or she doth skipth to the loo!
Rarely does one get a opportunity to see such estrogen or testosterone fueled fury as was apparently displayed at the July 21,2011 Park District Board meeting. Faced with a crowd of angry Senior Center members, Ms. Wynn Ryan and Mr. Biagi apparently revealed what some PRPD observers already suspected, the underlying reason for PRPD’s unprecedented takeover of it’s former Senior Center “Clubhouse”, was not money, not expanded access for additional PRPD programming, but a perceived need for unfettered public access to the buildings crappers!
Surely you say, you’re full of it! But what else could it be?
First the public was told the Park District needed more money. When the Seniors relented in their contract proposal to more money, the reason turned to open access for more Park District revenue generating activities. When Seniors relented in their contract proposal to sharing the facility after normal hours, the reason for taking back their “Clubhouse” was no longer discussed; at least until now.
Apparently someone complained to a Board member of having been turned back from using one of the Senior Center potties. I’m not kidding folks, as you’ll see for yourself in a moment.
The first time I heard this complaint was from Commissioner Biagi at the pre-election meeting held at the Park Ridge Public Library. Mr. Biagi was so animated when he blurted out this new senior-center-deal-breaker, one would have thought his knowledge of the incident to be first hand. Of course, had it been, I’m sure he would have stated so that night.
So who did it? Was it a Senior? Was it a PRPD employee? No one seems to know who the perp was. No matter, then Senior Senate President, Ms. Barbara Ingolia, apologized for the apparent indiscretion; said she would look into it and would instruct Members to display proper etiquette when dealing with these delicate matters.
At the time, I thought the whole thing too funny, considering the significance of the Senior Center issue. So, I thought nothing else of the “incident” until reading an article in the paper about last months General Board Meeting brouhaha. Apparently Ms. Wynn Ryan chose that meeting to raise that messy little stinker up again.
Now, read this comment from on Bob Trizna’s Watchdog website discussing the subject of who’s running the Senior Center. An anonymous commenter wrote the following:
“…Have you ever tried to use the bathroom at the senior center? If you have kids and want to take them to the bathroom at the senior center while playing at the ballpark, or playground, they will refuse you entrance. I know several families that have not been allowed to use the bathroom at the senior center…”.
So now we know the Boards dirty little secret. They’ve been using the Senior Center issue as a smoke-screen to cover up the Park District’s lack-of-loos and their apparent failure to provide adequate and strategically placed portable toilet facilities, thus requiring mommies with children to go begging. Who-would-a-thunk-it?
Now, I’m all for public access to bathrooms. But I have three questions:
- Have any of you gone into the “publicly accessed” bathrooms at McDonalds on Oakton and Rand just after a Saturday morning Park Ridge baseball or soccer game? It ain’t pretty!
- Further, there’s a school just to the south of the Center, park and pool. Does that school allow unfettered public access to taxpayer-paid school bathrooms while school is in session? I don’t think so.
- Isn’t there a public access bathroom directly behind the Senior Center?
Of course, it’s only my opinion!
21 comments:
Butterly, you are delusional.
Bathrooms.
You think this is about bathrooms?
I don't know what to say, but I can tell you that it's not about bathrooms.
Steve,
If not about bathrooms as suggested by Ms. Wynn Ryan's reported outburst and prior public statements, what do you think the REAL issue is, and more important, what do you think should be done to resolve it?
Your serve!
The "bathroom" issue is not the sickness, it is a symptom.
The real issue is:
The deficit that the Park District has had to bankroll and how to reduce it. SSI does not want to give up any power or control of their building and would rather the Park Board butt out and just continue to fund the deficit as in years past.
The easiest way to reduce it would be for the Park District setup memberships, along the lines of the Community Center. Provide Annual and Daily Rates for residents and non-residents.
And for all of your readers who say the Senior Center is being treated unfairly, the Community Center Supervisor/Director and all of the staff that work in that building are paid out of the revenue that the building generates. I know many have said that the Senior Center is being treated unfairly by having to support the staff that is 100% dedicated to the Senior Center, that's not the case.
If you don't want to be burdened with their salaries, how about the Park District move Ms. Grodsky out of the building and bring her back to Maine Park. The Park District could (and should) broaden her responsibilities so that she serves ALL Seniors in Park Ridge, not just those that belong to the Senior Center.
Services/Activities aimed at Seniors should not start/end with the Senior Center.
Steve:
Are you saying that the community center operates at a profit??
Excess revenue over expenses -- yes.
Mr. Butterly,
I just went to the Park District web site to view the meeting video. It’s not there!
Maybe they’re having problems finding a "Rosemary Woods" to edit out their 18 minute the fun parts!
Steve,
It’s not about bathrooms. It’s not a symptom of anything. It’s a red haring and self-justification.
Rather, Ms. Wynn Ryan’s reaction, I think, had everything to do with venting her frustration; and her apparent anger stems from miscalculating Senior Center membership response to the “Resolution”, the “Cooperative Agreement”, and her leadership.
Now, to your comments.
You: “The real issue is: The deficit that the Park District has had to bankroll and how to reduce it. SSI does not want to give up any power or control of their building and would rather the Park Board butt out and just continue to fund the deficit as in years past.”
My response: The Park District is a taxing body and does not “bankroll” anything. It provides services to the extent of its tax-induced budget. When possible, PRPD supplements tax dollars with fees (taxes). When that’s not enough, floats bonds.
Senior Center members through Senior Services, Inc. (SSI) have been adding anywhere from $103,000 to $125,000 to District coffers over the last five years. The Wynn Ryan/Biagi/Brandt led Board failed to foresee the negative response to their not-so-well-thought-out actions thus robbing the taxpayer of THESE BADLY NEEDED FUNDS.
Further, the Board asserts PRPD’s need for an additional $160,000 from SSI to cover personnel costs at the Center; that’s 0.021% of the District’s $7,604,649 Budget for 2010.
WOWEEEEE!
All this UPSET for 0.021%! Maybe its time to get out of the park management business altogether, turn the parks over to Cook County and save us all a lot of angst!
The issue is not about the money! It’s about CONTRACTS or more specifically, ONE CONTRACT. Ms. Wynn Ryan and some other members on her Board dislike the idea of “a contract” that provides “exclusive use”, even if only for certain hours of the day. A position, by the way, I wholeheartedly agree with.
Surprised?
The last agreement expired on 12/31/2010. Complete control over the building, activities, costs and revenue now rests with PRPD, as per Board wishes.
You: “The easiest way to reduce it would be for the Park District setup memberships, along the lines of the Community Center. Provide Annual and Daily Rates for residents and non-residents.”
My response: The idea of creating a new paradigm certainly would be worth the look, however, I have visited over a dozen Senior Centers locally and in California this last year. None of them operate like the Community Center.
You: “And for all of your readers who say the Senior Center is being treated unfairly, the Community Center Supervisor/Director and all of the staff that work in that building are paid out of the revenue that the building generates…”.
My response: I’ll discuss “Senior Treatment” later. However, the issue is about “the contract”.
You: “…how about the Park District move Ms. Grodsky out of the building and bring her back to Maine Park. The Park District could (and should) broaden her responsibilities so that she serves ALL Seniors in Park Ridge…”
My response: The reason the Senior Center operates as well as it does is Ms. Grodsky. The task is a single-location on-site job. Remove Ms. Grodsky, a nationally known highly respected professional, a specialist in her field, and you destroy the “asset”.
You: “Services/Activities aimed at Seniors should not start/end with the Senior Center.”
My response: Where do you suggest they start and stop? Steve, you need to visit other area Senior Centers to see how they operate and why.
Finally, SSI has been effectively out of the game since 02/17/2011. I believe the Board and some local blogger’s, in an effort to win public support and divert attention from leadership stupidity, continue to focus on SSI, which keeps the Board from having to deal directly with the actual seat of power at the Senior Center, the Senior Senate. At no time, in any recently published Board documents, has THIS PRPD BOARD even referenced their existence.
Steve DeBerg
Your suggestion of setting up memberships along the lines of the Community Center floor me. The Community Center raised it's annual individual membership fee to $363 and the daily rate to $8.00. These fees are being charged to a membership who are younger than our seniors and largely still employed. I know for a fact, that many of the members dropped their memberships after the huge raise. My children's families certainly did, along with many of their friends. The Community Center has had membership problems since raising the fee. And you think this is an appropirate amount to charge senior citizens, who aren't gainfully employed, many of whom are living on social security? They can't afford it. You'll destroy the Senior Center. The Park District offers their senior population little else for their tax dollars that are paid into the Park District budget and now you're talking about pricing the only thing they have out of existence. The $45.00 membership fee charged by the Park Ridge Senior Center is the highest in the area. Niles Senior Center - $25.00, Maine Township Mainstreamers - Free, Glenview Senior Center - $25.00, Palatine Senior Center - $35.00, Arlington Heights Village Senior Center - Free, Levy Senior Center, Evanston - $30.00, Elmhurst Abbey Senior Center - $20.00, Highland Park Senior Center - $25.00, Antioch Senior Center - $5.00. Is Park Ridge so poor or in such bad shape, they have to gouge their senior citizens and charge $363.00 per year? Good Lord!! It's unbelievable. How could the Park District possibly even consider such an outrageous fee. How could they explain why all these other suburbs already have lower membership fees than Park Ridge and they are contemplating raising the membership fee. We'll be a laughing stock in the Chicago suburbs.
Pat...the Community Center has no membership problems. You don't know what you speak of. The numbers for the Center are solid and have been even after people dropped because the fees were raised.
A laughing stock, or the envy of true financial conservatives who don't want their governments spending stupidly?
Steve:
If you were a true "financial conservative", you would be calling for getting rid of the entire park district. Look at how much of your tax dollars go toward the park district (hundreds) and how much of that goes toward the senior center. Are you claiming that the rest of the Park District makes money?? If that is the case, why do they keep taking their 3-4%?? The fact is that you have no problem with the government spending as long as it is something that you use. Any money spent on things that you do not use is "spending studiply".
Steve DeBerg
I'm not sure where your numbers on the Community Center membership come from but mine are extremely reliable. Definitely not just gossip.
And you think Park Ridge will be the envy of financial conservatives. If you raise the membership dues even to half of what you are talking about, it will close the senior center and the Park District will have an empty building on their hands, from which they will be obtaining zero in rental. That will look good on the books. Furthermore, why hasn't the Park District done anything to raise revenues and taken the initiative to market the building in the evening hours, when it sits empty. I think that would be a financially prudent thing to do.
And another thing I don't think you have considered. The greying of America and the baby boomers reaching retirement age. There are going to be many, many more seniors with free time on their hands. They'll be looking to their Park District to help fill that time and if the Senior Center has been put out of business, just what will the Park District have to offer them? A big, fat ZERO. From what I've been reading on this blog, they spend their budget on every other age category but begrudge their seniors 2.26% of their budget. Sounds pretty awful doesn't it.
I think you'll be painted in a much different light than fiscal conservatives. I think the Park District is going to be vilified for taking advantage of their senior citizens and gouging them in an atrocious way. At $45.00, we're the highest paying membership in the Chicagoland area and you want to raise it to $365. And you think this is going to make you look good? Think again.
Seniors don't have enough to worry about. Now we have to worry about losing our programs and fees being raised. I feel sorry for the members of the Park Board when they become seniors. They'll say, now I know exactly how they felt. What goes around, comes around. Whose going to watch out for them?
Steve DeBerg commented that Pat McLaughlin didn't know what she was speaking of. "The Community Center has no membership problems. The numbers for the center are solid." He also commented, when asked "Are you saying the Community Center operates at a profit?" Steve DeBerg responded, "Excess revenue over profit - yes." Now who would be privy to this type of information? My guess would be only the very top management of the Community Center or a member of the Park Board. He also stated, "How about moving Ms. Grodsky out of the building and back to Maine Park?" Again, I don't think any one of the members of the public at large, unless they belonged to the Senior Center, would even know Ms. Grodksy's name or that she ever worked at Maine Park. With the commentary being totally slanted against the Senior Center, I don't think this is a member of the Senior Center. Again, could it be a member of the Park Board? No Steve DeBerg in the Park Ridge telephone book. The only Steve DeBerg in the entire state lives in Glenview. But then, the same can be said for Evan LaCrosse who has had his fair share of comments on this blog. Using various search engines, I can't find an Evan LaCrosse in the entire state. Also, they both have the same negative positions and keep calling for Senior Center membership dues at $1.00 per day. Amazing!! Can these people possibly be posting under assumed names????
As a member of the Park Ridge Senior Center for the past 8 years, I have to reflect on some of the past remarks I have heard and read for the last few months.
"Everyone knows you should never go near the Senior Center." Alleged remark that seniors deny the public the use of the washroom.
As a volunteer Mens Club griller, I am outside talking to residents, picnicers and children in the park and when asked I point out the side door or the front doors and give directions to the wash room and its facilities.
The Center is well run by a supervisor (Teresa Grodsky), a small office staff and 1 custodion, with the help of unpaid volunteers.
Many members are on a fixed income and cannot afford the ridiculous membership dues proposed by the Park District.
Yet we have remained solvent for 30 years by good management of the Senior Center workers.
I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but I am a real person. I have lived in Park Ridge for 16 years, about a block and a half south of Centennial Park.
I don't have any "inside" information, but I do consider myself well informed by reading the local newspapers, the local blogs, as well as reviewing the information the Park District makes available on their website.
I recently learned that the Park Ridge Community Center decided to discontinue the lower rate for members who would visit the center from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. They lost much of the membership under this lower rate, which was mostly seniors available during these off hours, and had to reinstate the program. That would indicate to me that if you raise the senior center membership dues any higher, you will no longer have a senior center. If all the other communities can support their senior centers at a lower membership fee than is presently being charged the Park Ridge membership, why can't Park Ridge do the same? What is the problem? I'm sure these other senior centers, that offer many activities and program, are being subsidized by their municipalities. I simply fail to understand the Park District's refusal to support the only activity offered to seniors, when they lavish millions on the other age demongraphics in Park Ridge. They have wading pools, play grounds, baseball, football, soccer fields, ice skating rink, Hinkley pool, Centennial pools, sled hill, etc., all of which are used mostly by children and to a much lesser degree in a few instances by middle aged people. It simply does not make sense. Does the senior citizenry have no value?
It has been mentioned that the population that use the Community Center have less dollars because of living costs etc and that we seniors have no mortgages and plenty of dollars coming from SS and investments. If finances are so bad for those future seniors now, what savings will they have when they reach retirement age? They will be sitting in their huge homes and no place to go because they will not be able to afford any entertainment. The problem is nobody thinks of the future anymore or to work together to make a situation more satisfactory. The bottom line is only money and power.
Steve DeBerg
For someone who just reads the newspapers (they're just loaded with information about these issues), the blogs and the Park District web site, I'm overwhelmed with your font of information. I don't know anyone who spends their spare time perusing the Park District financial statements, which is what you must be doing to quote revenue over expense on items. Sure you don't have any "inside info"?
No information that isn't available to anyone who wants it. It's all on the website of the Park District. Right there with how much the taxpayers subsidize the Senior Center.
Part 1 of 2
In reflecting on the present situation that has developed between the Park District and the Senior Center, I was at a loss. I simply couldn’t understand how things could have deteriorated to this point. When looking at the situation from the standpoint of the seniors, they are baffled by the harsh, threatening documents prepared by the Park District Board, stating things like “if this relationship is to continue at all”, verbal attacks at Park Board meetings and in the newspapers. Where is all this venom coming from and why? The seniors were asked nothing about how the center is run, its programs, its fund raising efforts, its volunteers, participation in various activities, what works, or what doesn’t work? Instead they received disingenuous, misleading statements, promises not kept and harshly worded, threatening documents. I began to wonder about this type of leadership and decided to explore the attributes of good leadership and found the following:
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOOD LEADERSHIP
1) The leader offers guidance to the group, but also participates in the group and promotes feedback from its members.
2) Learns the problems of those involved.
3) Any person in a leadership position acquires the power to command and enforce obedience by virtue of authority. Nevertheless, true leaders don’t enforce obedience….they gain it. Modesty keeps the leader from exerting the fake leadership coming from authority.
4) Positive leaders instill hope in those who they want to follow them.
5) The successful leader must be in sympathy with his followers. Moreover, he must understand them, their lives and problems.
6) The successful leader must understand, and apply the principle of cooperation.
7) One of the single most important attributes of a true leader is communication.
8) The leader must learn all the details of anything under their purview.
9) The successful leader above all can be trusted and loyal in all they say and do.
10) Leadership calls for respect, which must be earned.
Looking back over the past months, the Park District Board has failed miserably on all counts. Any communication, trustworthiness, loyalty, knowledge of the subject, promoting feedback, cooperation, instilling hope, sympathy and respect are non-existent. As for #3, they are enforcing by authority.
The Park Board has a complete lack of knowledge in the rudimentary aspect of even how the Senior Center actually functions, which is amazing. The Cooperative Guidelines (and there is nothing cooperative about them) which they have drafted, consistently state that it is the responsibility of Park Ridge Senior Services Inc. (“SSI”) to perform many enumerated tasks. When, in fact, SSI is a private 501(c)(3) corporation, consisting of members of the community, who volunteer their time and expertise in an advisory role to the Senior Center. The Park Board has no power to, nor can they exert, any control over this corporation.
Part 2 of 2
The Senior Center was organized by a group of seniors, not the Park District. The true governing entity of the Senior Center rests with the Park Ridge Senior Center Senate (“Senate”). The Senate, as defined in the By-Laws of the Senior Center, Article IV, § A, is comprised of eighteen Senators and six Officers, elected by the membership. Article IV, § C, details the duties and responsibilities of the Senate, which include, but are not limited to: negotiation and finalization of all contracts, financial and legal obligations, plan facilities, equipment, furnishings, handle leaseholds, procure donations, bequests, etc. Article III, §2, further states that membership dues shall be determined by the Senate. As you can see, the Senior Center is completely governed by the Senate; a point of which the Park Board is completely oblivious. They think it’s SSI, as evidenced by their Guidelines.
Another issue of which I believe the Park Board is unaware is the fact that the Senior Center has over 100 volunteers, who are integral to the operation of the center. Without the volunteers cooperation and assistance in leading/facilitating programs, i.e. Genealogy, Opera, Current Event Discussions, Writers Workshop, Ceramics, Carving, Exercise Classes, Camera Club, Bocce Ball, Bowling, Bridge, Pinochle, just to name a very few. These volunteers in effect are providing senior programming for the Park District, at no charge to them. If the Park District had to pay for instructors for these classes, it would be an enormous expense.
Other volunteers provide assistance with cooking, serving meals, procuring entertainment and speakers, developing programming, organizing and staffing fund raisers and tons of other things. Without them the Senior Center couldn’t exist. Instead of saying thank you for all your time and effort, the Park Board has chosen to demean their efforts and act like they are worthless minions. Just how long do you think these volunteers will continue in these endeavors, when the Park District continues to treat them in this fashion.
Has the Park District investigated other Senior Centers to learn what programs and activities are offered, what they charge for trips and extracurricular activities and membership fees. With Park Ridge having one of the highest membership fees in the Chicagoland area, how are these other municipalities fostering and supporting their Senior Centers, with less income from the center itself? With approximately a $7,600,000 budget, the Park District can’t support its seniors? How sad is it, that Park Ridge is demonizing their seniors, making them feel unwanted, unworthy and like dirt under their feet.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE??? WHERE ARE ALL THESE ATTRIBUTES OF TRUE LEADERSHIP???
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