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Oakbrook Terrace Park District to Close Lake View Nature Center

Oakbrook Terrace Park District Closing Lake View Nature Center

The Oakbrook Terrace Park District notified its staff today of the impending close of its Lake View Nature Center located at 17W063 Hodges Rd in Oakbrook Terrace, on Friday June 3rd. In addition, it will be cancelling its community events for the remainder of the year due to restrictions in their 2016/2017 Budget.

"It was a difficult decision to close a facility and eliminate the jobs of valued Park District employees. The decision was made after an exhaustive review of our entire organization, and with the greatest reluctance," said Cathy Fallon, the Agency's Executive Director. "With the Park District revenue sources under pressure, we unfortunately need to take these actions in order to be responsible with the revenue we receive. This decision will allow us to operate within a balanced budget and keep Oakbrook Terrace Park District on a responsible financial path for this fiscal year."

Agency's programming has been restructured, and Nature Programming has thus been absorbed into Recreation in an effort to keep the Park District financially viable.

Day to Day operations of the Lake View Nature Center will cease, as of June 3rd, which solely impacts daily walk-in traffic to the facility. The Oakbrook Terrace Park District fully intends to maintain nature based recreation and programming that meets the needs of their residents moving forward.

In addition to closing the Lake View Nature Center, the Oakbrook Terrace Park District is suspending the planning of community events for the remainder of the year, after Kids Fit in Nature on May 14th, which will still go on as planned.

The agency remains hopeful that these moves will be temporary, and the 2017/2018 Budget will not continue to be adversely affected by a shortfall. They are optimistic an increase in community support through sponsorships and advertising revenue will help bridge the gap.

About Oakbrook Terrace Park District

The Oakbrook Terrace Park District consists of three parks; Heritage Park, Terrace View Park and Dorothy Drennon Park, as well as 2 facilities; Heritage Center, and the Fitness Center. In addition to these parks and facilities, we also have the William Cizek Bike Path. The agency is overseen by a Board of Commissioners, which consist of five individuals who are elected by the community to represent the community's best interests. The charge of the Board is to set policies that will guide the Park District. Board members serve a six-year term and receive no compensation for the time they give. They come from a variety of backgrounds but share one important trait, a commitment to serving the park and recreational needs of the community. Board meetings are held the last Tuesday of every month.

More information about the Oakbrook Terrace Park District and its offerings, can be obtained on our website www.obtpd.org

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