A Grant Mix-Up In Clarendon Hills Parks?

CLARENDON HILLS, IL — The Clarendon Hills Park District had expected to pay for more than half the renovation of its community center with a state grant, but lost out on the grant when the district failed to turn in a key document, a former official says.

The district's executive director says officials weren't counting on the state money.

Recently, Darcy Gans, the district's former director of marketing, communications and corporate sponsorship, wrote a message to Patch titled "Leading a Government Agency Shouldn't Be a Lark in a Park," in which she criticized the district's leadership. In January, Gans was placed on furlough. She said her job was eliminated this spring. She has worked for the district for 15 years.

In her piece, Gans said the executive director, Don Scheltens, had anticipated a $1.4 million state PARC grant to cover more than half of the cost of the $2.4 million of the renovation of the community center. The application, she said, was immediately rejected as Scheltens and his consulting grant writer failed to include a mandatory project budget with the grant request.

In an email, Scheltens said the district had never planned on receiving the PARC grant to pay for the project. The opportunity to apply for the money came during the planning stages of the project, he said.

"The grant was rejected because a budget template page was not submitted with the online grant application," Scheltens said.

The community center is in its sixth month of construction, Scheltens said. The project is set to be completed by the week of June 7, with an open house tentatively planned for June 26.

Gans said she was one of four employees placed on furlough. Another of the employees was rehired in mid-winter for a more than $50,000-a-year position as a recreation supervisor for preschool programs, she said. With the preschool closed, Gans said, the person is unable to provide tours or offer prospective families observation appointments.

"The Clarendon Hills Park District's administrative offices have now been closed for over one year, and its preschool — battling record low enrollment long before the start of the pandemic — is one of the only programs in the area not to hold classes at any point during the 2020-2021 school year," Gans said.

However, Scheltens said the $52,000 position was advertised on the Illinois Park and Recreation Association's website for all to apply. It was vacated by a retiring employee in June 2020. The district waited six months until the position was filled in January 2021, he said.

"Even though the pre-school programs were canceled during this past year (due to Covid-19), the programs had been re-revamped for the two new permanent pre-school rooms in the renovated Community Center," Scheltens said. "We have been advertising since January for these programs and will have actual pictures of the pre-school rooms next month in our advertising for the programs which begin in September."