Park Board Getting Ready for Normal Recreation Season

Effingham Park Board commissioners got an update Wednesday evening on efforts to get Park District activities back to normal in 2021.

Park District Director Jeff Althoff said summer program registration numbers are down, but said people are still signing up. The official signup deadline is at the end of next week.

As far as the Workman Sports and Wellness Complex, Althoff said memberships are steady. He said they are coming close to unfreezing memberships. That means the point has been reached where those memberships will need to be renewed, or they will be canceled.

Althoff also reported that the heaters in both pools in the Complex went down, so the pools will be closed down for a couple of weeks to make repairs. During that time, Althoff said some touchup painting and any other repairs will take place. 

Speaking of pools, Althoff said work will be getting underway soon on the Kluthe Memorial Pool at Evergreen Hollow Park. One consideration, Althoff said, is a need for some additional lifeguards to work at the Kluthe Pool. He said they are still planning on opening the Kluthe Pool over Memorial Day weekend.

Althoff said the baseball and softball drafts are coming up soon, so practices should begin in the next week or two. He also reported on Spring Soccer. Last Saturday marked the first week of competition. Althoff said if it goes over well, they could make Spring Soccer an annual event.

In other business, the Park Board approved the issuance of refunding debt certificates. Althoff said it's thought the District could save up to $20,000 per year in interest costs.