Elmhurst Park Board Clashes Over Wilder Bandshell

ELMHURST, IL – The head of the Elmhurst Park District board on Monday accused opponents of the proposed bandshell site at Wilder Park of "false narratives."

He contended the district worked hard to communicate its proposed location.

But another park board member said he had no idea the district had made a final decision. He thought the site in question was a suggestion.

The bandshell was a small part of the $90 million referendum that voters approved in November. All but $6 million is going to a new Wagner Community Center.

In a packed meeting room at Wilder Mansion, residents said they were left out of the loop on the selected site. They said the proposed site northeast of Wilder Mansion would block the public's view of a building seen as one of Elmhurst's gems.

At the beginning of the meeting, board member Vince Spaeth proposed the board discuss the issue after the public comment period, so the district could be more "inclusive" of residents.

Member Susan Smentek took exception to "the way you said that." She said the board spent a long time getting public feedback before the referendum.

A board majority – President Kevin Graf, Smentek, Claire Kubiesa and Meghan Scarsella, the same ones who prefer the northeast site – voted against holding a discussion.

Despite the decision, Graf went ahead and spoke about the bandshell's location just before public comments, saying he wanted to counter "false narratives."

Spaeth objected.

"If you're going to speak, I'm going to speak," he said to applause.

Member Carolyn Ubriaco asked, "Are you going to accept a rebuttal?"

Graf said he would.

In his prepared speech, Graf said the district spoke about the referendum in nearly 70 presentations and appearances around town, reaching thousands of residents. He said officials noted the bandshell's site at those events and in a mailer to residents.

More recently, the district's consultants checked nine sites at the 17-acre Wilder Park and agreed that northeast of the mansion was the best, Graf said.

He said it would be irresponsible for the board to choose another site after the information it gave to residents.

"We could be accused of misleading the voters," Graf said.

Spaeth, a former board president who has served 18 years on the panel, said he had nothing against anyone in the room and that he was proud of their work together.

But he said he had no idea that the board had settled on northeast of the mansion. He believed that the board would follow its normal practice of seeking public feedback for park improvements, with the district planning several for Wilder.

"It's obvious we've had a failure to communicate," he said. "If people knew they had to voice their opinion and evaluate the location (before the referendum), there probably would have been a heck of a lot more input."

He said many more residents are concerned than the hundreds of names on a local petition, saying "we owe it to our bosses" to seek more feedback.

"They're going to drive by this park every day for the rest of their life," Spaeth said. "They're going to be supportive that they had the chance to talk and have input or they are going to say, for the lack of a better word, they screwed us out of an opportunity to really have input."

During public input, DuPage County Board member Cindy Cronin Cahill, who said she was speaking in her role as a resident, advised the board to listen to the people. Decades ago, the Republican said, local leaders considered putting the police station in Wilder Park. Residents protested, and the officials backed off, she said.

"When I voted for the referendum, I didn't know where the bandshell was going to be," she said. "Preserve this beautiful mansion that many citizens fought really hard to keep as the beautiful jewel that it is now."

Jonathan Wilder, a descendant of the mansion and park's namesake family, said the board should keep the open space.

"Push things out to the edges, so the middle stays open," said Wilder, who does not live in Elmhurst. "Evidently, there are people in the community who feel they don't have enough information."

Resident Jim Schuetz said the decision-making process was "deeply flawed."

"I was stunned that the board decided not to discuss tonight's input," he said. "It's not too late to do the right thing."

At the end of Monday's board meeting, members agreed to put the bandshell discussion on a future agenda.

Elmhurst park board member Vince Spaeth (right, in blue shirt) disagrees with board President Kevin Graf (white shirt, end of table) over whether the board should discuss the proposed site for the Wilder Park bandshell. (David Giuliani/Patch)

Elmhurst resident Jim Schuetz stands Monday at the proposed site for the Wilder Park bandshell. He said the board's decision-making process on the location was "deeply flawed." (David Giuliani/Patch)