'Unconscionable' Limit In Elmhurst Parks' Indoor Space

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst Park District lacks enough space for indoor programs, which is a big reason why it is asking whether voters want to approve a tax hike, an official said this week.

In 2022, the park district had a waitlist of 5,600 people who had to be turned away for indoor programs, said Jim Rogers, the district's executive director.

"Just a staggering number, one that is kind of unconscionable," Rogers told the school board. "We certainly would like to do something to address that."

In the Nov. 5 election, voters will decide whether to let the district go $90 million into debt. Most of that money would go toward rebuilding the Wagner Community Center, a 70-year-old building that once was an elementary school.

The new building is expected to include four high school regulation basketball courts, 12 pickleball courts, four competitive volleyball courts and one indoor turf field.

Some residents, Rogers said, are wondering why the district is focusing on indoor sports rather than outdoor ones. He said a community survey showed that residents considered indoor spaces far more needed.

Until a couple of years ago, the district had no gymnasium space. It has since bought the old Redeemer Center on St. Charles Road, which includes an elementary school-sized gym, Rogers said.

"We are so deficient in indoor spaces," Rogers said.

As for outdoors, the district has 36 rectangular fields and 27 baseball fields.

If the referendum passes, the district would spend some of the money on a bandshell at Wilder Park.

The district has held programs such as concerts, movies in the parks and other performances for much of the last century, Rogers said. But they have occurred on temporary stages.

Also, the district would use the money to build permanent restrooms at Crestview and Eldridge parks, the bandshell at Wilder and along the Prairie Path. (There is a portable along the path.)

"We learned there was a saying in the Elmhurst Running Club: 'If you have to use the restroom and you're on the Prairie Path in Elmhurst, where do you go?' The answer is Villa Park," Rogers said. "We believe very strongly that that shouldn't be the answer in this community."

The proposed property tax increase is projected to cost $317 a year for the owner of a house valued at $500,000, which is close to Elmhurst's median. The tax is expected to last 25 years.

Of the money, 95 percent is slated to go to replacing the Wagner Community Center, a project that is expected to cost $84 million.