Activist Toolkit

[Candidates for Maywood Park District Board with the Maywood Together Party, Jeffrey Dean Harris and June Price-Shingles, submitted their responses as a group.]

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1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring, and why would those contributions be valuable in the office you are seeking?

What motivates us to seek office in the park district is to have the ability to impact residents with  meaningful programs. I have run multiple programs in Maywood as well as surrounding areas so  understanding how to maximize resources, impact participants, and have sustainable outcomes is  what I will bring to the park district. 

2. When in the past have you had to balance competing interests? What process did you use? What did you learn?  

Dealing with competing interest isn’t an easy task. You have to first understand what the end goal  is and how do we get there. I have recently helped plan two toy drives in the Proviso area. I  informed both of my intentions and got them to agree to not hold their events on the same day. I  learned even though we are not working together, we can still work together for the greater good of  the community. 

3. What does transparency in government mean to you?  How would you put it into practice? 

Transparency in government means to me being yourself at all times and open about intentions.  When you are being yourself, you can connect easier with the residents of Maywood. You don’t  have to worry about if someone sees you in person or the things you do outside of the office. You  put this in practice by starting off letting people know your intentions and plan on how you will get  there. 

4. As more of our local discourse happens in social media, what is your view on how local elected officials should communicate with and respond to constituents? How will you engage with the breadth of the community, and not only those on social media?

I believe you should engage with the community by being seen not heard. Communicating with  the community through social media is fine but not the only method. Showing up to programs  and events in the community shows that you are truly invested, not just writing policies and sitting  behind a desk. Maywood needs to see government officials not as law makers but regular  people as well that they can talk to about anything not just work. 

5. What barriers do you see for community members who wish to engage with the Park District? How would you work to reduce or eliminate those barriers?  

One issue of major concern dates back  to 2007 whereby the Village of Maywood Parks and Recreation Department was dissolved by  referendum. The goal was to create one village wide recreation department by giving control of all  village parks, with the exception of Maywood Park located on 1st Avenue, 200 South 5th Avenue  building and the Fred Hampton Aquatic Center to the Maywood Park District. Unfortunately, the  Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) was never realized. As a result, residents have yet to receive  the promise of robust quality recreation programming, parks and/or services. While Maywood Park  District has been able to deliver some of these items over the last 4 years, the full potential of  recreation services cannot be reached without the implementation and ratification of the IGA. 

6. What do you feel are the three biggest issues facing the Park District, and how do you intend to address them? 

Signing of the IGA, increasing revenue streams, program and services expansion,  addition of staff of various qualifications. 

7. How do you define equity? Have recent events and discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking? 

 Equity is defined by ensuring all residents are provided  recreation services they want, need and are entitled to. Our goal is to ensure each  demographic of the community has equal access and opportunity to engage in programming  of their choice. Equity ensures that park amenities at a minimum are the same at each park  location. Equity guarantees that residents will have input on capital projects, comprehensive  development plans and input on all issues relevant to enhancing the overall “Quality of Life” of  the residents we serve.  

8. How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing this community in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

As  Commissioners, we will ensure that a Needs Assessment is conducted to gauge the wants and  needs of residents. Potential barriers include not reaching all members of the community, low  participation, language barrier, and residents not having access to the process. 

9. Name an influential local community member. How did this person’s influence change Maywood? As an elected official, what do you imagine your influence will be on the community?

Senator  Kimberley A. Lightford. Senator Lightford is and always has been a staunch supporter of recreation  services for Maywood since first serving as a Village of Maywood Trusted in the late 90’s. Senator  Lightford is a “Friend of the Parks” and continues to lend support in various capacities. As elected  officials, we plan to continue to engage Legislative members that are residents of Proviso Township  to ensure resources are always available for Maywood residents. Our goal is to educate residents  on the economic contribution parks and recreation services have on the community. We also hope  to influence community members to become better park stewards, empower them as stakeholders and give way to their voices on the type of recreation services they desire.  

10. Park districts make use of many different sources of funding, including property tax revenues, fees, and grants. Do you feel the Park District maintains the right balance of free and fee-based facilities and programming for financial sustainability and equity? What do you see as the tradeoffs?

Yes. Maywood Park district over the last 4 years have demonstrated the financial discipline necessary to be financially solvent by the end of 2021. The current Board of Commissioners and Executive Director has positioned the Park District such that they can pursue all revenue streams at their disposal.

11. Do you believe the Park District’s current debt level is sustainable? What opportunities do you see to improve the District’s financial footing? 

The Maywood Park District will be debt free by the end of 2021. Pursuit of grants, partnerships with various agencies in exchange for facilities, staff  of specific expertise, equipment, etc., are all avenues we will pursue.  

12. What opportunities do you see for the Park District to collaborate productively with other local taxing bodies? What could hinder those efforts? How would you improve relations between the Park District and the Village, in particular?

Partnership is critical to the lifeline of any recreation agency.  At bottom, parks and recreation functions at the highest levels when inclusive of school districts,  libraries, chamber of commerce, ministerial alliances, and other community groups like Block Clubs,  civic groups etc. Regarding the Village of Maywood, this partnership has to be memorialized if  Maywood Park District is going to reach its full potential. Both entities serve the same constituents.  As such, the synergy derived from a robust partnership between the Village Board and Park Board  guarantees residents the highest quality of recreation programs, services, facilities and amenities. 

13. What is your financial plan for ensuring the proper upkeep of the parks, both those the Park District currently controls and those the Village may soon release to Park District control?

As  stated, the Park District will be debt free by the end of 2020. Thus allowing the district to pursue  various funding sources. Nonetheless, the Park District will absolutely need village support in adjusting the Levy to ensure the district is given a larger portion of the tax base.

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[The above answers were supplied on 2/25/21.]