Public Watchdog.org

Saying “Goodbye” To The Short-Lived Kemnitz Center

11.03.15

Simply saying “We told you so” would be too easy.

And not nearly enough to capture the pettiness, greed, stupidity and waste by the masterminds behind the private corporation called “Senior Services, Inc.” (“SSI” or “Seniors Inc.”) that founded something called “The Kemnitz Center for Active Adults” – the imminent demise of which has been reported in both the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (“ ‘Senior-driven’ Kemnitz Center to close by end of year,” Oct. 26) and the Park Ridge Journal (“Kemnitz Center In Niles Closing At End Of This Year,” Oct. 21).

For those keeping score, that’s a mere 15 months between the Kemnitz Center’s September 2014 opening and its anticipated December 31, 2015 closing.

And, from the sound of things, they burned up approximately $300,000 in the process.

That $300 grand was a bequest from the late Betty Kemnitz to the “Park Ridge Senior Center” – which, at the time the bequest was made, just happened to be the name on the building at 100 S. Western owned and nominally operated by the Park Ridge Park District, and a place that Kemnitz frequented and apparently treasured.

But after Kemnitz died and her bequest “matured,” the Seniors Inc. crowd – already bristling at some Park Board members’ complaints about the $100,000-plus annual operating deficits the Senior Center was posting while charging members a paltry S43 in annual membership “dues”– collaborated with former Park District employee/Senior Center manager Teresa Grodsky (who had been sacked by the Park District about a year earlier) to file a lawsuit intended to make sure that Seniors Inc. could keep that $300K bequest for itself.

You can get all the background on this you need or want by checking out our 05.13.13 post “Good Riddance To Greedy Geezers” and the other posts referenced there.

But long story short, when the Park District decided to give up its fight for the Kemnitz bequest, the Seniors Inc. “leadership” – current D-207 School Board member Carla Owen, Grodsky, Barbara Ingolia, Helen Roppel, Millie O’Brien, and Ken Butterly – triumphantly packed up and moved to the former Our Lady of Ransom school building in Niles.

And fifteen months later, it sounds like they’re flat broke and busted.

But still remarkably shameless.

As quoted in the H-A article, Seniors Inc. chairman Ken Butterly is bragging that they “broke a barrier in the region” by allowing seniors from outside the District’s boundaries to belong – even though the Senior Center always allowed non-resident members, albeit at a higher price. And although the Kemnitz Center’s membership reportedly topped out at about 250 people ages 55 to 90, Seniors Inc. chairman Ken Butterly is bragging that: “It’s been a great run.”

Seriously.

Not surprisingly, the District is already welcoming back the secessionists with open arms – to a re-purposed and re-branded facility now known as the “Centennial Activity Center” from which it runs the “Seniors Together At Recreation” (STAR) program.

But apparently senior centers are bad investments irrespective of whether they’re publicly or privately run.

Even as Seniors Inc. was blowing $300,000 in less than two years, as best as we can tell from the District’s own reports the Centennial Activity Center lost a whopping $240,000 in 2014, and looks on track to lose around $190,000 this year. Those deficits have to be covered by…wait for it…the taxpayers. But in typical government fashion, we hear that District staff and certain Park Board members consider that “moving in the right direction.”

And in typical Good-Time Charlie fashion, Butterly and his Seniors Inc. buddies intend to “press on and have a good time until the last day.” And the last pennies of Kemnitz’s $300,000 get spent.

Before they come back onto the Park District dole.

To read or post comments, click on title.

6 comments so far

What exactly are their expenses? Seems high

EDITOR’S NOTE: Building maintenance, utilities, staffing, etc. And since the Park District only charges $47/year as a resident membership fee, the revenue from even 1,000 members – which is far more than current membership – would barely cover one full-time employee’s salary and benefits.

Although I am a fan of this blog I was a little uncomfortable with your use of the terms “freeloader” and “parasite.” After reading about one vocal “free for me” taxpayer’s tiny tax bill and now about the seniors’ burning through taxpayer (Park District) money in addition to money that should have been the taxpayers (Kemnitz Trust) I am becoming more comfortable with those terms.

There is no way the taxpayers should be subsidizing a senior club and recreation activities by more than $100,000 a year, just like anyone who pays less than $6,000 in RE taxes has no grounds for complaining about “high” taxes.

EDITOR’S NOTE: That’s about right.

I was truly saddened to read that the Kemnitz Center was closing but I was even more sad at the thought that Ms. Kemnitz’s bequest was used to fund building improvements to a facility that will no longer be used or enjoyed by seniors as she had wished. I was at the epicenter of the Kemnitz lawsuit and was, for better or worse, the target of much of the criticism lodged by Ken Butterly and the Senior Services Inc. (“SSI”) folks in public meetings and on Mr. Butterly’s blog. However, I was also responsible for brokering a settlement to the Kemnitz lawsuit with SSI that was ultimately rejected. In that settlement proposal, the Park District had agreed to put the bequest into escrow and have SSI draft a list of improvements to 100 S. Western that would be agreed upon in advance by the Park Board. This proposal would have allowed SSI to have critical input in the use of the bequest while keeping financial oversight in the hands of the duly elected Board of Commissioners. This reasonable proposal would have earmarked Ms. Kemnitz’s money specifically for improvements to the building that she so enjoyed and go to improve the lives of seniors in our community. Unfortunately, SSI rejected this offer because, in my opinion, they wanted complete control over when, how and where the funds were to be used and thus disagreed with the notion that this money was bequeathed by Ms. Kemnitz to improve 100 S. Western, a property owned and managed by the Park Ridge Park District. In hindsight, had SSI not rejected the proposed offer by the Park District, Ms. Kemnitz’s money would continue to be used for the betterment of seniors today and well in to the future.

For seniors interested in monthly trips and activities why not join the Main Township Mainstreamers at no cost?

EDITOR’S NOTE: At no cost to the seniors, perhaps, but at a cost to Maine Twp. taxpayers. But so long as it provides the Maine Twp. elected cabal with a pool of dependable voters, the cabal will continue to throw our money at it.

How did they blow thru $300,000 in less than 2 years? Gross mismanagement, stupidity or both?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Either of those would be enough, although we’re betting both…and maybe more.

There are always TWO OR MORE sides to every story!!!!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Yep, and Seniors Inc. already has “gross mismanagement” and “stupidity” covered.



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