Bartlett parks candidates debate Villa Olivia's future

This story has been corrected to reflect there are two 6-year park board seats on the ballot.

Villa Olivia's quest for financial self-sufficiency and what steps can be taken to expedite it are among the issues for the three candidates vying for two 6-year terms on the Bartlett Park District board.

In the race, newcomers Adam Augustine and Jody Fagan join incumbent Ted Lewis, who is seeking a seventh term as commissioner, on the April 2 ballot.

The park district bought the 138-acre country club at the end of 2010 after voters approved an $18 million bond issue to fund the purchase and renovate the Bartlett Aquatic Center. The park district wanted to keep Villa Olivia as a golf course, winter sports venue and banquet facility after its longtime owners expressed interest in selling it to developers.

Augustine said he's heard a lot about the facility from voters, and his campaign research focused strongly on it. He believes park district has lost an average $350,000 annually on Villa Olivia over the past five or six years.

Augustine said he wants the district to concentrate on building revenues from Villa Olivia's banquet services, which are less prone to weather-related downturns than its other amenities. He's also open to reducing the 18-hole golf course to nine holes and finding a different use for the leftover space.

Fagan said she's been familiar with Villa Olivia since growing up in West Chicago, adding that it seemed more popular and vibrant at that time, with visitors arriving by the busload. She estimates of the property's annual losses at $200,000, but nevertheless something that drags down the district's ability to improve other facilities.

She believes her background in the hospitality industry could help make the banquet hall more profitable and attract musical performances and other events.

Lewis concedes that the board initially hoped to have Villa Olivia in the black about five years ago, but renovations and expenses have delayed that. He estimates the losses at $200,000 per year.

Augustine said he arrived at his larger figure by including interest the district is paying on the 2010 bond issue. Lewis said that expense is reimbursed by the federal government at the end of each year.

While skiing and snow tubing have been the facility's biggest moneymakers, golf is experiencing a general downturn in popularity, Lewis said, giving rise to the recent suggestion that Villa Olivia's course be reduced to nine holes and that something more profitable be done with the extra space.

Lewis said he believes his business background as a retired attorney would be useful in helping the park district attain Villa Olivia's full potential.