Lisa Tenuta: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Lisa Tenuta

City: Mount Prospect

Office sought: Mount Prospect Park District Commissioner

Age: 54

Family: Husband and two sons

Occupation: Administrative Assistant with a north suburban school district

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? Yes, 2011

Issue questions

* What are the most important issues facing your park district and how do you intend to address them?

We have aging facilities that need to be taken care of and I will always be in support of making sure our facilities are at their best for the residents of MPPD. We have a wave pool that needs improvements. I am in support of adding a spray park and updating the locker rooms at the wave pool. Making sure the park district continues on a excellent financial path. This includes taking advantage of grant opportunities, exploring private & public sponsorship, having an excellent plan for financial practices, and align our resources with good community partnerships.

* 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 am the current vice president of the board and an active supporting member of the Mount Prospect Parks Foundation. I have been in support of the improvements of parks in our community. We have made improvements to Einstein Park, Clearwater Park and just recently Kopp Park to name a few. The new dog park at Melas in cooperation with AHPD was a excellent addition. We have made some key improvement to our aging buildings that have been vital infrastructure improvements. I am proud of the Northwest Suburban Special Recreation District partnership at the Central Community Center with the Pursuit Programming with NWSRA can now offer in Mount Prospect.

* Which programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?

Programming at MPPD is our strong suit. Recreation needs are changing and more health clubs are opening in the surrounding areas. I think we need to be very aware of the wants and needs of our residents and be flexible to make changed as needed. MPPD needs to continue to make sure that we continue to offer good programming at a reasonable rates for all residents. This is something MPPD recreation department is constantly striving for.

* Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.

I support the acquisition of open space if opportunity presented itself within our budgetary constraints.

* Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them?

Mount Prospect Park District has 31 neighborhood parks and seven facilities in addition to 2 outdoor pool and 1 indoor pool. We have open space for athletic programming, biking/walking paths and a dog park. I always support the development of new programs/recreation as long as they are within our budget.