Roselle pool is ready to open
The park district dipped into their pocketbooks to build it. Now Roselle residents can reap the reward by dipping into their new $5.1 million swimming pool.
Kemmerling Park and Pool and all its new amenities will be open for public enjoyment after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The ceremony will memorialize all the "firsts" of the new pool that various residents have bid on to have their names associated with them.
For instance, the Plasschaert family plunked down $45 in an online auction to be the ones who actually snip the ribbon in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Other people bid a total of $1,550 to be the first to jump in the pool, the first to plunge off the high-dive, etc.
Admission to the pool will be absolutely free Saturday. The pool can accommodate up to 600 people at a time. Anyone arriving after the number is eclipsed will have to wait until someone leaves.
Don Kemmerling, the first Roselle Park District president and namesake of the park, will appear at the opening ceremony. He now lives in Florida but traveled up to see the pool's transformation.
The park itself is also transformed. The ball field is upgraded. There is a new running/walking/biking path. And there are new bocce ball courts and horse shoe pits.
The opening marks the first time since 2001 that the community has been able to swim at Kemmerling Park. The park had a pool from 1970 until 2001 when major structural damage forced the pool to close.
It took three tries before Roselle residents approved a $1.8 million tax increase to help revamp the pool and park in 2006. Two years of construction later and the pool is set to open.
"We're just very excited, and we're ready for everyone to enjoy the pool," said park district Director Tom Kruse.
Seasonal passes for the pool are $95 for a resident, $110 for a nonresident. A single-day pass for the pool during the week is $5 for a resident, $7 for a non-resident. On the weekends, the price increases by two dollars. Admission after 5 p.m. is $5 every day.
Also on Saturday, the Carol Stream Park District will open its lone outdoor pool for the summer season.
The opening of Coral Cove Water Park was delayed due to two leaks caused by harsh winter weather.
Coral Cove will be open 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday as part of a grand opening celebration planned by the park district.
Admission is $5 for residents and $9 for non-residents. For more information on Coral Cove Water Park, visit www.csparks.org or call (630) 784-6100.
• Daily Herald Staff Writer Jack Komperda contributed to this report.