Park District Approves New Age Requirements at CORE

Teenagers wanting to use the must now be at least 14 years of age, according to a new policy adopted by the last week.

The Lemont Park District Board of Commissioners voted 4-0 during its April 19 meeting to approve a policy that sets a minimum age requirement to use facilities at the CORE, 16050 W. 127th St. Commissioner Jack Williams was absent from the meeting.

Under the new policy, people must now be 14 or older to use the facilities.

Previously, the requirement was that members be "high-school age," which raised concerns over 13-year-olds entering high school and 14-year-olds still in middle school. The new language is intended to clear up any inconsistencies caused by early or late birthdays, commissioners said.

The policy also requires a new members between the ages of 14 and 17 to attend an orientation session in which they tour CORE facilities and learn basic rules and guidelines for using the equipment.

During the meeting, Lemont Park District staffers also handed out its monthly Customer Service and Community Spotlight awards.

The winner of the Customer Service Award was Erik Enslen, head coach of the .

Enslen, an Oak Lawn resident, comes to the Lemont Park District with 20 years of coaching experience. Over the past 12 years, he has coached swim clubs in Lyons, Homewood-Flossmoor and Westmont. He is a certified "Level 3" coach by the American Swimming Coaches Association, meaning he is among the top 15 percent of swimming coaches in the country.

In the Dolphins' first winter season, Enslen made great strides with the swimmers and built a strong overall reputation for the program, park district officials said.

Winning the Community Spotlight award was Lemont resident Roger Bossard, who serves as the head groundskeeper at U.S. Cellular Field for the Chicago White Sox.

Bossard, known to some as "the Sodfather," has assisted the Lemont Park District in many of its own efforts, officials said.