Olympia Fields Officials Brainstorm to Fight Runaway Referendum

The Olympia Fields Village Board was in 'war room' mode Monday night, continuing the fight to stop a referendum once championed by its Park District.

Park District President Richard J. Pozdol told the board he's been living a "nightmare" since the revelation that the referendum's true cost was three times its advertised amount.

"I'm just waiting to wake up," Pozdol said.

That ballot query had been viewed as a tempting funding source for a new athletic facility at Bicentennial Park, offering a voter-approved tax increase of approximately $13.60 per $100,000 in assessed property value. But the idea became less appealing when Ali ElSaffar, president of the Cook County Township Assessors Association, revealed Olympia Fields residents would actually have to pay an increase of $45.83 per $100,000.

If Olympia Fields voters do pass the referendum, Pozdol said he fears media predictions of lawsuits could prove correct. He added that regardless of which way the vote goes, the fate of a $700,000 grant application, also needed to fund the facility, now seems in jeopardy.

"We could lose the grant money," said Pozdol. "That's definately a possibility."

Since village ballots cannot be reissued, corrected or for that matter, exorcised, Pozdol has already launched a letter Olympia Fields voters to vote 'no.'

With time running out before the April 5 election, Village Board members brainstormed on ways to provide the beleaguered Pozdol and Park District Executive Director Denise Will with backup on their campaign.

"Robocalls," asked Trustee Kelvin Olivier. Village President Debra Meyers-Martin suggesting using Code Red, the reverse 911 phone system devoted to police, fire and emergency notifications.

Trustee Susan Ormsby and Village Administrator David A. Mekarski suggested using Comcast as well as the community channel.

There's always one more option, joked Trustee Robert C. Waite. "We can find someone to blame it on."