Letter to Residents: Park District Referendum
An Arlington Heights couple presents information they learned while attending community forums regarding the upcoming vote on the Park District referendum, November 6.
An open letter to my fellow Arlington Heights Residents:
For anyone who didn't have a chance to attend a parks referendum
meeting I was curious so I attended a few. That gave me a chance to
hear from both park commissioners and several different residents
directly.
Here are some of the most common things that came up:
Wasn't there a vote in the spring? There was and while it did not pass the margin was extremely close. The commissioners explained how they incorporated input from the spring in planning this new fall
referendum which is about 20% smaller in scope and cost. The new plan is also more consolidated and more multi-functional so the same
facilities would be renovated to include multiple sports and fitness.
Because the old pool bonds will be retiring this new parks referendum would only increase things about $2 a month on average.
What is the need behind this plan? The park district regularly runs surveys, tracks program data and has meetings with residents. They said all of that input was incorporated into the building renovation plans. The commissioners explained that several programs are literally out of room in the existing decades-old buildings. They also discussed how Arlington Heights residents are driving to other park districts to use their more modern facilities. On top of that, they also described how the use at the new Pioneer Park building tripled after it was built.
Will operating expenses go up? The park district explained that operating expenses for programs and building use are covered by and large through program fees rather than taxes. It sounds like a solid business model!
Does the park district work with schools? Yes, in spades. They described how well they work with all the school districts. They share gyms, baseball fields, soccer fields and more. They even saved money by sharing with Hersey High School's new football/soccer field and also use the St. Viators Theater for the annual park district dance recital.
Will the historic Rec Park building be saved and what happens to Frontier Days? I heard the park commissioners very clearly explain the renovation plans that will save the historic Rec Park building. They also talked about how Frontier Days will stay at Rec Park and won't need to be shut down or moved at all.
With all the information the park district has provided and all the questions I heard them answer I am confident this is a great plan for the future of Arlington Heights.
I strongly encourage my fellow residents to Vote Yes for our Parks!
Respectfully Submitted:
Mark and Nancie Frighetto, Arlington Heights residents.
wbpprint
9:49 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
I strongly urge those that have not voted yet to vote down the parks referendum. The proposed costs to the taxpayer will be over $1000 per household in real estate taxes. Our property values have decreased this past 3-3/4 years, not as much as elsewhere, but still a loss. Our spendable income has gone down as well due to the rising costs of everything we buy, most notably, meats, fruits & vegetables, clothing and don't forget the gasoline and heating fuels be it oil or gas. At a time when we see crime increasing in our town, fixing or updating our parks should be the least of our concerns. We need to consider the safety of our homes, personal property and our own safety first and formost unless we want to be like Chicago, the cesspool of the midwest. I recall a Chicago Mayor, I believe it was Jane Byrne that called Chicago, "Beirut on the Lake". The elements of Chicago are finding their way here and for those of us that grew up in the city and watched vibrant neighborhood fall apart, given enough time that same desease will destroy Arlington Hts.. Spend the money on upholding the law, be more visible and above all stay out of the donut shops and the convenience stores. Ride up and down each and every street in town from the far south area along Algonquin Rd to the usually quiet Northgate.
Reg
6:24 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
You are talking about a total cost over 25 years. Taxes will NOT go up by $1000 every year. The average increase is only $2 a month compared to what we pay now. At least be clear.
And if you are worried about turning into Chicago then renovating our town's facilities is the BEST thing we can do. Jane Byrne served as mayor something like 10 years AFTER some of these park buildings were built.
Times have changed man.
For only $2 a month it's a no-brainer. VOTE YES!
SD
10:10 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Saving historic buildings should be done by the historic society or the village. The park district should focus on current resident needs not a self serving need of saving a building.
The taxes increase by much more than $2. The fact that the taxes from the pool project are rolling off should come in the form of relief. Instead the park district not only wants to maintain that level of tax burden, but also increase it.
Finally, if the true reason for revisions to the referendum was to reduce cost, why strip all improvements(besides maintenance items) from heritage and yet increase spending at Olympic(which was not part of the spring referendum).
The board got it wrong this time and they are too bullish to step back and see it for themselves.
Vote NO.
Frank Stone
7:42 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
So you're ok with tearing down Rec Park just to save money but you want a brand new building at Heritage Park. Huh?
The only way the Heritage neighborhood gets a new building at any point is if this plan passes. It sucks but voters turned down the spring plan that had new buildings in all the parks including Heritage. At least if this fall plan passes the district can save up reserves to build something new at Heritage. That's how Pioneer Park got done.
If you think it's a burden living in Arlington Heights there are plenty of towns with lower tax rates. They also have bad schools and worse parks or no parks and (ahem) not so nice neighborhoods.
Vote Yes! to bring Arlington up to date and ready for the future.
wbpprint
1:45 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
As crime increases in A.H. focus on safety for people in the parks becomes the main concern. There is a growing number of articles like that I am going to share...............
Arlington Heights police received a report about 12:47 PM Saturday theft of a purse at Burlington Coat Factory, 30 West Rand Road. Police received a report that a woman put her purse down in a shopping cart, and then a woman asked her question. The woman with the question promptly left the store, and the victim looked back at the shopping car to discover that her purse was missing.
The offender is described as a female/white in her 60′s.
Life is getting harder for peopel to cope with financially, there are muggings, purse snatching and more in our community. So stop worrying at a time when money is tight about parks, they are a luxury and really, how many parents actually take the time to take their kid(s) to parks instead of letting them play in the streets? Spend tax dollars better, don't be stupid and put your head in the sand like Chicago did and still does.
Frank Stone
7:44 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Is it better to have kids out roaming the streets with nothing to do or is it better to update our park buildings so they can fit more people and give kids somewhere to go and something to do?
I've seen the fieldhouses in Chicago. Some of them are pits.
If you don't want Arlington to turn into a pit we need to Vote Yes! for our parks!!
Ed L.
10:03 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
During these trimes, our pols should be looking at ways to reduce taxes. NOT add new ones
Reg
9:36 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Yo Ed, that's why it's a choice on the vote. Out of towners like those robocall attack poodles should keep their nose out of our business and let us decide for ourselves.
And the way you put that it sounds like you think the recession is going to last forever. Unemployment is down. Property values are coming back. Things are getting better. We should take advantage of these incredible low interest rates and low construction bids to get Arlington up to date and ready.
Get the facts at the park district website and then VOTE YES FOR OUR PARKS!
mike o
1:32 pm on Sunday, November 11, 2012
i think the parks and facilities in arl. hts are very good the way they are right now,and we dont need to burden ourselves with extra taxes . i mean its not like we live in an underdeveloped area with no resources.Everyone who lives here has a great community as it is. And how many times do we need to vote on the same issue? they'll keep submitting this until it passes. i say no,at least not now.
Reg
2:43 pm on Sunday, November 11, 2012
Hi Mike. The election was last week.
Yes Arlington Heights is a very nice community that's why we all chose to live here. The problem is that the park gyms and other buildings need to be expanded in order to keep up with the bigger size of the town and the increase in use since they were built in the 1930s and 1960s.
Maybe you don't use the gyms but if you ever try to sell your house the new family will probably be younger than you and I. And that young family is going to want park buildings their little ones can use.
And for just $2 a month we had a chance to do that last week. It's not like our parks are falling apart. The park district was asking if the town wanted to have the buildings expanded to meet increasing demand for use.