The Clarendon Hills Park District plans to analyze its financial picture over the next month or two to determine how much it can afford to spend on major improvements and additions to its Lions Park Pool.
FGM Architects recently made a presentation to the park board of concepts for possible changes at the 31-year-old pool, which has been operated for the past 20 years by the park district.
“It could cost over $10 million for all of the things that were presented as options,” said Don Scheltens, the park district’s executive director. “We had no idea what it will cost before seeing those concepts, and we don’t know at this point what we can afford or what our bonding limits are for referendum and non-referendum bonding, so our treasurer is going to look into that, and we’ll then discuss it again.”
Scheltens said there is no timeline at this point for when work on improvements for the pool would begin. He said the existing pool is safe and operational, but added it’s important to look ahead at what might be needed or wanted.
“We have to prepare for the future, and this is a start in doing that,” Scheltens said. “We’re dealing with a pool where age is a factor, and the older a pool gets, the more breakdowns and issues you have with it. Every year, it seems like we’re experiencing more breakdowns, and the bathhouse is showing its age. You can keep on patching things up, but that doesn’t really solve the problem, long-term, and it can be very expensive, too, as the costs continue to add up.”
A larger spray pad, vortex, which spins the water around; and a FlowRider, which creates waves in the pool, all, along with a new bathhouse, are among options that have been presented to park district officials and staff for consideration.
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“We have to determine what we want and what we can afford,” Scheltens said. “Looking at what will attract people to the pool is a big part of it, too.”
Scheltens said creating focus groups with residents will be part of the process that will lead to determining what actual improvements will be made.
“We definitely want to hear from the community to find out what they want,” he said “Sometimes, you have to add something to have people come, and we’re also looking at other communities to see what they have and what seems to work well.”
A referendum to help pay for pool improvement remains a possibility, Scheltens said.
“There are limits on how much you can ask for in a referendum, and those are difficult to pass,” he said, adding that there also may be grants available to help with the costs.
“We’ll look into every option we can for funding,” Scheltens said. Pools are expensive to operate, and it’s basically a three-month operation, so all of this needs to be considered within the context of all park district programs.”
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for the Doings.