James C. Neel, 2 years: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: WildwoodWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Wildwood parks, 2-year termAge: 63Family: Married, one child, two grandchildren.Occupation: Retired Teacher Writer.Education: M.Ed. (Master of Education) 1993, National-Louis University,Evanston, Illinois.B.A. Liberal Arts Sciences in English, Finance Minor,University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, 1974.High School Diploma, Mundelein High School, 1965, Engl/Soc.Studies.Civic involvement: Voter Registrar in Lake County, 11 years as fundraiser volunteer for Save-A-Pet Animal Shelter, Grayslake, Illinois, Volunteer Campaign Worker in over 20 political candidates' campaigns for public office in Lake McHenry counties,A 27-year resident and good neighbor in Wildwood, Illinois, Friends of the Library, Warren-Nerwport Library.Elected offices held: Elected Chair of Warren Township Democrats 2004-present, Elected Sergeant-At-Arms of Democratic Central Committee of Lake County, Illinois, 2007-present,Elected Democratic Precinct Committeeman 2004-present, (Appointed 2002-2003), Elected Parades Festivals Director for Eighth District Democrats Independents, 2006-present.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Preservation of Gages Lake Valley Lake, as well as all Wildwood Park District Parks facilities, with expansion and examination for curriculum review of all present programs at little or no cost to the Wildwood Park District.Specifically, anti-algae treatments presently used in both lakes curricular additions to boose effectiveness of programs already in place by working with the present board.Key Issue 2 Creation of new athletic programs that could boost child adult participation and usage of Wildwood Park District assets facilities, always with fiscal responsibility in mind. We could examine the feasibility of creating a soccer field in one park, a canoe launch in Valley Lake with a small amount of parking space, the creation of a rowing club on either lake, similiar to those in Philadelphia,Pa.Key Issue 3 Creation of hiking nature studies trails the re-establishment of public get-togethers such as ""Applefest,""which had been cancelled for 2010. Creation of Cherry, Pear, Mulberry tree groupings and small orchards for public fruit consumption beautification, especially when they bloom, addition of pine trees to soil slippage areas.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?At present, I do not know of any programs the Park District has in place that do not serve the public good in some way,but all need to be examined for cost-effectiveness. With a 200% raise in boat-launching fees in the last five years, I would hold the line on those fees unless they did not pay for the expenses involved.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.An opportunity may soon present itself in the potential acquisition of the Benno property @ Route 120 Mill Road, which is contiguous to a Wildwood Park. It has a large house, a huge metal machinery building, garages, almost six acres of land to develop into a nature preserve. Several different income streams could be developed here.Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them? Or, should they wait until the economy improves?More public park sports community grouping activities need to be created, but may have to wait for the improvement of the Economy to be realized. Ex: RowingRaces, a Wildwood Picnic Social, Soccer matches, baseball leagues, etc. Let us work from within each existing program to maximise informational exchanges knowledge our youth need now, such as plant/tree identification, weather forcasting by the clouds in the sky, and more horticulturealong existing lines.Would you support sharing/pooling resources (i.e. printing, vehicles) with other local governments (school districts, village, etc.)? If so, what areas would you consider combining or merging to save money or improve efficiency?Yes, of course, but I prefer it limited to pooling and sharing resources such as the above to save money obtain materials at low cost. Printing, vehicles, and volunteer hands to construct needed park district facilities whatever other local governments need from us.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.My reasons are simple. I have lived in Wildwood for 27 years now want to give back to the community by making its park district commnunity activities better. I will have plenty of time for this ""giving-bacjk"" because I am a retiree nowadays, have knowledge skills that could prove quite useful, and am still very active.