Timothy Jones: 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: Prospect HeightsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Prospect Heights Park Board (4-year Terms)Age: 47Family: Married to my wife Susan since 1990, we have one daughter, Megan, who is a senior at Wheeling High School.Occupation: Deputy Fire Chief for the Prospect Heights Fire District. I have been a member of the Fire District since 1982.Education: Graduate of Wheeling High School, studied at Harper College and University of Illinois Fire Service Institute.Civic involvement: I have been a commissioner of the Planning/Zoning Board of Appeals since 2003. I have volunteered as a member of the Summer-Fest committee during the last 10 years.Elected offices held: N/AHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: N/ACandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I decided to get involved with the Park commission to learn about the Park District and help out in any way I can, is there ancampaign issue? that needs addressing?, that is yet to be seen. It will take time to learn the Park District process and once you learn about the issues then you can voice your opinion to make it better.Key Issue 2 Candidate did not respond.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?Being new to the Board, I do not know the financials of the District, but first and foremost we must look at this as a business and evaluate every dollar spent to see the impact to the community and ensure that resources devoted to a specific Park District program provide a proper return on the investment. Programs that do not provide that benefit to the community should be reworked to cut costs or eliminated.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.The District is relatively land locked and there are few vacant parcels within the District boundaries. As a Board, when vacant land is evaluated for purchase, we need to determine the need, the maintenance costs and the true cost of ownership prior to buying land just to haveopen land?.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 Prospect Heights Park District should look to provide as many programs as the staff, facility and financial resources can support, but yet not every Park District can provide every type of recreational program. Our District should partner with surrounding Districts to ensure that specialized programs that the residents are looking for are available if not at our District but possibly at another District.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?Sharing resources within the community is a great idea to save monies when possible. I know the Park District has a great working relationship with the Library, City Hall and Fire District and they meet regularly to share information within the community. By expanding these partnerships, we can look to save monies and partner with other agencies topower buy? as a group where possible.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.As a newcomer, I was interested in joining the Park Board because I want to get involved and give back to a community that I am truly proud to call home. We have a great community and by working together we can make it better and the Park District is a great organization that I hope to serve for years to come.