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Wayne Schwartz: Candidate Profile

Bartlett Park Board (6-year Terms) (Independent)

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: BartlettWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Bartlett Park Board (6-year Terms)Age: 61Family: Bartlett resident since 1971. Married 31 years. Father of three, grandfather of three.Occupation: Retired.Education: GEDCivic involvement: Coached soccer and basketball for Bartlett Park District teams and St. John's school teams.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I would like to re-examine the Park Districts ownership of Villa Olivia, Apple Orchard and Bartlett Hills golf courses and how they impact the taxpayers in Bartlett. Should we privatize for more profit?Key Issue 2 All neighborhood parks should be equal in availability of equipment to meet the needs of the neighborhood. The Park District should also expect cooperation from the Village in keeping our Parks safe.Key Issue 3 As a taxpayer, I feel the least the Park District can do is allow free use of the indoor walking track.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?I believe the golf courses and all that is affiliated with them are are not now or will ever pay for themselves. I would seriously consider other alternatives besides more tax increases for managing and paying for them.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.The Park District has a lot of open space now that is underutilized. We need to reassess what we have and go from there.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?Many older adults are looking for more activity in their lives. We have bike paths that are free to walk on but they are uneven and subject to the weather. As a resident, I believe the indoor track at the community center should also be free for our use. I pay over $ 400.00 in taxes to the Park District a year. Where's the bang for MY buck? The pool schedule also needs to be less restrictive. I believe more people would purchase year round pool packages if the availability to use the pool to workout was expanded to better meet the residents needs.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 would support the pooling of resources. I would consider any area that would save money with a minimum of complications. Printing is a good place to start. I would also support a resident discount with other adjoining districts to encourage residents to use their Park Districts more.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.Quite frankly, the Park District keeps asking for more money every year for deficiencies and I CAN'T AFFORD THE RENT. There should be NO TAXATION WITHOUT RECREATION, and many of the programs offered are simply beyond the reach of a growing family and those on limited incomes. Finally, having grown up in Chicago were the Park District programs were free to all, I find it difficult to accept that the cost of participation is so high here in Bartlett.