The New Lenox Park District this week kicked off its “blue ribbon” campaign for yes votes to finance a recreation center.
The blue ribbons that will be found throughout the village in the next few weeks are “a symbol to remind people to get out to vote,” parks director Greg Lewis said.
Park District voters will be asked Nov. 7 to approve a $6 million bond issue to finance a recreation and fitness center that will be built in partnership with Provena St. Joseph Medical Center.
By sharing costs with the medical center, the Park District will be able to build a state-of-the-art recreation center at about one-third of the price.
The arrangement would be similar to other partnerships that allow the Park District to share facilities at Lincoln-Way High School and the elementary schools of New Lenox District 122, McKenna said.
With the area’s population growing, the Park District is running out of space, he said. The recreation center would make it possible to offer “a diversity of programs” more often.
The center would include multi-purpose gymnasiums with two basketball/volleyball courts, a preschool, a fitness area for children, a gymnastics room and a conference center, as well as a medically based fitness center with an indoor track, adult fitness equipment and locker rooms with whirlpool, sauna and steam rooms. The fitness center will offer wellness and fitness classes.
The center will likely be built in one of two sites, the New Lenox Commons area south of U.S. Highway 30 or the Lions Den on Cedar Road.
Either site fits resident preferences for a central location near the Old Plank Road Trail, Park Board President Bob McKenna said.
Informational fliers are being distributed throughout the community, said public relations director Roxanne Long. “We have a running list of people who want signs in their yards,” Long said.
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The recreation bond issue would add $63 to the yearly tax bill for a $200,000 house, but the cost can be expected to decrease as the community continues to grow, Lewis said.