Gail Bruno: 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: WildwoodWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Wildwood Park Board (6-year Terms)Age: 47Family: I have been a resident of Wildwood for 44 years. My husband and I have been married for 19 years and we have enjoyed raising our daughter in Wildwood.Occupation: For the past 16 years I have been raising my family, and working with my husband in our family owned business.Education: College of Lake CountyCivic involvement: For the past six years it has been my pleasure to serve on the park district board, working with the board and staff to keep our parks beautiful. The park district offers up to date reasonably priced programs to our residents and neighboring communities keeping Wildwood a nice place to live. All through my years living in Wildwood I have been involved on a variety of projects such as helping to maintain the gardens at Rule park, volunteering at Apple fest, fund raising and community events. My husband has been an active member of Rotary International for 24 years. We have worked together to raise money for scholarships for students in need. We have also hosted several foreign exchange students through the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar Program.Elected offices held: Wildwood Park District Commissioner, 2007-2013Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Work with my fellow board members to keep taxes as low as possible while maintaining the budget in a responsible manner.Key Issue 2 Working with our board and director to maintain our park district's assets and keep our programs viable.Key Issue 3 Looking for State and Federal grant opportunities to benefit our parks and beaches.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?The board and director review all of our programs annually and make adjustments as needed to meet our communities needs.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.At this time the Park District is not looking to expand. The current focus is on our existing properties.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?The Wildwood Park District offers a variety of well rounded programs for youth and adults. We are always looking for new and interesting programs to offer that fit the needs of our residents.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?Yes I would support the sharing of resources with other Government entities when appropriate.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.As a member of the board I was actively involved in the committees to identify and pursue several grants to beautify and update our parks and beaches. During my term I was actively involved with the following projects: Valley Lake Restoration, shoreline erosion at Willow Point park, updating three of our parks to meet ADA approved standards. I have served as Treasurer, Vice-President and President. I attend workshops and seminars regarding the issues of park district leadership. I feel strongly that is important that the board and staff continue to work as a team in order to best serve our community. It would be an honor and privilege to represent the residents of Wildwood for another term as a park district commissioner.