A Danville City Council committee is recommending the city hire a Bloomington, Illinois professional engineering firm to develop plans to reconstruct the Municipal Pool at Garfield Park. The Farnsworth Group would also look into improving the park overall, according to Danville City Engineer Sam Cole….
Audio Player{AUDIO: ‘’There was a lot of feedback that we got from people concerned about – ‘how does this incorporate into the overall park?’, the condition of the roads, some of the other – just buffers of industrial areas around there. So we added some scope to the project to make sure that we, at least at the beginning phase, take a holistic view of how the pool integrates into the park.}
Part of the study will determine whether the existing bathhouse should be torn down and replaced at the pool.
Alderman Mike O’Kane said an environmental study of the area needs to be done before the city spends a lot of money on reconstructing the pool. He noted that years ago there were other buildings in the area. Cole said an environmental assessment will be done before the project moves forward.
(Part of the proposed improvements include updating signs at the park.)
If the full City Council goes along with the plan the pool would not re-open until the summer of 2023. Meanwhile much of the playground equipment at Garfield Park has been removed to make way for an upgrade. The new playground equipment will be very similar to what is now at Ellsworth Park. But it will be a while before it is installed because first the city wants to complete an overall study of the park.
The Public Works Committee also recommended to the full city council that The Farnsworth Group be allowed to do the design engineering work for improvements along Beard Street from Main to Grove Street. Reconstruction of the street is expected to occur next summer.
And committee members heard from Danville Mass Transit Director Lisa Beith that ridership is down on the busses. Two routes with low ridership were earlier temporarily suspended because of the low ridership. Beith adds DMT is currently attempting to hire some more drivers.
