Parks committee hears pool, concessions and parking updates; windscreens and access control flagged

At a Parks and Recreation and Environment Committee meeting, staff delivered detailed operational and construction updates including a near-complete pool project, concession-stand financials and plans for a new parking lot.

The report matters because the pool opening, concession revenue and parking plans affect public access, youth employment and neighborhood traffic and drainage around several park facilities.

Staff presented a fiscal summary for the sports-park concession stand covering Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2024: drink sales were described as “just almost $270,000,” food sales nearly $380,000, and total sales about $641,000 for the year. After direct expenses—about $412,000—staff reported a net of roughly $229,000 that the department uses to offset other park expenses. The superintendent emphasized that those dollars are not “profit” because the report did not include insurance, bond costs or similar overhead.

The superintendent said the department employs a large seasonal workforce: about 80 youth concession employees (average age roughly 16) and roughly 35 lifeguards hired this season. “We are an enormous supplier of youth employment here,” the superintendent said, and noted staffing expenses of about $155,000 tied specifically to youth employment.

On facilities, staff said both pools are filled and chemically balanced and that inspectors from the Illinois Department of Public Health were scheduled this week; pending successful inspections the pools were expected to open on Saturday. Staff described a remaining short list of items—fencing panels, landscaping rock to meet IDPH requirements and final door hardware and access-control hookups at the Caveman Center. The Caveman Center held a soft opening during a Chamber event on May 20 and can seat “well over 300” for events, staff said. A plaza concrete pour was scheduled for Wednesday, and a grand-opening celebration was planned for Friday (with a rain-dependent go/no-go decision to be made late Thursday); staff said they will reschedule later in the month if weather forces a delay.

Staff also reported that restroom access at the Cave-in Center will be controlled by timers once access control is fully installed: doors will automatically unlock at 5 a.m. and lock at 10 a.m.; until the access-control hardware is complete the doors can only be opened with a key and are not available to the general public during closures.

The committee discussed Hesse Park pickleball windscreens. Staff explained that windscreens require special clips and custom sizing—zip ties degrade in sunlight, and metal ties can damage fence posts in high wind. The department has ordered multiple replacement sets in recent months and is weighing longer-term fixes such as adding fence slats (a more time- and labor-intensive solution).

On the parking-lot project, staff said engineering plans are about halfway complete. The plan is to go to bid toward the end of the month with a bid opening to follow; award of the contract would be considered at a Parks & Environment meeting in August or, if timing requires, at a Public Works meeting. Staff said engineers are studying options to slow traffic at the park entrance to protect pedestrians; preliminary designs could require relocating a trail and add roughly $55,000 to the project, an expense the committee would need to approve.

Neighborhood drainage was raised by a resident who said runoff from the new lot had flooded an alley. Staff said the alley configuration was not changed by the project; the parking design funnels stormwater into a swale and then to a culvert and municipal system. Staff reported an on-site inspection after recent rains and said they did not observe abnormal standing water, but acknowledged a resident’s report of flooding and said they had not been able to confirm whether conditions were better or worse than before construction.

Committee members and the public asked for more detailed construction-accounting information. Staff said change orders and contingency spend are tracked in construction documents and offered to provide the specific change-order history on request rather than requiring a FOIA request.

With no formal votes required on the operational and update items, the committee adjourned.