A key point for the consideration for the Park District of Oak Park’s (PDOP) $40 million swimming pool construction and teardown of the Ridgeland Common outdoor pool is the absence of a serious effort to exercise intergovernmental agreement rights under Illinois law to have the respective governmental units seriously attempt to implement a plan to share resources to minimize the tax burden on members of our town.
Our community is in the process of spending over $100 million for a new athletic facility that includes pool at the District 200 campus. The new building is less than two short blocks away from the current pool and locker room facility owned and occupied by the PDOP.
There is no indication that the park district and the high school district entered into serious negotiations or discussions to protect the taxpayers from having to incur even more expenditures for a swimming pool. The PDOP website states that District 200 is heavily used, but does not account for days and hours on which it is not used for school purposes.
At a minimum, the two parties should work toward a schedule that allows the citizens of this village to share the facility at convenient times without interfering with their respective priorities. Without such good-faith meetings and attempts to reach agreement, the park district’s referendum should be rejected.
Joel D’Alba
46-year resident of Oak Park
