Clarendon Hills Pak District to survey residents about improvements and additions to Lions Park Pool - Chicago Tribune

The Clarendon Hills Park Board has decided to scrap its plans to assemble focus groups and instead will create a survey to be sent to all residents about needed improvements and additions to the Lions Park Pool.

“The Board decided that it wanted more input than focus groups would have provided,” said Don Scheltens, the Park District’s executive director. “I think it’s a good idea to get more input.”

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Scheltens said there has been some discussion about what questions to include on a survey, but that discussion led to a temporary dead end.

“The cost of what can and should be repaired or fixed at the pool is something the Board wants to be included in a survey, so people have a more realistic picture of what likely will be involved,” Scheltens said. “We may have to go out for referendum on this, and if we do, we don’t want people to be surprised and say, “that’s not what they told us before,’ when it comes to cost and renovations we want to do. The more up front we are with people about what’s involved, the better the chance of a referendum passing, if we need to do that.”

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Scheltens said Park District staff plans to work with the organization’s architect to compile more specific information about renovation options and costs.

“We think it’s important to include that information in our survey, which we hope to send out this summer,” he said. Plans call for the survey to be sent out via postcard on which there will be a bar code that can be scanned to get the survey, which can be returned electronically.

“There are limits on how much you can ask for in a referendum, and those are difficult to pass,” Scheltens said, adding that there also may be grants available to help with the costs.

“We’ll look into every option we can for funding,” he said. “Pools are expensive to operate, and it’s basically a three-month operation, so all of this needs to be considered within the context of all Park District programs.”

A larger spray pad, vortex, which spins the water around; and a FlowRider, which creates waves in the pool, all, along with a new bathhouse, are among options that may be considered for a renovation project.

“We have to determine what we want and what we can afford,” Scheltens said. “Looking at what will attract people to the pool is a big part of it, too.”

Scheltens said there is no specific timeline at this point for when work on improvements for the pool would begin. He said the existing pool is safe and operational, but added it’s important to look ahead at what might be needed or wanted.

“We have to prepare for the future,” Scheltens said. “We’re dealing with a pool where age is a factor, and the older a pool gets, the more breakdowns and issues you have with it. Every year, it seems like we’re experiencing more breakdowns, and the bathhouse is showing its age. You can keep on patching things up, but that doesn’t really solve the problem, long-term, and it can be very expensive, too, as the costs continue to add up.”

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As the Park District prepares for the May 27 opening of the pool for the 2023 season, it already has dealt with having to repair two leaks that were detected in pipes that run beneath the pool.

The 32-year-old pool is owned by the Lions Club, which also operated the facility until the Park District took over that role about 21 years ago.

Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.

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