Following an approximate two-month delay, the Lake Bluff Park District has reopened its pool at Blair Park. However, questions are being raised about the reasons why the summer attraction was not able to open on time.
While the pool traditionally opens at the end of May, a $2.7 million renovation project took longer than anticipated, forcing the park district to keep its main pool closed. On July 20, the Lake Bluff Park District welcomed customers to the Blair Park pool for the first time in 2025.
“It was a sense of relief to finally open the facility for the residents,” Park District Executive Director John Bealer said. “The residents have mostly been patient and understanding that the projects are going this way, but some have chosen to buy memberships elsewhere.”
The Park District went ahead with the opening, despite some inclement weather on that Sunday.
“We still felt it was important to open even if it was kind of a soft opening as not a lot of people came out,” Bealer noted.
The opening represented the end of a saga for the Park District as its commissioners approved a construction bid in October 2024 upon the successful application for a $600,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to offset a portion of the costs.
In February, the park board commissioners issued a $1.725 million non-referendum general obligation bond over five years to address this project and other capital improvement needs. The park district tapped into its capital reserves for the balance of the funding of the pool facelift, intending to keep the pool operational for another 20 years.
But in the spring, the Park District revealed the pool would not be able to open on time. Bealer hoped for a June opening, but it wound up not occurring until July 20 when the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) issued a permit.
“The engineer estimated it would be about a three-month review process, and it took five months instead,” he said. “That meant the contractor couldn’t start the construction and that put us behind right at the beginning.”
However, IDPH spokesman Mike Claffey offered a different perspective.
“With the responsibility for inspecting and licensing 3,190 pools across the state, IDPH’s environmental safety team works with pool operators to ensure that all pool construction and improvement projects are carried out in accordance with the latest safety standards,” he explained in an e-mail.
In the specific case of Lake Bluff, Claffey said the Park District submitted the application in September 2024, and the agency issued a construction permit this past February following four rounds of questions and answers about the design of the pool.
“As work on the pool was nearing completion, an IDPH inspector visited on July 18 and found construction was not yet complete (with gates and barrier not fully installed, and a heater not connected),” Claffey wrote. “The contractor followed up with IDPH and provided evidence that the deficient items were corrected, at which time IDPH issued approval of the renovations at the Lake Bluff Park District facility.”
Bealer was also frustrated with the contractor, Schaefges Brothers, as he sensed the company might have taken on too many projects at once.
“They had a good reputation within the state with pools, but that also means they are busy and they have a lot of jobs,” he said. “They were not totally focused on finishing ours in a timely manner.”
Company president Ken Schaefges disputed Bealer’s conclusion.
“We are busy sure, but that didn’t cause this project to suffer,” Schaefges said.
Instead, he connected the delay to the lack of the IDPH permit.
“They always find several items that need to be corrected,” Schaefges maintained. “I’ve never done a pool job yet where the designers haven’t had to resubmit. That is what happened in this case, which is not altogether unusual.”
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Schaefges contended there were a series of problems at Lake Bluff, including some unknown conditions with the concrete on the pool structure, last-minute design issues, and the need to put a rubber liner throughout the pool, which he described as a specialized process.
“This was a very typical job in the way construction is never perfect,” he said. “There are always things you have to adjust and adapt to, and sometimes those things just take more time than you would like. It is standard operating procedure.”
Bealer did not regret the Park District’s overall planning, even as they could have applied for the required permits this year and then started the pool makeover after the summer.
He said the board selected a more “aggressive” timeline, adding a pipe broke at the end of last summer of 2024, forcing the pool to close a week earlier than normal. Bealer added that it would have cost the Park District tens of thousands of dollars to fix the pipe to get through this summer, but then it would have had to be removed as part of the larger renovation.
“Given the age and the problems with the pool, I think waiting was a bigger risk, so while it is not great that we lost a lot of time this summer, overall I think it was still the right decision and it will be really good going forward,” he said.
While the main pool was closed, the Park District kept its adjacent tot pool used by small children open. It also created a reciprocal agreement with Libertyville, allowing residents to use the pool. Plus, Sunrise Beach was open for swimming.
Bealer acknowledged that the delay would cost the Park District anywhere from $70,000 to $80,000 in revenue this year due to the delay. He said the Park District had more than $185,000 in pool revenues in 2024.
He added that the project remained on budget except for a raise in the contingency fund to $65,000 from $50,000.
Bealer added that the pool would be open all day during the week of August 18, as the three local public school systems are opening a week later than normal due to the ongoing renovation of Lake Forest High School. (The two local elementary school systems align their calendars with the high school.)
Now open, patrons are able to use the Olympic-sized pool that holds more than 300,000 gallons of water and has a 683-person capacity. Also on site are new amenities with games, including a ping-pong table and a bag toss.
As the weather warmed up last week, the pool was very busy with people enjoying the opportunity to stay cool.
“I was very excited, especially on a hot day like this. It is nice to take the kids here and cool off a little bit,” noted Lake Bluff’s Ian Johnson who was in the pool with his daughter, Winnie, and his son, Milo, along with Milo’s friend, Henry.
“It was a little frustrating,” Johnson said of the delay. “But it is open now, so all’s well that ends well.”
Resident Mary Beth Marsh arrived at the pool with her son, Graham. She was talking with friends at a table near the games, very happy with the convenience of the Lake Bluff swimming option.
“It is so nice to be able to come over here at the end of the day and swim and then zip home,” she said. “Plus, you come and everyone is here. It is just easy.”
The Park District hosted a Resident Appreciation Day and pool party on July 27.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.