FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Park District planning on demolishing Hasbrook Cultural Arts Center and moving all the dance and arts programs from there to Pioneer?

The Park District has identified the Hasbrook Cultural Arts Center is not meeting the standards that the public expects from its park facilities. But there are no immediate plans to demolish this center and transfer all the arts and dance programs from there to Pioneer.

Can the Pioneer Community Center be phased in over a period of years?

No. The Park District plans to renovate all of the Community Centers and needs to complete Pioneer in order prepare for the next center. Phasing adds to the cost of a project and require some demolition work of recently performed construction.

The Park District cited information from the 1999 and the 2004 Community Needs Assessment to support the need for full size gymnasiums. What section of the survey did that information come from?

A: The 1999 Survey had a question on ideas for new park & recreation opportunities and services. More than half of the respondents (53%) indicated an interest in a large gym that can accommodate multiple sports activities.

The 2004 Survey asked what the important features of a Community Center are. The highest ranked feature was a full-sized gymnasium with a 54.5% rating.

How is the Park District funding the Pioneer Project?

A: The Park District uses Non-Referendum General Obligation Limited Tax Park Bonds to fund its capital projects for the entire park system. The Park District uses the funds from these bonds to fund capital improvements and development, to maintain and improve parks and facilities, acquire land, and replace outdated equipment. There is a tax cap on the amount of bonds that can be issued. The legal debt limit for non-referendum bonds is .575% of assessed valuation and the debt is limited to $1,853,017 per year.

How is the Park District addressing the traffic, pedestrian safety and parking issues?

A: The Park District has hired Gewalt/Hamilton, traffic engineers, to conduct a traffic study. The study will be used by the Park District and Village to determine on-site parking requirements, street traffic control methods and/or requirements and for recommendations regarding a single or double entry for the site.

With the addition of a new gym will the Park District be moving its basketball program to Pioneer Park?

Last winter the Park Districts youth basketball (1st - 8th grade boys and girls) program had 80 teams registered for the winter program. Of the 80 teams, 22 were from the Pioneer Park area. Due to the current gym size most of those 22 teams had to travel to Heritage Park (Juliette Low School) or Forest View Educational Center to practice and all went to Poe School or Betsy Ross School for games. The addition of the gym at Pioneer allows us to take care of the teams who register at Pioneer Park with practice time and games at Pioneer. The gym size proposed should accommodate all the teams with one hour of practice a week.

Would the Park District move the basketball program to Pioneer?

The Park District has long term agreements with both Poe School (District 21) and Betsy Ross School (District 23) which allows the Park District use of the gyms at those schools on evenings and week-ends. According to the terms of the agreement the Park District does not rent or incur any custodial charges for the use of the facilities. The Park District has no intent to move all of its basketball games from either facility to fill a new gym at Pioneer.

How many people will be using the gym for basketball?

Practices would involve two teams at a time in one hour intervals; each team has about 10 children on the team and usually two coaches. During the practice times there would be about 25 people in the gym. Games for our younger age groups are played cross court so two games can be played at the same time. With 10 players on a team there would be 40 players, and if each player averages two spectators there would be 80 relatives watching for a total of 120 people in the gym. A car estimate would be based on the 80 spectators and we would anticipate about 60 cars.

Can't the Park District use the School District Gyms?

The Park District and School Districts have a very good working relationship and the Park District has been able to rent some gym time for practices from some of the School Districts, however the Arlington Heights Youth Basketball Association (AHYBA) rents the majority of available school gyms for their practices and games.

Why is there a difference between the capacity of the building and what staff anticipates the number of users to the building will be?

Capacity is based on the size of the room and how many people can fit into that room, it does not take into consideration the type of activity that is taking place. The staff is basing its room use calculations on the type of activities that will take place in the room. For example, the current gym at Pioneer has a capacity of 124. When used for basketball (two teams of 10 players and 20 spectators, a total of 40 people) it would be impossible to conduct this activity with 124 people in the gym.

Comments/Questions about The Pioneer Project may be directed to Brian Huckstadt, Director of Parks and Planning at 847-577-3009.