ROCHELLE — At its monthly meeting Monday, the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Board of Commissioners heard an update from Executive Director Jackee Ohlinger on upcoming work at Helms Park.

Ohlinger said a request for proposals has been put out for the removal of the track at Helms Stadium. A site visit and meeting will be held Jan 24 and Feb. 5 will see the bids opened. At its Feb. 19 meeting, the board will approve a bid. Ohlinger said she expects to see the work completed by May 1. 

Helms Park is currently being looked at for changes to revamp it to more of a park district use. The grounds were acquired by the park district in 2002 after it was no longer utilized by Rochelle Township High School. The park district's capital committee recently met and talked about larger changes to Helms Park. 

Public meetings have been held recently on the project to solicit feedback. The park district circulated a survey locally on what the community would like to see at the site, which received around 700 responses. 

The concept plan for the site includes the football, baseball and softball fields remaining with continued enhancements, a fitness area on the southern corner of the property near The REC Center, a multi-sport court with a rubber surface for soccer, volleyball and basketball, a universal play space, a skate park on the northeast corner of the property, tennis courts and pickleball courts, a pavilion and restrooms, new parking, batting cages, a walking path and green space. The plans are not yet finalized.

The park district recently submitted an Open Space Lands Acquisition Development (OSLAD) grant application for the project for matching funds of $600,000. The grant application status will not be known until sometime in 2024, which will impact the project's size, scope and timeline. Ohlinger has said in the past that the district isn't counting on the grant funds for the project and would be able to do it without them.

“The track removal is not included in the grant,” Ohlinger said. “The grant is more recreational. We should know the status of the grant this spring, likely by April.”

Membership

Ohlinger said memberships at The REC Center are up in all categories. The park district recently also offered a new year promotion from Jan. 2-4, which yielded 46 new all-inclusive memberships. The park district also saw over 150 membership renewals.

Bonds

The board unanimously approved the sale of $785,000 and $300,000 in general obligation park bonds in its yearly issuance to fund its operations. The park district received bids from three local banks: Stillman Bank, Byron Bank and Central Bank. The board unanimously approved an agreement with Stillman Bank (low bidder) for a 4.25 percent interest rate on the $785,000 and 4.85 percent on the $300,000.