Regional Planning in Lake County
Representatives from 11 park districts and a forest preserve gather to discuss cooperative fee structures, linking trail systems and more
BY CHRISTINE GENTES

Planning recreation facilities to meet the needs of rapidly growing communities while remaining fiscally responsible can be a daunting task. This is especially difficult for districts to face alone. Sometimes in developing and planning new facilities, commissioners feel overwhelmed about how to best spend their constituents' tax dollars. Ice rink or soccer field? Indoor or outdoor pool? Child care facilities or senior centers?

On a chilly Saturday morning last December, representatives from 11 Lake County park districts and the Lake County Forest Preserves met to discuss the growth issues and possible solutions to them.

"We all have a shared mission and a shared responsibility to our tax payers to provide the benefits of recreation in the most cost-effective manner possible." says Jeanne Goshgarian, president of the Round Lake Area Park District board of commissioners.

"Our goal with this roundtable was to spark the idea of communication and cooperation. With the explosive growth in northern Lake County in recent years, we are all feeling the pressure to serve larger numbers of residents."

Says Goshgarian: "Some of us are contemplating capital projects and some of these may have regional draws. We don't want to all race to build ice rinks that compete for the same users.

"We believe by working with surrounding districts, we might be able to build facilities that meet the needs of more than one community and don't duplicate efforts."

Hosted by the Round Lake Area Park District and organized by the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD)—as part of IAPD's Regional Roundtable Program—the meeting gave participants an opportunity to learn what other districts in Lake County were planning to build in the next three to five years. They discussed where they had success with current programs and services, and what they found to be problematic.

Participants developed a wish list of facilities, programs and services they would like to offer their residents. The list included:
• extreme sports facilities (climbing walls, BMX tracks and skate parks)
• indoor soccer facilities
• outdoor water parks
• a children's museum
• adventure golf and learning centers
• indoor pools
• regional day camps
• senior programming
• teen centers
• an integrated multi-use trail system
• passive recreation areas
• more open space

Many of the participants felt it also was important for the park districts to work with the Lake County Forest Preserves to link bike paths and nature trails. Roundtable attendees all spoke of the benefits of multi-use paths to better serve hikers, joggers, skaters, cross country skiers as well as bicyclists.

One of the benefits of the regional roundtable was having the opportunity to network with other commissioners and recreation professionals.

10 * Illinois Parks and Recreation * March/April 2000

REGIONAL PLANNING IN LAKE COUNTY

This roundtable gave participants the chance to put faces to names and share their expertise.

"It would be much easier to call someone from a neighboring district for input or for their experience in solving a dilemma now that we have had an opportunity to meet face to face," says Goshgarian. "I think the other attendees felt the same comfort level."

Innovative opportunities that excited participants were commercial development fees, a cooperative venture fee structure and better communication with local planning commissions.

Pam Newton, a board member of the Lake County Forest Preserves, described the benefits of a commercial impact fee ordinance enacted by Vernon Hills when she was a trustee. Newton explained that many participants believe commercial developers should contribute to parks because of the indirect impact their employees have on surrounding park districts. Whether the "impact fee" was monetary or land-based, participants believed commercial developer fees should be considered.

One participant suggested a network similar to the way libraries operate. For example, the North Suburban Library System allows patrons to borrow books from libraries in the network as long as they have a library card from their "home" library. Participants agreed this type of reciprocal agreement was worth discussing with their respective boards. Residents of cooperative districts would be able to use each others facilities on a limited basis with some type of punch card program.

All participants agreed it was essential to plan additional roundtables and to expand the circle to include other districts and local planning commissions. Park districts working together with their local planning commissions and village governments can accomplish much more and better serve the needs of the community than if the district stands alone.

CHRISTINE GENTES
is a member of the Board of Commissioners for the Round take Area Park District.

Attendees of the Round Lake Area IAPD Regional Roundtable were: Barbara Daudelin, Christine Gentes, Curtis Gentry, Jeanne Goshgarian, Jim Shook and Jim Rock (Round Lake Area Park District); Greg Petry (Waukegan Park District); Scott Caron (Vernon Hills Park District); Jeff Tatgenhorst, Vickie Paddock and Chuck Balling (Gurnee Park District); Bob Lashbrook (Grayslake Park District); Bob Hoffman (Mundelein Park District); Tom Lippert and Mary Jo Suhar (Lindenhurst Park District); Nancy Burton (Wauconda Park District); Carol Calabresa, Larry Leafblad, Pam Newton and Al Westerman (Lake County Forest Preserves).

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