Plans for building the new pool at Niles North were in jeopardy when the District 219 Board of Education scheduled a vote during their meeting on Monday, Feb. 27. The board was to take a vote on whether to drastically cut the budget for building the pool, scrap the project altogether or continue the aquatics center project as planned.
Work for the new pool was underway and making progress. Niles North had already torn down the properties it had purchased to make way for the new pool, and construction was scheduled to start as early as April.
The aquatics center plans raised concerns about the projected total cost. The facilities committee and the engineers estimated the total cost of the pool to be $12.5 million when they began planning but the tab ballooned to $14.9 million due to inflation and other economic factors. The Board decided to discuss a solution to the nearly $3 million increase in the cost and vote on three possible resolutions: stay on the original plan and build the pool with the added cost, significantly reduce the cost of the project by eliminating part of the plans or completely scrap the project or table it for the future.
Board chairman Robert Silverman was initially concerned with the price increase because it may have conflicted the District’s five-year capital improvement plan. Silverman said that building the new pool would be the “single most expensive addition” ever built at the school. He was also worried that the district would be forced to dip into the reserves to fund the project.
In the end though, Silverman and the Board members had a half-hour discussion with the engineers, who explained in great detail where all the costs were coming from. When the explanation finished, the Board unanimously voted to stick to the original plan to move forward with the $15 million project. (It should be noted that two Board members were not present at the meeting and did not vote.) Afterwards, chairman Silverman even suggested that the school organize an “official ground-breaking ceremony” with athletic director Karl Costello.
John Frendreis, president of the Niles North Athletic Booster Club, praised the vote to continue the proposed building plans. A North parent, Frendreis was pleased that the Board managed to move forward with the plans. “The new Aquatic Facility will serve thousands of community residents and District students for many years,” Frendreis said. “The process by which the Board and District Administration have approached this important issue has been marked by extensive community involvement, careful stewardship of district resources and a commitment to build and maintain district facilities that enrich our entire community,” he added. With the approval of the original building project of the new pool in the past, Niles North and D219 can now look for a groundbreaking to start the construction in the near future.
