Splash Station Reopening, Staab Fixes Joliet Park District

JOLIET, IL — In 2018, the Joliet Park District had an $800,000 deficit, but efforts to convince Joliet voters to approve a 58-percent tax rate increase failed last April. Nine months later, Joliet Park District's new executive director Brad Staab said the finances have been fixed. The park district ended 2019 with a $300,000 surplus, and Splash Station Waterpark, which was closed last summer, will be reopened in 2020, Staab told Joliet Patch on Wednesday.

"We've kind of turned it around," Staab told Joliet Patch. "We finished 2019 with a surplus, which is almost a million dollar turnaround."

Besides closing Splash Station, the Joliet Park District had slashed the hours at Hartman Recreation Center on Collins Street as cost saving measures.

Staffing expenses were also cut by $300,000, including two administrative positions that were not filled. Overall expenses for 2019 were reduced by approximately $1.1 million over 2018. The district's overall 2019 annual expenditures were the lowest in over a decade, Staab said.

Looking ahead to 2020, Staab told Patch that Splash Station will be open to the Joliet community this summer.

However, because of significant repair costs, plus the huge costs associated with staffing, the Park District does not plan to operate the lazy river section of Splash Station, Staab said.

"A city like Joliet should have public swimming," Staab said, "but we don't want to lose a bunch of money, either. It's just not cost-effective to open that part of the park. Our plan is to operate the zero-depth entry pool and have a picnic area."

In years past, Splash Station Waterpark averaged 50,000 to 55,000 customers. It usually stays open about 70 days in the summer, Staab said.

"We believe a community like ours should have outdoor swimming in the summer. We're working to make that happen, while being conscious of our budget," Staab said.

Given the fact that the lazy river area won't be functional, "admission prices will be dropping," he said.