Park director meets pool crisis head on

A man being chased by an alligator.

It's an image hard to shake out of one's mind.

Especially if you happen to be Paul Friedrichs, the man who was trying to outrun a sharp-toothed hello of "el lagarto."

On a family vacation several years ago with in-laws in Florida, Friedrichs said while jogging an alligator emerged from the gutter after a storm.

"I picked up speed," Friedrichs joked.

Maybe the creature was hungry or perhaps it locked onto another tourist, but Friedrichs survived. He keeps a cartoon drawing of the incident on the back of his office door.

On June 1, Friedrichs left his former post as finance director to become executive director of the Lombard Park District.

Since that time, he's faced a different water-related crisis with Moran Water Park.

Friedrichs was forced to shut down the park's six-lane lap pool June 25, weeks before the end of the swim season because of a tear in the pool's lining and persistent leaking.

Two water slides and zero-depth pools stayed open.

Swimmers looking for a lap pool had to turn to Addison, Glen Ellyn, Itasca or Villa Park for a place to swim.

Park commissioners are scheduled to hear the results of an engineering study and a resident survey focused on the future of Moran Water Park at their next board meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday at Sunset Knoll Recreation, 820 S. Finley Road, Lombard.

Friedrichs recently sat down with the Daily Herald and said the future of the water park is "the biggest challenge" facing the district.

Q. How would you describe your first 90 days on the job?

A. It's been an interesting summer for me and for the park district. We've had several issues including the de-lamination of the pool liner out at the Moran Water Park. We had a fire at a three bedroom rental facility. We had a major storm come through town within the last couple of weeks. With that storm some flooding at our golf course. It's been a real baptism under fire for me.

Obviously, the Moran Water Park is going to be the biggest challenge. What the (park) board and park district is going to face between fixing or replacing a 50-year-old pool that had a 30-year life-span.

Q. Is it a challenge in terms of how to fix it or a financial challenge?

A. It's going to definitely be a financial challenge. The park district is 4.7 percent of the total Lombard tax bill. Our funding is limited so it could not be financed through just operating expenditures.

Q. Some residents have asked why didn't the park district save up money or designate money for a pool the district saw was aging. Can you do that legally?

A. No. We can't legally assess taxes and leave that money for a rainy day. We are able to carry some fund balances. However, taxpayers don't like it when you levy taxes and don't spend those tax monies for the betterment for the community.

When the tax caps came in 1993, that limited our ability to issue non-referendum bonding debt. For 10 years, the district lost approximately $7.5 million in funding and really had to look at the operations and really become lean as far as spending.

Q. To fix or build a new water park, could that require asking voters for a tax increase?

A. To replace the pool, to build a new pool, that could very well take the successful passage of a referendum. Currently, in 2006 and 2007 dollars, we hoped to be able to do it for $6.5 to $7 million for a new facility. With another year, with cost of living increases, that may be bumped up a bit next year. We're kind of looking in that ballpark for a dollar amount that could provide a new facility for the community.

Q. Within the last year, the board considered a plan to make some major renovations to Moran Water Park but then decided not to go with that plan due to costs. In hindsight, would the district be in a different place now had the board decided to go forward with that plan?

A. The problem was with that plan, we felt budget-wise and through our architects and our engineers, the plan that the board ultimately bid out would've come in the range of $6 million. When the bids were received back, that cost had increased to over $8 million. At $8 million, the board felt it was beyond the district's ability to issue non-referendum bonds to complete the job. And it would have caused a financial burden to the district for the next 20 years.

Their opinion was to go back and look at the plan design. We've gone back and looked at the plan and found some cost savings.

Q. What's the status of the recent park district survey that asked about the water park?

A. The results of the survey are still being compiled. They will be presented to the board at the (Tuesday) regular board meeting. We received back about 2,500 surveys from the community.

Q. Is having a pool essential for the park district to offer residents?

A. That's a question left up to the taxpayers and the citizens of Lombard. Personally, I feel a pool adds value to their homes, their property values. I feel our pool has been a mainstay in this community for 50 years.

Q. What do you see for the next 90 days on the job?

A. After this summer, brighter skies. We're going to work hard on the pool issue and our relationships with sister governments and the community. We're going to work hard at providing a safe environment where families can come together and enjoy themselves.