Bees A Problem at Smalley Pool: Elmhurst Parks

ELMHURST, IL — The sandpit has been too much of a problem at Smalley Pool, so the Elmhurst Park District is doing away with it. Patrons visiting the sandpit often track sand into the pool, challenging the pool's filtration system, according to a park district memo.

For much of the last three summers, the sandpit has been closed because of an infestation of bees, an issue that staff has been unable to resolve, the memo said.

As a result, pool patrons have been asking that the the sandpit be replaced with a different amenity, the memo said. So the district is responding with a plan to provide a sitting and party area with a shade structure. It would be available for private rentals, thus possibly generating income and eliminating the bee nests, the district said.

Feedback from surveys included repeated requests from patrons to provide more shade at the pool and spray ground, which can be addressed by replacing three of the "funbrellas" at Smalley Pool with larger shade structures on the pool deck to expand coverage, the memo said. The plans are to move the existing funbrella structures from the Smalley Pool deck to the renovated sandpit area, the district said. Larger shade structures are also planned at The Hub.

The park board is being asked to choose Plainfield-based Innovation Landscape, which bid $64,000 for the Smalley project, as the contractor.