St. Charles parks fine-tunes referendum request
The St. Charles park board Tuesday set a $4.5 million spending limit for construction of an educational nature center included in a $25 million referendum request which will appear on the Feb. 5 ballot.
The 5-1 decision was made over the protest of Trustee Jim Cooke, who said he was "confused and a little disturbed" the price had exceeded a $4 million estimate originally discussed.
"I don't understand why we set a budget at $4 million and we aren't even starting there," he said.
One of the reasons the project may cost more than the board originally anticipated is because officials now want to add water and sewer infrastructure that could serve a recreational center they envision eventually being built to the northeast.
A majority of board members also said they felt the nature center proposal already had been scaled back so much to cut costs that it might be ineffective if more cuts were made.
"It must be an example to the community," board Vice President Nancy Cox said. "It's our one shot at helping our community understand about rainwater, about conservation. … This isn't something I take lightly."
If primary election voters OK the $25 million bond issue, the 12,400-square-foot nature center would be built at Campton Hills Park, a 348-acre facility along Campton Hills and Peck roads.
As proposed, the center would serve as a field guide of sorts to surrounding land, with indoor and outdoor exhibits about wildlife and water preservation, among other environmental topics, Parks Director Jim Breen said.
Also included in the referendum package is $10.9 million for a pool at Campton Hills Park; $6.3 in renovations to the 69-year-old Pottawatomie Pool and $1.8 million in miscellaneous projects and improvements.
Two months ago, the board scaled back the referendum request to $23 million by removing $2 million targeted for land acquisition. But that amount was added back into the equation last month, Breen said, after the board re-considered ongoing development in the district.
The board is expected to adopt a final referendum proposal by Nov. 27.