The Doings Western Springs
March 8, 2010
The Illinois Attorney General's Office is reviewing allegations the Pleasant Dale Park District violated state law by missing a deadline and providing incomplete documents sought by residents under a Freedom of Information request.A petition for 29 documents filed on Jan. 5 was not fulfilled until three weeks later, exceeding the state's five-day response period, said Kristin Violante of Willow Springs, who filed the request with Steve Kuehn of Burr Ridge, and his father, Ken Kuehn, of Countryside.
Beyond that, many of the documents requested, including lease agreements for the Chalet sports center and permits/inspection reports related to the Chalet remodeling, were not provided, Steve Kuehn said. No explanation was given by the park district, he said.
"Frankly, I expected some of things would require a little more time or might not be available," Kuehn said. "All I want is for someone to tell us that."
Pleasant Dale Executive Director Katherine Parker maintains all of the documents requested were provided. She said she has been in contact with the Attorney General's Office, and is double-checking to ensure no mistakes were made.
"We are trying so hard to comply with everything they want," Parker said. "We have nothing to hide. It is a little daunting when they give you 30 things at a time."
Violante, Kuehn and other residents have been critical of the Park Board, accusing members of holding special afternoon meetings to discuss issues in order to avoid debate at the regular meetings and being evasive about district budget issues.
Kuehn said residents have been frustrated by the district's failure to answer questions about how much the Chalet renovation cost, how much it's making now and if the district is operating at a deficit. Kuehn is an accountant, and he said the documents they did receive raise questions in his mind about closely the numbers are being watched and if audits are being done.
Parker said the district has attempted to be as upfront as possible about all expenditures and that audits are being done as required by law. Many of the district's problems, she said, were inherited by the board seated in May 2009, including more than $10 million in debt that won't be paid off until 2027.
The amount is "unusually high," Baker Tilly accountant Robert Horstman wrote in the district's most recent audit report, and it "exceeds the average amount carried by all parks in the state of Illinois."
Kuehn said he is specifically interested in the Chalet project. Documents that might shed light on the work done, including such things as Environmental Protection Agency demolition permits, asbestos removal certificates and village inspection reports, were not provided by the district, he said.
Also missing are documents related to the Chalet's lease agreements, contractor and business licenses for the companies that did Chalet work, tape recordings of board meetings conducted from May to December 2009, the job description for the executive director position, all paperwork related to a resident survey done in August-September 2009, and copy of a speech made by board President Brad Martin on July 14 about the district's financial problems.
Violante said she believes the Park Board "rushed into" the Chalet remodeling project, and she and Kuehn are not convinced the public wanted it or that the work was done correctly.
She also questions how the board is spending public money in light of Martin's speech. She cannot understand why they can't get a copy of it since Martin read it from his laptop and thus it exists in a written form, she said.
Martin did not return phone calls from The Doings about his speech or the Freedom of Information request.
"He gives a 45-minute speech in which he says they're in a lot of financial trouble ... yet they find funds to fix up the Chalet," Violante said. "To date, they have never said how much they put into it. We just want to know."
Robyn Ziegler, press secretary for the Illinois Attorney General's Office, said the FOIA violation case is under review.
"A determining response from our office is due back to the complainants on April 4," she said.
6 comments:
Exactly when is the State's Attorney going to do something about this Park District!
"State of Illinois Corruption at it's Best!"
CANNOT CONFIRM..... another person has been fired from their job at PDPD. This time the guy lasted all of about 2 monthes.
As far as the comment regarding "the problems were inherited by the board seated in May 2009"....Aren't 3, now 2, of the board members from 2009 board seated on the current board???? So they weren't inherited they were carried over to the new board!
Call the Chalet and ask to talk to the manager. There isn't one! He was fired yesterday. But don't worry, you can still talk to the Director's political hire!
I have seen referenced on here many times that there is a political hire in a position at the Chalet. Who exactly is it and how much influence does their political connection have in the state? Does this person have enough clout with higher ups in Illinois government to assist the park in circumeventing the law?
To my understanding the new Superintendent is a family friend of one of the commissioners. The director Ms. Parker, has worked for the state of Illinios in a variety of capacities, of which some seem pretty high up and were definately connected with Springfield. She stated some of them off at a board meeting in the summer.
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