The Park Board meets tonight to consider a long-standing lease agreement with District 99 which allows for the mutual use of playing fields, gyms and other indoor and outdoor facilities. A second agreement, which governs the use of the high school swimming pools, is not currently being discussed.
The board recently suggested the 33-year-old facilities agreement, last modified in 1998, be revised to allow the park district’s partner athletic groups, such as the Downers Grove DOLLS, to use school facilities and also to assess fees for non-resident students who use park district facilities.
At a special meeting Nov. 30, of which park board members were not notified, D99 board members expressed concern that the revisions would force the district to subsidize recreation programs at a time of financial hardship. Further, the non-resident fee would be difficult for the district to administer and budget.
The park board has suggested the non-resident fee is fair because only 60 percent of D99 falls within Downers Grove, while all student athletes have access to facilities supported by Downers Grove taxpayers. “If our residents overlapped each other 100 percent it would be a non-issue,” said President Bob Gelwicks.
Representatives of both boards have met twice to discuss the agreement, with each putting forth their own disparate accounting of the usage for their facilities.
Administrators from both districts have said the teams work well together. However, prior to the recent meetings, the park board had waited more than a year for a response from the D99 board to its request to light the South High baseball field for use during summer months.
At a time when all governmental bodies are being forced to do more with less, the issue may well come down to questions of intergovernmental cooperation and community spirit, and whether taxpayers can afford to maintain and build separate facilities — or would prefer to maximize the usage of those already in existence.
Two things seem not to make sense. Why would the school district open up use of their facilities to the Park Distric parners? Would they also open it up for use by other athletic groups from Westmont and Woodridge? Keep the agreement between govrnmental agencies. Also, if Dist 99 has to pay a non-resident fee for its students who live outside DG, then Dist 99 needs to redo the agreement as to the use of the pool as people outside DG pay taxes that are used for the upkeep of the pool and only DG residents use it. That seems a little short sided by the Park District. If they need more money, raise the fees they charge, don’t try to make it up from the School District. That being said, this should not have gotten this far. Like the land issue, why can’t this Board get along with any other governmental agency. I would hope that all tax collecting bodies do their best to do whats best for all taxpayers and get us the most bang for the buck.
On a somewhat related note, D99 released a detailed survey and results for a Communications Audit. You can view the report here (pages 11-34).
Dr. McDonald and his staff appear to be working towards better communication with the public. Expanded information on the website and “push” emails were targeted as initiatives to be followed up on. I would suggest an audio archive of all meetings be kept and made available. It has been my limited experience with the D99 board that they are forced to behave when an accurate record is being kept and made public.