Parks try to slate summer schedule
Districts aim to adjust plans with COVID-19 restrictions looming
Outside Maddie Kelly’s office, Oak Lawn’s Central Pool is being filled with water and should be ready for its traditional Memorial Day weekend opening.
Whether anyone will be able to take a dip this summer is one of the unknowns Kelly and others who oversee park districts in the south and southwest suburbs are grappling with as they prepare for a summer schedule of indoor and outdoor activities.
Parents are registering their children for summer programs that could look vastly different than in past years, with potential limits on the number of children who can participate and possible ongoing social distancing.
Kelly, executive director of Oak Lawn’s park district, said that hundreds of children usually take part in the district’s summer camps.
“We can’t even tell (parents registering children) what camp is going to look like,” she said.
With a stay-at-home order in place through the end of this month, district officials said they are hoping for guidance from state and public health officials that will better dictate their plans.
“We are trying to come up with different and creative ways to offer programs that will meet a variety of potential restrictions,” said Debbie Kopas, executive director of the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District.
Some outdoor recreation sites are open, such as Oak Lawn’s Stony Creek golf course. But there are statewide restrictions on how many players can be on a course at any given time.
Orland Park’s tennis and pickleball courts are open, for example, but for singles use only at this point.
The village’s dog park is open,
but the 6-foot social distancing rule is recommended, according to the village.
Gov. Pritzker's fivephase Restore Illinois plan coupled with input from state and federal health officials will dictate when many district offerings begin and in what form.
“We cannot even begin to plan aside from the apparent social distancing and sanitation and safety methods,” Nabeha Zegar, Orland Park's public information officer, said.
Officials with the New Lenox Community Park District are trying to plot what summer activities might look like without clear direction at this point, according to Becky Tilton, the district's recreation supervisor.
“We are planning our best so we can still implement quality programs,” she said.
Printing glossy, four-color brochures highlighting district programs is out, with “fluid” being a keyword in developing plans and posting tentative program offerings online, officials said.
Staff at Frankfort's park district are looking at possible scenarios including reduced enrollment, doing away with off-site field trips for kids and even “virtual” camp, according to Gina Hassett, the district's executive director.
She said that youth day camps comprise the bulk of the district's programming during the summer.
“Many families rely on the camps for day care and socialization opportunities,” Hassett said.
Camps are supposed to start June 15 and the hope is that by that time there will be some easing on the size of crowds that can gather, she said.
At the Mokena Community Park District, largescale outdoor events such as movies and concerts, that had been scheduled for June, are being pushed to later in the summer, said Mike Selep, the district's executive director.
Social distancing and enhanced sanitation will figure into the equation for all events, indoors or out, he said. Fitness equipment, for instance, is being moved to provide space for social distancing, Selep said.
At many park districts, it is unclear when pools and splash pads might open.
Oak Lawn's Central Pool would typically, weather permitting, open at the end of this month, with Centennial Pool following a week later, Kelly said.
Similarly, Orland Park's aquatic center at Centennial Park and Tinley Park's White Water Canyon water park might not be able to welcome swimmers once the season begins.
“We have to wait to see when and how we can open the pools,” Kelly said.
Because of the uncertainty, some park districts are holding off selling season passes for pools, and the Tinley Park Park District is temporarily deferring payments for summer programs.
There is also the question of how comfortable parents might feel even after the stay-at-home order expires.
“We don't know if residents will be willing to participate in programs, even with precautions in place,” Kopas said.
Hassett said her district is surveying families who have had kids in day camp in the past “to gauge the level of interest and comfort in summer programs.”