Rename the Belvidere Retention Pond #2

Hello !

My name is Katie Vitek and I am the middle child of Elmer and Mary K Vitek. My parents bought the first house in the Farmington Fields subdivison and were the first to move in. My parents were dedicated environmentalists and had a respect for nature and wildlife that they passed on to 3 generations. My father planted most of the trees surrounding the pond. Dad stocked the pond and the pond across the street for over a decade. Mom helped plant flowers and clean up the trash. My parents developed the Belvidere Retention Pond #2, to what it is today; a thriving environment. The pond is enjoyed by our commmunity and beyond on a daily basis. The Belvidere Park District turned down my request to rename the Belvidere Retention Pond to the Elmer and Mary K Vitek Memorial Pond. The other pond was named in honor of a teen that died because he loved to fish. He was able to fish there because my parents made it possible.

Article here : https://www.rrstar.com/story/news/local/2013/03/27/belvidere-honors-teen-johnny-leopold/42706702007/

I take it as a complete slap in the face that the ones who nurtured the Belvidere Retention Pond #2 , and the Johnny Leopold Memorial Pond by extension, to what it is today and enjoyed by hundreds of community members, refuse to honor them in the same way - a bench was approved , but not a name change. This petition is to show the City of Belvidere and the BPD that the community and the citizens of Belvidere  agree to the name change.

Thank you for signing my petition! 

Best - 

Katie Vitek

Farmington Fields community member 

Katie Vitek    Contact the author of the petition