LG Park District: First Day of BASE Goes Well, Board Considers Putting More Information Online

At Monday night's Park District of La Grange Board of Commissioners meeting, commissioners and staff discussed the first day of the BASE program under park district oversight, gave an update on projects at Denning and Gordon parks and discussed providing more board materials to the public via the park district's website.

BASE Program Has Successful First Day

Executive Director Dean Bissias reported that the —a before and after school program at District 102 schools—had a successful first day under park district oversight.

Despite a few small issues, Bissias said that he believed the launch of the program had gone well and was excited to see it continue.

Leanna Hartung, program director for BASE, agreed that the first day went smoothly overall, and added that parents were excited about the added half hour of time in the morning and after-school sessions.

Bissias said that he hopes the new BASE website will be up in the next two weeks, which will allow parents to pay online.

In public comments, La Grange resident Jim Boo stated he wanted to clarify statements he previously made about the BASE program. Boo said he wanted to make it clear that he did not support the park district taking over the program, and thought it was wrong for the park district to subsidize a program that was only available to a portion of the community.

Parents in School District 102 about the park district taking over the program early in the process. Hartung said parents she spoke with at Congress Park Elementary School on Monday were supportive and excited.

Updates on Denning and Gordon Parks Projects

Bissias gave board members a brief update on the renovation project going on at Denning Park. The pavilion portion of the project is expected to be installed next week, with little else left to do as the project moves toward 80 percent completion. In the spring, Bissias said seeding of fields, striping of the basketball court and the installation of the playground's soft surface will begin. 

The board also heard an update on the Gordon Park Master Plan. The park district has until December of this year to complete the project with grant funds and has decided to redesign some of the original plans to save more money. Board members were presented with the new plans for consideration and discussion at a future meeting.

Board Considers Putting More Information Online

Although it was not part of the meeting's scheduled agenda, board members discussed the possibility of putting more of the board's information online for the public. Currently the park district posts the agenda of the current meeting, but does not provide the board's information packet in an electronic form.

Commissioner Tim Kelpas said he believed the board could begin recording meetings for a little as a few hundred dollars to post online as podcasts so that residents could follow meetings at home. Kelpas was also supportive of publishing the board's information packet online and said he thought it may help encourage attendance at the meetings. Commissioner Lynn Lacey also said she supported putting more of the board's information online.