Larry Reiner: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: Buffalo GroveWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Buffalo Grove Park Board Age: 63Family: Larry has two wonderful brothers, their incredible wives, and families. They have six children between them who attended BG Park programs and schools. They also have six fantastic grand children. He also has cousins and his loving, World War Two Veteran, Uncle Irv, living in Buffalo Grove.Occupation: Executive Director for the Butterfield Park DistrictEducation: B.B. Special Education-B.S. Physical Education (U of I) Masters Degree Outdoor Education (MS.ED.) (NIU) Doctorate In Counseling, Health and Adult Education Ed. D. (NIU) Larry is a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional (CPRP)Civic involvement: Larry has served on many Committees and has contributed to the completion of many projects throughout the community over the last 28 years. He has been named as Rotarian of the year, in DuPage County and has received numerous recognitions on the State, Local and National level for his many contributions and public service on behalf of people with disabilities as well as the field of Parks and Recreation, Special Recreation and Conservation.Elected offices held: In April, Larry will have served 28 years as a Buffalo Grove Park district Commissioner.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?The Park District has a myriad of programs that reflect a mix of fees. We are diligent about our fiscal management, and have earned the Government Finance Officers Association Award of Excellence for many years in a row. We have also earned the highest Bond rating of any Park District in the State of Illinois. We are an extremely cost conscious district, but we do not do so without compassion and caring for our residents and their current financial concerns. The Park District offers literally hundreds of programs and services. I tend to look at them collectively and leave the micro management to the park district professional staff. Some of our programs and services are more financially successful than others, but often times that is by design. We are well aware of the financial concerns of our residents and we attempt to be sensitive to their needs. We will continue to be good stewards of local tax dollars, while also being aware of the socio-economic needs of our community. The community continues to evolve and we hope to remain on the cutting edge of serves to meet the community's needs.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.The Park District has developed a detailed Master Plan for the care and maintenance of our existing parks and facilities. We would welcome more open space, as we currently use all of our active and passive parks to their capacity. We also want to work with the community to preserve open space whenever possible. In addition, as I stated above, there is, and has been, a need for a comprehensive Central Community Center for our Community for many years. This could be a multi agency effort reflecting a cost effective manner of delivering this much needed facility. I am deeply appreciative of all of the effort that has gone into our new Community Arts Center, but i still believe the community would benefit from a Central Community Center that would be able to meet the needs of residents of all ages, cultural backgrounds, and recreational needs. The Alcott Center is very nice, but we are filled to capacity and the community is still growing and in need of new and different services.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 continue to seek input from our residents and then our professional staff propose new and different ways of meeting those needs. Our Senior Programs have changed and are going to continue to change, as our Baby Boomers express their needs. We have an incredibly strong administration and are able to meet most of the ongoing needs in a cost efficient manner. We have been very cost and tax conscious and have been responsible to our residents for controlling costs. I like the direction the Park District has taken with regard to serving Veterans and I think there is room to continue this growth. We are going to have more Veterans with Disabilities coming home in the years to come, and we need to be prepared to honor them and serve them. I believe that will become more sensitive to the recreational needs of the many different cultures within our community. The changes and growth in our diversity suggests that we may be offering new opportunities for our residents to enjoy the diversity, celebrate the differences and the Park District may play a role in bringing people together harmoniously.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 can and should be more partnerships and joint efforts with the local governmental bodies. I do not support consolidation of our local entities, as this trend tends to water down the focus of the job at hand and causes departments to compete for the same dollars, while in the end not realizing significant savings for the tax payer. Usually, the Police and Fire needs succeed and the other quality of life issues are negatively affected. We could lose the priority and the responsiveness to our community. The Park District is non political, as are some of the other local governmental agencies. We would not want to become embroiled in any of the issues that draw our attention and energy away from providing service. In the next few months we will once again forge new partnerships with local School Districts and Special Education needs to provide improved local services for all of our residents. We have great relationships with our schools and with our Village Trustees and staff. We are committed to growing those relationships and partnerships to improve services while being very cost efficient.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.It has been an honor and a privilege to serve on the Park District Board of Commissioners. While it is a volunteer position, we all take it seriously and are committed to doing the best job possible. We are fortunate to have one of the finest Professional Staffs of any Park District in the State. 1. Earning the State Distinguished Agency Award 2. Becoming a National Gold Medal Award Finalist 3. Purchasing and renovating the Alcott Center 4. Redevelopment of Willow Stream Park 5. Development of the Bike paths. 6. Expansion Renovation of Raupp Museum 7. Construction of Emmerich Park Maintenance Facility 8. Complete Renovation of Emmerich Park 9. Developed accessible playgrounds and ball fields for people with disabilities 10. Development of Busch Grove/Mike Rylko Community Park 11. Intergovernmental Agreements with school districts, the Villages, Arlington Heights Park District,and the County. 12. Established the Hyman and Miriam Art Gallery 13. Twin Creeks Buddy Baseball Field 14. Developed the Spray and Play Facility 15. Developed Newest Safety Town 16. Established the Rusty Reiner Veterans Memorial Fund for Active Duty Service Men and Women 17. Developed and enhanced a new Veterans Memorial at Veterans Park 18. Inline Skate Rink and Shelter 19. Indoor Golf and Sports Center 20. Buffalo Grove Fitness Center 21. Developed in line skate park 22. Constructed two new lighted adult softball fields 23. Receiving over 6 million dollars in matching grant funds from the State for the development of our local parks and facilities over 28 years.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?24. Too many more to remember...Thanks for the great opportunities and allowing me to serve! * The redevelopment of Willowstream Park, Band-shell, Fields and Playground. * The incredible Community Arts Center and the awesome talent that has been on their stage since the facility has opened. * The transitioning to new leadership, mentoring, encouraging and supporting the staff. being even a small part of this collaborative Board and an energetic, motivated and extremely professional Staff has to be the highlight. They are our greatest asset! I would like to thank the public for giving me this opportunity and I look forward to earning their respect.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.All of Our Men and Women in the Armed ForcesWhat's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To Honor my Mother and Father. To live by all of the Ten Commandments. Be honest and help other people as much as possible.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I might not have been married to my work. Would have married for love and had children. Or Give me my mom and dad back.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History. It gave me knowledge to base my decisions on. Or, Music; it gave me purpose and it gives me peace.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be considerate of the people around you. Listening is the most important part of communication. Listen well before you speak.