Quick Update

Pleasant Dale Park

• New board member appointed - Kevin Burke. Let's hope he can stop the runaway train and turn things around at the park.

• June Special Meeting recap: Board members Moon and Burke absent. Board president Colleen Pettrone wants to appoint a friend of hers named John Wawack to be a consultant at the Chalet. John Wawack  wants $42,000 plus full benefits in return for 80 hours per month consulting the park district on how to improve the Chalet (that's 20 hours per week of work and it was indicated that many of these hours would be worked from his home). Guess that renovation is not as successful in bringing in much needed revenue as they thought it would be. Pettrone wanted to approve this consultant's "contract" though nothing specific was in writing much to the dismay of park district attorney Michael Cainkar. The matter was tabled until the July 14th meeting so the park attorney can draw up a contract. Oh, and there was not going to be anything specific in regard to what this consultant was actually going to do or get accomplished because they don't want to limit his potential. And one more thing, John Wawack is an I.T. professional with no experience running a park and rec facility. We know this may seem hard to believe, but it is all on video tape if anyone wants to see the lunacy that transpired at that meeting. 

• Actual documents pertaining to a contract or rental agreement between park board vice president Brad Martin's sister-in-law Sue Keck and the park district still have not been tendered in a Freedom of Information request. This most likely means that no actual agreements or contracts exist between the two parties in regard what monies are being exchanged for court time. All those taxpayer dollars that went into this renovation to benefit Martin's family and the park district has nothing to show for it. Oh, but the parking lot is crowded every night. So why won't they show us the money!!

• The next board meeting is July 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Pleasantdale School District 107

• On the agenda for the July meeting will be the 2010-2011 enrollment of the first grade class. Many parents feel that the current enrollment of 93 students is too high for four classrooms. They'd like to see a fifth class added. We say don't count on it. It will be too much of a disruption for Superintendent Fredisdorf to deal with. He won't set this precedent. He hasn't done it in the past when enrollment was as high, and he won't do it now. Some excuses will be that enrollment dropped, the classes aren't that big compared to other schools in the area, he will find some research study supporting this decision, he will add some aides to   make things better, blah, blah, blah. Five parents showed up at the last board meeting to express their concern. Five parents. When he had a room packed with parents, many of whom had to stand, he did not sway on a previous issue. Five moms certainly won't sway him either. We'd like to think Fredisdorf puts kids first, but he just won't. We hope he proves us wrong at the July meeting.

• The next board meeting is July 21 at 7 p.m.

Village of Willow Springs

• Still no word on beginning construction in regard to the Safe Routes to School Sidewalk Grant - but don't hold your breath. Why Mayor Nowaczyk would forfeit $400,000 in money to benefit the children in our village is beyond us. It is almost like political suicide. A recent visit to the village hall was quite an eye opener on this issue. When asked what was going on with the grant, village clerk Adena Baskovich stated the village was "waiting for the money to come through." Umm, hello?? This is a reimbursement grant!! If village officials would get their heads out of the sand, they would go through a state letting process to garner the money needed for this project. The mayor keeps stating that a on a previous project they were never reimbursed and that is why they are leery of this one. The reason they were never reimbursed is because village officials never filled out the required paperwork and that is why the money never came through. Why would Nowaczyk give the go ahead to apply for this grant and waste all that time and money if they never planned on following through? Maybe the mayor should start surrounding himself with smarter people to get things done for the benefit of the residents of this village.

• The next village meeting is scheduled for July 22 at 7 p.m.