Six people have confirmed they are candidates in the spring election for the Naperville Park Board, where three of seven board seats are open.
They are incumbents Rich Janor, Chris Jacks and John Risvold, former board member Bill Eagan and newcomers Carole Jones and Amy Phillips.
All six have picked up petition packets to run. Nominating papers must be filed between Nov. 16 and 23 for a candidate’s name to appear on the April 6 ballot.
Among the issues elected board members will be responsible for is construction of a new fitness and aquatics center at the Frontier Sports Complex, which voters approved via a $120 million bond sale referendum earlier this year. It was the first park district referendum to be approved since 1966.
For some candidates, that new center is a major reason they’re running for the board.
“I had the opportunity of serving as board president when we opened the Fort Hill Activity Center and now we’re on the cusp of another major project at an even larger scale, and so I think hopefully my experience with that first project will help here as we work to execute this referendum project,” said Janor, who is seeking a fifth four-year term.
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Beyond the activity center, the 49-year-old sports management company owner said he hopes to help ensure the district continues to perform well in the areas in which it is already excelling, including maintaining its 140 parks and the continuance of free programs for those who can’t afford to pay.
Jacks and Risvold expressed similar sentiments.
“The park district is in very good shape financially. The facilities are in good shape. We’re going to build a new building, which is very exciting,” said Jacks, a 56-year-old IT project program manager. “We’ve had four good years and I want to keep that momentum going forward for the next four years.”
While Jacks, who was elected in 2023, is seeking a second board term, he is also running for a DuPage County Board District 5 seat and will face off against Naperville City Councilman Ian Holzhauer this November. Should he be elected to that position, he would drop out of the park board race, he said.
Risvold, a 41-year-old personal injury lawyer, said he wanted to continue the good work the board has undertaken and to steer the new fitness and aquatics facility through to completion.
“I also am really proud of the last four years. We were able to expand the fee assistance program to allow more people, more kids to participate in programs regardless of cost or any barriers to entry,” said Risvold, who was elected in 2023. “I want to keep working to make sure that everybody has opportunities and accessibility to our parks so that they can be used for everyone and that everyone can enjoy them.”
Not everyone running, however, is thrilled with the new activity center. Eagan, who served on the park board from 2011 to 2021, said he is worried about the district’s fiscal management and how it will impact taxpayers down the road.
“My fear here is that the board has zero financial expertise around this (facility). I’m disappointed in the referendum; they could have done this through a public-private partnership, which was on the table when I left the board,” the 52-year-old public accountant said.
While the district generally does good work, he is concerned about government spending and wants to make sure there is financial discipline, he said.
“Just because we can bond doesn’t mean we should be bonding,” Eagan said.
Jones, who is a Naperville Township 708 Mental Health Board member and serves on a local advisory committee for U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, said she believers her experience would be invaluable to the board.
She is “impressed” by the programming the district already offers, she said, and wants to find ways to build on it because such programming is important to the city’s overall well-being.
“After COVID, I think that’s so important — the mental health and the physical well-being of the community and strengthening the community connections,” the 65-year-old senior region sales manager said. “I’ve been working a lot with that with the 708 Mental Health Board, and I’d like to continue to do that with the Naperville Park District.”
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Phillips, a 50-year-old DuPage County program director for The Conservation Foundation in Naperville, said she loves the park district and its programming. After living in Naperville for 17 years, she wants to ensure the parks remain important gathering spaces for the community.
“I would definitely want to advocate for just more programming that gets people outside for their mental and physical health,” said Phillips, who served briefly on the DuPage County Board.
As a former architect, Phillips said she also understands “how building projects are put together” and hopes to provide strong oversight to the new activity center.