Batavia Park District

Batavia Park District was fortunate to meet 1:1 with our legislators during this year’s Illinois Association of Park Districts Legislative Conference in Springfield. Thank you to our legislators Senator Linda Holmes, State Representative Barbara Hernandez, State Representative Matt Hanson and State Representative Jeff Keicher for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet and discuss the continued importance of Parks and Recreation to the health of the community. Representatives from the District, Katie Burgess, Allison Niemela and Josh Wyant, along with Elk Grove Park District staff Tiffany Greene, also had a chance to meet with the Illinois Speaker of the House Emanuel “Chris” Welch who challenged staff to embrace challenges and change so we can build something that improves the lives of our community now and in the future.

We can’t wait to begin the renovation project on the future Patrick J. Callahan Community Center building at 150 Houston St. in downtown Batavia. Thank you Illinois Department of Natural Resources for awarding Batavia Park District a $2.8 million Park and Recreation Facility Construction Act (PARC) grant part of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital improvement program. Callahan Community Center is slated to open in 2025. It will be repurposed into a community recreation center to increase the district’s indoor recreation space to address the needs and trends of the community. The center’s amenities include a community room for local organizations to meet and/or host board meetings, an active older adult multi-purpose room to be used as a social gathering space for activities such as adult trivia teams that can easily transition as a game space for the Batavia Senior Citizens Club, an enrichment room for children and administrative spaces for staff moving from the Civic Center. The facility will become ADA accessible with an elevator and ramps. Thank you also to the Batavia Historical Society who signed a donation agreement with the Park District and donated an initial contribution of $430,000 to the district to go toward the acquisition and improvement of the property to create additional collections storage space, a museum lab, curatorial workroom and administrative space for Batavia Depot Museum staff. In total, 13 recreation projects across the state were awarded more than $28 million to acquire or develop land for recreation or public access use. Local governments match the value of the grant. The remainder of the Callahan Community Center project will be funded through the district’s capital development program. For full details on the project please visit https://lnkd.in/gUYQGdRm

Congratulations to Batavia Park District for receiving the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) and Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA) Distinguished Agency Accreditation Award during the annual Soaring to New Heights Conference in Chicago on Friday, January 26. At the conference the District also received two awards in the statewide Agency Showcase marketing and communications competition. First Place – Large format marketing Second Place – Brochure series (print)

Batavia Park District is a 2023 Chicago Tribune Top Workplace!!! 🎉 We want to thank all of the staff, full time, part time and seasonal, who continuously create the strong internal culture which forms the cornerstone of our productive and innovative workplace environment! This award is a reflection of all our employees! The Batavia Park District received this honor as a result of the employee engagement survey conducted earlier this summer. This year 107,997 employees were surveyed from over 70,000 organizations to measure organizational excellence and workplace culture. In the small business category, Batavia Park District ranked #97 overall. The Chicago Tribune published the Top Workplace rankings in a special issue magazine, the newspaper and online today (Nov. 8th). To view our ranking online, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gE-gevmy  #bataviaparks #twp2023 Pictured: Director of Creative Development & Community Engagement Katie Burgess, Director of Talent & Culture Lynn Boerman, Batavia Park District Board of Commissioners Vice-President John Tilmon and Executive Director Allison Niemela.