Frankfort Square Park District offers expanded programs at Lincoln-Way North building

FRANKFORT – Frankfort Square Park District officials expect to serve more residents, as the district now occupies the closed Lincoln-Way North High School building.

The district typically serves 18,000 residents, but with the North building, it will serve more than 100,000 people who live in the Lincoln-Way District 210 area, said Jim Randall, the district’s executive director.

“It dramatically increases the number of people that can get into this space, which is kind of exciting,” he said.

He said the park district occupies about one-third of the North building, which opened in August 2008 but was chosen to close by the board of education last year as part its plan to fix the school district’s finances.

The decision was met with heavy public criticism, and a lawsuit this year to keep it open that was unsuccessful.

The Frankfort Square Park District has used North's indoor and outdoor athletic facilities before, as well as the barn on campus that is used for a dog obedience school known as Superdog that has been a source of controversy among residents this year.

Sept. 6 was the kickoff for the park district’s expanded use of North’s indoor athletic space through the FAN, or Frankfort Square Park District Activities at North, program. The space is open for resident use during the morning, midday, evening and weekend hours.

“It’s a beautiful facility,” Randall said.

He said park officials had a meeting with community groups and organizations in District 210 that would request space in the facility and more than 35 of them attended.

He said the park district’s mission is to provide space for residents, including any in the District 210 area.

“They’re the ones that are paying for it, so it’s nice they can still use it,” Randall said.

In May, the District 210 board approved a new agreement with park officials stating that the park district would provide maintenance and upkeep of campus grounds and snowplow services.

The agreement also states the park district would remit 20 percent of net proceeds to District 210 for all dog obedience programming.

“The agreement with Frankfort Square Park District allows community members to use the facilities,” Taryn Atwell, District 210 spokeswoman, stated in an email. “In exchange, [the park district] will reduce district costs by maintaining the grounds and removing the snow.”

She also stated that the school district has ownership over unused areas of the North building.

The spaces available under the FAN program include the field house, fitness center, weight room, fitness studio, main gym, mezzanine and the dog obedience pole barn, according a park district brochure.

Randall said park officials are not in the business of making money off North and plan to be accountable to residents by providing through their website quarterly information on revenues and expenses related to North.

“There has just been such a concern about transparency, we don’t want to be perceived in any way, shape or form taking advantage of the situation,” Randall said. “We want to just put people in the building.”

Any income in excess of the cost of the operation will be returned to District 210, according to the brochure.

Park officials will review the FAN program during the next year and revise it when needed because there is a cost to using the North building.

Randall said for Frankfort Square Park District to have access to the kind of recreational facilities and opportunities at North isn’t something that’s replicated elsewhere in the state.

“No one has this type of opportunity in a district of our size,” he said.