Winnetka Park Commissioner Candidate Q&A: John Thomas

On April 5, Winnetka voters will go to the polls to vote for village trustees, library and school board members and park commissioners. Below is a Q&A with John Thomas, who was slated for the park board. For election results, check Winnetka-Glencoe Patch throughout Tuesday night.

Winnetka-Glencoe Patch: How would you assess the state of the park district’s budget?

John Thomas: The budget is conservative, sound and transparent. It will meet all the needs and probably generate modest extra income for future use in appropriate, major capital expenditures

Patch: What’s on your wish list for new facilities?

Thomas: A new or reconstructed Hubbard Woods Park shelter must be thoroughly investigated.  Also major work on baseball fields to ameliorate flooding difficulties is probably needed.

Patch: In what ways can the park district save money and/or offer increased value to users?

Thomas: Saving significant money would mean reducing or eliminating current programs or services. Continual monitoring of usage is needed to identify what may be cut back or cut out.

Patch: Does the park district offer adequate programming to different demographic groups? If not, how can it do a better job?

Thomas: Teens and seniors are currently under served. For teens, many new programs have been tried in the past decade. However, expanding programs with the Winnetka Youth Organization may be a cost efficient and attractive means of better serving teens. Research indicates there are unmet senior citizen needs. Expanding programs to meet those needs probably requires new facilities not currently in budget plans. Fortunately, there are public venues in the Districts’ geography that mostly meet those desires.

Patch: Does the park district get adequate feedback from constituents on how well it is serving or not serving them? If not, how would you increase the flow of communication?

Thomas: Park District gets great instant feedback when a new issue arises. However, general feedback via surveys (Park District and Caucus alike) gets only about 20-25% response. The Park District Communications staff has many new approaches (web site, Facebook, email, etc.) currently underway. One objective of those new initiatives is to generate a better flow of useful feedback versus years past.

Patch: What else would you like voters to know about your positions on issues, point of view or qualifications?

Thomas: My record when serving 2005-2009 on the Park Board is one of strong preparation, involvement and careful analysis of all issues under consideration – whether big or small. I plan to continue that focus and dedication.

Patch: How long have you lived in Winnetka and what is your favorite part of living here?

Thomas: We have lived in Winnetka 35 years. The parks, beaches and other District facilities were the key element in moving to Winnetka rather than several other attractive nearby Villages, The Park District continues greatly enriching day to day living for us.