Oak Park voters soundly rejected the Park District’s proposal to raise millions for a new pool in the village.
The measure failed in a landslide defeat, with more than 76% of Oak Park voters voting “no” on the Park District’s referendum with 97% of precincts reporting. The park district was seeking voter approval to sell $40 million in bonds to fund constructing a new indoor aquatic center at Ridgeland Common and demolishing the decades-old Ridgeland Common outdoor pool in the process.
The push to replace the outdoor pool at Ridgeland Common with an indoor facility came as a surprise to many in the village. The park district’s board unanimously approved placing a referendum on the ballot last December.
Voters on Tuesday told Wednesday Journal they didn’t want to support funding for an indoor pool at the expense of an existing outdoor pool.
“I don’t like the idea of getting rid of an outdoor pool and I think it’s going to be way more expensive than they are projecting,” Oak Parker Roberta Arnold said after voting at Brooks Middle School. “I think it’s going to cost a lot of money to maintain an indoor pool and it’s going to use a lot of energy.”
This is a developing story.