By Ted Schnell • BocaJump | Dec. 20, 2011
Earlier this year, the city received a state grant for renovations to the Eastside Recreation Center, and on Wednesday, the Elgin City Council will be asked to get the ball rolling on $2.45 million in renovations to the facility, which sees about 95,000 visits a year.
City management analyst Aaron Cosentino said Monday a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will cover a little more than $1.84 million of the cost. The grant requires the city to match it with approximately $613,700 of its own money.
The city applied for the grant in late 2010 and learned in October 2011 that the application had been approved. According to Cosentino and to the staff documentation on the item to the city council, the funding will go toward a renovation that includes the replacement of an outdated heating system and installation of air conditioning, which the building does not have.
Plumbing work will include enlarging the restrooms and making them handicapped-accessible, Cosentino said. The building’s electrical system, which was designed for manufacturing, will be modified. The staff memo to the council states that there is no fire alarm in the building and the windows and doors are not energy-efficient, situations that would be corrected in the renovation. Finally, some interior renovations are planned to improve the layout of the facility to better accommodate the center’s programs.
The Elgin Parks and Recreation Department believes the improvements will more than double the number of annual visits to the Eastside Recreation Center, which sees about 95,000 a year. The renovation, they believe, will push visits to 200,000 annually. The significant jump is expected because the absence of air conditioning is believed to be a significant factor in drops in attendance during warm-weather months.
The City Council actually will be asked Wednesday to act on two items pertaining to the Eastside Recreation Center project. The first is a professional services agreement with DLA Architects for $183,300 for design services. The grant will fund $137,475 of the contract, with the city the $45,825 balance.
DLA Architects was awarded a grant-writing agreement in November 2010 to seek the state grant, and under that agreement, the firm received the first opportunity to negotiate a contract with the city for design and construction services related to the project. That’s an exception to the city’s procurement ordinance and therefore requires approval of two-thirds of the city council — or at least five votes.
The second item the council will be asked to consider is acceptance of the $1.84 million state grant.
The city purchased the Eastside Recreation Center in 2007, according to the staff memo to the City Council. A new roof and some structural improvements were made in 2008, but since that time the city has not had the funds to make any additional significant improvements.
