Dundee Township surveys residents on aquatic needs

Down one pool, Dundee Township Park District officials want to know if residents desire another pool — and if they do, where it should go.

Residents can weigh in on those questions through two community surveys on the park district’s website. The surveys, which already have drawn more than 1,600 responses, are available until June 19.

The park district serves more than 60,000 residents in Dundee Township.

One survey queries residents about the need and potential location of a pool. The district has identified two sites — one at the site of the now-shuttered Sleepy Hollow pool and another at the Randall Oaks recreation complex off Randall Road.

A second survey asks what types of features — such as if it should be a lap pool or an aquatic center and if it should be indoors or outdoors — people would like.

Last fall, park district commissioners announced they would not reopen a community pool in Sleepy Hollow. Park officials noted the pool, built in the 1960s, was beyond repair and leaked more than 3.8 million gallons of water that summer. In 2022, the pool lost about 2.7 million gallons of water.

The outdoor facility at Dolphin Cove Family Aquatic Center remains open at 300 N. Kennedy Drive in Carpentersville. Rakow Center indoor pool, at 665 Barrington Ave. in Carpentersville, also remains open.

The Sleepy Hollow pool was the only public pool on the west side of the park district.

Earlier this year, the district created a 12-member resident committee to help lead an aquatic needs study. The surveys are the first part of the study.

“The district is hoping to get direction not only on where the location of a possible aquatic center would be but also the amenities and features that the community would like to see,” Dundee Township Park District Deputy Director Ross Bertone said.

The committee is expected to review the survey results later this month, though a meeting date has not yet been set, Bertone said. The committee also will, within the next month, make recommendations based on survey results to the park district board.

If the district decides to build another pool, it must determine how to fund the project. The district has hinted that it likely would have to go to a referendum to secure voter approval for project funding. The earliest the district would consider a referendum is next year, park board President Frank Scarpelli said.