John Kelly: Candidate Profile

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: WheatonWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Wheaton Park Board (4-year Terms)Age: 57Family: Cheryll and I will be married 32 years in March. We have three daughters and a son ages 19 to 27.Occupation: I am a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois and am President of b. Stromberg Construction Co., Inc., a mid size commercial general contractor and construction management firm working in the Chicago area.Education: I received a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1978.Civic involvement: Prior to my election to the Park Board in 2009, I was involved as a volunteer in the Park District's various youth athletic programs as a coach for more than 50 youth baseball, softball, soccer, and basketball teams. I also served on the all volunteer Baseball Softball Board of Control for 15 years, the final 11 as its Commissioner.Elected offices held: I was elected to the Park District Board of Commissioners in April of 2009 and have been the Board President since May 2012.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No I have not.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Financially, I believe the Park District is in good shape today and it will be the responsibility of future Boards to keep it that way. This must be done by analyzing the conditions of our existing facilities and making sure repair costs, maintenance costs, and replacement costs are accurately forecast and budgeted as we continue to look for new recreation opportunities. We cannot get too ambitious and ignore our existing facilities while we continue to expand our programs and services. In this time of economic uncertainty; we need to continue looking for new sources of revenue and to evaluate all programs, both new and old, for the ability to support themselves.Key Issue 2 As a current Commissioner and a member of the Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee, I have been very involved in the Central Athletic Center Project (old Hubble site). I want to complete work on our new facility and the surrounding open space as soon as possible. Completing the athletic fields and scheduling a variety of programs there will help bring more people to downtown Wheaton which will be good for the community. The completion of the new gardens will provide an attractive entrance to downtown Wheaton from the south.Key Issue 3 I am not sure most Wheaton residents realize just how good the Wheaton Park District is. Last year's Gold Medal Finalist Award named us one of the top 5 park districts of similar size in the nation. We have a very talented staff of recreation professionals who are extremely dedicated and passionate about their work. Our job as a Board is to help them continue to improve our services while managing costs and operating within budget.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?For years the Cosley Zoo was free of charge for all visitors and operated at a sizable deficit. The recent introduction of a small admission fee for non Wheaton resident adults, and concerted efforts by both the Park Board and the Cosley Foundation have changed that. While final audited 2012 numbers are not yet available, it appears that last year's revenues will exceed expenses.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.We always look at opportunities to acquire property for open space as they arise; especially if the property is adjacent to one our existing facilities. I however, do not believe there are any specific properties we absolutely need to acquire at this time.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?I think recreational facilities and programs for residents with special needs are still behind general programs but continue to improve every year. We need to continue our improvement in this area and our involvement with the Sensory Garden Project is a great step in that direction.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 think we currently have a good relationship with District 200 and do a very good job of sharing resources. We run numerous programs that utilize the school gymnasiums and the HS field houses. Many of our baseball, softball, and athletic fields are located on school property. The school district also uses park district facilities for some of their programs.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.Since joining the Board in 2009, I have served on both the Buildings and Grounds and Finance Subcommittees. Participation on these committees have allowed me to work on our major construction projects and our annual budget. My work with staff and our consultants to opening up bid specs and allow more bidders to participate in our projects has resulted in savings of hundreds of thousands of capital dollars.