Pat Lenski: Candidate Profile

Back to Geneva City Council Ward 1

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: GenevaWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Geneva City Council Ward 1 Age: 47Family: Wife Antonella, daughter Giovanna, sons Alex and LawrenceOccupation: Golf ProfessionalEducation: BA in History Political Science from Lake Forest CollegeCivic involvement: I have coached the Geneva High School hockey club. Conducted a PGA of America golf instruction program for the Elgin chapter of the Boys Girls Club of America.Elected offices held: I currently serve as an elected Commissioner on the Geneva Park District Board of DirectorsQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?Experience and perspective. As a lifetime resident of the 1st ward in Geneva, I know how our town has grown and changed over the course of over 40 plus years. Geneva was a special place to grow up during the 1970's and 80's with a small town feel and friendly people. As I raise my own family I'm very happy my children have been able to experience the same wonder of it all. Of course Geneva is much bigger, but for me it hasn't lost the small town charm during its growth. It's with this perspective that I wish to bring continued quality stewardship for the first ward and the city of Geneva generally. Additionally, I have served on the Geneva Park District Board since 2009 and have experience serving on a taxing body as an elected official. Currently I serve as Treasurer where fellow board members and I oversee a budget of around $13,000,000, supporting over 50 parks covering 700 acres while employing some 400 part time, full time and seasonal staff. One of the most valuable experiences from my time as commissioner has been the many partnerships with community groups and intergovernmental cooperation with the Kane County Forest Preserve, the City of Geneva and the Geneva School District. These types of relationships have been important in the delivery of value added recreational services that have resulted in saving tax dollars. I look to continue this as Alderman of the 1st ward in Geneva.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.For myself, as a homeowner in Geneva, property taxes have gone up considerably the last decade and continue to be a source of angst at my house and from what I hear from my neighbors. I recognize from my time on the Park Board that there has to be a balance in how much we pay in tax for quality schools, nice parks and decent city services. While I don't enjoy opening up my property tax bill and seeing the continual increases year after year, our schools are excellent, our property values high, our parks are clean and beautiful and the town is a great place to raise a family. We also have a desirable downtown, easy access to Chicago by train, a minor league baseball team, an indoor ice rink, wonderful forest preserves, the award winning Peck Farm Park and so much more. We had much less of these kinds of things when I was growing up and so I view these developments as extremely positive in our town's maturation. I guess my attitude is if we want nice things there is a cost associated with it and so it becomes a question of perception of value. I am concerned about future pension obligations as a growing part of our tax burden and the local government employee retirement contributions via property taxes are not going to be sustainable if the current trajectory continues.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?As a lifelong resident of Geneva, our police and fire service have always been excellent. With the East and West side fire stations the efficiency and coverage has necessarily kept up with our town's growth. Our police department has grown substantially over the years and serves our community well. I think the bike patrol is a great idea and has cut down on some of the potential for trouble from at risk teenagers during the summer months. It's no coincidence that when the economy turns down, crime increases and one area of concern is the rash of catalytic converter thefts from cars parked at the train station. Unfortunately, this type of activity is happening everywhere and we need to be particularly vigilant to minimize this in our own community.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Taxing bodies such as the city council or the park district always have choices regarding where to spend money and how much. One thing I've always tried to be mindful of is the perspective of the taxpayer when making any budgetary decision. In my experience it's not necessarily big ticket items that are problematic but a lot of little spending items in a budget that can add up, resulting in higher taxes. I'm reticent to speak specifically to the city budget not knowing a lot of the details and discussions. However, as an example during my tenure at the Park district, capital improvement projects such as playground equipment replacement and vehicle replacement were line items that can be scrutinized and adjusted. Care must be taken though to avoid the pitfalls of delayed capital improvements that can lead to large tax increases down the road to fund neglected infrastructure. The current state of affairs with the transit agency Metra should serve as a cautionary tale of what happens when agency and governmental boards decide to delay or reallocate funding away from needed capital improvements. Faced with aging rolling stock, a host of much needed track upgrades and little money in the capital projects fund, commuters will see big fare increases in 2015.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?It's no secret that there are concerns regarding the City of Geneva's ownership stake in the Prairie State Energy Campus and our future energy costs and needs going forward. We can't change what's been done, however, I would like to see us diversify our energy reliance on Prairie State through the investment in alternative energy sources such as solar power. At my request we are currently exploring the possibility of solar energy at the Geneva Park District at one of our facilities as part of our long range plan to reduce energy costs and be more eco-friendly. I would point to the Libertyville school solar project that was recently completed as an example of what can be accomplished with the right leadership and progressive vision. That project came in at a cost of 3.7 million dollars but was offset with a grant of 1.8 million dollars from the Illinois Clean Energy Commission and will realize a 30% reduction in electricity costs and a savings of $3,000-$5,000 per month. Our city, school district and park district would be prudent in working together to pursue such a project to bring some level of control over our future energy needs and costs to mitigate our exposure to a single energy source.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?City growth and development will be particular areas that are important to me. We need to make sure we manage our growth with balance and community input. Historically, I think our leaders have done an exemplary job in fostering our growth in recent decades though certainly not perfect. We need to be mindful of reaching for development tax dollars at the expense of compromising the character of our town and the impact it has on our community infrastructure and our neighborhoods. Our city council should be negotiating with builders and developers from a position of strength, however, some recently approved projects would indicate otherwise. Zoning relief granted for maximum lot coverage, street set back, maximum building height and land cash contribution credits to the developer are maybe a little to conciliatory in some instances. I think it's important for our citizens to know that they can make a difference and help shape our community. As an example, I had a resident suggest we start a community garden at the Park District which I thought was an excellent idea as did all the other Board members. With cooperation from the city and the forest preserve we were able to create the community garden on Peck road for our residents. Good ideas will always be recognized as such and so it's important that as an Alderman I should continue to listen to our residents.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.I would say Nigel Farage of the UKIP party in Great Britain who serves in the European Parliament.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?My mother always found jobs for me, delivering papers for the Beacon News, shoveling snow, scooping ice cream at Colonial. A work ethicIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?There are no do-overs, we all have to learn from our mistakes and strive to be better, that's what makes us human.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History. It allows one to see the big picture, long term trends and helps offset recency bias that can alter ones perception of today.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Try to make a positive impact with those around you and help those in need. All it takes is one act of kindness to start.