Residents disagree on basketball court at Elgin park

A group of residents in Elgin wants the city to put a basketball court at St. Francis Park, which is being renovated, but some say they fear it might bring drugs and gangs.

Jose Arizmendi led the effort to gather 132 signatures in support of a basketball court. "I feel like everybody likes playing basketball around here, so I put a petition up," he said.

Resident Carmen Guzman is among those who signed. "I would like the youth to entertain themselves playing so they won't be thinking of getting into bad stuff," she said.

Resident Jennifer Quinton disagreed, saying the northeast side park caters to younger children. "I worry the basketball court will attract teenagers and young adults that might intimidate the younger kids or even the guardians that are there with them," she told the city council Wednesday. "That might expose the younger children to questionable language, aggression and - worst case scenario - drugs, gangs and criminal activity."

Elgin has 10 neighborhood parks with basketball rims, and basketball courts at Lords, Wing and Prairie parks. Parks and Recreation Director Randy Reopelle said no complaints about basketball have been lodged to him or the city's 311 center.

Reopelle said the work in progress at St. Francis Park includes renovating the two tennis courts - one of them will have a pickleball court overlay - plus a new playground, shelter and soccer court. The $573,570 project is funded by federal community block grant money.

The city held a meeting asking residents input about the plan in April 2017 at McKinley Elementary School. About 25 people attended and no one mentioned basketball, although a few said they would play tennis more often if the courts were in better condition, Reopelle said.

Arizmendi and the others said they weren't notified of the meeting. Reopelle said the city mailed postcards and McKinley students got flyers in their backpacks. "We had a fairly decent amount of community outreach, although obviously we didn't reach everyone," he said.

The residents have proposed adding a basketball court on current green space or by replacing a tennis court. Another option is to add basketball rims on the perimeter of one of the tennis courts, Reopelle said.

The city will make a decision after City Manager Rick Kozal confers with the city council, possibly early next week.

"My opinion is, if they want to put a basketball hoop or two up ... if there is a problem, we'll take it down," Mayor David Kaptain said. "Just like if there is a problem with the seniors playing pickleball, it will go away ... I would hope (residents) would know how to conduct themselves."