Tax Hike Proposed In La Grange Park

LA GRANGE PARK, IL – The Community Park District of La Grange Park is poised to ask voters to decide on a tax increase to pay for a gymnasium.

Under a proposal, voters would decide on two tax measures in the April 4 election.

If both are approved, the owners of a $400,000 house would see their property taxes rise by $317 a year, according to the district.

At 6 p.m. Friday, the park board is set to decide on the ballot measures. The board is meeting at its headquarters at 1501 Barnsdale Road.

Under one measure, voters would be asked to let the district go into debt by $10.7 million. That would pay for the new gym, which would be next to the recreation center on Barnsdale Road, according to the district.

The money would also pay for reconfiguring the parking lot. The plan is to keep the two baseball fields, the only lit ones in the village, said Jessica Cannaday, the district's executive director.

The other measure would increase the tax rate to cover added energy costs with the new building. Also, the district aims to keep the gym open earlier and later than the recreation center's current hours, Cannaday said.

The district may include an indoor walking space and green turf on the roof for outdoor activities, she said.

The park district started looking into a gym because of the results of last summer's community survey, which indicated great interest in such an addition, Cannaday said.

"We are just out of space here in La Grange Park for indoor recreation," Cannaday said.

The district's overall tax rate is low compared to other districts, she said. And she said the district has a plan for upgrading its current parks.

A quarter century ago, voters twice rejected a tax increase for a gym, she said. In March 1998, the measure fell short by 26 votes. In November of that year, it lost in a landslide.

Holding a board meeting on a Friday night is unusual. Asked why the board was doing so, Cannaday said it faces a Tuesday deadline to get the measures on the ballot.

The board's bond attorney did not want to wait until Tuesday because that was cutting it close, Cannaday said. Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Cannaday said the board also discussed the tax increase measures at its meeting Monday.