Batavia Park District leaders are looking to the future after voters Tuesday rejected a referendum question for a $27.1 million bond issue to acquire land, build and equip a new recreation center on the city’s southeast side.
The proposition failed by a margin of 2,085 votes, according to unofficial final results from the Kane County Clerk’s Office.
“Three weeks ago the world was in a different place than it is today,” Batavia Park District Executive Director Allison Niemela said of the election, held during the coronavirus outbreak. “Nobody anticipated a pandemic would lead to economic uncertainty or a stock market crash. I believe it did have a role in the outcome.”
Unofficial final results show 5,128 voting against the measure and 3,043 voting in favor.
The park board was prepared to purchase property for $1.3 million for the project about 1.4 miles from downtown Batavia. The indoor facility was proposed to be built in the Fox Valley Business Park east of Route 25 near the Illinois Prairie Path.
The property was under contract pending the referendum outcome, and will likely be placed back on the market, Niemela said.
The proposed indoor recreational facility was designed with an eight-lane swimming pool and year-round indoor turf and multi-activity court gymnasium as well as a track. There would be other areas designated for group fitness, cardio equipment and programming for all age groups.
The park board hosted community engagement and planning sessions to collect feedback from residents over the past couple of years on the proposal, Niemela said.
“This proposal was created based on a huge length of community engagement beginning with a community needs assessment in 2013. This proposal evolved over time with input from the community,” she said. “We pitched a proposal that we were hoping was within alignment of the community’s expectations.”
Niemela said a lot of work went into the recreation center plan.
“We are disappointed with the outcome but we want to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work that has gone into the solutions for increasing indoor recreational space for residents,” Niemela said. “The Batavia Park District has been programming rich and facility poor for the last two decades. We were trying to get to a position where our residents would not have to pay 30% in non-resident fees at other agencies. While we are disappointed, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow from the experience.”
The park board was confident going into the referendum but could not have predicted the coronavirus and its impact, she said.
“In a million years we could have not predicted the economic uncertainty that faces us today with the COVID-19 epidemic,” she said.
The next community assessment in the park district will be done in 2022, officials said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.