Elizabeth "Lili" Kilbridge: Candidate Profile

Back to Hoffman Estates Park Board

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:BioQA Bio City: Hoffman EstatesWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Hoffman Estates Park Board Age: 59Family: I've lived in Hoffman Estates since 1992. I have two married sons.Occupation: massage therapistEducation: Licensed Massage Therapist LMT, 2014 BS. University of Iowa, 1978Civic involvement: Commissioner, Hoffman Estates Park District, 2007 - present Trustee, Friends of HE Parks, 2010- presentElected offices held: Commissioner, Hoffman Estates Park District, 2007 - presentQuestions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?Our registration fees cover the total cost of running programs as well as associated overhead costs. For example, for basketball leagues, the registration fee covers uniforms, gym time (we do rent gyms from our local schools), referees, etc, as well as associated administrative costs of full time personnel, utilities, health insurance, etc. There are two areas of programming that receive financial support from district and I fully support these. Our Seascape Family Aquatic Center; because it is a) expensive to operate, b) weather dependant and c) a high-risk facility that requires a very high lifeguard to swimmer ratio. I consider public swimming pools to be a basic need in any community as they serve every age, ability, ethic group and family type and so the fee to use the facility has to be within economic reach for every family. The other area that receives support is our 50+ Active Adults program. Most retired adults in our community live on fixed incomes. The past 8 years have hurt most of us financially but seniors even more as they have seen their retirement investments and pensions plummet. At the same time we have seen membership in our 50 + Active Adults program skyrocket by nearly 300% . Basic program fees are reflective of fixed incomes. Theater outings and trips are fully paid for by the participants. As our membership continues to grow will be looking to expand our 50+ space as part of our recently completed Comprehensive Master Plan.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.Most of the land we have acquired in the last 10 years has been donated by developers, as dictated by our land dedication requirement, most of it is not buildable but is an integral part of our ecosystem and preserves open space. When we have the opportunity to obtain land that is contiguous to our parks, or land that presents unique usage I believe we should make an effort to acquire it. Last year we purchased 8.74 acres next to Essex Park at a price considerably below market price. I hope to develop a nature center there and I would love to see a full time preschool there. One of top suggestions that came out of our 2014 survey was an indoor sports complex. We have had many discussions about developing an outdoor multi-field sports complex. Both of these would require purchasing land. It is doubtful that we could recover costs of building and operating a large indoor complex. The possibility of creating an outdoor sports complex seems most likely to occur at the Plote property near Higgins and Beverly Road but that property won't be developed for several years. Should that occur, we would look to the Village and adjacent communities to join in development. The potential for a regional recreation destination is phenomenal (and exciting).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?Like most communities across the country, we are seeing a downward trend in our youth sports leagues. For several years we have joined with other park districts to provide certain sports leagues (boys post season baseball, girls basketball and girl's softball as examples). Now we are seeing an increase in interest in boys and girls lacrosse, hockey and rugby. This presents us with the opportunity to work with younger children to develop skills needed to develop teams when it becomes age appropriate. As we have been a "feeder program" into high school basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer programs, I believe we will be shifting our focus to these sports that appeal to a new generation. As part of our CMP, it was determined that we need more outreach to ethnic groups that have traditionally recreated within their own population and draw them into park district programs. We already have a proven formula for providing profitable programs; the challenge is to reach a diverse population. The people in these programs will pay registration fees and scholarships will be available to families that qualify. We also plan to increase our special events, to accommodate families that don't want to make the commitment to ongoing programs but still want to be involved in the community. Park district staff meets regularly with village staff and we will continue to work together on community events, as we did for last year's July 4th celebration.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?We already do and a great example is our dog park, Freedom Run, which we opened in 2012. We split development costs with the City of Elgin and the Streamwood Park District. We operate and maintain the park but residents of Streamwood and Elgin do can purchase memberships at resident rates. In 2011 we built a playground on property owned by the City of Elgin, at Canterbury Fields. We belong to NWSRA, which is an intergovernmental cooperative of park districts that provides programs and services to persons with disabilities. In addition to sharing the costs of services, it provides a forum for information exchanges between all the member districts. In 2013 we negotiated a lease with the Palatine Public Library to relocate the North Hoffman Branch to our Willow Recreation Center, which has been very well received by the library and the north side residents. We have an intergovernmental agreement with the Village and the Cook County to develop the Shoe Factory Bike Trail that will connect the Shoe Factory Bike Trail that runs south of interstate 90 with Cook County trails north of interstate 90. We have an agreement with the Palatine Park District to de-annex residential property on Bradwell Road that is contiguous with one of our parks. Those new homeowners will now be in our district. We have had agreements with school districts 15, 46,54, and 211 for many years We have a great working relationship with the Village for several years.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.Served as President of the Board from 2009 to 2010 and served on all committees; Administration and Finance, Building and Grounds, and Recreation. I chaired two Future Planning Committees that created our five-year Comprehensive Master Plans, in 2014 and in 2009. Trustee with the Friends of HE Parks Foundation since 2011. It was my concern over losing our North Hoffman Library branch that lead to relocating the library at Willow. I am proud to represent our park district as the 2015 Program Chair for the Illinois Association of Park Districts and have served on the IAPD/IPRA (Illinois Association of Park Districts) Joint Conference Committee for 3 years. I look forward to my role of Program Chair in 2016 and Conference Chair on 2017. I am very proud that our staff are considered leaders in the field and I encourage them to do whatever it takes to fuel their passion for their career. These are just some of the accomplishments the park district has achieved during my tenure as board member: â#128;cent;2009 National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal for Excellence â#128;cent;2011 Illinois Association of Park Districts Distinguished Agency Accreditation â#128;cent;2013 National Recreation and Park Association Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies â#128;cent;2014 Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from Government Finance Officers Association â#128;cent;2014 Illinois Policy Institute Sunshine Award â#128;cent;In the past five years we have replaced 19 playgrounds and received $404,000 in grants, $152,000 in energy rebates.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?It is interesting to me as I look back at my involvement in parks and recreation how the role of park districts has changed. I began my career with the Park District of Oak Park in 1978. At that time park district programs were strictly recreational. Private organizations ran little league and football leagues. Quality dance, theater and art programs were provided by private entities. Our kids played floor hockey and flag football. Soccer wasn't being played yet. Park districts didn't offer childcare. Over time, park districts have become sophisticated complex organizations that communities rely upon for basic services. We operate state licensed day care and preschool programs. Our after school programs in schools care for hundreds of children a day. Our 50+ programs allow adults to stay socially active and physically fit as they age. We are now partners in healthcare. Our fitness centers offer amenities and services equivalent to if not better than many for-profit chains. We are no longer neighborhood playgrounds, we are integral parts of people's lives and I take this very seriously. My concern is being able to achieve the standards we set with financial stability to maintain our 1st class parks, facilities, programs and services as demands increase and funding remains stagnant. We have an obligation to the environment to continue to develop environmentally friendly practices and we need to preserve open space. And we need to continue to be a resource for combating obesity in our culture, through education and programs.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.I have to say I like our new pope, he inspires equity and the possibility of world peace.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?I was the 6th of 8 children so I learned that if I was quiet and didn't get noticed I didn't get into trouble.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would ask my parents the questions that now keep me awake at night.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I loved anthropolgy. It reinforced my love of art and cultural differences and human behaviorIf you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Do everything in love and strive to forgive. And laugh. Life should be full of joy.