Work on Dixon park building could start this fall

DIXON - If the costs and funding come together, the Dixon Park District could break ground on a new building this fall that could eventually become a community center.

The district is issuing $2 million in general obligation bonds to help fund a “Phase 1″ building including two gyms, a community room, and administrative offices, in order to increase programming and give a foundation for a potential community center.

The facility would be built next to the Water Wonderland parking lot, and costs could be around $2 million to $3 million, but there’s not a hard construction estimate.

The bonds will be paid back across 25 years, and district Executive Director Duane Long said they will be able to afford payments through their operating budget without pursuing a tax increase.

There’s also $700,000 that the city has agreed to contribute and funding from a private entity, which is yet to be identified.

Construction was originally pegged for spring 2022, but the cost of building materials continues to increase, and the district is going to try for the fall or wait a year if it’s too expensive, Long said.

The bidding process, being handled by Cherry Valley-based Ringland-Johnson Construction, will begin in July. They should know by August if they can afford the project, and if successful, they could break ground as early as Oct. 11, Long said.

“We’ll see how the numbers come in,” he said. “We have so many good things going, we don’t want to slow down.”

They would also sell their current office at 804 Palmyra St. after the facility is built, and likely pursue a referendum in the next few years to expand taxing boundaries from city limits to school district lines to expand the center.