Association News and Announcements

SUMMER SPECIAL EVENTS

Summer is on the way and I hope you will include IPRA special events in your planning. IPRA Days at White Sox and Cubs parks are in the planning stages. Last year over 9,000 participants attended our special days.

This year in addition to reduced prices we are once again planning T-ball games, special events and awards ceremonies to take place at both ball parks. Mark your calendars now and include us in your summer program.

JUNE 27, 1984 — IPRA DAY AT THE WHITE SOX
AUGUST 1, 1984 — IPRA DAY AT THE CUBS

GREAT AMERICA/SIX FLAGS

Once again IPRA has negotiated special prices for tickets to Great America and Six Flags amusement parks.

Information on the IPRA program has been sent to all agencies. If you haven't received it and are interested in this special service, please call Chris Orzech at the IPRA office (312) 991-2820.

Special IPRA event days are also planned at Great America. We have negotiated a special group rate for playgrounds, day camps, etc., that is good for four days during the summer. Information on these events was also included in the mailing.

TOUR TO NRPA CONGRESS

With the popularity of Orlando as the site for the NRPA Congress in October, IPRA has already finalized its prices and location for our group tour. This year we plan to stay at the Orlando Hyatt.

The package includes airfare, lodging and a rental car. A special family package has been designed.

If you haven't received the information, please give us a call. Early reservations are a must for this popular location.

ALL COMMITTEE MEMBER MEETING

We are trying something new this year. IPRA will host a "mass meeting" for members of all committees. We have planned this participation session to update our work program for the year, and to find out what other committees are doing.

It is our ultimate goal to have you — the members — decide where we are going and what route to take. Please mark your calendars now for May 18, 1984, in Wheeling. Details will be sent to all committees.

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES

In the limited space of the magazine, I can't possibly list all of the activities and projects of IPRA and its sections. I can tell you, however, that it is exciting to see so much going on. Please read your IPRA News and the agency mailing that comes monthly. Feel free to contact the office for further information. Our Board meetings are open to all members. The next one will be held during the midyear FORUM. I do hope you will make an effort to know what's going on in your association.

If you haven't made your plans to attend the Midyear, do so now! Follow the Fox to the Forum, April 8-10, 1984.

(Continued on p. 39)

IAPD LEADERS TESTIFY ON FEDERAL LEGISLATION IN WASHINGTON HEARING

Three top leaders of the IAPD testified on legislation to continue the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund under HR-2837 at a hearing February 29 before the Sub-Committee to the Interior and Related Agencies. Excerpts of the testimony follow:

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Sub-Committee:

My name is Ted Flickinger, the Executive Director of the Illinois Association of Park Districts. We appreciate the opportunity to testify on the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program Fund, and the Historic Preservation Fund.

The Illinois Association of Park Districts represents 244 park, forest preserve, and conservation districts, as well as city park and recreation departments. We are comprised of over 10,000 employees and governed by 2100 elected commissioners or board members.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you two distinguished elected commissioners from the Park District of Highland Park to present the Association's testimony. To my far right is Mr. Peter J. Koukos, Past President of the Illionis Association of Park Districts and currently serving as a member of the Board of Trustees for the National Recreation and Park Association. To my immediate right is Mr. Ralph Cianchetti, who is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the Illinois Association of Park Districts, and is the Chairman of our Joint Legislative Committee.

Comments From Mr. Ralph Cianchetti:

Mr. Chairman, we were alarmed to learn that the fiscal 1985 budget and appropriations submitted by President Reagan to Congress on February 1, 1984, did not include any financial assistance for the state-side portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program.

Mr. Chairman, statements that the "states cannot effectively use land and water conservation funds" are not factual. State assistance from the Land and Water Conservation Fund provides 50/50 matching grants for the acquisition of parklands and development of recreation facilities. Since the inception of Land and Water Conservation Fund in 1965, nearly $2.8 billion in federal money has been obligated and matched by state and local resources. This money has been used to purchase more than 2 million acres of state and local land for over 29,000 outdoor recreation projects.

The total apportionment to Illinois since 1965 through FY 1984 has been over $119 million. The Illinois Department of Conservation has allocated 75 percent of those funds to local agencies. Nearly 65 percent of all the Land

(Continued on p. 42)

March/April 1984 5 Illinois Parks and Recreation

ASSOCIATION NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS (Cont. from p. 5)

LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE

Make your plans now for the Sixth Annual Legislative Conference to be held on MAY 2,1984, at the Springfield Hilton Hotel. The conference will be featuring a full range of sessions and information on the latest legislative developments affecting park, forest preserve, and conservation districts. Special focus will be given to acts recently passed by the Legislature including the Collective Bargaining Act.

This promises to be another rewarding conference and will give you the opportunity to meet with your legislators and see the General Assembly in action.

The special keynote luncheon speaker this year will be Representative Lee A. Daniels (R-46th District), Minority Leader, Illinois House of Representatives.

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE WORKSHOP

Jon Ericson, a practicing parliamentarian, is back by popular demand to hold his workshop on JUNE 9 entitled, "We Can't Go On Meeting Like This."

If you have ever faced . . .

• A board meeting that seems to drag on forever

• A group of angry citizens that wants to take over a board meeting

• A complex or controversial agenda item proposed without warning at a board meeting

• A board member who verbally dominates the board meeting

• A board member who tries to manipulate the board meeting

• A member of the audience who continually interrupts the board meeting . . . this is the workshop for you.

Dr. Jon Ericson's enthusiasm for this potentially dry subject brings the basics of parliamentary procedure to life in an unforgettable way. This workshop is a must for all commissioners.

Registration includes Ericson's book. Motion by Motion: A Commentary on Parliamentary Procedure.

COMMISSIONERS' EDUCATION/TRAINING SEMINAR

On SATURDAY, MAY 5, the Kentucky Derby will set the theme for the Commissioners Educational/Training Seminar to be held at the Arlington Place Hotel, Arlington Heights, Illinois.

This seminar is geared for commissioners from medium to small park districts with an emphasis on all the financial aspects that commissioners must consider when addressing the budget, appropriation and levy process.

A special keynote address will be given by Don Bresnan, Commissioner of Champaign Park District and NRPA Trustee.

Cocktails and Hors D'Oeuvres will be served at a reception highlighting "the running of the horses"

This is an opportunity to share the problems and solutions faced by your district with other commissioners throughout Illinois. If it is answers you are looking for, don't miss this seminar.

March/April 1984 39 Illinois Parks and Recreation

IAPD LEADERS TESTIFY

(Cont. from p. 5)

and Water Conservation Funds went to the six-county Chicago metropolitan area for state and local projects. We have been able to acquire approximately 50,000 acres of public open spaces and recreation lands at the state and local level through the Land and Water Conservation Program. This includes 630 different projects. Our estimated state needs total over $18 million for FY 1985. We only received $2.8 million in FY 1984, and these funds have been fully obligated and/or committed. Demand has far outstripped the availability of Land and Water Conservation Funds as indicated by the fact that we have only been able to fund forty-five percent of all requests since 1965.

Statements By Mr. Peter J. Koukos:

Mr. Chairman, the Land and Water Conservation Grant Program has provided an effective means to reinvest a very modest portion of revenues from a depleting natural resource (Outer Continental Shelf Revenue) and revenue from other recreation user fees. The total Outer Continental Shelf Revenue in FY 1985 is estimated to be $7.4 billion. We are only requesting $125 million to be allocated for all the states. Our request is reasonable compared to the revenue generated from this fund and the estimated state needs which total $366.5 million.

Mr. Chairman, part of our problem of debating these various grant programs each year comes from the fact that we lack a comprehensive national public policy and direction for recreation and natural resources management. We need to re-examine our nation's public policy and programs as related to land acquisition and recreation facility development. The last major investigation occurred in 1958 with the establishment of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission. We would ask that you and other members of the House of Representatives support HR-2837 that specifically identifies the establishment of a new commission to develop an assessment of recreation in America through the year 2000.

We appreciate the opportunity to appear and testify before this Subcommittee. We recommend the following proposals for the FY 1985 federal budget:

• At least $125 million for state and local government participation in the Land and Water Conservation Fund;

• A minimum of $25 million for the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program; and,

• $25 million for the Historic Preservation Fund.

Lemont Park District And School District Share In Gas Storage Program

School District 113 and the Lemont Township Park District entered into a cooperative agreement last year to install gasoline storage tanks on Park District property for use by the vehicles of the two agencies. The Park District maintains the equipment and facility and reports to the School District monthly statistics on gasoline used. District 113 assumes the bookkeeping and accounting responsibilities and does the ordering of the gasoline when needed.

Both the Park District and District 113 believe that the joint venture has proven its success in the first year. During that time, District 113's vehicles consumed almost 15,500 gallons of gasoline, while Park District vehicles used almost 3,550 gallons, for a combined total of nearly 19,050 gallons. According to the Chicago Motor Club, supplying their own gasoline needs has realized for the two agencies an average savings per gallon of at least $.14 and perhaps as much as $.20. Translated into total dollars, this means on the low side that District 113 saved at least $2,170, and the Park District saved at least $497 for that span of time.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 42 March/April 1984