Hogge, Grimm sworn in as Park Board commissioners; Quincy Art Center may become local landmark

QUINCY — Dave Hogge knows his return to the Quincy Park Board as a commissioner won’t last long.

“When I came back to do this for the three or four months I’m here, I said I wanted four times the money I made since the last time I was on the board,” Hogge said with a smile. “And they agreed right off the bat.”

(NOTE: To be clear, Hogge was making a joke. Park Board commissioners are not paid. He served from 1999 to 2007 on the Park Board and was the board’s president for three years.)

David Grimm hopes his time as a commissioner will last at least four years longer.

“I’m retired from the real estate business, so now I’ve got some time,” he said. “I feel like it’s time to give back to my community a little bit.”

The Quincy Park Board appointed Grimm and Hogge during its Jan. 16 meeting to fill two vacant seats. They were sworn in during Wednesday night’s meeting. Their terms will expire after the April meeting.

Hogge has said he has no intention of running again for the Park Board, but he offered to provide stability after the December resignations of Trent Lyons and John Frankenhoff. Lyons had leveled accusations of bullying and intimidation against Frankenhoff in mid-December, and staff member Marcelo Beroiza came forward during a special meeting on Dec. 20 to concur with Lyons’ sentiment. 

Frankenhoff resigned hours after the Dec. 20 meeting after being sanctioned by his fellow commissioners over his actions.

“When this all started, it was just when Trent left,” Hogge said. “But when John left, it was like, ‘Now we’ve got a bigger problem.’

“My problem has always been when (the Park Board picks) somebody to sit here temporarily because thing change. Now you pick somebody to do it, and you’ve already picked someone who’s up for election. It sort of gives them an insider advantage. So I thought, ‘OK, I’ll throw my hat in. It’s a couple of months.’ I’ll do my thing, and then just as quick as I show up, I’ll fade back into oblivion.”

Grimm is on the April ballot to run for one of four four-year terms. Patty McGlothlin announced in November she would not run for re-election, and Barb Holthaus’ term is set to expire in April. Holthaus is running for re-election. Also on the ballot will be Cecil Weathers, Greg Artz and Josh Crabtree.

Of note: Frankenhoff’s name has not yet been officially removed from the ballot. 

Grimm has recently spoken out in favor of maintaining the Art Keller Marina on the Quincy riverfront, but he said he’s also a fan of Westview Golf Course and the Bill Klingner Trail.

“I use it all,” he said. “I’m a biker, a hiker, golfer and boater, so I’ve been involved with everything. There’s probably not a part (of the Park District) that I have not been a part of.”

The newly formed board elected Holthaus as the Park Board’s vice president.

The Park Board learned during Wednesday’s meeting that the Quincy Art Center, 1515 Jersey, could become a local landmark.

The Quincy Preservation Committee recently approached the Park District to ask for permission to apply for local landmark status for the Art Center.  Local landmark status protects the exterior of a building by specifying architectural features that must remain intact for the building to retain landmark designation.

The Lorenzo Bull House, a Park District property, received local landmark status in May 2023. The Villa Kathrine, another Park District property, received local landmark status in April 2009.

The 50-day public comment period on the proposed landmark status began Wednesday. The Park Board could vote on the proposal in April. The Quincy City Council makes the final determination on a landmark.

Director of Golf David Morgan told the Park Board a sales tax has been collected since Jan. 1 for golf cart and push cart rentals at Westview Golf Course. 

“It’s not for us. It’s for the state of Illinois,” Morgan told the commissioners. “It’s not good, but it’s life.”

“I will share with the open board that I was not too pleased finding out that there’s going to be another tax on our services that we don’t have any control over,” Park Board President Mark Philpot said. “That’s not OK. We’ll muddle through, but I want to verbally share my displeasure.”

In other action during the 25-minute meeting, the Park Board:

• Agreed to spend $29,750 in general obligation bond funds on the engineering and design work for a bandstand in Madison Park. The Park District previously set aside $200,000 in bond funds for the project. The Quincy Park Band is raising the remaining funds. Director of Parks Matt Higley said work on the project is scheduled to begin in September.
• Approved a resolution to grant an easement to Adams Telephone Co-Operative to install fiber optic cable in Clat Adams Bicentennial Park. “Part of this is they’ll put some boxes in for us for our large special events that we have down there at no cost for us, with the intent of running fiber all the way up to the Park District, hopefully next year,” Executive Director Rome Frericks said.
• Learned job fairs are scheduled from 3-5 p.m. on Feb. 20 at Indian Hills Apartments, 540 Harrison, and from 3-5 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Frederick Ball Apartments, 818 N. Eighth. “So far this year, we’ve got some decent applicants already,” Director of Program Services Mike Bruns said. “But we still have lots and lots of positions (to fill) — lifeguards, especially.”