MISSION STATEMENT - To advocate for a pragmatic solution to the high school's facitilies problem that resolves the pool issues, is fiscally responsible and preserves and maintains the existing parking garage.
One example of a pragmatic solution for the pool issue was developed in the spring (2016) by Legat, the architectural firm hired by the high school to develop plans to improve its aquatics facilities. The Board of Ed plan is identified as Option 2 or LTFP A on these BoE links.
It’s time for a review - or to put it in swimming terms, it’s time for a deep dive.
So much information has come out over the years that the pool issue has been under consideration, it is a good idea to review some of the basics to better grasp why we are where we are now.
In short, the high school has known its pools were in bad shape for many years - see the Wight 2003 study linked below. But the lack of off-street parking has been a problem as well, and in 2003 the school and village reached an agreement to build a parking garage to the south of the Field House. Ten years later, after deciding to build a 50 meter pool and state-of-the-art aquatics facility, the best location on campus seemed to be where the garage is located - a $37.5 million project to be funded in part by a $17.5 million bond issue. Though early public statements spoke of a referendum question to appear on the March 2016 ballot, the school board abruptly decided last fall to use a financing loophole to issue bonds without giving the community a vote on this new debt. Thus was born the "Petition for Referendum" to secure enough signatures (over 4,300) to force the question to appear on the ballot. That caused the high school to go back to the drawing board and evaluate some new proposals, choosing to build a 40 meter pool facility on the site of the parking garage. Now we are advocating a NO vote on the referendum question in November (that supports this plan) to encourage the school board to reconsider the Pragmatic Plan (Plan A or Option 2 in the chart LINKED HERE)
The High School and your TAX BILL– an article written by the OP Township Assessor explaining the impact of D200 tax levies - LINK
GARAGE structural report – commissioned by the school board in the spring of 2016. It concluded that the garage, while needing repair, was structurally sound and could last at least another 25 years with routine maintenance. LINK
REVISED
PLAN B
costs – This is the current plan that the referendum question is based
upon. This is the plan after the board authorized Legat (the architects)
to reduce the costs from the original plan. LINK
STANTEC report – In February 2012, the high school hired Stantec Consulting Services to do a thorough review of the campus and recommend solutions for the pool situation. Their report detailed several options and they recommended (see pg 1.3 - 1.4) LINK
PLANS A, B and C
COMPARISON chart - This compares three
plans the D200 board considered this summer: Plan A is what we refer to as the
Pragmatic Plan and would build new pools in the Field House, Plan B is the plan
the school board adopted, and Plan C is the plan for a 40m stretch pool built
underground. LINK
NATATORIUM PROPOSAL
(from March 2013) This was presented by the “aquatics community” (parents,
coaches of feeder teams, HS coaches etc) - it was their PLEA for a 50 meter pool in
response to the findings in the Stantec Report. LINK
WIGHT POOL STUDY – from 2003, a feasibility study commissioned by the high school that explored various pool size options and sites LINK
