The Park District of Oak Park gets points we suppose for actually going before the public with a tax hike referendum this March. The out of the blue proposal to ask Oak Park voters to back a $40 million plan to replace the outdoor pool at Ridgeland Common with an indoor pool more focused on lap swimming will be on the ballot in 60 days.
There is a contrast to be drawn between the park’s approach and the consternation many felt when Oak Park and River Forest High School chose not to ask voters to approve a tax hike for the Project 2 capital project at the high school which includes a large indoor pool.
That said, we feel some consternation over a stealth proposal that turned up unexpectedly on a mid-December park board agenda. When asked where or when board discussions of this major project were held, the Journal was told it was discussed in broad terms during a board retreat last summer.
Now the district has just two months to make its case both for the necessity of an indoor pool and for the loss of the outdoor pool at Ridgeland.
We’ll be paying attention.
