HS Board

Written and Submitted by: Kate Erickson,
Communication and Marketing Manager
River Trails Park District

Quarantine. Lock-down. Social distancing. Six feet apart: Words and phrases we never imagined would become a part of our collective vocabulary. Concerns and questions immediately followed: How in the world could ‘6 ft apart’ work in Parks and Recreation? How could programming continue when our community was “locked down”? It was something that we would quickly find out.

On Friday, March 13th, Executive Director, Bret Fahnstrom, called an Emergency Leadership Meeting to discuss Governor Pritzker’s possibility to issue a Stay-At-Home-Order. At that point, there were thirty-two cases of COVID-19 across the state, primarily in Cook County. Three of the early cases were at NW Community Hospital in Arlington Heights; It felt like this mysterious virus was inching closer to home, and the team had to come up with a plan. Details and information seemed to be changing by the minute during those early days in March 2020. With closures imminent, the board and leadership team met to discuss the possibility of closures and lock-downs that appeared to be looming. Based on the information coming from health officials and from the state, the team made the difficult decision to furlough almost all part-time recreation, parks & maintenance staff which impacted approximately 80% of the entire District workforce.

By March 17th, Governor Pritzker issued a Stay at Home Order for the State of Illinois. Residents could only leave their homes to seek groceries, medicine, and medical care. As confusion around the virus enveloped the media, state, and country, the River Trails team realized our community needed us more than ever. We stayed at home, jumped on zoom calls, and got to work on redeveloping our programming and continue a place of community, despite not being able to be in our buildings. During those confusing days of March, the Parks and Maintenance team developed a facility and equipment cleaning program in hopes of a short-term service interruption. We created signs that we never could have imagined we would have put up around our parks: “For the safety of our community, please do not play on our playground equipment.”

The Recreation team quickly began developing programs that could be done virtually. During those early days, the Recreation team got creative by bringing the community together with chalking driveways and sharing nature scavenger hunts via social media. Marketing got to work on a list of resources on our website, called Happy Trails at Home. We provided local resources, tips, and ideas for keeping active and busy while at home.

Spring into Fun went live and evolved throughout the next year. The Recreation team served the River Trails community online; they reached out to partners and worked tirelessly to create virtual fitness, creative art, early childhood, and youth athletics. The impact of programs halting in March was seen immediately. Despite the loss of over $1 million in revenue, the fund balance of the district decreased by only $150,000 by the end of 2020. This was accomplished by purposefully reducing expenditures, and full-time staff really stepping up to serve in many roles beyond their typical responsibilities.

Difficult decisions still needed to be made as we headed into the summer of 2020: The Leadership team came to the difficult decision to keep Woodland Trails Pool closed during the summer of 2020. In all, this would impact approximately 140 summer jobs. River Trails’ popular all-day summer camps would also need to be scaled down considerably due to limitations dictated by the state in order to keep our children healthy.

That summer, the district continued to get creative and work together: our Backyard Camper Series allowed kids to have activities to do while at home while other kids joined us for Camp River Trails, our scaled-back Day Camp. And while The Trails Fitness Center remained closed, the community grabbed their mats and weights and joined our small but mighty fitness staff for group exercise classes outdoors. There was a collective feeling of excitement brewing regarding the programs we could bring back with caution and by following Phase Three of Restore Illinois. Micro Baseball, Parkour, and Expressions Dance came back while following six-feet apart guidelines and limiting the capacity of participants.

By August 2020, the staff developed Kid Squad Connect, an off-shoot of our Kid Squad Before and After School Program. Kid Squad Connect allowed children to do remote learning at our facilities with safety measures in place. It brought the district great pride to help working parents find a way to survive remote learning at a safe location for their children. Our Trail Blazer Preschool employees could return due to enrollment numbers comparable to pre-pandemic enrollment. Kids returned to preschool with masks and with as many activities as we could develop through learning outdoors.

Youth Soccer League and Basketball started back up during Fall and Winter of 2020/2021. We created a format that ensured 6 feet apart, stressed teamwork, focusing on passing and ball movement. Parents cheered from the sidelines while being socially distanced and wearing masks. Our Fall Brochure’s theme was ‘Rediscover’ – and it genuinely felt that this is what was happening: our community was rediscovering their favorite activities as the district slowly brougt back their favorite programs and events – safely. It would become a theme that followed the River Trails Park District throughout 2021.

We reconstructed our popular community events and added new ones to fit with the possibility of more shutdowns throughout 2020 and 2021. From our Halloween House Decorating Contest to Cuisin’ with Santa to additions such as Earth Day and Movies in the Park, we were excited to see our community out and enjoying River Trails events again. Our famous Youth Obstacle Course Race (OCR) was reimagined with new safety measures in place. New obstacles were built that ensured limited hand touching by participants. Transportable sinks were added throughout the race, and we limited the number of racers who could participate. OCR was a success, with over 150 participants racing through Woodland Trails. In 2021, OCR was back to its normal format and with record-breaking registration numbers.

As the vaccine became available and cases decreased throughout Cook County, our ability to join together as a community became more of the norm, instead of the exception. One example of this was when Woodland Trails Pool opened for business in June 2021. Opening day at the pool brought a line wrapped all around the building, as families eagerly awaited the welcomed sound of lifeguard whistles to mark that summer pool days were, indeed, back again. A resident emailed our team, “I could barely control the tears as kids were jumping and splashing in the pool again. Thank you for giving our children back their summer!”

Cases surged again with a new variant in December 2021 and COVID fatigue set in. As we headed into year three of living through a pandemic, we were reminded that we are resilient as a team and community.

We hung up signs and sent out messaging regarding the requirement to show vaccine status and we braced ourselves for push-back. Instead, we found that our community was open to working together to get through this latest setback in our post-COVID world.

We continue to reflect and are reminded of the good we have seen along the way. We celebrated the restoration of Burning Bush and Aspen Trails Parks. We are grateful for our Board and our staff who made it their priority to develop creative programs that foster connections and activity while keeping the health and wellness of the community at the forefront of their minds. Even during the most uncertain days, watching the community come out and explore our parks, sit in nature, bike our trails, and watch kids race through River Trails Park District’s open, green spaces, will be something we will never forget.

The beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 was very shocking for everyone.  “Like most everyone around the world, we could never have imagined that the pandemic would still be happening, nearly two years later,” Superintendent Mary Gorr reflected in January 2022. 

“We had not participated in virtual learning prior to this pandemic, so preparing for the initial school closures was especially challenging,” she said. “In addition to needing to get every District 57 student a technology device, we needed to consider which learning resources were best to use for teaching students remotely. Many of us didn’t even know what Zoom meetings were at that time.”

“In 2020 we did not hold an in-person graduation ceremony due to pandemic closures. Instead, we honored students by hosting a special drive-by event where our graduating 8th graders were driven past Lincoln Junior High School by their families and District 57 staff members were lining the streets to cheer for them. We also had a special feature section in the Mount Prospect Journal newspaper where our graduates were honored,” Dr. Gorr continued. 

When the 2020-21 school year began, most students and teachers were once again faced with remote learning. By late fall/early winter, students were able to return to in-person learning in a hybrid model, which is a combination of in-person instruction and remote instruction. While most District 57 students participated in the hybrid learning model, some D57 families chose to keep their students in the full remote learning program for the remainder of the school year. 

Whether provided virtually or in-person, all classes were offered throughout the pandemic – even fine arts classes. 

“We were thrilled to be able to return to full in-person learning in the spring of 2021, which enabled students to have access to their full learning experiences. And while District 57 staff members longed to safely return to in-person instruction, at different times throughout the pandemic, there were significant concerns about the ability to do this in a manner that was safe for students and staff, alike,” Dr. Gorr stated. 

By spring of 2021 District 57 was thrilled to be able to offer an in-person graduation ceremony again. In order to offer appropriate social distancing, they held two ceremonies with half of the graduating 8th graders in each ceremony.

“It was a special night and there was extra appreciation for the chance to be together,” Dr. Gorr recalled.

“I think there’s no debate that, unfortunately, the pandemic has negatively impacted most learners in some way,” she continued. “From the frequent disruptions to instruction, to the constant changes and transitions in learning modality, necessary adjustments and the overall stress and anxiety that has occurred for both students and families, this pandemic has presented major obstacles. But we are optimistic that our students will recoup their learning over time.”

“The pandemic has also had a negative impact on many students’ and others’ mental health,” Dr. Gorr added. “We have invested time and resources in training our staff to be better equipped to support students’ mental health needs, and District 57 has also offered a variety of resources to support staff members’ mental health.”

Over the course of the pandemic many District 57 students, families and staff had COVID and, tragically, many students and staff lost loved ones to the virus. 

When COVID-19 has abated, Dr. Gorr feels that everyone who lived through it will feel a deeper appreciation for things they previously took for granted, “such as being in the same room as our students!”

By Nellie Beckner, Assistant Village Manager

When reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to keep in mind that the Village did not stand alone in our response. The Village made a cognizant effort to follow and promote State-issued restrictions and guidance (as well those independently issued by the CDC and Cook County) in the interest of protecting public health and safety of our community and team members. We relied on experts both within and outside our organization to guide the Village’s internal and external policies. The Village began working to address pandemic restrictions right away by opening our “EOC” – emergency operations center – so the Leadership Team could meet, discuss challenges/logistics, and begin to utilize our Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). It is through these daily meetings – which were held virtually for several weeks – that we were able to discuss every aspect of our pandemic response, from working remotely to business assistance.

We reduced staff in Village Hall and closed the Public Works and Fire Headquarters to the public starting March 16, and then closed Village Hall to the public in conjunction with the Governor’s Stay-at-Home orders on March 31. The Village’s employee population is best categorized in two groups: those that can perform work from home, and those who cannot. The Police, Fire, and Public Works departments remained serving our community “in-person” throughout the pandemic. The Village had a sufficient stock of personal protective equipment to ensure our first responders were able to safely respond to emergency calls. The Mount Prospect Emergency Management Agency were effective in obtaining additional equipment to ensure work areas were sanitized. To help protect as many employees as possible, we issued masks and sanitizer, immediately instituted masking and distancing policies for all employees, and staggered shifts as best we could to protect our staff. Although we did not conduct in-person business at Village Hall or the Public Works counter, we did have a few staff in the office on a rotating basis, as there are some tasks that are done preferably in an office environment. Although these buildings were closed, we insisted on providing all services to our residents and businesses throughout the stay-at-home order. Staff proved very effective working from home, thanks in part to IT preparing employees with the technology needed to be successful while working remotely. We launched an online building permit software, and encouraged all residents and businesses to conduct business electronically such as bill payment and requests for service. The Village purchased Go-To-Meeting and Go-To-Webinar software to meet virtually, both for internal staff use as well as meeting externally.

The Village reopened doors to the public the last week of May 2020. Prior to, we again distributed masks and sanitizer gel and wipes, separated work spaces for social distancing and installed Plexiglas barriers at our front counters.

Each department had its own challenges but, thanks to our daily Leadership meetings, everyone was kept in the know and able to respond as a team. One of the greatest concerns we had at the start of the pandemic was having illness spread throughout an entire shift or department. The Village was fortunate to not experience significant shortage of staff due to illness throughout the pandemic. This is also a testament to our staff for being diligent about prevention measures.

Once the State of Illinois mandated prohibitions on gatherings of 25, then 10 or more people, the Village began to hold Village Board meetings, as well as other commission meetings, online using the Go-To-Meeting/Webinar platform. We were also able to do so thanks to the Governor’s issuing an emergency order modification to the Open Meeting Act requirements. The Village reached the public by sharing the link of the meeting online so the public could watch on their computer or smart phone; the meetings were still broadcast on local cable access television. The Village was able to take in commentary both through the software’s messaging features as well as via email prior to the meeting.

A few of the greatest challenges seen by the Administration Department during this time dealt with communication and COVID-19’s financial impact. Residents were seeking information about COVID restrictions which we were not able to answer; questions such as “when can I re-open my restaurant”, “when is lock-down going to end” or “are you having [event] this year”? These questions were asked of staff several times a day, and not having answers lead to increasing frustration for both sides. Village staff was made aware of extensions to the State’s emergency orders, masking mandates, etc. generally at the same time as the rest of the public. At most, we were given a “heads up” an hour or so before a press conference. Although key staff participated in conference calls with the Cook County President or even the Governor’s office, these rarely provided the answers to those aforementioned questions, and instead were more of an update on infection rates, programs created to assist residents/businesses, and similar news. Nonetheless, the Village remained persistent in our attempt to share information to the public by posting almost daily to the COVID-19 page on the Village website, sharing news on social media and via press releases.

The Village kept up-to-date statistics on COVID-19 positive cases as well as deaths for Mount Prospect as well as surrounding municipalities. County and State positivity rates were also monitored as they were key to moving toward various phases in the Restore Illinois plan to reduce mitigation restrictions. The data that the Village tracked was gathered directly the Illinois Department of Public Health’s and Cook County Department of Public Health’s websites; we were not given any additional data that was not shared publically.

Another challenge was being asked to predict the future during an unprecedented time, and this includes financially. We could predict that the closing of restaurants, theaters, and the cancellation of social events would have an impact on sales tax revenue. Initial forecasts seemed to indicate a loss of $5.6 million in revenues with an estimated General Fund impact of $3.8 million. However, our teams stepped up and implemented our Budget Contingency Plan, which includes expense reductions, and the shortfall was reduced to $1.7 million by the end of 2020; the majority of the revenue losses ($868,000) were seen in state/local sales taxes, including food and beverage and hotel/motel tax. The savings came both in the form of certain event cancellations (such as not holding the Downtown Block Party) and by implementing temporary holds on department allocations to the Vehicle Replacement Fund. By early 2021, when final numbers were in, the Village’s actual revenues revealed there was no net loss for 2020 after considering outperforming income tax revenue, ambulance billing fees and CARES Act grants.

Many businesses also struggled financially due to restrictions and a change in customer behavior. Restaurants in particular suffered due to the limitations on dining-in. The Village was able to offer a COVID-19 Restaurant Assistance Program, dispersing grants of $10,000 each for qualifying restaurants. A total of $590,000 in grants were awarded to 59 restaurants throughout Mount Prospect. In addition, a special allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds were acquired, allowing the Village to give 22 additional grants to qualifying restaurants. In total, $830,000 in grant money was allocated to 81 restaurants in 2020. In addition to financial assistance, we fast-tracked the review for outdoor dining permits and promoted take-out and delivery options for all restaurants via our Experience Mount Prospect website. In the 2020 – 21 year, just a handful of businesses (not all restaurants) closed their doors, due in part from pandemic hardship. In addition, we saw no significant delays in projects other than what could be best described as supply chain disruptions – major projects throughout downtown, for example, continued construction, with Maple Street Lofts and 10 N. Main both opening and renting with great occupancy rates considering the economic environment.

The Village understood that many of our residents were suddenly placed in tough financial situations due to job loss or illness, so the Human Services, Police and Fire Departments worked together to provide as much assistance as we could accommodate. Increased push for donations for the food pantry was accomplished by the launch of an online donation page, and contributions flourished. Due to COVID safety protocols, we were not able to accept nor distribute food in our traditional manner. We had staff collect funds and purchase food, which was then shared to those in need via a “drive-thru” contactless pick up. In addition, the Human Services team worked with various organizations to assist residents with rent or utility payments, and, once available, signed up seniors for hard-to-get vaccinations. Every day, our first responders were dealing with a stressed or frustrated public, and their patience and professionalism is admirable. This staff worked tirelessly to provide access to care and assistance while also dealing with the impacts of the pandemic in their own lives, and we remain grateful for their contributions.

Moving into a transition phase, of which, due to ongoing mitigation measures and State emergency declarations still exists, has also had its challenges. Planning for events, even those held outdoors, had an air of uncertainty as the Village needed to follow whatever mitigation measures would be in place at the time of the event. Event guidance from the State was not perfect – there was no ideal way to categorize all types of events, and our staff was not in the position to “police” items like masking and distancing at large-scale events. Fortunately, by the spring of 2021 and the return of the Lions Club 4th of July Festival, most individuals understood how to attend public events in a responsible fashion and we did not get large-scale complaints on compliance.
Overall, the Village is able to respond to this and potential future crisis by relying on our ability to prepare for the unexpected and communicate effectively. Our organization was fortunate, for example, to have a stockpile of N-95 masks on-hand at the start of the pandemic, due to emergency preparation policies currently in place. This put our team in a position to immediately protect ourselves while continuing to provide essential services. In addition, the Village’s Continuity of Operations Plan helped us to remain organized internally and clearly outlined roles for every employee. Even when working remotely, our focus on communication was essential to managing through this crisis successfully. Regular meetings with staff and other community leaders, such as leadership within the school and park districts, and business organizations, allowed the Village to assess our response on a regional scale, share information, and provide assistance when able. Lessons that most everyone has learned over the past 20+ months is we are able to accomplish more when we work together, heed expert advice and support one another.