advertisement

Ackerman Sports center at heart of Glen Ellyn board race

When three political newcomers defeated three incumbents for positions on the Glen Ellyn Park District board in 2009, they did so by joining forces and running as a team on a platform that focused heavily on fiscal responsibility.

As the next campaign kicks off, three new candidates hope history repeats itself.

Gary Mayo, Kathy Cornell and Richard Dunn will run for park board seats as a group and all three say the board's stewardship of taxpayer money has been poor. Specifically, they say, cost increases on Ackerman Sports & Fitness Center are indicative of a need for new leadership.

“The board was asleep at the switch as that was being built,” Mayo said. “The cost got out of control. The board should have been paying closer attention to what was going on.”

Mayo, 61, and his two colleagues will run against incumbent Ed Hess, food broker Catherine Galvin, retired educator Don Stuffelbeam and Hugh Johnson, a 29-year-old parent who says his finance background will serve the district well.

The race for three spots on the board is wide open after two incumbents, Bill Dallman and Sandy Minogue, chose not to run for re-election.

Last January, the park district came under fire when Ackerman opened with a price tag of $11.2 million, about $3.8 million higher than officials had promised as they sought taxpayer approval. Officials at the time said the increases came from added amenities residents requested.

Hess said calling the increased cost an “overrun” is incorrect.

“There were design changes that caused the building to cost more than the original referendum went for,” he said Tuesday. “It was then paid for through non-referendum bonding power.”

Hess remains a staunch supporter of the facility and said it will produce a profit in its first year of operations.

“There were some tough choices the board made to make that facility what it is,” he said. “I'm very proud of what we have. We are very happy with what we have.”

At least one candidate supports Hess and the previous board's work. Galvin, 47, said she did not vote for the referendum initially but that she was impressed with the facility.

“I think the commissioners that chose to expand the size made some brave choices that I don't know I would have been able to make,” she said. “The end result is we have a facility that will serve the community for many decades to come. Our job is to make it the best and greatest facility we can.”

In 2006, voters approved a referendum that paid for the building at a cost of $7.4 million. By the time the project received bids, additional amenities had pushed that price to $9.2 million and it ultimately reached $11.2 million.

Cornell, 63, said she liked the new facility but questioned the process of getting it built.

“When I look at something where the cost overruns are huge, it raises red flags and makes me wonder if the stewardship of the budget was handled as it should be,” she said.

As the trio moves forward with its platform, two political newcomers say the building is one of the village's most impressive assets.

Johnson said one of his main focuses will be to increase membership at the facility, which he said could serve as a healthy revenue source.

Stuffelbeam said the final cost of the project was a natural product of a big-money item.

“I think (overruns) is just normal for construction,” said Stuffelbeam, who said he worked construction for about 30 years. “It's very unusual for a building this large to come in under budget. There are always changes and additional costs involved.”

For Dunn, the added costs were unnecessary and should not have been approved.

“That overrun is inappropriate for a park district our size,” said Dunn, 72, who retired from public service in 2004 after more than 30 years in city planning. “If we have another situation like that, we should have a very careful preview of the cost estimates and potential overruns. We as elected officials should monitor them very carefully, more carefully than has been done in the past.”