Flashback: The Once and Future Pool?
Looking back to the last time a public pool was under serious discussion in DG
(Editor’s Note: Today’s Flashback column is from 2003.)
Like the shell-shocked survivor of a protracted war, the Downers Grove Park Board is taking pains to avoid controversy as it mulls the latest public pool proposal. Considering the history of such proposals, it’s perhaps understandable that the board is gingerly picking its way along a path that cost two board members their seats in 2001.
But as yet another summer draws to a close, it’s high time for the board to suck it up and do what elected officials are required to do: Make an informed decision in the best interest of the community, and accept that it can’t and won’t please everyone.
This is something the board managed to do when it built a $10 million recreation center on Belmont Avenue after the public voted 6,939 to 5,747 against its plan for a joint rec center and outdoor aquatic facility in the famously contentious advisory referendum of 2000.
Speaking strictly for myself, I wasn’t thrilled we got a recreation center, which I felt was of marginal incremental value, instead of the pool I believe this community genuinely needs. I grew up in Rockford which, despite its many shortcomings, managed to provide several neighborhood pools dating all the way back to my father’s 1930s childhood. They were nothing fancy, but you could cool off on a hot day for a minimal fee, which suited us fine.
Now, there’s a promising proposal from Commissioner Art Jaros on the table, and the board finally has an opportunity to redress past disappointments in a way that could actually keep community discord to a minimum. Jaros’ out-of-the-box plan attempts to quell the twin controversies—neighborhood and taxpayer impact—that sank previous proposals. It also includes other features identified as essential for a successful project in last year’s Park District Community Outdoor Pool Advisory Committee report. These include Olympic-sized, zero-depth and baby pools, and at least one other amenity such as a lazy river, diving boards or a flume slide.
After dropping tantalizing hints since before his election that such a project could become a reality, Jaros introduced a June resolution that would create a framework for the board to use in bringing a community pool to fruition. It hinges on using a centrally located site already owned by the Park District. Jaros suggested that an undeveloped parcel at Burlington and Walnut might work, but hasn’t closed the door on other possibilities. The board publicly committed to undertake an investigation of that location which, because of its proximity to Belmont Prairie, was dismissed as a potential site by previous boards.
Jaros’ resolution also specifies that taxpayers would not finance the construction and operation of the facility. Instead, revenue bonds, sponsorships and grants would be used. The resolution also requires the board to submit the project to a referendum, although he says that could be accomplished by mail-in ballots.
Jaros says the public has responded favorably to his proposal. Even taxpayers with a hair-trigger predisposition to shoot down any public pool plan are reportedly “quite pleased” when they hear the specifics of his approach, he says. When assured that a pool can be built in a way that is taxpayer friendly and in no one’s backyard, the opposition that defeated previous plans has no reason to once again rally the troops.
So, time marches on while Downers Grove maintains its unenviable position as the only Illinois park district of its size without an outdoor aquatic facility. And another summer has come and almost gone with the usual limited options available to the swimming public: expensive private facilities, indoor high school pools, or public facilities in other communities. (Note: The Downers Grove Park District and Community School District 99 ended their 33-year agreement providing residents access to the high school pools in 2010.)
It’s regrettable that such a conventional undertaking—building a public pool—should have sparked a civil war in this community, first in 1990 and again 10 years later. But at some point, our Park District commissioners will need to find the courage to say “that was then, this is now,” and move forward in the best interest of the people of Downers Grove. We can only hope it’s soon.