The Community Park District of La Grange Park received mixed signals from residents April 4 in its attempt to pass a referendum for a new facility.
One measure on the ballot — the one for a $10.7 million bond issue for the renovation of the building at 1501 Barnsdale Road passed, with residents voting yes by 1,317 to 1,281 or 50.69 % to 49.31 %.
But a second measure, to increase the limiting tax rate by .038 % and put the district in a good position for future capital projects, was shot down, the vote being 1,203-1,343 or 52.75 % to 47.25 %.
“It’s not a clear opinion,” Park District executive Director Jessica Cannaday said in a telephone interview. “The Board was hoping for a definitive yes or no.”
Indeed, the vote could leave observers scratching their heads. Cannaday noted that the District had received some feedback from residents indicating that they thought the two measures amounted to an “either/or” question.
For a homeowner with a property valued at $300,000 the combined cost of both measures would be $240 per year, or $20 per month — $17 for the bond issue and $3 for the rate increase.
The rejection of the less costly of the two measures — which would have produced an estimated annual additional $150,000 in revenue — leaves plans for the new building in limbo for the time being.
Cannaday indicated that whether or not the Park District would go ahead and issue the bonds without the rate increase was unknown at this time, because the referendum result won’t be legally certified by Cook County until April 25.
“We have no plans to issue the bonds at this point,” she said, noting it would likely be a point of discussion for the Park District Board to address at its May 8 board meeting.
A further complication is that a new Board of Commissioners will be sworn at the same May meeting. Whatever the Board decides, the earliest the Park District can go back to the public would be the elections in March 2024.
Despite the split decision, Board of Commissioners President Lucy Stastny was upbeat.
“This is a monumental a monumental election for La Grange Park,” she said by telephone. “This is the first time in 70 years we’ve passed a referendum like this and voters said they wanted to invest $10 million in the Park District.”
If the Board decides to go through with the project, the new facility would see the first floor adding a gym, multipurpose room, lockers, a fitness room, a stage, and a single, controlled entrance to ensure the safety of kids at its Ready Teddy Preschool.
Current plans are that an elevated fitness track, administration space, and a green roof be added to the second floor, but only as phase two of the plan, not included in the measures voted on April 4.
Surveys taken by the Park District show that while 87 % of respondents agree that the District provides affordable recreational activities, and 81 % agree that there are enough parks in the village, 61 % disagreed that there were enough indoor recreational activities.
And 57 % of respondents asked for a walking track.
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Cannaday wanted residents to know that whatever plan the Park District ultimately embarked on for the renovation, the safety of the school children enrolled in its Ready Teddy Preschool would be a top priority.
“We are committed to finding a solution,” she said, stressing that a key to having a single entrance for the students while leaving adults able to access the building required modifications to the building that the rate increase would help fund.
For further information on the referendum, visit the Park District website, communityparkdistrict.org
The next Community Park District of La Grange Park Board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. May 8, at 1501 Barnsdale Road.