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the winnetka current | October 4, 2018 | 7
Winnetka Park Board
Replacement approved for $48.3K lawn maintenance equipment
Todd Marver
Freelance Reporter
The Winnetka Park
District Board approved
a mowing equipment replacement
at its Thursday,
Sept. 27 meeting.
The board unanimously
approved the purchase of a
new 2018 Toro Reel Master
3555-D mower from
Reinders Company, of Sussex,
Wisc., for a net price of
$48,281. Golf course staff
has identified the need to
replace the 2001 Toro Reel
Master 5400-D. This piece
of equipment has served
the golf course for about 17
years.
“That unit is up for replacement
and has been
deferred a few times now,”
Superintendent of Parks
Costa Kutulas said.
Executive Director John
Muno explained that there
were numerous deferments
for replacements in the past
due to the golf course being
subsidized and as a result,
replacements at the golf
course are likely to continue
at a high level for the
next year or two.
“In the old days when
the golf course was getting
subsidized is one of the
reasons I feel like we’ve
deferred a lot of capital
vehicle fleet replacements
for the golf course,” Muno
said. “So you’ve supported
disproportionate amounts
of vehicle replacements
specifically for the golf
course and I think you’re
going to see that trend for
the next year or two.”
Kutulas added the 2001
Toro Reel Master 5400-D
was one of the first pieces
of equipment he got when
he started as a parks operation
supervisor with the
Park District 17 years ago.
“When I started as a mechanic,
this was one of the
pieces I worked on and it
was actually one of the first
pieces I bought new when I
started here and it’s gone a
good test of time,” he said.
Park Board President
Mickey Archambault concurred
that it’s time to replace
this piece of mowing
equipment after all its years
of use.
“I’m going to approve
this because I know its
age,” he said. “It’s not an
even cut. It’s an old piece
of equipment.”
The 2001 Toro Reel Master
5400-D that the Park
District is replacing was
included as a needed replacement
through the longrange
plan approved in the
2018 budget (capitals). This
machine is currently being
used as the mower that
maintains all the fairways
on both the championship
course and the par-3 course.
Golf course staff determined
the Toro Reel Master 3555-
D to be the best replacement
option.
“The new unit that we’re
looking to replace it with
is a lighter, more versatile
unit with just as much productivity,”
Kutulas said.
“The fact is that they can
get out there and mow on
heavy rain days the next
morning versus having to
wait or potentially rut the
fairways.”
Reinders Company submitted
a quote via the National
Intergovernmental
Purchasing Alliance for a
Toro Reel Master 3555-D
Mower with the gross delivered
price of $48,781.
The trade-in allowance
is $500 for a net price of
$48,281.95. The budget
amount for this item is
$40,000, so the price came
in $8,281 over budget.
“The budget was 40 and
the proposal is 48,” Commissioner
Warren James
said. “That’s a pretty big
miss.”
However, Muno said that
despite this line item coming
in over budget, the golf
course capital budget as a
whole is under budget.
“The golf course will be
under budget capital wise,”
he said.
In the memo in the board
packet, Golf Course Superintendent
Matt McCann
said staff feels that the
trade-in allowance given for
the 17-year-old machine is a
fair price. The National IPA
is a cooperative purchasing
organization serving national,
state, county, city and local
governmental agencies.
Winnetka Park District is
registered with the National
IPA. McCann said in the
memo in the board packet
that by purchasing through
the National IPA, this will
allow staff to order the unit
at a greater cost savings to
the district and not have to
go through the formal bid
process.
The Winnetka Public Schools District 36 school board
Survey: Participants show 88 percent in favor of investing in schools
Andrew Carroll
Freelance Reporter
The results of a weeklong
telephone survey shed
light on where the community
stands on investing
more money into improving
District 36 schools and
a one-year project for new
learning spaces.
Paul Fallon, of Fallon
Research and Communications
Inc., conducted a survey
with community members
about D36 schools to
gauge their willingness to
see their schools improved
by possibly investing more
money in updates and upgrades
as part of the Educational
Master Facility Plan.
Examples of this would include
improving safety and
security, accessibility for
those with disabilities, and
HVAC temperature control
systems.
“We want to a common
understanding of what the
data tells us,” Superintendent
Trisha Kocanda said.
Through various detailed
questions — such as
opinions on the quality of
education at the district’s
school, which 92 percent of
participants said was excellent
— Fallon was able to
give the School Board data
regarding community opinions
on investing more into
their schools.
“There’s a willingness to
see money invested in money
invested in the schools,”
Fallon said in regard to 88
percent of participants that
said they would be interested
in doing so.
The survey sampled parents
with children in school
but also contained community
members of a wide
range of demographics
based on sex, race, age and
whether or not the participants
were parents. However,
some board members
were concerned that the
data did not provide a big
picture of how willing the
community at large would
be to invest in their schools.
“I’m not sure what exactly
we’re learning here,”
Board member Matthew
Hulsizer said. “We have
three choices: A. Do nothing;
B. Cut taxes at the expense
of our schools; or C.
Raise taxes at the expense
of the community.”
Later in the meeting,
D35 staff members Maureen
Chertow Miller and
Barry Rodgers addressed
the board about the prototype
classrooms or “learning
spaces” that seek to
change form, function and
flexibility.
The learning spaces
project partnered with
businesses, such as Meln,
Norval Nival, DLR and
VS America Furniture, to
create new learning spaces
meant to optimize elementary
student learning. The
learning spaces bring modern
classroom design to
D36’s schools with new ergonomic
chairs and desks,
as well as room layout,
which aim to make interactive
classroom participation
easier.
Orchestra teacher concerns
This month’s D36
School Board meeting
also allowed parents to express
their concerns about
the new orchestra teacher
at Carleton Washburne
School during the public
comments section of the
meeting.
Two parents said they
were concerned about the
“evident lack” of stringed
instrument experience the
new orchestra teacher has
due to her choral singing
background.
“The new orchestra
teacher at Washburne must
be moved out of the position,”
said Martha Gillam,
the mother of two students
at Washburne. “The new
teacher does not have the
skills for the job. ... The
new teacher does not play
a stringed instrument. Further,
she does not know the
vocabulary of strings to
teach to the children.”
According to the two parents,
the new teacher allegedly
sings notes to the children
as an example of what
to play rather than playing
it for them on a stringed instrument,
which would not
convey proper technique or
bow position, they said.
The parents urged the
board to seek a more qualified
replacement.
“Our teachers are absolutely
qualified and equally
supported to meet the goals
of our curriculum and
programming,” Superintendent
Kocanda told The
Current after the meeting.
“We encourage all personal
concerns to be addressed
via the district’s problemsolving
process.”