Geneva Park District Fall 2018 Program Guide Fall 2018 | Page 4

President’s Message
The expansion of our environmental initiatives
influenced many of our highlights this year
• Spring welcomed neighborhoods with new play structures at Elm, Frank K. Burgess and Preston parks to the delight
of the children. Some of the old equipment was donated to ‘Kids around the World’. This organization refurbishes the
equipment and sends it to 3rd world countries that are in need. It’s recycling at its finest!
• Our newly introduced ‘Oaktober’ tree planting program has been enhanced with generous donations from the Geneva
Park District Foundation, Natural Resources Committee and Geneva Garden Club. This program is helping reforest our
parks that were devastated by the Emerald Ash Borer.
• The purchase of the Peterson property adjacent to Peck Farm Park adds .56 acres to the park. This addition adds more
opportunity for environmental education, and to expand natural prairie habitat of indigenous wildlife.
• We have renewed efforts to complete prescribed burns to manage our many natural areas. These burns are necessary for
the sustainable health of our prairies. With excellent planning and cooperative weather, we were able to accelerate our
burn plan with close to 100% coverage this year.
• We plan to install 8 additional pollinator gardens in various west side parks. These create the environment for Monarch
Butterflies & Honey Bees to develop and thrive. The gardens also add to a regional corridor for the Monarch Butterflies
to move through the area.
• We continue to recycle old electronics and are systematically changing out light bulbs to LEDs in all our facilities to be
more environmentally friendly.
Other Park District news includes:
• Peck Farm Park parking lot expansion will accommodate the increasing number of visitors to Peck Farm, the Butterfly
House, and Hawks Hollow Nature Playground.
• The new sprayground is a very welcome addition to Mill Creek Pool.
• The renovation of the Bob Cox Baseball Field at Sunset Park was celebrated with a well-attended ribbon cutting on
Geneva Baseball’s opening day, April, 21st.
• A collaborative agreement with the Geneva School District resulted in the resurfacing of the Geneva High School tennis
courts. A collaborative agreement with the City of Geneva transferred 5.5 acres of property North of Bennett Park to the
Park District. Both of these agreements are great examples of how intergovernmental partnerships benefit the residents
of Geneva.
• A new bike trail map was created by Park District staff. It shows 69 miles of Geneva Park District trails, links to regional
bike paths, and places of interest in our city.
We are proud to report that we have received our 6 th consecutive Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of
Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
We are in the process of completing the Park District Risk Management Agency risk management review, which we undergo
every 4 years.
Larry Gabriel and Joann Able will be retiring after many years of dedicated service to the Geneva Park District. We thank them
for their contributions and wish them well in their future endeavors.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve this wonderful community and to work with the committed staff and
volunteers.
Susan VanderVeen,
Geneva Park District Board President
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Geneva Park District
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