DARIEN, IL – Darien’s mayor says one of the city’s goals is a better and stronger relationship with the Darien Park District.
Over the years, the relationship has suffered its share of hiccups.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Joseph Marchese said he plans to have lunch Thursday with Ray Jablonski, the park board’s president.
In the future, he said talks between the two entities would involve more people.
“We’re going to start with the two of us to see if we can reach some type of common ground,” Marchese said. “Of course, one of the topics I’m going to talk about is the use of Westwood Park for our activities and our events.”
At an October council meeting, Jablonski and another park official took exception to criticism of the park district in documents related to the city’s strategic plan.
Click Here: Argentina National Team soccer tracksuit
Overall, though, relations between the two bodies seem to have improved in recent times. In September, Marchese issued a proclamation in honor of the district, noting its 50th anniversary.
But at a City Council meeting in June, Darien officials expressed their frustration with the park district in the city’s effort to move events such as Darien Fest to the parks.
They contended the district was placing unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles in the way of an agreement.
The tide had turned in August, with Darien Fest held at the district’s Westwood Park.
In 2020, the park district stopped letting the Darien Chamber of Commerce, which has ties to the city, hold Darien Fest at Community Park. It resulted from a dispute over damage from the previous year’s fest.
The city and the park district are separate public bodies, with their own elected boards.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.