Annual Lake Co. senior day to be leaner

The annual senior recognition day coordinated by the Lake County Forest Preserve District will be shorter this year in an effort to save money.

This summer's 38th annual senior day celebration will run three instead of five hours, and expenses will be cut by about a third, forest preserve district officials said.

Whether the long-standing event will continue in its present form beyond this year is uncertain as the district plans to survey seniors to determine how it could have a broader impact countywide.

"I don't think it's the last one (but) it will probably be revised quite a lot," said Audrey Nixon, a forest commissioner and member of the education, cultural resources and public affairs committee, which began discussing the matter in November.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to noon, rather than 2 p.m., at the Independence Grove Forest Preserve in Libertyville.

By cutting hours and other tweaks, such as hosting bingo inside rather than in a rented tent outdoors, the district will save about $30,000 - more than a third of last year's net cost.

Net costs last year for the free day of activities, which included pontoon boat rides, native garden tours and bingo, amounted to more than $73 per attendee.

The district in 2009 spent about $113,000 in supplies, service and staff time, with 95 staffers logging nearly 2,300 hours on the event. Sponsorships and donations offset that amount to about $88,000.

The move is part of a district policy to be more frugal and manage projects more efficiently.

But commissioners have been sensitive to major changes regarding seniors.

The original recommendation to replace the event with a daytime concert was not pursued, and the idea of not serving hot dogs as a money saving measure was rejected.

"The only real significant change will be the time will be reduced," said Nan Buckhardt, director of environmental education and public affairs.

Attendance has dwindled from a high of 5,000 in 2005 to 1,200 last year, leading to a discussion of ways to cut costs.

"If there's 5,000 people or 1,500, it's still the same amount of staff hours," said Bonnie Thomson Carter, board president.

The original event to recognize seniors was held at Lakewood Forest Preserve near Wauconda and was straightforward. At the time, there were few programs targeted for seniors, according to the district.

"It used to just be a day out at Lakewood and everyone brought their picnics," Carter said Monday. "We didn't even feed them."

But the size and complexity grew over the years to include food, entertainment, health-related exhibits and other activities. That accelerated with the switch in 2004 to Independence Grove, the district's most popular preserve.

The scope will be reassessed after the event and Nixon said she hopes it can continue.

"To me, we owe the seniors," she said.