The Oak Brook Village Board plans to reconsider a recent fee hike at the village-owned Swim & Tennis Club after getting input from residents.
The new fee for unlimited swimming at the club’s outdoor pool was set at $850 per family, up from $790. Another change was the elimination of early-bird registration, which reduced the fee by an additional $100.
The Village Board will now consider reinstituting the early-bird savings and reducing the fee back to $790, likely at a 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting.
Village President Gopal Lalmalani said the board also will reconsider the new $18,000 LED-lighted sign planned for 31st Street at the club entrance, after getting negative feedback from some residents, who said they didn’t believe the sign’s appearance was a good fit for Oak Brook. The LED-lighted sign that would promote weddings, parties and corporate events.
The Swim & Tennis Club is located on about 20 acres of Oak Brook’s Sports Core and offers pool and tennis memberships along with a clubhouse that is rented out for meetings, weddings, showers and other events.
Purchased by the village in the 1970s and known from its inception as the Bath and Tennis Club, the name change, for marketing reasons, and an increase in fees for swimming were part of ordinance changes approved in January.
The outcry from residents came via emails to village officials and comments made during a Village Board meeting and a meeting of the village’s Sports Core Long Range Planning Committee Tuesday.
“I have received several emails from residents, and many are with justified concerns,” Lalmalani said. “What better thing to do than to listen to our residents and do what they want? I strongly believe it is an amenity we need to provide for our residents.”
Longtime club member Anne Huber agreed.
“It’s a central, safe place for kids to play,” she said. “It’s very important to maintain that purpose; it’s not a private club.”
Club manager Chris Thompson said the increase in the swimming fee and elimination of the early-bird savings were part of a cost-saving strategy. Thompson was hired in May 2016 and said he was told to operate the club as a private business.
However, village officials over the years have approved funds to help cover club costs, while referring to the facility as “an amenity.”
“I’ve been directed to try to make this self-sustaining,” Thompson said. “It would be a very different path if it’s going to be an amenity. The staff is happy to go down either path.”
Ultimately, it will be up to the Village Board to decide whether the club should be operated as a self-sustaining private business, or as an amenity for residents, Lalmalani said.
Thompson said improvements for swimming at the club are planned, regardless of what the Village Board ultimately decides.
Among the planned improvements are a wading pool playground, new lounge chairs, additional awnings and an increase in family social events.
Twitter @chuckwriting
