Regardless of whether a pool is built in Sleepy Hollow or West Dundee, it would operate at a deficit, consultants told the Dundee Township Park District Board this week.
The less-expensive option would be an outdoor pool in Sleepy Hollow, with a construction cost of about $16.8 million. It would cost $282,162 to operate in the summer but would generate only $100,123 in revenue, resulting in a shortfall of $182,040, consultants Counsilman-Hunsaker said at Wednesday’s board meeting.
An indoor pool at Randall Oaks Recreation Center in West Dundee would cost about $36.7 million to build and $1.08 million to operate but would produce only $300,450 in revenue, the consultants said. The deficit would be $782,000.
Projected revenues and expenditures were based on the proposed size and amenities of each facility and the duration of time they would be open throughout the year. Staffing, utilities, supplies, repairs and maintenance were identified as expenses and admission fees, rentals, programming, swim teams, and food and beverage sales factored in as revenue, consultants said.
Dave Peterson, the park district’s executive director, said Thursday that their aquatic facilities have always operated at a deficit, with the park district relying on property taxes paid by residents and businesses to cover the difference.
To that point, the consultant’s presentation noted that the park district’s aquatic center and pools operated at a deficit of $613,210 in the 2023-24 fiscal year, and the deficit was projected to be $596,635 in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The 2023-24 number included the cost of operating the indoor pool at the Rakow Center and the Dolphin Cove Family Aquatic Center, both in Carpentersville, as well as the outdoor pool in Sleepy Hollow, Peterson said. The Sleepy Hollow pool permanently closed in 2023 so the 2024-25 projection is only for the two Carpentersville facilities.
“We were told that to break even or make a surplus we would have to build some large, regional type of facility that would cost a large amount of money,” Peterson said.
Depending on what board members decide, voters could be asked to approve a referendum to fund the cost of construction.
“The Board of Commissioners hasn’t even had any conversation regarding a referendum,” Peterson said. “They are focused on evaluating the west side of the Dundee Township community and what type of aquatic facility would meet the needs of our residents.”
No decision has been made on whether they will build one or both pools or any pool at all, he said.
District staff is awaiting board direction on what they prefer and, based on that, will draft a referendum plan for members’ review, Peterson said. That decision should be made this summer, he said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
