The Park District of Oak Park would take over maintenance of Oak Park Elementary School District 97’s sports fields starting in January under a proposed agreement between the two governing bodies.
“For years there’s been legitimate complaints that the fields are not in the best of shape for playing sports,” school board President Bob Spatz said. “(The agreement) leverages their expertise in maintaining fields and should provide better play space during recess and before and after school and for youth leagues.”
Under the agreement, District 97 would pay the park district more than $50,000 a year to mow, seed, aerate and make repairs to grass fields and baseball diamonds at seven of the district’s schools. The school district also would purchase a lawn mower for park district staff to use at the fields.
On Nov. 4, the District 97 school board voted unanimously in favor of the intergovernmental agreement. The park district’s board is expected to approve the agreement at its Nov. 20 meeting.
“It’s a win-win,” said Diane Stanke, spokeswoman for the park district. “District 97 fields will be vastly improved and we have the resources to do it.”
District 97 has budgeted about $80,000 in the current fiscal year to cover the purchase of the mower and about 50 percent of expected maintenance costs for the 2014-15 school year, according to a staff memo.
As part of the agreement, the park district would keep a schedule for use of the fields outside of school hours. The park district would also make decisions about whether to close the fields temporarily due to weather or “other unfavorable field conditions,” according to the agreement.
If approved by the park district board, the agreement would take effect Jan. 1 and expire June 30, 2019.