Board Report: Breaks in the Voting Block

The big news from this October Crystal Lake Park Board meeting is that the Board walked back their decision to leave the Intergovernmental Agreement with Crystal Lake and Lakewood which made it easier for residents to buy stickers and launch keys and created the Lake Ecology fund. At the beginning of their tenure, the Board recklessly pulled out of the agreement without another agreement in place and without consulting the City and Village. With $60,000 in Lake Ecology Fees on the table and a lot of public pressure coming from this group, Nisenson and Hickey changed their votes. (more info here).

Also notable from the meeting is that in an almost unanimous vote, the Board made a motion that the board intends to maintain public access to the Lake and not unreasonably increase boat launch gate fob fees. The only member abstaining? Board President Fred Tiesenga. In the past, Fred Tiesenga has advocated for limiting public access to the Lake, so this is particularly concerning.

The board voted to pursue a 2.9% Levy increase which would capture new growth in the community and is projected to amount to an annual $26.90 increase for a $350,000 home. Board President Fred Tiesenga, and Jason Heisler remained firmly committed to no levy increase which according to staff could have meant cutting Park District services. 

We’re also watching to see if at the next meeting, the Board revisists the decision to move the Lake Ecology Committee from the Park District to the SPOA. Cathy Cagle brought up that two members of the Park Board (Fred Tiesenga and Jason Heisler) did not disclose that they were also Executive Members of the SPOA making their vote on whether to transfer the Committee to the SPOA entirely inappropriate.

Full recording of the meeting can be found here: https://youtube.com/live/aLuneluT50Y?feature=share 

Mark your calendar for the next Board meeting on November 10, 2025 (one week early due to the upcoming holiday) at 6:30pm.