Nokomis pool receives IDNR grant for renovations

August 22, 2020 14

NOKOMIS — According to a report from the Nokomis Memorial Park District, they have some good news for their pool. However, there’s a slight bit of extra work to do until then.

On Aug. 13, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) granted approval of a $350,000 grant to the park district. Although the grant already had pre-approval in January, processing took longer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The process has been a long journey

Nokomis Memorial Park District trustee Robert Batty remarks about the long journey to get to this point.

“But now we know the grant is ours,” Batty says. “So we can start working on raising the rest of our half of the money.”

With final agreements signed, the completion of final designs and engineering drawings should take place within the next month. Afterward, applications for construction permits can begin with the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Nokomis park board became aware of issues last spring

The park board became aware of issues with leakage issues at the pool last spring. A further investigation would determine that repairs would be unsustainable and would need a full replacement. As a result, the park board began the grant process with IDNR.

Since that process began, various fundraisers and community donations have been sought to meet the $350,000 goal for the matching grant. An estimate for the project stands at roughly $700,000.

Due to some complications in fundraising due to the pandemic, a new target date for construction has been set for summer 2021. Fundraising is still ongoing with 50/50 raffles and a Queen of Hearts drawing taking place weekly on Thursday nights at The Depot Pub in Coalton.

Depending on the duration of the pandemic and how fundraising efforts get along, that construction target date could change.

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Jake Leonard

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.