Fundraising Committee Meeting & Recap of Central Region Budget Meeting

On Wednesday the 21st at 6:30 pm in the Field House, the HPAC's fundraising committee will meet to discuss potential events/opportunities to raise funds for the Advisory Council. The committee is lead by Amy Vega and Area Supervisor Cynthia Rosario will also be in attendance. With many Park facilities badly in need of repairs or updates and the CPD facing a large budget shortfall, we're looking to raise funds to contribute to improvements in facilities and programs. But an effort like this will require a lot of helping hands and I'm sure we will be looking to our AC members and neighbors for volunteers.

And speaking of funding...last night I attended the Central Region Budget Meeting along with our Treasurer, Maggie Martinez (thanks for the ride, Maggie!). Our friends from the United Leagues of Humboldt Park were also there, giving Humboldt Park a great showing at the meeting.

Chicago Parks District Interim Superintendent Michael Kelly hosted the meeting, taking comments from audience members and offering feedback or advice. In our two minutes to speak before him we drew attention to badly needed repairs to the Field House and comfort stations, as well as the need for accessible parking spaces on Marin Drive at Little Cubs Field.

Superintendent Kelly responded that contractors will be assessing the condition of the Field House roof on Thursday, which means we will soon know an estimate of the cost to repair it and how the Park District intends to address the issue. Note that this does not mean it will get repaired and it is likely that the Park District will ask for contributions from the Advisory Council and donors to help cover the cost. We expect to be hearing more on this issue at our October meeting.

 We also got a chance to speak with Larry Labiak, the Park District's Disability Policy Officer, about accessible parking for Little Cubs Field. He informed us that further coordination is needed with the Chicago Department of Transportation, but was optimistic that this project could be completed in the near future. We invited him to attend our next meeting to talk with us further on this issue and are hoping we'll see him in October.