Dundee Township Park District will pay an architectural firm $27,500 to develop design plans and cost estimates for two new pools — one indoor and the other outside — but has not committed to building either one.
The park board Wednesday, acting on the recommendation of its citizens advisory committee and the results of a resident survey that supported both pool ideas, hired Chicago-based FGM Architects to develop pool proposals that will include such option as waterslides, lap lanes and zero depth entry.
An advisory committee was formed last year after the board decided it could no longer afford to keep the outdoor pool in Sleepy Hollow open. After 60 years of use, the pool’s basin was beyond repair and it was losing millions of gallons of water every summer season.
The district currently has two pools: an indoor venue at the Rakow Center and the outdoor Dolphin Cove Family Aquatic Center, both in Carpentersville.
Survey results found that 60% of respondents wanted the district to build an indoor and outdoor pool. Advisory committee members said they’d like to see design and a cost estimates for both options.
Park district officials are also exploring if there is support for a referendum that would increase taxes to pay for one or more pools and other capital improvements.
Approving a contract with an architectural firm does not mean the district is committed to building anything, Commissioner Erin O’Leary said.
“This doesn’t mean we’re forced to go to a referendum,” O’Leary said. “But at least we are saying here are your options.”
Financial advisor Anthony Miceli, vice president of Speer Financial, said the district would have until January if it wanted to place a referendum on the April 2025. If they don’t seek one then, the next election won’t be until 2026, he said.
There are a lot of unknowns still to be decided before a commitment can be made, officials said, such as where a new pool or pools would be located. The survey indicated that 58% of respondents would prefer it be built at the park district’s Randall Road center in West Dundee while 42% want it to be in Sleepy Hollow.
District Executive Director Dave Peterson said they also have other capital needs that could be funded through the referendum.
The Bonnie Dundee Golf Course in East Dundee needs a new clubhouse, for example, and they may want to buy property behind the Meadowdale Shopping Center in Carpentersville, which they’re currently leasing for soccer programs in which there are 500 people participants, he said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
