‘Reeks of a power grab’: Crystal Lake park board’s spate of controversial moves sparks public outcry

Recent actions by the Crystal Lake Park District board, with three newly elected members, have caused tension in the community, with many residents speaking out against a series of swift changes.

Dozens of residents attended a park board meeting last week, with the crowd overflowing into two other rooms to view the meeting on TV screens. Some spoke in favor of the recent board actions, but many more criticized how the board speedily passed agenda items such as the removal of the diversity, equity and inclusion policy, claiming the board violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Other issues prompting criticism include the hiring of a previous board member as the new park district attorney for a substantially higher price than the previous attorney and replacing the members of a volunteer lake advisory committee with a lakeside homeowners association.

Earlier this month, the board voted to end the park district’s DEI policy in a 4-3 vote, which left many residents upset with the change that came during a Committee of the Whole meeting – a meeting usually reserved for discussion items and no votes.

But Crystal Lake resident Fred Wickham read resolutions of support for the recent board action made by the Grafton Township Republican Central Committee and the McHenry County Republican Executive Committee.

Since the new board members took office in May, many of the board’s actions were made in 4-3 votes, with the majority being newcomers Frederick Tiesenga, Keith Nisenson and Richard Hickey, along with Jason Heisler.

Tiesenga – whom the new board majority chose as board president at their first meeting – declined to comment on questions asked by the Northwest Herald on Friday, but said the other side of the story should be shared too.

Lakewood resident Jim Rocheford showed support for the board at last week’s meeting, saying the new members need time to show their actions will be a positive change.

“Put down your pitchforks and your torches and relax,” he said.

Open Meetings Act criticisms

Crystal Lake resident David Bradburn asserted that violations of the Open Meetings Act occurred during the June 5 meeting that included limited ability for commissioners to speak, limited dialogue on agenda items, the addition of agenda items without proper public notice, and “gross overstep of policy changes and procedure.” He said if violations were made, they were done to push an agenda.

“If this proves to be the case, it means that the must-have attorney is either incompetent or complicit, and therefore the board’s legal counsel should step down immediately and return all compensation to the park district’s general fund,” Bradburn said.

Others called for the board to reverse last meeting’s votes.

Crystal Lake Mayor Haig Haleblian shared his own concerns during a City Council meeting about being denied a chance to speak during the public comment period at the June 5 park board meeting. He urged anyone who feels as though the Open Meetings Act was violated to report a complaint to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

“That meeting was anything but a meeting,” the mayor said. “I was really disappointed. We as elected officials are serving the residents of Crystal Lake. We are entrusted with the responsibility of representing the entire community, and not just a few select individuals or any special interest group.”

Park board hires former member as its attorney at rate almost 60% higher

A former board president who served two terms on the park board, Eric Anderson, did not seek reelection this spring. But he still serves the board, as he took over as the district’s new attorney the same day his parks commissioner seat expired.

The quick decision happened during the first board meeting with the newly elected members, again in a 4-3 vote, and again with board members Cathy Cagle, Michael Jacobson and Karen Johnson in the minority.

In a letter sent by Anderson to the board in May, he said that his services do not have a term agreement nor a retainer, but that he will charge the district a rate of $425 an hour, which he called “a reduced rate.”

Previous attorney Scott Puma of Ancel Glink had a rate of $270 an hour, according Crystal Lake Park District Executive Director Jason Herbster.

“The mere act of nominating one of your friends who just left the board to serve as law firm kind of reeks of old boys school club,” Cagle said at the May 15 meeting.

Crystal Lake resident Michelle Thimios said she was concerned that Anderson was voted in as the attorney without discussion or information on his rates.

“It’s shameful to commit taxpayer dollars to something without knowing the full cost,” she said. “It’s even more shameful that the rate ended up being twice the cost of the last attorney’s hourly rate.”

New board boots Lake Ecology Committee

Another contentious move by the highly divided new board was its swift decision June 5 to replace the park district’s Lake Ecology Committee volunteer members with the Shoreline Property Owners Association, a homeowners association of people who live along the lake. Anderson also serves as the HOA’s attorney, according to Illinois Secretary of State records.

Cagle said Anderson’s dual representation is a conflict of interest and called for Anderson to “resign immediately.” Anderson told the Northwest Herald on Friday that he will resign if a majority of the board seeks his removal.

“The board is ruled by majority,” he said. “If the board wants me to step down, I will.”

Tiesenga said at the June 5 meeting that the main people doing the work on the ecology committee were already association members, and they are the ones with “intel” on the lake.

Cagle took issue with that, saying “the lake belongs to all of the residents,” not merely those who live on the lake, and should be representative of all residents in the park district. The district includes Crystal Lake, Lakewood, parts of Lake in the Hills and some unincorporated area.

Gregg Kobelinski already was chairman of the Crystal Lake Ecology Committee and is president of the homeowners association that’s taking it over. He said that “combining forces” is his aim, and he sought to reassure detractors that the all-volunteer ecology committee is not being dissolved.

Kobelinski also addressed another controversial decision of the new board, which was a vote to exit the Lake Ecology Intergovernmental Agreement with the village of Lakewood and the city of Crystal Lake that put the responsibility of boat sticker sales on the park district that included a tiered system based on horsepower.

A portion from boat stickers income goes into an ecology fund to pay for the weed harvester, weed treatment and other lake maintenance costs. How these costs will be paid is now unclear given the park district’s exit from the intergovernmental agreement.

Addressing the board last week, Kobelinski said: “I think that it’s very important that the boaters are the ones paying for the maintenance of the lake. I hope whatever the objection was that you guys had with that, I hope you can resolve it. We’re here to help.”

Changes in the agenda policy give more power to president

In another 4-3 vote at the previous Committee of the Whole meeting, the board enacted an agenda preparation policy reversing the roles of the president and executive director.

“It feels like it’s an attempt by the three new board members and Mr. Heisler to control what can be added to the agenda,” Cagle said.

Now, the policy reads that the board president will prepare all meeting agendas with the assistance of the executive director. Another change added is that now two commissioners, rather than one, are required to request additional agenda items.

Anderson, the freshly appointed park board attorney, said that the board “can’t get things done” unless the items are on agenda.

“To have a nonelected person preparing your agenda – that doesn’t make sense to me at all," Anderson said.

Board appoints member to secretary position

Last month during the first board meeting with the newly elected members, the board voted on the role of board secretary. The role typically was given to a nonelected staff member and was previously held by Herbster for 15 years.

Hickey, one of the newly elected commissioners, now holds the position after a 4-3 vote. Commissioners updated the language to say that some responsibilities could be delegated to the executive director.

Some secretary responsibilities include distributing election materials and certifying to the county clerk the list of candidates who have fulfilled the legal requirements to be placed on the ballot.

“What we’re now doing is now asking an elected official to oversee the election process. That is so unclean,” Cagle said. “It reeks of a power grab, and it reeks of disrespect for staff.”