Year In Review 2019

2019 YEAR IN REVIEW

M

CO R U O T•Y

RK A P R YOU

C I R T DIS

Y T I N MU

MISSION

Enrich our community by fulfilling our residents needs for healthy, accessible, quality recreation activities, parks and facilities, and to be responsible stewards of our community resources.

2019 YEAR IN REVIEW Hello Carol Stream Residents, The Carol Stream Park District and residents shared a great 2019! I am especially proud of the completion of the new Veteran’s Memorial Plaza at Town Center. This wonderful tribute was made possible through partnership efforts with the Carol Stream VFW, Carol Stream American Legion, Village of Carol Stream, Carol Stream Parks Foundation and Carol Stream Park District Board, in addition to the generosity of many dedicated donors. And, we thank you!

The Park District proudly opened Carolshire Park in October. Thanks to a donation of land by the Village of Carol Stream and partial funding by a Community Development Block Grant, this park serves the families of the Carolshire and Klein Creek communities. A playground, pavilion and open space creates a fun and safe place for children to play.

The Park District made some improvements in 2019 in accordance with the American with Disabilities Act, including ADA-accessible entries at Simkus Recreation Center and Coral Cove Water Park. An ADA swing was added at Carolshire Park, and the installation of more ADA swings in our parks is planned for 2020. Energy improvements were made with LED lighting throughout the District—not only reducing expenses, but also reducing our carbon footprint.

The Park District and staff were happy to partner again with CCSD93 for the Summer Lunch Program which provides free lunches over the summer months to students who had qualified for lunches over the school year. The Carol Stream Parks Foundation continues to support the District with its Bike Club Success and the popular Duck Race! Their fundraising efforts funded a large portion of the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza, in addition to the District’s Youth Scholarship Program.

Last August we closed Fountain View Recreation Center for a thorough cleaning and general maintenance. We had all hands on deck to get the building cleaned, painted, floors finished, pool scrubbed, etc. The pool was closed for two weeks to drain and powerwash.

Wow, what a difference it made!

Park District Recreation Programs continue to bring fun, wellness and social opportunities to our residents. We continue to focus on taking care of what we have and maintaining safe and clean facilities and outdoor space. We are proud to work in partnership with local governments to improve services, control costs and keep our community strong.

Thank you for supporting Your Park District—Your Community!

Jim Reuter, Executive Director “You know the thing about a park . . . You get the prettiest yard in town and don’t have to cut the grass.”

Park Board Hosts

AT THE

Park

The Carol Stream Park District Board Commissioners hosted two events at local parks in 2019.

Popsicles, cookies and laughter produced a wonderful evening.

The Commissioners were able to engage with residents and hear about the things that matter to them.

The current Park Board Commissioners include: Brenda Gramann, President; Dan Bird, Vice President; and Commissioners Tony Del Preto, John Jaszka, Jacqueline Jeffery, Tim Powers, and Brian Sokolowski.

Awards & Grants $15,000 Grant awarded to Veterans Memorial Plaza project by the DuPage Foundation Daley Family Fund. $3,000 Donation by the Carol Stream Parks Foundation to the Scholarship Fund.

Government Finance Officers Association Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting 18th consecutive year.

Commissioner John Jaszka was recognized by Illinois Association of Park Districts as Master Board Member for his 10 years of service.

Scholarships Approximately $16,000 in scholarships was awarded to residents who needed financial assistance for park district programs.

Veterans Memorial Plaza We did it! The new Veterans Memorial Plaza at Town Center was officially dedicated on May 27, 2019. This beautiful memorial recognizes the veterans and first responders of Carol Stream who gave their lives in the line of service. Special thanks to former VFW Commander Jim Benzin for his relentless pursuit of participation and funding for the project. Thank you to the help and perseverance of the Park District Board of Commissioners and staff, Carol Stream VFW Post 10396, American Legion Post 76, the Village of Carol Stream, Mayor Frank Saverino and Village Trustees, and the Carol Stream Parks Foundation.

Sponsorships & Donations We are fortunate to have local businesses who give back to the community. Generous donations and sponsorships keep our programs affordable. In 2019, the District received almost $33,000 in sponsorships, and over $11,000 in in-kind donations.

Volunteers The Park District is also fortunate to have so many volunteers stepping in to help us succeed! Our volunteers built on a sense of purpose and donated over 16,000 hours in 2019. Team parents, event volunteers, and coaches made the world of difference in the accomplishments and success of park district programs and activities.

The Park District Nominates Special Citizen of the Year Former Carol Stream VFW Commander Jim Benzin won the honor of Special Citizen for 2019 for his outstanding dedication and contributions to the Carol Stream community and leader for the Veterans Memorial Plaza project.

Carolshire Park Residents and local dignitaries joined the Carol Stream Park District Board of Commissioners, staff, and the Village of Carol Stream at the ribbon cutting and opening of Carolshire Park in October. The park provides a fun and safe place for children and adults to gather. With no park within walking distance, the Carolshire and Klein Creek condominium residents now share a playground with trendy features, artificial turf, swings with an ADA-accessible swing, a small pavilion, picnic tables, open space for games, and lighting.

The project was partially funded through a Community Development Block Grant. Land was generously donated to the Park District by the Village. After resident input meetings, Carolshire Park was designed and built. The development of this “pocket� park creates social equity in an underserved but deserving area of the community. Carolshire Park stands as the pinnacle of the accomplishments achieved by a larger community working together to make a neighborhood strong and provide a safe and fun place for their children to play.

RECREATION Before & After School Care and Days Off Club The ActivKids Program serves an average of 300 elementary school children on a daily basis at all six District 93 schools.

The program includes ActivTime which brings extra activities and visitors to the sites. In 2019, children enjoyed visits from Fox Valley Wildlife and the park district theatre program. Days Off Club served over 1,000 participants this past year and children enjoyed a variety of on site activities as well as field trips.

Community/Special Events Over a dozen various community and special events were held throughout, servicing over 2,500 participants. Many of the events have become annual traditions for families in the community. Popular 2019 events included the Daddy Daughter Dance, Bunny Bash, Boo Fest and Polar Express.

New this year was a “50’s Diner” theme to the annual Mom Prom and two new Teenie Weenie events: Beach Bash and Pumpkins & Munchkins. Swimmers celebrated Christmas in July at Coral Cove Water Park with visits from Santa, crafts, games and frozen hot chocolate.

Awesome Adventure Camp Full-day Awesome Adventure Camp continues to grow. With more than 4,600 registrations, enrollment increased by 3% compared to 2018. Awesome Adventure Camp provided flexibility for parents with a 16% increase in daily Flex Pass enrollment.

Campers enjoyed a fun-filled summer with swimming, field trips, special events, park days, and themed activities.

Aquatics Over 1,500 registrants, ages 6 months through adults, participated in our newly restructured Swim Academy. Private lessons increased the skills of 248 swimmers.

Fountain View’s indoor pool had over 9,000 visits throughout the year, and Coral Cove Water Park had over 13,300 visitors over the summer. The Dolphins Swim Team grew to 189 members between the winter and summer seasons. The Dolphins were undefeated in the Northern Illinois Winter Swim Conference and took 1st place for the 5th consecutive year.

Concessions Concessions operations at McCaslin Park, Coral Cove Water Park, Fountain View and Simkus Recreation Centers generated over $243,000 in revenue. New in 2019, burgers and hot dogs were served right off the grill every day of the week at McCaslin Park! At Coral Cove, 1,872 pretzels were sold along with 1,612 shaved ice cups. Popular items at McCaslin included french fries with over 2,000 orders sold along with 1,400 boxes of popcorn.

Gymnastics

Forever Young

Coyote Crossing Over 12,000 rounds were played in 2019 at Coyote Crossing Mini Golf. The facility hosted 19 group outings this season and three special events including Cosmic Golf Night, Pumpkins & Munchkins, and Flashlight Egg Hunt.

Our seniors participated in 108 Forever Young trips and special events throughout the year. They traveled far and wide, from Virginia Beach to Niagara Falls, Canada, for our multi-day/overnight trips. Forever Young programming had over 3,200 registrants, averaging 27 participants per day trip.

Almost 1,400 registrants participated in our instructional gymnastics program, with ages ranging from 1 to 17. New for 2019 a Tumble Trak was purchased for the Gymnastics Room. This exciting piece of equipment is used for all levels to help gymnasts learn and perfect their tumbling skills. Springers Gymnastic Team had 50 members who competed in compulsory, tumbling and optional events. They brought home gold and silver medals from the State Championship, individual event champions, and top scorers for the Gold Level on Bars, Bean Floor and All-Around.

RECREATION Preschool

Dance Over 700 dancers participated in our youth seasonal and recital programs and our adult dance classes. The spring Dance Recital attracted over 1,100 audience members, and the Holiday Dance Showcase brought out almost 900 spectators!

Forte Dance Company continues to grow with its now 40 members. This competitive team received multiple awards including Platinum, High Gold and Judges’ Choice.

Forte dancers entertained residents at numerous community events and performed at the Village of Carol Stream’s Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and the District Holiday Trolley and Polar Express events.

Special Interest, Family and Nature Special Interest added several new successful classes taught by park district staff. The most popular new class was Babysitting Basics. Additionally, in-house classes for preschool-aged participants taught by our preschool teachers were added and are proving to be popular as well.

The Preschool program serves roughly 100 participants in nine different class options ranging from 2.5 to 4 years old. New in 2019, Preschool hosted a Kick-Off night which welcomed all families to the new school year and encouraged casual interaction and socialization for all students and their families.

Rentals and Parties

Fitness

Sports McCaslin Park and Armstrong Park hosted 17 youth tournaments and 12 adult softball tournaments which include groups such as USSSA/GSL, SSA, JP Sports, Seminole Sports, and Carol Stream Travel Softball and Baseball. We had over 140 adult softball teams participate in the 12 tournaments that we hosted.

There were over 2,300 youth that participated in baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball and dodgeball leagues while another 3,500 adults participated in softball, basketball, flag football, volleyball, dodgeball and floor hockey leagues.

Total revenue for all athletic programs and leagues exceeded $715,000 and total revenue for field and gym rentals exceeded $155,000.

Fountain View Fitness has over 3,000 all-inclusive, walking track, and corporate members, with an average of 523 visits per day. Corporate memberships grew from 301 in 2018 to 567 in 2019 as we welcomed Northwestern Medicine and Comcast.

We continue to pursue new businesses.

Corporate membership revenue increased by over $43,000 compared to 2018.

With over 80 group fitness classes, our instructors worked out with almost 1,000 members each week. Personal training and nutrition packages were popular with 124 sold. New in 2019, Fountain View Fitness installed a turf area with sleds, ropes, tires, and more. We take functional training seriously as it’s quite a buzz and an effective workout. The 500-Mile Challenge saw 216 members walk, jog or run almost 44,000 miles collectively!

The multi-purpose rooms at Fountain View and Simkus Recreation Center hosted almost 300 parties, receptions, showers, ceremonies and meetings in 2019.

Revenue for the year totaled $111,914.

This year, 101 children celebrated their birthday with one of our Youth Birthday Parties. A variety of theme and action parties were held at Coral Cove Water Park, Coyote Crossing Mini Golf, Fountain View Recreation Center and Simkus Recreation Center. All birthday party themes were revamped in 2019 and two new parties were added: Unicorn and Pirate Treasure Hunt! For summer of 2020, new outdoor parties will be offered with various themes.

Group outings at our facilities are a popular choice during the summer months.

Over 3,500 people attended with a group in 2019 at Coral Cove Water Park, Coyote Crossing Mini Golf and Simkus Recreation Gymnastics. Coral Cove Water Park group outings increased by 46% and Coyote Mini Golf outings increased by 38%.

FINANCES Reducing our Reliance on Taxes The overall operating revenues for the District are generated from two sources: taxes and earned revenues (fees, charges, interest).

To offset the impact of the referendum bonds that were used to bring residents improvements such as McCaslin Sports Complex, Bark Park, Fountain View Recreation Center, and many other improvements, the District has worked to reduce its reliance on taxes to support operations. Since 2013 the District has lowered reliance on tax from 61.9% to 41.78% of its total operating budget.

Financial Report

YEAR ENDING 12/31/19 *unaudited information OPERATING FUNDS - REVENUES

Property/Corporate Taxes/Interest

$3,859,912.00

Recovery of Cost/Rentals/Sponsorships

$400,094.50

Vending/Concessions

$265,601.06

Programming Revenue Due From Other Funds/Miscellaneous

$4,072,741.56 $170,820.50

Awards/Grants/Donations $1,000.00 Total Revenues

$8,770,169.62

Tax Revenue Allocation 2019

OPERATING FUNDS - EXPENSES

Wages/Benefits/IMRF

$5,151,431.08

Utilities

$505,755.00

Services

$1,657,362.71

Supplies

$653,447.25

Audit/Insurance/Miscellaneous

$356,614.00

Capital Improvements

$170,218.00

Total Expenses

$8,494,828.04

TOTAL OPERATING FUNDS NET $275,341.58 CAPITAL/RESTRICTED FUNDS - REVENUES

Property Taxes Interest

$5,292,569.63 $16,800.00

Recovery of Cost

$268,977.00

Total Revenues

$5,578,346.63

CAPITAL/RESTRICTED FUNDS - EXPENSES

Wages/Benefits

$ 14,773.00

Services

$62,953.96

Capital Improvements Tax Allocation-WDSRA Supplies/Transfers Debt Service Total Expenses

$2,610,531.67 $277,271.48 $35,869.00 $4,978,576.26 $7,979,975.37

TOTAL CAPITAL/RESTRICTED FUNDS NET ($2,401,628.74)

Comparison to Local Taxing Bodies Tax Bill 2019

PARKS & FACILITIES PROJECTS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Park Maintenance The Parks Department maintains 456 acres of park land, sports fields, and playgrounds.

In 2019, staff planted 65 new trees and spread 900 yards of playground mulch.

Each month 34 playgrounds in 28 locations are inspected. Skilled parks staff built, painted and installed six Little Libraries in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Carol Stream to encourage book donations.

Why does the landscaping at the Fountain View Recreation Center look like it needs help?

Bark Park Updates Parks staff planted additional trees on site for future shade, repaired many of the agility features, added a mulch path from the Bark Park to the motel parking lot, moved existing benches to be more user-friendly, added a portable restroom and repaired gates and fencing. Native plants in the flood area were added to address the excessive water on the site. Over time, as the plants grow and mature, they will help decrease the water pooling at the site.

Coral Cove Water Park Repairs Prior to Coral Cove Water Park opening for the 2019 season some much needed repairs were made to the waterslide, diving board and stairs. The diving board stairs had some damage from the winter months which was addressed. The water slide stairs were recoated with a slip-resistant material, and drainage issues on the waterslide tower were corrected. Additionally, a new diving board was installed. All in all, these repairs made for a better user experience.

The landscaping surrounds a natural

How can I share comments and/or concerns about our parks or facilities with the Park District?

Direct comments or concerns

bioswale that helps complement the

about parks and facilities to

facility’s environmentally friendly LEED

the Director of Parks & Facilities via

certification. The drought-tolerant

phone at 630-784-6100 or

plantings are mainly native. In 2019

email shaneh@csparks.org.

over 20 trees were planted, and new perennial groundcover was added to the east entry beds. We will continue to make improvements in 2020.

Can I fish in park district ponds?

Where allowed, you can fish

Can the Park District mow less grass and maintain natural areas to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce costs?

We’ve already converted 10% of our park lands to ‘no mow’ areas. Native areas reduce mowing fuel usage and emissions.

No mow areas have been established through the park system in the form of a 12- to 16-foot buffer around some ponds.

Park District staff continuously evaluates best practices to maintain open space.

recreationally at Park District waterways, however ice fishing is not permitted.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has full jurisdiction on any Illinois waterway. A fishing license is required for individuals age 16 and older and can be obtained from the IDNR. The Park District encourages “catch and release” as a technique of conservation. After capture, the fish are unhooked and returned to the water.

Full details are available on the Park District’s website, Ordinance 411.

Be a Good Human and put your

Who can I contact about maintenance of sports fields?

fish back!

Our 9-person parks staff currently maintain a variety of 54 sports fields, along with approximately 456 acres of open space. Any issues can be reported to the Parks Department.

Fountain View Recreation Center Annual Shutdown In August of 2019, Fountain View Recreation Center was closed to the public for annual maintenance. Staff drained both indoor pools in order to power wash, as well as acid wash, the pools. Locker rooms were thoroughly cleaned, bathrooms scrubbed, the Fitness Center floor disinfected, the studio floors resealed, the workout machines rearranged for a better user experience. The entire facility was detailcleaned. Artificial turf was added to the Fitness Center.

BE A GOOD HUMAN TODAY

The District rolled out its “Be A Good Human” campaign in 2019. Whether it’s reporting vandalism, or following rules that protect our parks and patrons, help us keep your parks and facilities clean and safe!

EVER Y SE

ASO

Carol Stream Parks Foundation The Carol Stream Parks Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to public parks and recreation programs of the Carol Stream Park District. The Foundation is managed by a volunteer board of directors who live or work locally. The year was kicked off with a donation of $3,000 towards our scholarship fund which offers financial assistance to qualifying program participants.

The Foundation’s annual Duck Race at Coral Cove Water Park raised $3,240.

In its sixth season, there were 40 members of the Foundation’s Bike Club. They held weekly rides and raised $1,185 for the Parks Foundation. Between fundraisers and donations, Carol Stream Parks Foundation raised over $6,500 in 2019.

N•E

VERY

AGE •

EVER Y IN

TER

EST