John Tunnell: 2021 candidate for Park Ridge Park Commissioner

Five candidates for four 4-year terms

Bio

Hometown: Park Ridge

Age: 46

Occupation: Own two Allstate insurance agencies, in Park Ridge and Northbrook

Employer: Self-employed

Civic involvement: I have coached with the Park Ridge football park district affiliate since 2016, coached in the park district house basketball program since 2016 for both boys' and girls' teams, and helped with Park Ridge baseball affiliates as a scorekeeper from 2018-2020. I have enjoyed being involved with the youth programs and will continue serving as a coach.

Q&A

Q. Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is it?

A. I enjoy serving on the board and want to continue to serve the community. I have experience in leadership, working with others and running a small business, and enjoy working with others. I have children that are involved in the park district's programs, so I am familiar with the recreation opportunities. I want to focus on expanding the great offerings of the district and continue to focus on responsible spending of the taxpayer dollars. I believe that my experience serving during the pandemic can only help face future challenges we have.

Q. Did your park district continue to adequately serve its constituents during the disruptions caused by the pandemic? If so, please cite an example of how it successfully adjusted to continue providing services. If not, please cite a specific example of what could have been done better.

A. I believe that the district did a great job adjusting to disruptions caused by the pandemic, and continues to be creative with programs and services. It was a challenge for the district to deliver on the park district mission to provide the best park space, activities, and programming to the community in the midst of a global pandemic, which has put significant limitations on what programming is available and how it is funded. The decline in revenue from the lack of programming and activities was very concerning. The board can continue to work with Executive Director Gayle Mountcastle and her team to review the financials of the district. Superintendent Sandra DeAngelus did a great job providing the financial projections of moderate and stress scenarios at each meeting. It is imperative that this continues until the district starts to get back to pre-pandemic revenue levels. We met twice as often during the summer of 2020 because of the rapidly changing health and safety guidance coming from various state and federal bodies and I believe the board should be willing to do so in 2021, if necessary. The board needs to be concerned with staying within the budget. I am proud that our budget was approved for 2021 without a tax levy increase

Q. In light of our experiences with COVID-19, what safeguards/guidelines should you put in place to address any future public health crises?

A. I believe that the district is better equipped to handle future public health crises from the experience we are still going through. It is important to continue to follow local, state and federal guidelines, and make sure that the district continues to be adaptive to change. I believe that the current safeguards and guidelines are being followed by the district, and the employees are doing a great job communicating them with patrons.

Q. How has the pandemic affected the park district's offerings and use of facilities. Are there other ways the park board can fulfill the mission of a park district during these times?

A. The district has been faced with tough choices to close down facilities and limit the type of activities to comply with shelter in place restrictions. I believe that the creativity of the district staff made a big difference fulfilling the mission to provide programing to the community. There were several virtual offerings that provided an activity for the community, versus just not offering anything. The district adapted to the environment, and when local restrictions were updated, they would respond within hours to get the facilities and programing ready. Within a week of the basketball program starting, there was a change that went from having two pods of 10 players for 45 minutes with practice only, to 20 players, with scrimmage allowed. The district wants to be open, but is following guidelines to protect the employees, patrons, and community.

Q. How has the pandemic affected the park district's revenue? How has that been addressed on the expense side?

A. As of December 31, 2020, total year-to-date Recreation revenue is 53.4% lower than the prior year, reflecting the District closure beginning March 13, 2020 and reopening results through December. Operating fund net deficit as of December 31, 2020 is 101.2% lower than the prior year and 104.6% below budget, attributable to the shutdown and reopening restrictions. To address the revenue decline, the board met twice a month to focus on spending and revenue. I believe the board did a great job working together to communicate the need to keep expenses low, and should always be concerned with protecting the use of tax dollars. Gayle and her team did a great job responding to the direction of board, and collectively we made decisions with assumptions that we might be shut down again during the winter season.

Q. What other issues need to be addressed?

A. The district and board has discussed the Hinkley Project for the last several years, and hope that this project can been addressed soon. It would update the facilities at Hinkley Park which would benefit the community and all those who use that park. The Park District has a lack of indoor space. Currently, affiliates and the house basketball programs are using facilities in other towns for practice and scrimmaging. I believe that the board can help by understanding the need for more indoor space and be open to opportunities to improve or add to current facilities. Another issue that we face as a district is that we are in a landlocked, land scarce community. It concerns me that residents have consistently expressed in surveys the need for more walking trails, multiuse indoor space, and nature amenities, yet the costs seem daunting to simply grow or add to our current inventory of parks. We need a new plan that our new board agrees to prioritize and then execute on what we can afford for all of our residents to use. It is important that when an opportunity presents itself, we can add or improve our inventory of space. The board can be open to opportunities that come up.