The slogan "You can't fight city hall" doesn't apply in Bolingbrook. In fact, the Bolingbrook Park District works closely with the Village of Bolingbrook, and this relationship is beneficial for the village, the park district and, most of all, the residents of Bolingbrook. A good example of this relationship is an intergovernmental agreement designed and signed this year by the Bolingbrook Park District and the Bolingbrook Fire Department.

After the park district built a new facility two years ago, specialized equipment was necessary to protect staff when they cleaned the surge tanks for the aquatic park Surge tanks are considered "confined space" and require highly technical safety equipment, which is very expensive.

To comply with safety requirements established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OS HA) and the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL), $14,000 was budgeted to purchase the necessary equipment. The 1998 budget included hinds to train and certify personnel on the proper use of the equipment. To maintain certification for existing staff and to train and certify new staff, hinds would be budgeted annually.

Mark Feijoo, a member of the park district's Safety Committee, called the Bolingbrook Fire Department to ask for assistance with equipment selection. Feijoo met with Lt. Lou Hoffman, a member of the fire departments Technical Rescue Team. While discussing the equipment and training that the park district needed, the two developed a plan to benefit everyone involved. The fire department already possessed much of the confined space equipment required and its staff was trained on its

use. So, the department suggested that the park district purchase the pieces needed to complete the fire department's requirements in exchange for fire department personnel presence during all confined space entries. (OSHA and IDOL require the presence of certified personnel during all confined space entries.)

Using a model supplied by the Park District Risk Management Agency (PDRMA), a "Confined Space Procedure" was developed by the park district's Safety Committee. This procedure was presented to both the fire department and the park district. Both agencies accepted this agreement, which will be in effect for ten years.

Because the fire department had much of the equipment necessary for confined space entry; the park district spent $7,200 rather than the estimated $14,000 budgeted. This agreement saved the taxpayers $6,800 in 1998, but also many dollars in future years since the park district does not have to spend money to train staff annually and the fire department does not have to purchase the equipment bought this year by the park district

Working together with another governmental agency offered employees a higher level of safety, saved money, and strengthened a relationship that benefits the entire community