ROCHELLE — The possibility of a new community center being built in Rochelle will be the topic of an upcoming special park district public meeting.
For the past several months members of the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District capital committee have been researching various aspects involved with building a possible community center on the south side property of the Helms Athletic Complex.
During a special public presentation being held on Monday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the Rochelle City Hall council chambers, park officials plan to share their initial findings with local residents.
“We are going to share the information we have collected to this point,” said park director Jackee Ohlinger. “Right now, we are just looking at the potential of building a community center. This is just a research project for us and we want to present to the public what we have found so far.”
At the regular July meeting, the subject of a new community center was raised by the board with a maximum construction dollar amount of $11 million, and bids went out to architect firms asking for resumes and experience in building such a facility.

At that meeting, it was mentioned that the district had the ability to increase its annual general obligation fund bonds up to $1.5 million each year to help pay for the project over 20 years.
Discussions about building a community center in Rochelle have surfaced many times over the past several decades by various public bodies and interest groups, but capital funding issues typically stalled the efforts in previous attempts.
Ohlinger said the district is taking all things into consideration when looking at the viability of building a new facility, including overall community needs, funding for construction, staffing, operational costs and increases to tax payers.
“We encourage public input and I hope people come to the meeting and get the facts and not rely on speculation,” Ohlinger stated. “It’s a new day and everything we are looking at is fresh.”