Thomas P. Emma: 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: CaryWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Cary parksAge: 43Family: Married - Wife Georgia Three Children - Megan - 12, Thomas - 14, Amalia - 16.Occupation: Accounting Manager, CPAEducation: Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting, Northern Illinois University - 1989Member of American Institute of Certified Public AccountantsMember of Institute of Internal AuditorsCivic involvement: Member of National Youth Coaches Association6 year coach - Cary Junior Trojans8 year coach - Cary Youth Baseball/Softball5 year coach - Cary Basketball Association2 year coach - Cary Soccer AssociationCary resident since 1995Elected offices held: School Commission Board Member - Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School, 2003 - 2006Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I am in favor of the park district moving forward with the development of the next phase of Cary-Grove Park. The park is only 25% complete and the continued development of the park would be a great asset to the community.Key Issue 2 I am in favor of continuing to pursue public grant dollars for the trail systems throughout the Cary community. Including a much needed paved walking path thru Lions Park on Silver Lake Road.Key Issue 3 As a coach and volunteer in many of the Cary youth sports organizations, I understand the need for more quality athletic field and court space for all of the organizations for practices and games.Questions Answers What programs aren#146;t paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?Not all the programs can be measured on their financial results alone. Some programs are ""lost leaders"" and are important to the community and don't necessarily generate revenue for the park district. For example the concert in the park program is free to the community and many residents attend and enjoy those summer evenings.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.I am in favor of the acquisition of the Maplewood school property near the downtown area. This would be a win-win for the Cary Park District and Cary School District 26. It would allow the park district to maintain open space in the downtown area as well as keep field space for Cary-Grove Youth Baseball Softball and provide Cary School District 26 with much needed funds.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?The pre-school daycare facilities are outdated and need to be upgraded. The improvements could be funded thru the capital improvements fund and maintained with user fees.A multi-purpose recreational/aquatic center would be a welcome addition to the park district. It could be funded thru the sale of the surplus Hoffman Park land that was approved to be sold by the referendum vote in November of 2008.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, I would support intergovernmental programs such as the continued use of Cary School District facilities for the ET Kids Zone program.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.I am a sixteen year resident of Cary and have been an active member of Saints Peter and Paul Church as well as many of the Cary youth sports organizations. It is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. I would love to be a voice for the people of Cary on the park district board and would be a dedicated and hard working board member. I also have financial management experience in the recreation industry and want to be able to use that experience to help guide the Cary Park District thru uncertain times in our economy.