$14.7 Million Referendum Heads To Ballot In Glencoe Park District

GLENCOE, IL — Glencoe voters are set to consider whether to borrow nearly $15 million to finance parks improvements with a bond referendum question on the November ballot.

The Glencoe Park District board last month voted unanimously to ask residents to authorize a 25-year, $14.7 million bond sale.

Executive Director Lisa Sheppard said the board is looking to maintain the quality of its assets and enhance property values through the preservation of the village's beach, parks and athletic facilities while limiting the burden on taxpayers.

"It aims to create efficiencies and cost savings through constructing a new parks facility that is currently over 100 years old, all without increasing the current debt service burden," Sheppard said.

"The district can secure new bonds without raising taxes because our existing long-term debt will be paid off in the near future," she said.

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If approved, the annual property tax bill of a Glencoe resident would be $261 higher, per $1 million of a home's estimated fair market value, until the debt is paid off.

Village taxpayers would not see an increase to the 7 percent of their property tax bill that goes to the park district though, because it is next year due to finish paying off the $13.8 million bond from 2005 that paid for renovations to the Takiff Center.

Sheppard said the district currently has $22 million in infrastructure needs, the rest of which will be financed through existing funds, grants or donations.

Among the proposed improvements are new beach playground equipment, updated interiors at the beach head and greater accessibility to the beach and boardwalk.

A series of aging storage and maintenance buildings behind the Takiff Center would also be demolished and replaced by a new community greenhouse and parks maintenance facility.

District officials said delaying the improvements would lead to a much higher bill in the future due to inflation of the cost of construction.

Board President Carol Spain said the district cannot fund the backlog of capital projects out of its operating budget or grants.

"For example, one of the projects on our list is a $1 million project to redo our parks facility," Spain explained. "This facility is over 100 years old, and the wiring is outdated. We can't update to EVs, for example, because the wiring isn't adequate. If I took you on a tour, you'd see there are still dirt floors in our garages."

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The district hired consultants to conduct a non-scientific survey of the community, and about 211 people responded.

When queried how they would vote on the language of the referendum, 72 percent of people said definitely or probably yes, 19 percent said definitely or probably no and 9 percent did not know.

When consultants asked residents to rank their priorities among proposed projects, Glencoe Beach came out on top, followed by the parks maintenance building, the Takiff Center's field, a new community greenhouse and renovations at the boating beach.