LANSING, Ill. — The pool at the Lan-Oak Park District Eisenhower Community and Fitness Center has re-opened following work on the surrounding deck.
Officials at December’s Lan-Oak Park Board meeting were updated that work on the pool deck and some additional repairs were completed. The next phase of the pool project the district would undertake in the future would be in the inside of the pool and then the Whirlpool.
Other development projects include a new pavilion/shelter at Oakley Park, which Senior Superintendent of Strategy & Operations Sharon Desjardins said they would try to do in this year’s budget so it would be ready for the rental season but would depend on the district getting property tax disbursements.
Desjardins said two playgrounds are on the future project list as well: Copper Mugger’s and Whitman. The district works to update playgrounds in order of age, with the oldest first.
Successful Story Walk
Desjardins said the recent Christmas Flashlight Story Walk was successful, especially as they moved the event inside to the gym because of the weather.
Desjardins said the event usually has not gotten good attendance in the past few years because of the cold, but this year they saw more than 100 participants.
Basketball
The park district is preparing for its kids basketball league. The first exhibition game is Jan. 4, and the first competitive game is Jan. 11. They are also planning a March Madness tournament and family showcase.
PTO Policy
The district adopted changes to its personnel policy and time off, with Desjardins noting some staff members were abusing the old policy by taking multiple personal days in a row and two weeks vacation at the same time. The new policy limits how PTO and personal days can be taken so staffing can be maintained throughout the year.
“These personal days are supposed to be for illness, doctor’s appointments, things like that,” Desjardins said. “And it started — I have one employee who gets two weeks vacation a year and managed to figure out how to get five weeks this year off, and, well, I do have to praise the strategy in doing that a couple times, (but) it caused a real problem for us. It turned into a big problem for us because she decided to take all five during special events, which are rough for us. It’s a lot of work. So they will not lose any of their personal time off. We’ll just put a few restrictions on how it’s taken.”
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