Park District Board Appoints Final Commissioner

For the first time since September, the Park District of Highland Park has a full board of commissioners.

On Thursday night, the park board appointed Scott Meyers to fill its remaining seat, which was left open when Park District President Lorry Werhane Jr.  last month.

"The park district faces two significant challenges," Meyers said in a press release issued by the park district. "The first is to restore confidence in the Board in light of the recent pension issues. The second is to resolve those issues while continuing to move forward on both short-term and long-term objectives. I look forward to addressing these challenges."

Meyers is a partner in a Chicago law firm. He works primarily on complex civil litigation and arbitration, according to the park district's press release. He was one of two finalists left vying for the spot after three of the five top contenders  on Nov. 1. 

Meyers joins David Fairman and Ben Kutscheid, who were appointed to fill the seats left vacant by Stacy Weiss and Nancy Rosenbaum in October. Weiss, Rosenbaum and Werhane all resigned after it was revealed that they were all board members when the board gave huge bonuses to park district employees that nearly doubled some of their salaries and spiked their pensions.

"Scott is impressive both in terms of his commitment to the district and his background," said Park Board Vice President Elaine Waxman, "He will provide the community with comfort that the current situation will be thoroughly addressed and appropriately resolved while at the same time helping the district to fulfill its mission of community service."