William J. Starr: 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: Mount ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Mount Prospect parksAge: 65Family: Married, 3 children, 2 grandchildren.Occupation: Self Employed - Owner/Founder of Corporate Telecom Group, Inc, a telcommunications broker. also Retired Military - Retired as Lieuteneant Colonel. Special Operations - Civil Affairs.Education: Bachelor of Science in Marketing, Marquette University, 1968Completed Command and General Staff College Course, US Army, equivalent to Masters Degree in Military Science.Civic involvement: - Commander of Mt. Prospect American Legion Post 525.- Coach of the MP American Legion Baseball Team - Master of Ceremonies at MP Memorial Day and Veteran's Day Ceremonies at Lions Park- Essay Contest (Memorial Day)Chairman and active member of MountElected offices held: noneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: no never.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I am not running because there are significant issues with the administration of the MP Park District. I'm running because I bring a fresh business acumen to the board which will be benefitial. Each board meeting should result in healthy discussion of park administration decisions. Only good can be derived as board discussion develops perspectives possibly not yet seen or considered by the Park District administrators. If elected, I believe that I will cause the board to be more helpful to the considerable administration efforts.Key Issue 2 Candidate did not respond.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What programs aren#146;t paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?Some programs in the MPPD are not self sustaining but that is expected. It is not solely a reason to cut the program. All programs that the people of MP participate in are part of a whole. The budget certainly looks at each program financially but again, if it is being utilized by the people in a universally appealing park district and the overall budget can sustain it, it stays.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.The MPPD like all others is there to serve the people. A need for additonal space resources can only be determined by utilization of the park district professional park staff. Using the people with years of park district experience and a solid feel for the wants of the people are the elements that the board will use to consider new property acquisition. The board answers- Is it needed? If yes let's see how we can get it and pay for it. The mission is to be the best park district in Illinois with the resources available to us. It is not a single commissioner decision.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?I think that there are several soccer fields in the village that could use additional maintenence between games. Soccer fields with almost continuous play without maintenance attention to the grass will soon be bare dirt. Current maintenance staff is capable.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?There is considerable sharing of resources already with local school districts and adjacent park districts. The board can look into any additional needs to determine if there is any merit of each individually.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 would be considered a newcomer to the board as a new commissioner but I have been attending monthly meetings for several months thereby become familiar with the proceedings and Park District financials. In addition I use the MPPD facilities almost daily and as a result am more familiar with operations. As a ""newcomer"" I will bring to the park board a fresh business acumen developed over years of military and civilian business experience .