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Clarendon Hills voters approve bond issue for Lions Park Pool improvements

Clarendon Hills voters spoke out loudly Tuesday March 19 that they want to keep the local Lions Park Pool open.

The Clarendon Hills Park District referendum, seeking approval of an $8 million bond issue for improvements at the pool, along with some other park improvements in the village, was overwhelmingly passed. Unofficial totals showed 70%, or just over 1,300 voters, supporting the referendum, with 30% voting against it.

A property owner with a home that has a market value of $500,000 will pay approximately $203 per year for 15 years for the improvements to be made, according to information from the park district.

Park Board President Suzanne Austin was very pleased with the overwhelming support of the referendum.

“There was a groundswell of support for this. The pool was here when we moved here, and I think people realized that it’s time to pay it forward. People want their kids to have the pool and other improvements at our parks.”

Austin said she’s hoping that about $6.5 million will be used for pool improvements and updates, with the remaining funds from the bond issue going toward improvements at other parks.

The actual wording of the referendum was: “Shall the Clarendon Hills Park District, DuPage County, Illinois, renovate the Lions Park Pool facility and install new waterslides, a spray park and new mechanical systems therein, construct pickleball courts and athletic field improvements at Prospect Park, renovate community playgrounds and facilities, construct accessibility improvements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, improve sites and issue its bonds to the amount of $8,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?”

Don Scheltens, the park district’s executive director, said the 32-year-old pool was soon to become inoperable and would have to close due to increased costs of annual maintenance and operational costs to the park district.

Austin said she believes a grassroots connection with the community was key in getting strong support for the referendum.

“We did a lot of planning for this, had two open houses, and talked to a lot of people,” she said. “The pool and our parks are important to our residents, and they showed that with their support.”

Before any work begins at the pool, the Park District must first obtain a permit from the Illinois Department of Public Health, which likely will take 4-6 months, Austin said.

“I am hoping to start demolition sometime after Labor Day,” she said. “We’ll push for Memorial Day (2025) for opening the new pool, but I don’t know if that’s realistic.”

The Lions Park Pool was opened in 1992 and is managed and operated by the Clarendon Hills Lions Club. In 2003, the Lions Club decided it no longer wanted to manage and operate the pool, so the park district was asked to take over, which it did at that time.

Scheltens said the Park District would have given the pool back to the Lions Club if the referendum did not pass, and that organization has no interest in operating it again.

Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.