Litchfield Park District Gets $110,000 in Kilton Fund for Two Projects

Article Summary: The Litchfield Park District Board of Commissioners was told at its June 3, 2026, meeting that both of the district’s Kilton Fund submissions were funded this year, bringing in $110,000 — $55,000 for restroom work at Schalk Field and $55,000 to tear down the American Legion building at Walton Park. Neither project starts immediately.

Kilton Fund Awards Key Points:

Two separate $55,000 awards were deposited May 19, 2026, and the district’s May financial statements record $110,000 in Kilton Fund income for the month.

The Schalk restroom work will wait until after this year’s baseball season concludes.

The Legion demolition will wait until the city turns the property over to the district.

Separately, the district’s Kilton Trust Fund expense account carried $80,402.00 in May spending, most of it tied to a newly completed restroom and concession building.

LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield Park District Board of Commissioners was told on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, that both of the district’s Kilton Fund submissions were funded this year, delivering $110,000 to the district for two separate projects at two separate parks.

The report came under Old Business at the board’s regular monthly meeting at 1100 South State St. According to the meeting minutes, one award of $55,000 is for what the record describes as “handicapped renovations” to the restrooms at Schalk. The second, also $55,000, is to tear down the American Legion building at Walton Park.

Both Submissions Funded

The district’s May financial statements, accepted by the board the same night, corroborate the figures. The Corporate Fund cash receipts report records two deposits of $55,000.00 each on May 19, 2026, one carrying the memo “Schalk Field Restroom Update” and the other “Kilton Funds for Tearing Down Am Ve…,” the memo field truncated in the printed report. The Corporate Fund profit-and-loss statement for May 2026 shows $110,000.00 posted to account 4174, Kilton Fund.

That $110,000 accounted for roughly the bulk of the district’s May income. Total Corporate Fund income for the month was $140,974.76, meaning Kilton money outweighed every other revenue source combined, including a month in which the district pool opened.

Neither project is imminent. The minutes state the district will renovate the Schalk restroom “after this year’s baseball season has concluded,” and that the Legion building will come down “after the city turns the property over to us.” The minutes do not give a date for that transfer, do not name a contractor for either job, and do not state a total cost for either project beyond the $55,000 award amounts.

A Recurring, but Unexplained, Revenue Source

Kilton money is not new to the district’s books. The Corporate Fund’s Profit & Loss Between Fiscal Years statement shows the district recorded $162,000.00 in Kilton Fund income in May 2025, compared with the $110,000.00 recorded in May 2026.

The district also spends against a matching Kilton Trust Fund expense account. That line carried $80,402.00 in May 2026 — $925.00 coded to “Kilton Fund Purchases 2024,2025” and $79,477.00 to the general Kilton Trust Fund line — against $67,000.00 in May 2025. The bulk of the current-year figure is tied to a restroom and concession building the board reported complete at the same meeting, covered separately in this package.

What the Record Does Not Say

The June record is silent on the nature of the Kilton Fund itself. Neither the agenda, the minutes nor the financial statements explain who administers the fund, whether the submissions were competitive applications, what conditions attach to the money, or whether the awards are grants, trust distributions or reimbursements. The district’s chart of accounts treats Kilton money as both an income category and an expense category, but no document in the packet describes the arrangement.

Also unrecorded is the status of the American Legion property itself. The minutes establish only that the city holds it and that the district expects to receive it. No transfer date, ordinance, agreement or purchase price appears anywhere in the meeting materials.

Four of the district’s seven commissioners were present: President Jeff Heyen, Vice President Katie Cross, Treasurer Brian Kulick and Commissioner Sherry Bergschneider. Commissioners Christopher Bates, Jaylynn Taylor and Jennifer Cearlock were absent. The meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m.