Joe Welkomer: Candidate Profile

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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: AddisonWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Addison Park Board Age: 65Family: Patricia - wife Jeffrey --son Ronald --sonOccupation: Sales representativeEducation: Bachelor of Science Northern Il. UniversityCivic involvement: 23 yrs Park Board CommissionerElected offices held: Board Treasurer Board Secretary Board Vice President-- currently heldQuestions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?The out door aquatic center has always a been challenge due to weather and age of the facility. We are striving to keep the pool open to accomodate existing programs and youth swim team which compete with our neighboring park districts. Participation has been increasing in the last few years.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.We are always open to acquire new open space as the opportunity arises. There are no opportunites that we can currently afford.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?We are adding a roller skate facility/ out door volleyball court and a pickle ball court at Community Park through a grant we were awarded.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 work closely with all other local intergovernmental agencies to share resources. At this time we share some outdoor facilities with District 88. We also share vehicle maintenance with the village and work with the village on pavement asphault requirements. We also work with Police department on neighborhood watch 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.I was involved with the expansion of the Links Tees, our indoor/ outdoor golf operation. I also had a leadership role in the construction of the Fitness Center at Centennial Park. I am currently involved with rennovation of our outdoor facilities at Community Park.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Being able to maintain our existing facilites and offer quality programs while keeping within budget. I try to always keep the taxpayer contribution in mind when spending their money.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Scott Walker , Govenor of Wisconsin, not afraid to make the tough unpopular decisions.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Hard work and perserverance pays off.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Invest in tech products at an earlier stage of my life .What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Product marketing, helped in my sales marketing careerIf you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Work hard and never lose focus on your goals.