks and facilities as we have the responsibility to maintain them for our residents.

Triphahn. In the eight years that I have been a commissioner, the maintenance at every park has been more than adequately maintained. With the infrastructure in disrepair in 1997, we created an infrastructure rehabilitation plan and have restored the shorelines of our lakes, replaces every playground, re-built every baseball and softball field and every soccer field. We have improved every facility and updated mechanical, electrical and lighting systems to be more energy efficient and less maintenance intensive. Yes, the district has adequately kept up with maintenance at its many facilities.

Source: Daily Herald; Arlington Heights, Ill.

More News in this Category