Batavia Park District making pitch for new rec center

With the location and cost of a new facility set, Batavia Park District officials this week held the first of three information meetings to give residents details on the proposed Batavia Activity & Recreation Center and a referendum question on next month's ballot.

Other meetings are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at at the Eastside Community Center's Shannon Hall, 14 N. Van Buren St., and 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Peg Bond Center, 151 N. Island Ave.

The district will have a $27.1 million bond referendum question on the March 17 ballot asking residents to fund the 65,000-square-foot facility in the Fox Valley Business Park on the east side of Batavia, near Route 25 at the intersection of Belleview Lane and Oswalt Avenue.

The "program-rich but facility-poor" district is in need of indoor space, Executive Director Allison Niemela told the packed room at the Civic Center.

"Whether you're for it or against it, it's important that you vote (on the referendum)," she said.

For property owners, if the referendum question passes, the owner of a $300,000 market value home would see an increase in their annual park district property tax bill of $178 for 20 years, according to director of finance Mitch Bowlin. That same homeowner currently pays $556 annually in property taxes to the district.

The proposed center, which will include an eight-lane pool, a running track, combination indoor turf area and multi-activity court gym, and multipurpose rooms, was designed based on feedback from the community.

That feedback, gathered from a 2017 community survey, guided the process, said Frank Parisi from Williams Architects, the group designing the project.

"It was community driven, based on the needs and desires of the community," Parisi said.

The facility, which "has everything the community wanted," is based on multigenerational, long-term needs with the ability to expand, he said.

"It's a design for now and a design for he future," he said.

The location could create a "recreational corridor" due to the proximity to Clark Island Recreation Area, Red Oak Nature Center and Funway Entertainment Center, along with the Fox River Trial and the Illinois Prairie Path, Niemela said.

"It's our vision for the area to bring more recreational opportunities," she said.

"We need (the recreation center) for the community," Batavia resident Adam Cibulka said after the meeting. "It will expand what is already a great community."

But not everyone who attended was in favor.

"It's not going to work. The numbers don't add up," said Mike Eckblade, of Batavia.

Sylvia Keppel agreed.

"It will end up costing citizens more than $27 million," the Batavia resident said. "You pay for it (whether) you use it or not. It's not a good deal for residents."

Eckblade said the location is out of the way and it's difficult to navigate through Batavia traffic.

"I'd rather see $27 million spent on a new bridge," he said.

This is the third time the district is trying to get a referendum passed, following unsuccessful attempts in 2008 and 2010, park board President Pat Callahan said.

"It's a brand new project and a new opportunity," he said. "Batavia deserves this."