Park District of Oak Park

3 OUR MISSION: In partnership with the community, we enrich lives by providing meaningful experiences through programs, parks and facilities. YOUR PARK DISTRICT BOARD Park Board Members Jessica Bullock, President Jessica.Bullock@pdop.org Paul Aeschleman,Vice-President Paul.Aeschleman@pdop.org Victor Guarino, Treasurer Victor.Guarino@pdop.org Sandy Lentz, Secretary Sandy.Lentz@pdop.org David Wick, Commissioner David.Wick@pdop.org The Park District of Oak Park has been on a mission to upgrade our parks and facilities since we passed the "Renew Our Parks" referendum nearly 10 years ago. The progress we have made in the last 9+ years has been incredible with improvements made to every park and facility owned by the District in addition to the construction of the Gymnastics and Recreation Center and the recently completed major renovation of Ridgeland Common Recreation Complex. This remarkable evolution of our parks system was accomplished through thoughtful planning, fiscal responsibility and the ability to secure millions of dollars in grant awards. We are pleased to report that within the last few months we have been notified of three grant awards which will allow the District to continue our efforts to stretch our tax dollars and renew our parks and facilities as well as maintain them. In June the Park District was notified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources of a $146,000 Museum Grant which will contribute to the creation of the Elsie Jacobsen Discovery Garden at the Oak Park Conservatory. This project is in cooperation with the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory whose vision it was to create a special garden or "4th showroom" to promote outdoor nature study. Through a very successful fundraising campaign, FOPCON is contributing the remaining amount needed to complete this unique outdoor classroom. The new Garden will turn a rarely used space on the east side of the facility into a lively green space that will be enjoyed by young and old alike. The design creates nooks and paths with opportunities to observe, touch and interact with plants and natural materials, through self-guided activities and facilitated programs. The planting beds will demonstrate miniature ecosystems – wet, dry and woodland. Visitors will be urged to touch and smell the plants and kids will pump water sending it down a narrow trench running the whole length of the Garden. We look forward to the opening of this welcomed Conservatory addition in 2015. The Park District was recently notified of a $5,000 grant award from ComEd and Openlands to support the construction of the East Avenue interpretive bioswale. This project, which will be completed in the parkway just east of the location of the Elsie Jacobsen Discovery Garden Project, will enhance our staff's ability to provide educational opportunities to all ages on topics such as urban water management, ecosystem function, and the value of native plants. This project will be completed by the end of 2014. Finally, the Park District was successful in securing a 2014 Illinois Youth Recreation Corps (IYRC) Grant for $45,600. These funds allowed the Park District to hire 15 summer employees to work in the areas of buildings and grounds and facility supervision. Sports Field Update In December 2012 the Park Board accepted the Comprehensive Outdoor Athletic Field Study which outlined several recommendations to improve our athletic fields. Since that time we have implemented several of these recommendations resulting in considerable improvements to our sports fields. A full-time turf manager was hired last summer. Synthetic turf fields were installed at Ridgeland Common and Irving School. The District purchased several pieces of turf management equipment; we installed irrigation at several of our fields and assumed all mowing responsibilities. Focused attention on the problem of poor playing conditions has paid off. The playablity of our fields has significantly improved with fewer rainouts and more opportunities for fields to rest which is imperative to providing quality sports facilities. We would like to thank our residents and our sports affiliate organizations for abiding by our signs to stay off the fields when they are being repaired. Finding alternate locations for practices has contributed to our success. The Park District will continue our efforts to improve our fields with the installation of irrigation at Carroll and Fox Parks in the fall and the installation of a synthetic turf field at Stevenson Park in 2015. With the strides we are making to provide quality playing fields, everyone benefits. May you enjoy our parks, programs and facilities, Jessica Bullock, President Board of Park Commissioners Dear Residents,

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