TribLocal Highland Park - 12 2 September 2010
TRIBLOCAL.COM
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SEPTEMBER 2-8, 2010 | SPONSORED BY THE
Park district board outlines pension plan, won’t resign
By Sue Ter Maat
TRIBLOCAL REPORTER
Kasia Janik, 6, (left) and her sister, Natalia, 9, of Chicago, play on Rosewood Beach. The girls are at the beach with their mother, Renata Janik, who was visiting friends in Highland Park. TribLocal photo by Sue Ter Maat
Rosewood Beach project on hold
By Sue Ter Maat
TRIBLOCAL REPORTER
The Rosewood Beach pavilion project is on hold until Highland Park Park District gets more public feedback, officials said. The district is planning a public meeting sometime in September, said Executive Director Liza McElroyr A date has not been set yet, she said. The district will notify residents living near the beach by letter, McElroy said. Other residents who have expressed interest in the project will be contacted as well, she said. The district may reassess the project after gathering more resident comments, she said. Dubbed the Rosewood Beach Lakefront Pavilion, the nearly 4,000-square-foot struc-
ture would include restrooms, showers, changing areas and a concession stand. The project also calls for a new playground, a handicapped accessible beach route and a refurbished ravine path, officials said. The previous beach house had been demolished in 2006. In the meantime, the district has been providing portable toilets, officials said. The delay may prevent the district from opening the beach house next summer as it had planned, said Park District Board President Lorenz Werhane Jr. “We may lose the window to time to build it, but it’s important that we make sure it’s right,” Werhane said. The project had been put on hold after
PLEASE SEE BEACH, PAGE 3
Still on the defensive with residents who demanded resignations because of high pay and perks highlighted in a recent Tribune story, the Highland Park Park District Board this week outlined a nine-point plan to address the complaints. About 50 residents attended the board’s special meeting at the West Ridge Center on Monday to vent their disappointment and to hear how the board planned to address the issue. They were angered by the revelation in an Aug. 1 Tribune story that outgoing Park District Executive Director Ralph Volpe landed \$270,999 in bonuses in 2008, boosting his compensation that year to \$435,203. Volpe, who retired at 57, receives a pension this year of \$166,332. His pension likely would be about \$110,000 had he received more typical annual salary hikes of 4 percent instead of the huge hike and bonus in 2008.
In another case, Park District finance director Kenneth Swan received a five-year contract that called for bonuses of about \$75,000 a year. He has not yet retired. After almost two hours of residents’ comments and then a closed meeting of only commissioners, Board President Lorenz Werhane Jr. rattled off the plan, which did not include board members stepping down as the crowd had wished.
The plan:
• The district will hire an independent counsel to review the pension and pay packages for Swan and Volpe. Park District Commissioner Cal Bernstein clarified the point, adding that the board hopes to recoup some of the money it handed out and had promised to these employees. • Board members will not discuss or make comments about the issue until a full inquiry has been completed. • The Illinois Municipal Retirement
PLEASE SEE PENSION, PAGE 6
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