Group campaigns against rec center at Quarry Beach
"No $36 million tax increase. Not now. Not there."
That's the message you can print out on business cards, through a document offered on saveourquarry.com. It sums up the group's two major points about the Batavia Park District referendum to build a $36 million recreation center and revamp Quarry Beach.
A. With the economy in rough shape, now's not the time to be asking taxpayers to borrow $36 million.
B. And don't mess with the historic aspect of the beloved Quarry Beach.
An August newspaper article about the district's plan caught the eye of Dan Anderson, 47, a fifth-generation Batavian who spent many of his days as a youth at the quarry.
"I got all fired up and excited about it," he said. His wife suggested they form a group, and they found others through a discussion forum on craigslist.org.
"Our main thing is that ... as it is, is is a very valuable outdoor resource for the community," Anderson said.
Save Our Quarry's Web site also questions the district's promotional materials for the referendum, and whether Quarry Beach was deliberately allowed to fall into disrepair to make a revamp more palatable to voters.
• It emphasizes that the district plans to reduce the size of the outdoor swimming area.
• It points out that there hasn't been a complete traffic study for the site, which is at a dead end on South Water Street, and that fees for the rec center haven't been released. The park district expects to release an estimated budget by Friday of this week, and director Mike Clark has previously said it didn't want to pay for a full traffic study until it knew whether voters approved of this site and this plan. It has been consulting with city officials over traffic.
• Organizers did some arithmetic, pointing out the 20-year cost to homeowners using the district's own "cup of coffee" weekly figures. And for extra credit, they ran those weekly figures through a savings calculator on bankrate.com, showing what you could save in 20 years if you put the money in the bank instead, at an interest rate of 3.5 percent. For the owner of a $250,000 home, they estimate the 20-year cost at $3,218.40, and that nest egg at $4,279.
Batavia park officials have previously said that the quarry needs at least $1 million in repairs, and questioned if it is prudent to do so when attendance has dropped. In 2006, it spent about $300,000 to sink a deep well there to supply water for the pool, rather than using city water. They estimate the pool is losing 250,000 gallons a day through fractures in its limestone, after removal of the south dam on the nearby Fox River caused river levels to drop. The leak runs from the pool to the river.
Batavia has had public swimming in the former limestone quarry, in one form or another, since the 1920s. The last major rehab was in the early 1990s. Attendance has declined from a high of 92,201 in 1995 to 22,554 in 2008. District officials say patrons have complained about the cold water in the limestone facility, and that they don't like the unclear water (the pool has a sand bottom.)
SaveOurQuarry.com, and some residents at public forums sponsored by the park district wonder whether changes in rules caused the decline. For example, several years ago the district banned users from bringing in their own food and drink.
Anderson said he doesn't oppose building a recreation center; in fact, he questions if the current plan will be adequate to meet the community's needs for 20 to 30 years. "I think it should be even greater capacity," he said.
Save Our Quarry is meeting from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Panera Bread, 154 W. Wilson St. People can also contact leaders by e-mail to info@SaveOurQuarry.com.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=241454">Batavia parks have an ally <span class="date">[10/9/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>