Meeting on Thursday 10/20

The Humboldt Park Advisory Council will hold its October meeting tomorrow, Thursday the 20th at 6:30 p.m. in the field house. Potential topics of discussion include the opening/scheduling of the Park's new turf soccer field, the recent assessment of the field house roof and the meeting of the fundraising committee. If you're interested in finding out more about what's happening in the Park or have questions/comments about its services, please come out and join us.

Turf Soccer Field Grand Opening This Saturday

The grand opening ceremony for the new Humboldt Park soccer field is this Saturday, October 15th at 1 p.m. The new field will replace the old grass field just South of Division Street on Humboldt Blvd., in the same location. The old field became unsafe and unplayable during periods of bad weather and over-use. The new turf surface is built on top of a drainage system, which should make it playable even in times of heavy rains. The new field will also have lights, which will come on at dusk and remain on until 11 p.m. when the park closes.

This Saturday at 11 a.m., play will commence with some scheduled youth soccer games, followed at 1 p.m. by the grand opening ceremony complete with color guard presentation and some words by Mayor Emanuel.

This field is the first of 10 artificial turf athletic fields being presented to the Chicago Park District by private funding. All 10 fields are a joint gift to the park district -50% of each field is paid for by the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation, and 50% by another source. The second source of funding for the field in Humboldt Park is Allstate Insurance.

Everyone is invited to come to the ceremony, see the new addition to the Park, and enjoy some light refreshments. The Humboldt Park Advisory Council is currently working with the Chicago Park District to decide scheduling for playing times. If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, please attend the ceremony and speak to a staff member

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.

Upcoming Regional Budget Meetings - Monday 9/19

A big topic of discussion at Thursday's meeting was the Park District's Central Region budget meeting, coming up this Monday, and how Humboldt Park's priorities will be represented at it. This meeting is important because it offers Park users an opportunity to lobby for needed improvements in facilities and services before the Park District's Board. Members of the HPAC will be attending, including Treasurer Maggie Martinez and myself, Brian Hacker (Secretary), to bring attention to a list of high priority improvements that we feel need attention. They include badly needed repairs to the fieldhouse (roof, structure, doors and windows) and comfort stations that serve childrens' playgrounds and sports fields.

The meeting will take place at 6:00 p.m. at Taylor-Lauridsen Park, 704 West 42nd Street. Doors will open at 5:30 and early arrival is recommended. If you wish to voice your concerns before the Board, you must sign up at the beginning of the meeting and submit a letter of intent describing your requests. There is a maximum of two minutes allowed for anyone wishing to speak, so please be sure to make your statements brief.

We're hoping to have a good show of support for our Park  from community members so the Park Board can see we're serious about having these issues addressed. Even if you do not wish to speak before the Board, we're looking for members of the community to come and stand with us and other community groups when we're called to speak. The United Leagues of Humboldt Park will also be attending and we're both hoping to have as many supporters as possible standing behind us.

We realized the meeting location is not local and that this could be a problem for anyone looking to attend. It's possible that arrangements could be made for carpooling, so if you are interested in attending but need help with transportation please send an email and we'll do our best to help.

To get to the meeting by CTA from Humboldt Park, take an eastbound bus like Division or North Ave to the Halsted Street bus and head south to 42nd Street. Then walk one block east on 42nd Street to Taylor-Lauridsen Park.

We hope to see you there!