The River Forest Park District is on a listening tour as it undertakes a strategic plan. That’s always good and ideas we’ve heard so far for a community-wide block party and more programs for seniors all sound good to us.
But when the talk turns to small buildings that might be for sale for use as a teen center or any other purpose, we put up our hand and ask, “What’s the status of conversations between the park district and the River Forest Community Center?” Until there is a thorough report from each of those entities on determined efforts to effect a merger or, at the least, an intense collaboration on sharing the building on Madison Street and meshing programming, then we are in opposition.
It wasn’t long ago that River Forest voters gave the park board a stinging rebuke on a referendum question tied to acquiring a building in which to run its own programming. The issue then, and now, is why should this small town support competing entities both doing park district-like programs?
There is long-term bad blood between the parks and the community center. No one cares. Solve it. Kiss and make up. Don’t spend tax dollars in a duel.
