Former Naperville Park Board commissioners will no longer receive free admission or discounts when using Centennial Beach and district golf courses.
The current Naperville Park Board voted 4-2 last week to eliminate benefits for former board members, amending a policy that dates back to 2009.
Eliminated benefits include a 20% discount on golf rounds with tee times at Springbrook and Naperbrook courses, free golf for walk-on rounds, free range balls, free admission to Centennial Beach, and discounts on both golf and beach merchandise. Benefits — other than the merchandise discounts — applied to both former commissioners and eligible family members, including spouses or civil union partners and dependent children up to age 21.
The change was floated by board President Mary Gibson at the Feb. 27 meeting and voted on Thursday. Gibson, board Vice President Leslie Ruffing and commissioners Rich Janor and Alison Thompson supported the amendment. Commissioners John Risvold and Chris Jacks cast the dissenting votes. Commissioner Rhonda Ansier was absent.
As amended, board policy now limits benefits to current commissioners and eligible family members only, when applicable. New perks were also added, such as a 20% discount on registration for non-contractual programs, free access to drop-in programs and a free fitness membership to Fort Hill Activity Center, among others.
The amended policy can be viewed in full at bit.ly/3DQTUyV.
Seated commissioners are granted certain discounts to encourage them to “experience park district facilities and programs on a frequent basis, including the audit of programming activities, so that they are able to reach sound decisions for budgeting and necessary changes to maintenance and operations,” the board policy reads.
Speaking to benefits for seated board members ahead of Thursday’s vote, Gibson said, “I think an important part of doing this job effectively is active participation in our district.”
As far as those perks previously afforded to former commissioners, the idea was that they “know the standards that we hold our facilities to, so in return for these discounts or free usage, (they) can communicate with the park district and give us feedback,” Gibson said.
However, she argued that “any community member can email the park district at any time” and that former commissioners don’t need free facility usage or discounts to do so.
Gibson also cited the district seeing record participation in recent years.
“At a time when we’re seeing more use of Fort Hill, more use at Centennial Beach, more rounds of golf than ever before, I think it’s reevaluating the policy and seeing how it benefits the community,” she said.
The amendment sparked a larger discussion over the validity of benefits for commissioners — seated and former.
Janor supported the change but proposed eliminating all benefits for both seated and past commissioners.
“I just feel that we should eliminate the benefits of the seated commissioners first,” he said. “In other words, look ourselves in the mirror before we start axing the benefits of others.”
The majority of the board, though, did not back Janor’s suggestion, which he raised as a substitute motion.
Risvold wanted to table the matter to give the board more time to have a “broader discussion about why these benefits exist, why they should exist … whether travel or attendance in community events or participation in park district programs should be something that is encouraged by the park district.”
He called the prospect of eliminating benefits in any regard “a solution in search of a problem, not the other way around.”
Other commissioners, meanwhile, maintained there’s a value in retaining benefits for current board members.
“A good commissioner wants to be able to go out there and use the programs and go to the events and golf and all that sort of thing,” Ruffing said. “So I would hate for any future commissioner to feel like they couldn’t do that and couldn’t do their job to the best of their ability because of cost issues.”
Thompson said the benefits make a difference for her personally.
“There are some things I would have to say no to because of my financial situation, if I did not receive certain discounts or the ability to do these things,” she said. “And I can’t even imagine what somebody else in a different financial position than I am in would face if they came onto this board and were not able to fully provide the feedback that we’re looking for.”
