Despite overwhelming opposition to their plan to eliminate the Parks and Recreation Board, four lone men – President Gorman and trustees Sacchi, Shevitz and Reynolds are determined to move forward despite a village-wide referendum on this question that is up for a vote in November. Given a choice between single-minded allegiance to their party line and listening to the residents, they are hell bent on having their own way.
There is zero merit in eliminating the Parks and Recreation Board. Not one compelling reason has been given to enact the biggest governmental change in Riverside in decades. Instead, we have received one manufactured excuse after another, excuses that have fallen as quickly as they were raised.
This is a bad idea is search of justification. It was conceived in private, discussed in secret and communicated at the last minute through confidential memoranda and closed door meetings. Public discussion has been orchestrated and doled out in platitudes and PowerPoint propaganda. These are not the indicators of a good idea but of an unseemly money and power grab designed to satisfy an extremist ideology that is bad for our village.
These lone four men intend to redefine what “recreation” means in Riverside so they can exploit the parks and recreation tax levy established over 70 years ago. And they do this despite acknowledging that the Parks and Recreation Board has done an admirable job in managing this levy and protecting our parks and recreational facilities.
President Gorman and trustees Sacchi, Shevitz and Reynolds have made their intentions perfectly clear. They want to get their hands on parks and recreation money so they can spend it as they see fit on other undisclosed “municipal services.” But ask yourself – what is the future of recreation in our village when the people holding the purse strings have denigrated parks and recreation for over a decade, and have summed up their standard of maintaining playground equipment as “wait until it breaks.”
This is the first step in dismantling our playgrounds and recreational facilities. In a flash of candor, President Gorman admitted that the majority is ready to close tennis courts and remove recreational equipment – all under the pretense of saving money. What goes unsaid is the debilitating impact this would have on the spirit of our community and the attractiveness of our village, along with an accompanying further drop in property values.
The residents of this village have petitioned to be heard on this question. It is unimaginable to me that as elected officials we cannot wait for a few weeks to listen to what they have to say.
Ben Sells
Riverside
Ben Sells is a Riverside village trustee.