Clark Co. Park Director “misleads” Commissioners again…

By John Kraft & Kirk Allen

On May 2, 2015

Clark Co., IL. (ECWd) –

During the April Clark County Board of Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Terry Stepp asked if the leased lots covenants included taking power from, and giving it to, the committee designated to keep tabs on the leased lots.

In response to that question, Charity Murphy stated that “the committee, just like every other committee reports to the board” – something she knows to be not entirely accurate.

View this interaction at around the 40:39 point in the meeting video:

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“the committee, just like every other committee reports to the board“

First of all, that statement falls in line with the Park District Code, Section 4.6

(70 ILCS 1205/4-6) (from Ch. 105, par. 4-6)
Sec. 4-6.  No member of the board of any park district, nor any person, whether in the employ of said board or otherwise, shall have power to create any debt, obligation, claim or liability, for or on account of said park district, or the monies or property of the same, except with the express authority of said board conferred at a meeting thereof and duly recorded in a record of its proceedings.

…IF only they would follow it.

Second, according to the very covenants the discussion is about, the board is giving the committee powers that it cannot give away. For instance, as detailed in this article, the covenants, on page 5, paragraph 2(b), entitled “Purpose and Powers”, the board gives the committee the right and power to approve or reject construction and related plans, the power to reduce the minimum dwelling size, the committee has the authority to provide written plan approval (paragraph 2(c)), and all plans shall be delivered to the committee member’s home address (not the park district) – (HUGE red flag on this one), committee has further approval/rejection powers (paragraph 2(d), has the right to enter and inspection (para 2(e)), waiving of committee liability (para 2(f)), authorized signatory for liens/etc (para 2(g)), power to approve in paragraphs 8, 9, 11, 16, 19, – the right to sue for enforcement (para 23), the committee has a whole range of powers in paragraphs 25, 29, 30, and in para 31 the committee takes docks for these lots away from the dock committee. So now that we know the Executive Director was not entirely truthful with Commissioner Stepp and the other commissioners, let’s look at the other half of her statement.

Third, she claimed “just like every other committee“, as somehow stating the claim that all committees simply report to the board to obtain their approval. The reality is that the dock committee has been approving docks, all on their own, for several years now in violation of the Park District Code. Most recently, Charity Murphy herself admitted to a violation of the Park District Code in a disagreement over a new dock being installed. She led a homeowner into believing that she had the authority to approve dock leases – when the reality is that she does not have that authority – the board does, and only at a public meeting of the board (not dock committee).