On May 7, 2024, Executive Director Sue Rini along with Director of HR and Administrative Services Chris Quinn and Director of Parks and Facilities Shane Hamilton had the unique opportunity to represent the Carol Stream Park District at the Illinois State Capitol Building for “Parks Day at the Capitol”. This is a day for Parks and Recreation Agencies throughout the State of Illinois to showcase their Agency to legislators, legislative staff, government employees and State Capitol visitors and demonstrate how park districts, forest preserves, conservation, recreation and special recreation agencies positively impact Illinois’ economy and quality of life.
Executive Director Rini was able to spend time with the local legislators who serve the Carol Stream area and talk with them about the important role our Park District has in the Community. Sue discussed some of the many benefits, events and offerings that the District provides to the Carol Stream Community as well as the importance of OSLAD grants which are used to provide funding for Park Districts to develop and improve our parks and outdoor spaces.
The Carol Stream Park District Board and Staff appreciate the support we receive from the following Legislators:
The Carol Stream Park District is pleased to announce that the Park District Board of Commissioners has officially approved the installation of Pickleball Courts at Armstrong Park. The Board’s decision reflects a commitment to meeting the recreational needs of the community and embracing the growing popularity of Pickleball.
Six outdoor pickleball courts are set to be installed on the existing inline skating rink at Armstrong Park. The installation of these courts will pave the way for exciting programming opportunities, including outdoor tournaments, classes, and lessons, enriching the recreational experience for all residents. Residents can take advantage of free practice play during all other hours.
Sport Court Midwest, based in Elmhurst, IL, has been selected as the vendor for this project, leveraging their expertise and favorable pricing through Sourcewell, a competitive purchasing cooperative. Sourcewell serves various governmental, educational, and nonprofit entities by providing access to competitively solicited contracts for a wide range of goods and services.
The total project cost amounts to $155,600, covering various aspects such as prepping and repairing the asphalt of the existing rink, installation of Sport Court Pickleball surfacing, including six sets of Pickleball nets with fencing between the courts. Additionally, the Sport Court flooring comes with a remarkable 15-year warranty on color and cracks, ensuring durability and longevity. The fencing is backed by a 2-year warranty.
The project, which is expected to begin in early May with anticipated completion by Memorial Day 2024, will be partially funded through a Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Grant in the amount of $50,000.
“The Board’s decision to move forward with the installation of Pickleball Courts at Armstrong Park supports our dedication to enhancing recreational opportunities and options for our residents,” stated Sue Rini, Executive Director of the Carol Stream Park District. “With no current existing outdoor Pickleball courts in the area, this initiative will meet a pressing need in our community.”
“We are excited to see the positive impact that the installation of Pickleball Courts will have on our community,” expressed Renee Bachewicz, Director of Recreation. “This project represents a significant step forward in our efforts to provide diverse and inclusive recreational opportunities for all residents.”
Parks & Recreation – A Year to Remember!
The annual Year in Review publication focuses on the year’s successes and highlights, projects, changes and challenges, on a district-wide basis.
March Enews includes:
Community and Walter Park renovations (see progress photos)
Legislative Breakfast
Citizen of the Year Nominees
Parks Volunteer Jeff Bates
Spring 2024 Activity Guide
Adult Trips mini-guide
Spring Break mini-guide
Coral Cove Water Park Early Bird Pass Sale!
Hiring Event – coming up March 13
Cape Cod Trip – still taking registrations
Flashlight Egg Hunt event
Spring Fling Family Breakfast event
Fitness $20 Membership for Week Sale
Fitness Personal Training Sale
Nominees for Citizen of the Year are esteemed Carol Stream residents
who have selflessly volunteered their time within one or more community groups over the
past year or more. All nominees are recognized at the Citizen of the Year Awards banquet.
The upcoming event is March 2, 2024. The Carol Stream Park District recognizes two
remarkable individuals by nominating Jon Nelson for Special Citizen of the Year and Jared
Brown for Male Citizen of the Year.
Jon Nelson and his family have been actively engaged with the Carol Stream Dolphins
Swim Team since 2016. Jon started volunteering as a Timer, keeping track of the times of
each swimmer. From 2019-2021, Jon volunteered as the Parent Board President,
organizing fundraising and social events for the team. He acted as liaison between the
community, parents and Park District, taking on a major leadership role to ensure the
team’s success. In 2017 Jon volunteered as Timing System Operator, taking on an
invaluable role. Jon’s experience, knowledge and expertise assure the success of the
Dolphins Swim Team and swim tournaments, making the Dolphins an award-winning team.
Jon’s dedication make him an easy choice for this year’s Special Citizen of the Year
nomination.
Jared Brown, an Illinois Air National Guard member with two overseas deployments, and a
Carol Stream resident for over 30 years, has been committed to helping the Carol Stream
Park District succeed in youth sports leagues. Jared has been involved in tee ball, baseball
and soccer programs as both head and assistant coach. He has coached spring and fall
seasons of his son’s tee ball, as well as his other son’s 8U baseball team. Jared was also
head coach for U6 soccer and assistant coach for U8 soccer. When a coach could not
make it for playoffs, Jared stepped up to assume head coaching responsibilities, and the team won the championship. Jared provides insightful knowledge of sports to the kids, and
the Park District is honored to nominate him for Male Citizen of the Year.
Both nominees deserve congratulations and consideration of these prestigious community
awards.
Construction is set to begin this February for the Klein Creek Stream Bank Stabilization Project (Section III). For more information and updates during construction, see the Village of Carol Stream’s project website available at www.carolstream.org. The project is an undertaking of the Village in cooperation with the Carol Stream Park District and partially funded by grants from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and DuPage County Stormwater Management. Construction will close some of the paths in Armstrong Park, as well as the parking lot off of Idaho Street (Kids World). A map of the closures will be maintained on the project website. The construction will involve heavy equipment, so please obey all signs and detours. A lot of dirt will be relocated to improve the sledding hill, so expect periods with heavy truck traffic on the surrounding streets. Substantial completion is scheduled for July 3, 2024, followed by 3 years of maintenance and monitoring of the native plants.
For more information, see the project website at the Village of Carol Stream, carolstream.org.
The Carol Stream Park District Board, Administration and Employees embarked on a Community Needs Assessment (hereinafter referred to as “CNA”) survey in May 2023 to obtain resident opinions about our programs and services and to gauge how much residents engage with the Park District, whether they are active participants in programs or just enjoy the beauty of the parks and trails within the community. Conducting a CNA survey every five years helps us understand resident needs for change or improvement. The survey guides us in the evaluation of trends and determines if the park district is focused in the right direction. The results serve as a guide for developing ideas and action plans that will allow the District to grow and evolve to meet the changing needs of the community.
We are pleased to share the results with you.
Pictured from left to right: Park District Executive Director Sue Rini, Park District Board Commissioner Tim Powers, State Representative Jennifer Sanalitro, Frank Parisi, Lisa Parisi, Thomas Parisi.
CAROL STREAM: On Wednesday, December 20, 2023, State Representative Jennifer Sanalitro visited the Carol Stream Park District to honor long-time resident Frank Parisi, as “Constituent of the Month” for the Illinois 48TH House District.
The Carol Stream Park District and Executive Director Sue Rini nominated Frank Parisi, a non-elected member of the Carol Stream Parks Foundation, who has made a positive impact in the community over many years. As one of the founding members of the Foundation and former Foundation President, Frank has volunteered his time and service to raise money for the park district youth scholarship fund. Also, as part of his work with the Foundation, he helped raise money to build the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza in Town Center. In his professional career, Frank was the lead architect on designing Fountain View Recreation Center, a building that is becoming one of the focal points of the Carol Stream community.
The “Constituent of the Month” program is organized by Representative Sanalitro to recognize unique and outstanding accomplishments from community members in Illinois’ 48th House District. State Representative Sanalitro presented Parisi with a certificate of award and words of commemoration. Frank was joined by his wife Lisa, and son Thomas. Park Commissioner Tim Powers, and other Park District staff were present to congratulate Frank and thank him for his service. Photos were taken. Find all photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/csparkdistrict/albums/72177720313523548
Frank Parisi and State Representative Jennifer Sanalitro
From left to right: Thomas Parisi, Lisa Parisi, Frank Parisi, State Representative Jennifer Sanalitro.
The Carol Stream Park District’s McCaslin Park is home to a cricket field. The field is located just northeast of Coyote Crossing Mini Golf. The American Cricket Conference of players were often seen playing on the field for hours.
Over time, the field started sloping up to a clear drop-off of about 18 inches. This meant that from east to west there was an 18-inch change in the grade which wasn’t conducive for competitive and safe game play. In agreement with the American Cricket Conference, their 2023 season would have to be moved from McCaslin Park in order for us to get the project going.
We needed a good amount of dirt to level out the sloping; and as good stewards of park district dollars, the District sought out ways to obtain dirt at no cost for recycling.
The Park District started the Bierman Park/Heritage Lake trail restoration early September of 2022. We transported the dirt removed from that project to extra land at the southwest end of the cricket field. You might have seen those dirt mounds driving by from North Avenue. The trail was completed by November 2022. The District then applied for the permit in DuPage County to grade the cricket field, receiving it in April of 2023.
Grading the cricket field took the months of June and July of 2023. We used various equipment such as skid sterrs, excavators and road graders. Then rocks were extracted to smooth out the dirt. In September of 2023, parks staff seeded the field. It took thirty 50-pound bags of seed. Now we wait for the seed to grow and thicken, which can take a couple seasons depending on the weather. The decision to allow cricket play back on the field will be determined in June of 2024.
We are excited to be replacing the artificial turf infields at McCaslin Park Sports Complex. The project began on November 6, after sports events were completed for the season. The artificial turf infields have seen thousands of games since being installed ten years ago. The $540K capital project will provide another ten years of reliable play – no matter the weather. A grant received from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for tourism attractions will cover $37.6K of the cost. We are planning a Grand Re-Opening of the sports complex for our baseball and softball leagues in the spring of 2024.
Here are photos of the turf replacement process. Days 1 and 2 was removal of the old turf. Days 3 and 4 was the grading of the fields to lay down the turf. Day 5 and beyond is the turf installation, anticipated to be done before Thanksgiving.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/csparkdistrict/albums/72177720312761668
