Come on In, the Water's Fine!

Roger Schamberger from Burbach Aquatics was at our village board meeting this week to discuss the "possibility" of building a family aquatic center here in Elburn. I was impressed with several interesting parts of Roger's presentation.

First, Roger showed us story boards that displayed aerial views of community pools that had been built in several towns of less than 3000 people. All of the examples were located in villages across Northern Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. These proactive communities had determined that a family pool complex was "the" amenity that they wanted, and they went out, and made it happen.

Second, Roger emphasized that all of these example pools were built through a variety of funding options, and not just through increased property taxes on local residents. Some communities had sold local bonds, some had conducted capital fund raising campaigns, and some had even benefited from charitable donations and matching grants. In Elburn's situation, there is a distinct possibility that developer contributions could be included as a part of a potential pool funding mix.

Finally, Roger expressed a confidence that a well-run pool, properly sized for the community, and one that incorporated a healthy mix of concessions, should in fact turn a yearly profit on operations.

All three of these important points are encouraging, and I believe it is worth taking a good hard look at them and their potential recreational benefit for our community.

The first phase required from Elburn is to simply approve a $1985 feasibility study that will take Burbach Aquatics approximately 4-6 months to complete. There is no further obligation on the part of the village to continue with Burbach Aquatics from there. We proceed only if we as a community are comfortable with continuing the pool planning process.

At some point in the future, the voters of Elburn will be included in this decision. I can accept our resident's ultimate decision regardless of the result. However, I feel that it is a smart move right now for the village board to proceed with this feasibilty study. Let's find out as much as we can about this "refreshing" issue, and make an conscientious informed decision to "jump in" when the time is right.