William H. Wright: 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: StreamwoodWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Streamwood parksAge: 48Family: Married, two sons ages 13 and 9.Occupation: Director, The Overture GroupEducation: BS Business Administration/Psychology, Lindenwood University, 1985Civic involvement: Kiwanis Club, Soccer Coach, Usher-St. John the Evangelist Church, Member of U-46 Citizens Advisory Council 2003-07, including serving as Standards Committee Chair 2005-7Elected offices held: Streamwood Park District Commissioner 2007-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 The continuation of the implementation of our Strategic and Master Plan is Priority One. Both of these plans have enabled Board and staff to focus not only on current needs, but to help us look forward into the future of park and facility improvements that our residents are proud of. These plans have included strategic sessions with both the SPD staff and the residents, which has enabled us to not only develop programs and improve facilities, but it has helped the staff by taking a more proactive approach to long term planning and maintenance.Key Issue 2 We are continaully looking to develop programs that reach out to our diverse community. We are currently looking at a couple of areas to place a cricket pitch for our Indian and Middle East populations. I would also like to approach neighboring Park Districts and U-46 in trying to acquire grant monies that can be used for programs that teach immigrants English and/or business skills while their children are taking a recreational class such as soccer or karate.Key Issue 3 To continously look at ways to get additional monies for SPD. With the state being $15b in debt, we need to be more aggressive in applying for grants that can be contributed towards programming and capital improvements. We have a Foundation that is up and running that will help us in this area as well as a comprehensive Master Plan that is useful in helping show potential donors what we are trying to accomplish and how their funds will be spent towards achieving our goals.Questions Answers What programs aren#146;t paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?SPD has taken a look at all our programs and have eliminated those that weren't of interest to our residents.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.Streamwood is currently 95% landlocked, preventing the Park District from acquiring additional properties. Currently, we're exploring opportunities with the Cook County Forest Preserve to see if we could use their open spaces for soccer, T-ball, and cricket.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?We are constantly meeting with residents through coffees and focus groups on getting input on what programs and capital improvements we should consider.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?We currently partner with Hanover Township senior and teen programming. We, along with neighboring park districts, have also partnered with U-46 school district in taking over certain B-sports programming because of their budget cuts. This partnership is also looking at other programs, such as music, art, and theatre.We have had discussions with Hanover Township on partnering together on grants and I would like us to aslo work closely with the Village of Streamwood and neighboring park districts on grant proposals that would benefit all our constituents.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.The first initiative I led was the formation of the Streamwood Park Foundation. I saw this as a neccessary organization to raise and accept tax free monies to augment Park District monies. I'm also proud to have partnered with New Hope Community Church in forming a mens soccer league that has 150-200 participants.We developed the first comprehensive strategic plan in several years that outlined goals that were agreed upon with board, staff, and residential input. This plan has helped remove a ""silo culture"" and has had Parks, Recreation, Executive Staff, and the Board working together in a more consultative approach with an emphasis on all of us being one team, not several factions.I have also led the effort to meet residents quarterly with our ""Coffee with the Commissioners"" program.