The Mundelein Park District is creating a multi-year plan for improving service, and officials say they want residents to help.
Executive Director Margaret Resnick said the organization is writing its newest three-to five-year strategic master plan, which could include goals ranging from new payment methods to new programs and parks.
“I always feel better about doing something when I know it’s what people want,” Resnick said. “Instead of reacting to trends when they hit us last minute, now is the time to talk with our residents and build a methodical and careful plan.”
To do that, the park district is hosting a public forum from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12 at the Regent Center, 1200 Regent Drive.
The first few hours of the forum will be spent reviewing currently offered programs before allowing attendees to comment on those classes or ask for something new, Resnick said. A similar arrangement is scheduled for parks and buildings around noon, she said.
The park district’s last plan included goals to update the district’s website, improve online registration, expand the Chalet building at Keith Mione Community Park, renovate various ball fields and create more open land, Resnick said.
Expanding the Chalet building was the only goal that wasn’t achieved, Resnick said. The 2,000-square-foot building was going to be demolished, according to Resnick, in favor of a new 12,000-square-foot building with multiple fitness rooms and a gymnasium.
However, the project was centered on a $2.3 million state grant that did not arrive due to Illinois’ budget impasse.
“We’re going to keep that one on the list,” Resnick said. “We don’t know how things are going to pan out with that state money, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed it gets to us somehow, someday.”
The park district in recent years spent $250,000 buying 17 acres of land off Shady Lane, near Diamond Lake and adjacent to Clearbrook Park. Resnick said Clearbrook Park is difficult to get into, and the new land will allow for a larger parking lot and a new entry point for walkers.
Leading up to the March 12 public forum, Resnick said she already has distributed and collected a community survey. She said about 13 percent of residents in the district participated.
When a similar survey was done in 2008, about 80 percent of the respondents said they buy things on the Internet. That number grew to more than 93 percent this year, Resnick said.
“We’ve wanted to strengthen our online registration process, and those results have validated our efforts,” Resnick said. “We don’t want involvement to hinder on your ability to get to our office and pay before we close. Likewise, if people are going to register online, we want it to be as easy as possible.”
A new registration program will be added to the park district’s website on Aug. 1, Resnick said.
When asked if parks are in convenient locations, about 65.5 percent of participants chose “very convenient,” while 32 percent selected “convenient” and 2.5 percent marked “inconvenient,” Resnick said.
“Our goal is to allow people to walk to a park from their home,” Resnick said. “The one exception is the Holcomb neighborhood. People either have to cross Route 176 or Route 45.”
Resnick said the park district has attempted to buy property in that area, but landowners were asking for too much money.
As for programming, Resnick said dance classes are maxed out and fitness classes have always been subject to trends. She said those two topics are likely to come up on March 12.
At some point after the forum, the park board of commissioners will put together a new three-to five-year plan during at one or more of its regularly scheduled meetings, Resnick said.
People who are unable to attend on March 12 are encourage to submit feedback by contacting Resnick directly at (847) 388-5460 or mresnick@mundeleinparks.org.
Twitter @Rick_Kambic
