North Berwyn pool to be named after founding commissioner

[NBPD]

North Berwyn pool to be named after founding commissioner

By Brett Schweinberg, bschweinberg@mysuburbanlife.com
Berwyn Life
Posted Jan 12, 2012 @ 08:06 PM
     
Berwyn, IL —
North Berwyn Park District Commissioner Ann Mackin has been pushing for renovations to Maple Pool since she helped found the park district in 1976.
With those renovations finally slated to take place this summer, the district also voted tonight to rename the pool after Mackin.
The new facility will feature a revamped pool, a zero-depth spray park and water slide to complement a playground and skatepark already in place. The recreation area will be known as the Mackin Aquatic Center.
The park district took over control of Maple and Cuyler pools from the city last year in exchange for parkland near Cermak Road that has been turned into parking spaces for the Berwyn Gateway Plaza at the northeast corner of Cermak Road and Harlem Avenue. They will use a grant from the State of Illinois for the majority of the construction costs.
North Berwyn Park District Executive Director Joe Vallez also said that the district has applied for a new KaBOOM! Playground to be built on the site.
Mackin, who was unaware of the plan to name the park after her, sat in stunned silence as a green and gold sign that will go in front of the park with her name on it was unveiled.
"I'm speechless," she said, before quipping, "I'll have to start knitting my bikini."
A bevy of city officials were also on hand to congratulate Mackin for her decades of service to recreation on the north side of the city.
"I think that this is a great tribute to one of the founders of the North Berwyn Park District. You've been here, you've stayed with it, and you've done a tremendous job," said Mayor Robert Lovero. "It's a tremendous tribute to Ann Mackin, a great lady in this community."

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/stickney/newsnow/x1298588750/North-Berwyn-pool-to-be-named-after-founding-commissioner

See pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nbpd4fun/

[buzz]

Berwyn, IL —
North Berwyn Park District Commissioner Ann Mackin has been pushing for renovations to Maple Pool since she helped found the park district in 1976.
"I think that this is a great tribute to one of the founders of the North Berwyn Park District.

Okay old-timers, what's the story behind why we have all these different park districts and rec centers ?  This is long before I moved in.

[OakParkSpartan]

So...the park district gave up parkland to turn into a parking lot...

Thank you commissioners, Mayor Lovero and Joe Vallez.

Glad you were looking out for North Berwyn residents.

[Ted]

Okay old-timers, what's the story behind why we have all these different park districts and rec centers ?  This is long before I moved in.

  My understanding from someone who lived in north Berwyn at the time (and who supported the formation of the North Berwyn Park District) was that residents were frustrated that there were no parks in north Berwyn so the district was formed.

 

[Bonster]

So...the park district gave up parkland to turn into a parking lot...

Thank you commissioners, Mayor Lovero and Joe Vallez.

That part - the sale of Berwyn Gardens green space - was done by previous Mayor O'Connor.
The present build out was approved by every present south Berwyn alderman (I would not expect a south Berwyn alderman to understand nor care about what happens up here).

[OakParkSpartan]

So...the park district gave up parkland to turn into a parking lot...

Thank you commissioners, Mayor Lovero and Joe Vallez.

That part - the sale of Berwyn Gardens green space - was done by previous Mayor O'Connor.
The present build out was approved by every present south Berwyn alderman (I would not expect a south Berwyn alderman to understand nor care about what happens up here).

Nice try, but incorrect according to this article from Aug 4, 2011.  http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/newsnow/x1800187388/From-park-to-parking-lot-Construction-begins-at-Berwyn-Gardens

The North Berwyn Park District swapped the two eastern-most blocks of the park between Maple and Wenonah avenues with the city in May. In return, the park district gained control of Cuyler and Maple Pools and the park space those parks sit on. Both organizations passed ordinances on the issue in May.

So it actually was done by Lovero and this current bunch of aldercritters and commissioners.

[Bonster]

So...the park district gave up parkland to turn into a parking lot...

Thank you commissioners, Mayor Lovero and Joe Vallez.

That part - the sale of Berwyn Gardens green space - was done by previous Mayor O'Connor.
The present build out was approved by every present south Berwyn alderman (I would not expect a south Berwyn alderman to understand nor care about what happens up here).

Nice try, but incorrect according to this article from Aug 4, 2011.  http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/newsnow/x1800187388/From-park-to-parking-lot-Construction-begins-at-Berwyn-Gardens

The North Berwyn Park District swapped the two eastern-most blocks of the park between Maple and Wenonah avenues with the city in May. In return, the park district gained control of Cuyler and Maple Pools and the park space those parks sit on. Both organizations passed ordinances on the issue in May.

So it actually was done by Lovero and this current bunch of aldercritters and commissioners.

Nope.  It was done by O'Connor in 2008.

[Bonster]

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/news/x1295941404

District plans to take on city pools

By Cari Brokamp, cbrokamp@mysuburbanlife.com
Berwyn Life
Tue Jan 22, 2008, 06:28 PM CST

Two Berwyn pools managed by the city may be taken over by the North Berwyn Park District as early as this summer, as part of a long-discussed land swap [<- read: LAND LOSS] that may come to fruition in the coming months.

The plan would provide that in exchange for the pools, the city would receive land the Park District owns in the Berwyn Gardens area, just north of Cermak Road.
That land would be used for still to be determined commercial developments.
Joe Vallez, executive director of the Park District, and Berwyn Mayor Michael O'Connor said the arrangement has been in discussions since the beginning of this administration, nearly three years ago.

Vallez said he plans to seek grant money to improve and eventually replace the decades-old pools, Cuyler Pool in the 1900 block of Cuyler Avenue and the pool at Kriz Park in the 1500 block of Maple Avenue, with more modern facilities. These renovations would allow for outdoor features like a lazy river or water slides, or for the development of a neighboring fitness center, possibly with an indoor pool.

"What the pools are doing now is providing opportunities for residents, but there are new state-of-the-art things out there that these pools could never offer," Vallez said. "What's most important in pools today is that there's areas for each age group to go and recreate in. ... This is something that should happen in Berwyn because this is something that is happening in communities all around the Chicago area, and Berwyn residents should have the same opportunities."

The pools are managed by the Berwyn Recreation Department, and O'Connor said the Park District has greater capabilities to take on the challenges of managing high-maintenance recreational facilities such as pools.

"Most importantly, the Park District is experienced in recreation," O'Connor said. "Our recreation department is pretty much centered at 31st Street and East Avenue so ... it's a location thing. It's also a lot easier for them to manage the pools and it's something they've really aspired to."

O'Connor said the land the city would receive in the swap would likely be used to expand retail space and offer more parking for businesses, developments to be accomplished at an undetermined time in the future.

[KEY!]
The land swap would still be subject to the City Council's approval and the outcome of a public hearing before it could be finalized, O'Connor said.

Vallez said he expects the Park District to assume management of the pool at Kriz Park this summer, and Cuyler Pool in the summer of 2009.

The North Berwyn Park District already manages the majority of the recreational space at Kriz Park, including a skate park and a passive area used for outdoor concerts and movies.

The Park District oversees a spray pool at Pyrce Park at 16th Street and Wesley Avenue, but no swimming pools.

Vallez said acquiring the pools will allow for increased programming within the Park District for residents, including a junior lifeguard program and swim teams and lessons.

###

There was a 4-page thead on this:
http://www.berwyntalk.com/smf/index.php?topic=4792.0

So North Berwyn gets a net reduction in recreation space.  Nice.

I don't think there was ANY public discussion of this swap.  Maybe at the Park District meetings.  I certainly don't recall the discussion at city council.

Again, can a legal eagle or someone in the know explain why responsibility cannot be assumed without a land swap fleecing by the city?
It sounds to me like he's dangling this over the NBPD's head to get some land for undetermined projects at an undertermined time!!!
If it's simply not possible, TFB!

[Bonster]

All that was needed in MAY was final council approval...

It passed.  Unanimously.

[OakParkSpartan]

Until council votes and approves the agreement, nothing is binding.

The agreement was passed last year.  Anything can be proposed, but the actual transfer does not happen until council approves it.  This council approved the swap of land.

[Bonster]

This council approved the swap of land.

Unanimously.