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Name: Rob Parrish
What office are you seeking? Nunda Township Highway Commissioner
What is your political party? Independent
What is your current age? 59
Occupation and employer: RETIRED Asphalt Superintendent/Estimator/Project Manager Geske and Sons, Inc.
What offices, if any, have you previously held? Nunda Township Trustee for the last 8 years
5-year Nunda Township Precinct Committeeman #13
Crystal Lake Lions Club President for the past two years
City: Crystal Lake
Campaign Website: www.electrobparrish.com
Education: Economics degree from Illinois State University
Continued Education at MCC Shah Center (Excel/Word)
40 hours of OSHA Safety Training & Certification
Community Involvement: I am proud to have been a Crystal Lake Lions Club member for the last twelve years. In the past 2 years I have held the role of club president. In those two years we have raised over $230K through fundraising which has been redistributed to serve the needs of our community. Many local nonprofits have benefited from our efforts such as Horizons for the Blind, Big Brothers Big Sisters, CASA, Crystal Lake American Legion, Crystal Lake Food Pantry, Family Health Partnership Clinic, Fields of the Fallen Honor Flight, Good Samaritan Ministries, Junior Diabetes, Kids in Need, NAMI, NISRA, Options & Advocacy, Pioneer Center, Salvation Army, Senior Services, Senior Care Volunteer Network, Shop with a Cop, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Thresholds, Toys for Tots, Veterans Path to Hope, Refuge for Women Chicago, and many more. Additionally, the CL Lions Club provides approximately $30K per year of funding for hearing & eye care for local individuals in need.
I also volunteer my time and talent to local nonprofits such as the Crystal Lake Food Pantry, Fields of the Fallen, Horizons for the Blind, Independence Health & Therapy, Veterans Path to Hope, Toys for Tots, and Refuge for Women Chicago.
Marital status/Immediate family: I am blessed to have been married to my best friend and partner, Lori, for 29 years, and counting. Lori has been very active in our community as an educator, school administrator, executive leader, and board member of many local nonprofits. She recently served the residents as a McHenry County Board Member in District #4 prior to the redistricting.
We are proud to have raised our son, Casey, as a 5th generation Nunda resident. He is a recent graduate of UW Whitewater and is working as a procurement agent for a global biochemical conglomerate. Casey has carried on the tradition of the Parrish generations to continually serve the local needs of individuals and families by donating his time.
Questions:
What is your stance on township consolidation as a means of reducing redundancy in local government?
I am not in favor of township consolidation at this time. As a fiscal conservative, it is my belief that there can be some regionally shared services in the Supervisors’ Office like General Assistance, Water Testing, and Cemetary Administration. There is a required need for a Nunda Supervisor to operate as the CFO for the entire township. Like a well-run corporation, the health of the township can be judged by the fiscal responsibility of producing a responsible tax levy based upon “need-based” budgets. It is then the supervisor’s responsibility to work with the three offices and trustees to validate appropriate warrants for payments and the proper items from the officers’ budgets for accountability. I approve of current Assessor Dzemske and Supervisor Elect Shorten to consolidate the offices back to one location, a one source Town Hall. The shared facilities will discount the current burden of the interior/exterior maintenance, site utilities, clerical salaries, and office capital expenditures. I believe the residents should then have the option to vote on the sale of the former remote supervisor’s office. The unneeded home on 3 acres would be a liquid resource used to offset the required township levies.
A Nunda specific Assessor is required, as that local office has a full understanding of geographically specific property values. A centralized Assessor at the county level could not be as accurate or fair to the residents.
The Nunda Road District is also a local necessity as a centralized county highway department would be challenged to reach the needs of smaller, or remote subdivisions, maintenance needs or road resurfacing programs. There is definitely a need to reduce the overhead and capital expenses that exist at Nunda Township Road District. We should consider the sale of surplus Nunda equipment or redundant equipment that could be shared with or borrowed from, other neighboring municipalities.
Does the township have adequate funds for needed roadwork? If not,’what would you do to address that?
Yes.
With my 45 years of experience in asphalt paving and 38 years of experience in snow removal, I believe I can meet the needs of the Nunda residents by utilizing my skills to work collaboratively to develop “true” need-based budgets.
There is $105K of funds available to Nunda Township nondedicated subdivisions for this upcoming 2025 season through McDOT. As your Highway Commissioner, I will utilize these funds responsibly to help bring some of the last few NDR subdivisions into compliance and be permanently accepted by the NTRD.
By restoring competitive bidding in the district for all major drainage and road resurfacing projects, we will be able to restore the crew sizes back to historic levels of a department based on maintenance of the roadways. Not a “publicly funded” over staffed nonprofit construction company.
I will reduce the need for specialized additional employees for asphalt paving work or additional snow removal staff when required by fulfilling the daily additional staffing requirements myself. I will be the first Nunda Road Commissioner with the trade abilities and experience to complete all required work scopes in almost 50 years.
What are your top three priorities for the township, and how do you plan to address them?
1. Restore open Communication with all Nunda residents and local municipalities. When we all work together collaboratively to create solutions to Nunda problems, we can all find benefit and ensure fiscal responsibility. As your Nunda Township Highway Commissioner, I will always make myself available to our residents by standardized office hours, prompt email, and a published cell phone. I will NOT leave for over a month each summer to my out of state homestead and put correspondence with residents and their needs on hold! I will have live after-hours phone response available by sharing overnight call transfer from the closed office to rotating Nunda staff.
2. Restore Accountability back to the Nunda residents. As Highway Commissioner, I will post informational meeting opportunities to the impacted subdivision residents on the Nunda Road district website, the Nunda Supervisors website, and specific signage at the entrance into their subdivision or roadway. This will allow for residents’ input on all projects, programs, or issues. Only after we have shared the proposal of solution or scope of work, will we move forward with proper plans and permits. Over the last 12 years the current highway commissioner has completed work without residents’ input, proper design, engineering, plan, or approved permits and has exposed the township to lawsuits from impacted residents and affected governmental agencies. It is irresponsible to proceed with township funded projects without the consent of residents, or approval from municipal oversight. Lawsuits, proper permits, plans in arrears, and post construction mandated land purchases for storm water compliance are all costs that are avoidable with informative planning from the start.
3. Restore Competitive Bidding Practices to local contractors utilizing the industry specific skilled labor force they possess. Contracting with the lowest responsible bidder not only allows for the most cost effective and efficient solution but also mandates the highest standards of quality control for materials and installation. No longer will the residents carry the burden of the liability of poor workmanship or grade of materials without warranty. There will be a labor savings due to the realized labor required. The Nunda Township residents will no longer carry the burden of seasonal employees on all year payrolls.
Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?
Absolutely!
I will remove all current forms of nepotism that exists within the Nunda Township Road District. To take employment perks to family out of the equation, I will hire the most skilled applicants from an open employment process. I will not hire based on personal relationships or political paybacks. I will take perks to friends out of the equation. I will sign the Anti Nepotism pledge as supervisor elect Mike Shorten has completed.
To restore ethics within the district, I will not be involved in any outside business activities that utilize Nunda Township Road District materials, equipment, professionals, subcontractors, employees, resources, or personal storage on township properties unlike the practices by the current highway commissioner. To take secondary financial benefit out of the equation, I will fully disclose all personal assets, real estate, business relationships, and out of state vacation/investment properties on my annual state mandated Economic Interest Statement. This takes any personal benefit as it pertains to Nunda Township spending out of the equation.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
As I had mentioned prior,
My office will work to be accountable by answering the NTRD office phone 24-7 adding after-hours call coverage for resident issues, police, or municipal emergency concerns. This is not currently practiced.
I will make my cell phone available. Not current practice.
I will work to answer all resident emails in a timely manner. Per residents’ complaints this is not currently practiced.
I will post opportunities for informational meetings with residents on site or in the road district office.
I will not leave the responsibility of the office, and office hours, for extended periods of time.
I will implement an economically feasible GPS system for monitoring all NTRD vehicles.
I will attend all Nunda township Budget, Levy, Workshop, Monthly, and Annual meetings to address the public’s comments or concerns. (The current commissioner has only attended 1 meeting in almost 3 years. On 11/14/24 a brief attendance was used to pressure the town board to fulfill his written request for a net 32% raise to “Right the Ship”.)