The village has received a $400,000 grant to help pay for renovations at the Hinsdale Community Pool.
Staff learned Friday that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources had selected the village to receive a 2020 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant. The grant will provide almost a third of the needed funds to renovate and repair the aging pool.
“I’m really excited that the IDNR saw this is a quality project,” said Heather Bereckis, superintendent of parks and recreation. “Everyone should have that opportunity to come to a place that doesn’t require a membership fee. Hinsdale is a wealthy community, but it’s nice to be able to have affordable recreation for everyone.”
The village filed its grant application in August, and village manager Kathleen Gargano went to Springfield in November to make a three-minute pitch for the project. Thirty applicants already had been cut by that time, Bereckis said, and another 19 were later cut.
“Some of the people that were cut, I was surprised,” she said. “They hired professional firms to do it.”
Gargano said the village is thrilled to receive the grant.
“The Hinsdale Community Pool is a truly unique facility in DuPage County and impacts many local communities,” Gargano said. “The funding will allow for many renovations to be made and assure that a beloved local facility remains operational for years to come.”
The pool was extensively renovated in 1992 and is in need of functional and mechanical renovations and repairs.
“The pool is reaching the end of its longevity,” Bereckis said. “It needs work.”
The investment should extend the pool life’s by another 10 to 20 years, Bereckis said.
“This grant will ensure the sustainability of a community asset for many years and will allow village capital funds to be used for other important projects,” Village President Tom Cauley stated in the release. “I am grateful the IDNR saw the value in this project.”
Bereckis thanked the many individuals who wrote letter of support as part of the application process, including recreation commissioners, residents, legislators and other officials.
“They took their time to write really nice recommendation letters for us,” she said. “I think that helps knowing you have a lot of community support for what you’re doing.”
The pool renovation is one of 85 local projects that will received a total of $29.7 million in grant funding, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday. The funds will help communities acquire open space and develop or improve recreational facilities throughout Illinois. The grants are funded through the OSLAD program and administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Work on the pool is expected to begin this fall.
