Naperville residents passed a referendum Tuesday that gives the Naperville Park District permission to borrow $120 million to build an indoor fitness and aquatic facility and acquire more open space land.
Because Naperville is in both DuPage and Will counties, vote totals from both counties were tallied. The unofficial count with nearly all precincts reporting was:
Yes: 15,960
No: 12,587
Broken down, DuPage County voters approved the measure with 10,723, with 9,093 opposed. In Will County, the breakdown was 5,237 in favor of passage and 3,494 opposed.
The votes are unofficial until certified by both counties. Mail-in that arrive after the election but postmarked for Tuesday and provisional ballots still need to be counted.
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Naperville Park District asked voters for the authority to sell $119 million in bonds to pay for the construction of the Frontier Sports Complex activity center on the city’s south side. The facility would include three swimming pools, exercise rooms, gymnasiums, and a walking and jogging track.
The pool portion of the project would have an eight-lane, 25-yard lap pool, a warm water therapy pool and an activity pool with a water slide, play features and additional lap lanes.
The referendum would also provide money to acquire more land for nature trails in Naperville — 5.7 acres of wooded property to expand Walnut Ridge Park and 6.5 acres to expand Heritage Woods.
A Naperville homeowner with a $500,000 fair market value home can expect to pay about $117 more a year in taxes annually — about $9.78 a month — for a term not to exceed 20 years.
Naperville Park District Executive Director Brad Wilson previously said that the referendum is the result of years of surveys and community feedback over what Naperville residents want. The Fort Hill Activity Center is facing capacity challenges, a situation district officials hope will be alleviated with the new Frontier Sports complex, he said.
Supporters of the referendum have expressed excitement over the proposed amenities but opponents have expressed concern about the financial burden the project would impose.