Bob Thomson: 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: St. CharlesWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: St. Charles Park Board Age: 59Family: Wife-Katie, Son-Ryan, Son-Kevin, Daughter-EmilyOccupation: Teacher/CoachEducation: BS Industrial Education MS Instructional TechnologyCivic involvement: St. Charles Park District Commissioner 15yrs, Fox Valley Special Recreation Association Board Member 15yrs, Norris Recreation Center Board Member 3yrs. Member of the St. Charles Intergovernmental Committee.Elected offices held: Currently serving as the Park Board President. I have served in past years as the President, Vice President, and Secretary.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?It is the mission of the Park District to enrich the quality of the life of Park District residents through excellence in programs, parks, facilities, and services. We rely on tax dollars as well as program fees to cover the costs of what we offer to our residents in these areas. The District's recreation programs are self-sustaining. Our staff and board are very conscious of the cost of these offerings and are stewards of the tax dollars when it comes to offering the quality programs, parks, facilities, and services that we do. We value our staffs input and expertise when it comes to adding, eliminating, or changing any program, etc. and we listen to their suggestions accordingly. We also value the input of our residents when it comes to the programs that are offered.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.We can always use open space. Once it's gone, it's gone. The Park District's goal is to acquire and develop parks and open space and preserve high quality natural areas to meet existing and future needs of the Park District residents. The Park District through the Comprehensive Master Plan identified possible open land that might become available whether through land cash, purchase or donation. The Park District is always keeping its eyes open to properties that become available and if it fits our needs and goals and funds are available, we will always consider it. More specifically, the Park District looks for land opportunities within our boundaries where we may be land deficient. Our April Bond Referendum will also address open space where part of the bond money will go to land acquisition and development. This was shown to be a high priority among 72% of our survey respondents. Additionally, the Park District has and will continue to pursue grants. Over the past 20 years, the Park District has successfully received more than $31 million dollars in land, grants and gifts to augment local funding and enhance park sites.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?Our biggest need is indoor program space which includes gym space for either practice or competition by our associated organizations (ie Tri-Cities Soccer, St. Charles Boys Baseball, Girl's Softball Association, Tri City Youth Football, to name a few). Additionally, this space is needed for District's in-house programming of youth and early childhood athletic programming, pickleball, volleyball and basketball. To address these needs, we have put a referendum question on this April's ballot where if approved, the Park District plans on building a Family Recreation Center at James O Breen park. The Park District partners with the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association which does not have permanent space within St. Charles to accommodate programming space and this facility will offer them this space. Other needs that will be met with this facility will be additional preschool programs to address those currently on a wait list, as well a fitness center, an indoor track for walking, jogging, and running and other outdoor amenities such as sand volleyball and platform tennis. A successful referendum will help the Park District with land acquisition and development, and improvement to some of our existing athletic facilities, including construction of one or more lighted, multi-sport all-weather turf fields and the installation of a permanent restroom facility at the East Side Sports Complex.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?The Park District has several collaborative agreements with our local governmental groups. We meet monthly as an intergovernmental group comprised of the Park District, school district, city, library, county, and township. It's an opportunity to get updates on what's taking place and to assist each other where possible. Examples of collaboration include; the City of St. Charles owns Langum Park and the Park District maintains it and makes it available to various programs such as softball, ice skating, and sledding. We have a Park District agreement with the school district where each entity shares the cost of playground equipment and maintenance. The Kane Country Forest Preserve purchased properties at the River Bend Park and East Side Sports Complex that the Park District developed with numerous amenities. The Forest Preserve and the Park District have jointly developed our bike paths. The Park District seeks opportunities to save the taxpayers' dollars. Our parks are always available to various groups upon request. Scarecrow Fest and River Fest are events that exemplify this. Additionally, we, along with our associate groups, have availed ourselves of school facilities most importantly, gym space when not in use by the schools. Employees and board members also serve as representatives to many community groups, such as the St. Charles Downtown Partnership, the St. Charles Historical Center, the River Corridor Foundation, the Norris Cultural Arts Center, the St. Charles Arts Council, and the Housing Commission, among others.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 have served in many leadership roles on the board. I have served as the board president and vice president twice and the secretary. As a park board representative to the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association, I also served as their chairman for two years while representing the St. Charles Park District for the past 15 years. I have served as a park district representative on the Norris Cultural Arts Center board and the Campton Fields board. While on the board I have seen substantial growth and development within the Park District such as acquisition and development of James O Breen Park with the Otter Cove Aquatic Center and Hickory Knolls Nature Center, the East Side Sports Complex, River Bend Park, and Delnor Woods to name a few. I was involved in our previous successful referendum which helped us with various projects such as the complete redesign of the Swanson Pool at Pottawatomie Park along with other previously mentioned projects and some open space purchases.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?What's most important is to continue what's been done in the past that has brought us to where we are today. We need to continue to seek citizens' comments and input. Our Park District is special and a true asset to our community. We are highly recognized in our state and nation, as evidenced by the Gold Medal Award bestowed upon us by National Park and Recreation Association. We attained runner-up status in other years. I will continue to be a good steward of your tax dollars and when possible support the Park Districts effort to secure any grants that we are eligible for to support our programs, facilities and mission.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Candidate did not respond.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Candidate did not respond.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Candidate did not respond.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Candidate did not respond.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Candidate did not respond.