Dan Bird: 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: Carol StreamWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Carol Stream parksAge: 47Family: Married to Kim for 27 years. Kim and I have two sons, Joey (20) and Josh (16).Occupation: Along with my brother Mike, I own Bird Inc. a Carol Stream based excavating and grading company Education: Some collegeCivic involvement: Besides my Park District involvement, I am a member of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce. Also, I am very fortunate to be involved with #8220;Brittany's-Trees#8221;. Brittany's Trees celebrates the memory of Brittany Valene by raising funds for the SADS FoundationElected offices held: have held 2- four year terms as Carol Stream Park District commissioner Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respondCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 My number 1 campaign issue is to continue serving on a productive board that really listens to the needs of the Carol Stream Park District residents.Key Issue 2 My number 2 campaign issue is to do what I can to make sure that the Carol Stream Park District continues operating at a #8220;gold medal#8221; level now and into the future.Key Issue 3 My number 3 campaign issue is to make sure that the Carol Stream Park District residents get the best value for the referendum dollars they approved a year ago.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?The reality is that all Carol Stream Park District programs are funded with a combination of residents' taxes and user fees. All programs are regularly evaluated to ensure that the residents are getting the maximum benefit. The recreation staff at the Carol Stream Park District does a great job at evaluating and updating the programs.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe. The voters approved the Carol Stream Park District to purchase land with the 2010 referendum dollars. The Park District needed and therefore is in the process of purchasing 6 acres of land from the village of Carol Stream. This land will be used to construct the new recreation center. The upgrading of several fields will allow the park district to program more events in the same amount of space. Because of this the amount of open space is sufficient at this time.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 really feel that the process of meeting any unmet recreational needs is well underway. Thanks to the above mentioned voter approved referendum dollars the Carol Stream Park District will have a new recreation center with an indoor pool and an indoor walking/running track, more pathways, a dog park, improved athletic fields and other park upgrades. 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? I absolutely support continued sharing of resources with other local governments. The Carol Stream Park District shares many resources with other local governments now and is continuously looking to form new partnerships.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 Carol Stream Park District has seen many changes and improvements over the past 8 years while I've been on the park board. I would like to believe that I am a big part of the decision and policy making process that helps the Carol Stream Park District grow better every day.