The Park District will be celebrating the opening of the new playground and completion of all of the work at Village Green Park this summer. Join us on Saturday, May 2, 2009 as we cut the ribbon on the new playground and officially open the new Village Green Park, located on Lambert Road, half a mile south of Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn at 9:00 am.
Through a matching $400,000 grant with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources the Park District is proud to show off all the new amenities and improvements to this park. One of the major improvements is the replacement of the outdated concession building with a new concession/bathroom/storage/covered picnic pavilion facility located in the center of the park and the main hub of activities. Three additional baseball fields were added with one lighted field for evening use. Also new to the park are two tennis courts, one basketball court, three additional picnic shelters and pathways leading to landscaped spectator seating. The large, newly-asphalted parking lot holds hundreds of cars for all the different activities, including sports and gardening. A uniquely-themed playground with a 30-foot rocket ship, climbing apparatus and swings makes this park a great place for families with kids of all ages.
Come on out and enjoy a great morning of fun on the new playground, watch some baseball games, and enjoy free food and give-aways. Help us celebrate the new amenities at this wonderful community park.
As seen on the pictures featured on this page, the steel is up and the building is moving along at a great pace. The Park District broke ground for the new multi-sport facility last fall and work continued on the building through the cold fall and winter weather. The Sports Complex will feature one large multi-purpose turf field for various sports, batting cages, three full-size basketball courts, a three-lane walking track, a workout facility and a climbing wall.
The Park District anticipates the building will be completed by the end of 2009. We are very anxious to complete this project and open it to the community. For continued updates on the project, go to the Park District Website for pictures and video of the construction phases. Our Website address is www.gepark.org.
In the Spring of 2009, residents who live around Surrey Park will be pleased to see a new playground installed and ready for use. The playground features include a six-foot climbing pole, various slides, a tree climber, ADA-accessible decks and ramps, a curved roof shade panel, an orbyx climber, bubble climber and a play panel featuring different interactive play pieces. In addition to the main play apparatus, two spring riders designed like a lady bug and bumble bee will be available for the young kids. Swings will also be a great addition to this park. The playground will have a wood fiber safety surface underneath the play and swing equipment. An ADA-accessible path to the playground will also be installed. Come on out and enjoy one of our newest playgrounds in the Park District.
The Park District is looking for residents who have a knack for names to come up with an appropriate title for its new E-Newsletter. The winning submission will receive a $100 gift certificate good toward any Park District program. Although the E-Newsletter will be similar to eblasts in that it will be distributed electronically, its content will be different. While the eblasts publish weekly, the E-Newsletter will publish monthly. Eblasts promote new programs, deadlines and registration, while the purpose of the E-Newsletter is to provide more in-depth information. The E-Newsletter will focus on Park District news, and will contain items such as updates on capital projects, feature stories about facilities such as Sunset Pool, the Splash Park and Holes & Knolls Miniature Golf Course, and news about programs such as athletics, dance and fitness. We will include profiles of Park District families and expert advice from program instructors. You can register to receive the E-Newsletter at www.gepark.org. Submit names for the Park District E-Newsletter to support@gepark.org. Be sure to include your first and last name, phone number and address. The deadline to enter is Tuesday, March 31. The winner will be announced in the April issue.
Sandra Minogue, President
Glen Ellyn Park District Board Of Commissioners
It has a been a very busy summer and fall for the Park District with the improvements at Village Green Park. Through a matching grant program with the Illinois Dept. Of Natural Resources, the District is finalizing all the changes and improvements at Village Green Park. One of the improvements include the replacement of the old concession building with a new concession stand equipped with an attached open air picnic shelter. The new concession stand also has a large storage area as well as bathrooms for users of the park. Three additional baseball fields were added with one lighted field for evening use. Two tennis courts, one basketball court and three additional picnic shelters were added to the park. Village Green also includes a pathway around the park and pathways leading to landscaped spectator seating.
A uniquely themed playground with a 30 ft. rocket ship, climbing apparatus and swings were added this past fall. The structure has rock climbing walls, winding tube slide, step and arch climbers, four water mist features, play panels and a long track ride. This playground is now the largest in our District and sure to entertain kids of all ages. Stop by this unique multi-use park which offers a lot of fun for your family.
The Park District went out to bid this past fall for the new 89,000 square foot Sports Complex located at Ackerman Park, and were very pleased with the results. The costs have been favorable and the District hopes to break ground this November. We anticipate a 12 to 16 month build out process for the entire facility. The Sports Complex will feature one large multi-purpose turf field for various sports including soccer, lacrosse and field hockey just to name a few. Four indoor batting cages will be built for use by our baseball and softball programs. The building also features three full size basketball courts, a three-lane elevated walking track, a workout facility, locker rooms and small meeting rooms for use by various organizations. The Park District is very excited with the start of this long awaited project.
This past fall, the Spring Avenue Dog Park was overhauled with landscaping, turf improvement and new features for the dogs. The features include a Hags Doghill climber and a puppy crawl. The Park District issues permits for use of this very popular dog park located behind the Spring Avenue Recreation Center. More information can be found in the back section of this brochure.
This past fall, the Park District was asked to partner with Glenbard School District #87 in their efforts to install synthetic turf fields. With the high demand of field space for high school programs, unfortunately, the Park District is unable to assist financially due to the small percentage of time the fields would be available. After high school programs and teams schedule their activities, the Park District was offered the remaining time slots available. Most of the time slots available were either late evening during the week while school was in session or Sunday afternoons. Should the School District decide to proceed with this plan, the Park District is hopeful to rent fields on an hourly basis for any use needed in the future.
Bill Taylor, President
Glen Ellyn Park District Board Of Commissioners
Eight years ago, the President’s Page described the Park District’s Millennium Milestones. Since the year 2000, the Park District has kept busy putting your tax dollars to work and here are just a few of those accomplishments:
*Acquisition and development of Maryknoll Park - We first acquired this 25-acre property in the year 2000 and eight years later, it is one of our Park District’s most popular family destinations. It houses our 36-hole, handicapped-accessible miniature golf course (Holes & Knolls) as well as an adventure playground, extremely popular splash pad (over 11,000 wristbands were sold in 2007), picnic shelter with bathrooms as well as a Platform Tennis facility which gets a lot of use over the winter. And we’re not done yet . . . we are still looking to build a state-of-the-art Safety Village through different fundraising efforts and a partnership with the Kiwanis Club of Glen Ellyn and the Glen Ellyn Parks Foundation. We will continue to make this park a great family place to be.
*Renovation of our two community recreation centers - In 2000, we purchased and renovated the Spring Avenue Recreation Center which houses programs, a fitness center, administrative offices and a dog park. In 2007, we renovated the Main Street Recreation Center, improving all the rooms and general repair to an aging facility. We also redesigned the outside park area of the Main Street facility, creating a safer place for program users.
*Grant funding - Since 2000, our Park District has received over $3.2 million in grants through various organizations including OSLAD and IDNR, and $2 million through Build Illinois, as well as grants from State of Illinois Recycling and DuPage Community Foundation. We purchased and developed Maryknoll Park, developed Churchill Park and Village Green Park and implemented different recycling projects throughout the Park District.
*Sunset Pool improvements - Sunset Pool, the District’s only swimming pool and only outdoor public pool in the community, went through changes over the years. A new medium-depth lap pool was built and now houses the largest swim team program in the West Suburban Swim Conference. The pool has been painted, renovated and new pieces were added in both the sand play area and the zero depth pool. The District sells over 6,100 passes every year. In the last 8 years, Sunset Pool has received the Platinum award for outstanding lifeguarding services and pool operations from Ellis and Associates International Aquatic Safety and Risk Management Consultants.
*Village Green Park Lease and Improvements - The Park District negotiated a 100-year lease of Village Green Park from the Village of Glen Ellyn. The Park District has earmarked funding from grants and capital improvements to develop the park including the lighting of additional baseball fields, a new concession building and shelter, a new playground, basketball court, tennis court and a walking path. Besides our garden plot users, thousands of residents use this park on a yearly basis for various sports.
*Lake Ellyn Project - Through the generous donation of an anonymous donor, the District received over $600,000 to improve the water quality and enhance the ice skating conditions at Lake Ellyn. Through the installation of a low flow system and Vortex Separator, the water has improved and the ice skating is lasting longer (when the weather cooperates).
*AA Bond Rating - For the first time in the history of the Park District, a AA Bond rating was awarded on General Obligation limited-tax park bonds. According to Standard and Poor’s stable outlook rating, the Park District maintains sound financial operations with adequate reserves and has limited debt needs. Since that rating in 2005, we continue to score the AA rating and take great pride in our fiscal management every year.
*Newton Park Improvements - Newton Park has taken on many changes since 2000. Improvements include the construction of the basketball court, sled hill, skate park, football field renovation, press box and bleachers as well as a new picnic shelter. We were able to secure cash in lieu funding from the new construction in the area and assistance from our Golden Eagles Football organization.
*Renovated Playgrounds / Lightning Detection System - Since 2000, the parks department has installed new playground pieces at various parks including Maryknoll, Stacy, Lake Foxcroft, Babcock, Frank Johnson Center and Walnut Glen. Surrey Park is scheduled for renovation this fall. We installed the Thorguard Lightning Detection system in several of our parks which helps protect our park users in the event of a fast-moving storm or lightning in the area.
*Recreation Programs / Internet Registration - In 2003, the Park District developed our first Web page and introduced our live Internet registration to the community. Our first year saw a 20% use of the internet while our most recent registration showed a 60% usage. In 2005, we redesigned our Web page and continue to upgrade it for ease of use and accessibility of information. Our recreation programs continue to grow in participant numbers and variety of offerings. In the summer of 2006, we partnered with the Village of Glen Ellyn to offer a free Block Party wagon to our residents. The two wagons that are delivered to your home for the weekend contain chairs, tables, large outdoor grill and a bean bag toss game. Both wagons are used every weekend beginning in May through October.
*Glen Ellyn Parks Foundation - The Glen Ellyn Parks Foundation was established in 2003 to provide financial support for scholarship needs and capital project items. The popular “Putts for Kids” event held every year at Holes & Knolls has raised over $20,000 for the scholarship program which enables over 100 families to participate in programs offered by the Park District.
* 2006 Referendum - In the fall of 2006, the residents voted Yes to the Park District referendum which enables the Park District to improve the Main Street Recreation Center, build a new indoor sports complex at Ackerman Park as well as acquire land and open space in the community.
It’s been a wonderful eight years for the Board of Commissioners and we look forward to many more years of improving our park district for you and your family.
Bill Taylor, President
Glen Ellyn Park District Board Of Commissioners
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President's Message Spring/Summer 2009