Will Belleville decline $300K grant from Illinois for splash pad?
Belleville families may have a splash pad to visit next summer at Bicentennial Park.
But that depends upon several coalescing factors, including the financing of the project and whether coronavirus restrictions would prevent kids from using it.
Belleville first needs to claim a $300,000 grant that was awarded to the city last year for building a splash pad. This money is part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s $45 billion capital improvement plan funded by tax increases on gas, cigarettes and gambling along with a vehicle registration fee increase.
If the city doesn’t claim the grant money, the state will earmark the money for another applicant.
Also, the Belleville City Council needs to approve the project and decide whether to only use the grant money for the splash pad or pay for the splash pad with the grant along with existing money in the city’s recreation fund.
Some City Council members have raised questions about the financing for the proposed splash pad. For starters, they want to know how much the construction will cost.
Public Works Director Jason Poole said he expects to get a cost estimate and design plans in about three weeks from Water Odyssey, a subsidiary of Chattanooga, Tennessee-based PlayCore. This bid will not cost the city, Poole said.
That was one of the concerns raise by Ward 7 Alderman Phil Elmore, who doesn’t want the city to pay for the design.
Elmore said he would support the splash pad project if it can be funded, unless the pricetag exceeds what can be covered by the state’s $300,000 grant.
“I love the feature,” Elmore said of the proposed splash pad, “but can we financially do it and is it being financially responsible?”
Elmore noted the city has had to furlough and lay off employees this year because revenue was down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Also, he noted that Poole said the city can expect pay about $20,000 a year for costs related to splash pad, namely the water. This cost would be drawn from the city’s recreation fund and not the general fund, which is used for day-to-day operations of the city.
Elmore, along with the rest of the council members, voted last Monday to approve a motion to get splash pad design plans and a cost estimate from Water Odyssey.
Rules for splash pad grant
There are 16 aldermen on the board. If there is a tie vote on the issue, Mayor Mark Eckert said he would break a deadlock by voting to build the splash pad.
“If we don’t use it, we lose it and I think it’d be a shame to lose $300,000,” Eckert said of the grant.
“It would be for the kids of Belleville,” Eckert said. “Hopefully this pandemic is not going to go on forever. I don’t see it stopping anytime soon but that doesn’t mean next summer we couldn’t still install a splash pad.”
The city initially wanted to have the splash pad built by this past summer but delays caused by the pandemic prevented that from happening, Eckert said.
The splash pad is planned to be built on the upper level of Bicentennial Park off South 21st Street near the park’s new pavilion.
Other metro-east cities have installed splash pads in recent years and Belleville has not had a municipal pool since 2012.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
