Park board to seek tax hike for new pool, soccer fields
When Addison voters head to the polls for the Feb. 5 primary, they will decide on an issue that affects both their summer fun and their pocketbooks.
The Addison Park District board preliminarily agreed Monday to ask voters for a tax increase that would fund both a new aquatic center and new soccer fields at Centennial Park, which architects say will cost about $14 million. The board will vote on a formal resolution during a meeting on Nov. 19.
Janis Jordan, park district superintendent of finance and administration, said this summer that the increase would equal less than $6 per month over 20 years for a home valued at $250,000.
On Monday, Doug Holzrichter of PHN Architects in Wheaton unveiled plans for two soccer fields that would be constructed just southeast of the aquatic center. He said the larger, synthetic-turf field would be full size according to NCAA and international standards. The large field would be lit and able to accommodate soccer, football or lacrosse games. A smaller field would also be built with natural grass.
Shawn Danhouser, president of Addison United Soccer Club, said he's excited about the high-quality field and hopes to hold more night games close to his group's Addison home base.
"They have a field like that at Redmond Park in Bensenville and I look forward to every game I get to play there because it's so nice," Danhouser said.
The nearby aquatic center is set to feature an eight-lane lap pool with a spectator viewing area. That pool would connect with a zero-depth leisure pool and a vortex pool. Other amenities planned for the center are: a deeper diving pool with two diving boards and a drop slide; a lazy river that encircles two traditional water slides and two inner tube slides that exit into a plunge pool; a possible spray ground and water walk; concession and shade areas; and landscaping buffers between the pools and Route 53.
Initially, some board members worried Monday that a referendum might face too many challenges on the Feb. 5 ballot. Board Commissioner Don Ortale said the request might come too soon after voters approved a tax increase last April to fund improvements for DuPage High School District 88, which encompasses Addison. And Commissioner Joseph Welkomer said the park district might not have enough time to educate voters on the issue.
"I'm not so sure the sense of urgency would hit the people that we need this right now, "Welkomer said.
But lifelong Addison resident and former aquatic center manager Sheri D'Ambrose said residents have all the information they need, as they watch the current pool on Oak Street deteriorate.
"Everything fun about a pool is gone," D'Ambrose said. "Our people are going other places already. I think it's a wonderful layout and I think people are excited about it right now. Less than $6 per month? That's nothing."
Residents who want to study up on the issue before heading to the polls will have plenty of chances before February. Kit Dailey, a communications advisor with First Trust Portfolios, L.P., who is helping the park district push the measure, said an informational campaign will launch immediately. Residents can expect home mailings, informational meetings and will soon find details on the park district's Web site, www.addisonparkdistrict.org.