Some members of Oak Park’s baseball and softball communities may have thought they hit a home run and dissuaded the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 from further considering placing a new pool house in the west field.
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But none of the site options considered by the district’s Pool Committee are off the table as members are expected to make final recommendations at 7 p.m. Jan. 5 thanks to talks administrators have started with potential community partners.
“I wouldn’t say it was a consensus, but there seems to be a lot of interest in the garage site,” Brian Endless, a director on the board of Oak Park Youth Baseball and Softball, said during the comments period of the Dec. 15 Pool Committee meeting.
“Our biggest concerns are if the baseball and or softball fields go away or are moved it will have great repercussions on the community,” he continued. “Not only do we need a win for the pool and the people who use he fields, we need a win for the people who use the parking garage.”
The district is weighing three sites, including the village-owned parking garage south of the school; the west field, which likely would require moving a sport off-site; and renovating one pool on-site and building a competition pool off-site. The latter two options for replacing the two 87-year-old pools with a long-course pool likely requires partnerships with other taxing bodies and/or private organizations.
To that end, District 200 Superintendent Dr. Steven Isoye reported he already has made contact with the Oak Park Park District about the fields at Lindbergh Park. In addition, he’s taken an inventory of tennis facilities throughout the area, also talking with the Chicago Park District about their facilities at Columbus Park.
Though he had not yet spoken with officials at the West Cook YMCA, Isoye said he had approached operators of private tennis facilities.
“Many of them love our school and want to work with us temporarily but permanent makes it a little bit difficult for membership,” he said.
Isoye said he also is in talks with Triton College, which is in the process of developing its athletic field master plan.
“We’re sort of beginning at the right time with them,” he said.
Though some committee members advocated abandoning the idea of moving baseball off-site, Committee Chair Jeff Weissglass insisted on keeping it as an option, primarily because of the ongoing inquiry into community partnerships.
“I guess I’m advocating for that because I want to know if there is a real option at Triton,” he said.
But Park District Vice President Paul Aeschleman, a member of the Pool Committee, said he believes Triton is too far away to be a viable partner.
“I think going to Triton would have a long-term impact on any sports programs,” he said. “I don’t know how you make up the lost travel time.”