ROCHELLE — At its monthly meeting Monday, the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve its 2024-2025 tentative budget and appropriations.

The budget and appropriations will be posted on the district's website for 30 days for the public to inspect prior to its July meeting. The board will be pushing its July meeting back a week to July 22 for final approval of the budget and will hold a public hearing on it at 6:15 p.m. that day before its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m.

"This budget represents a collective vision and strategic priorities aimed at enhancing our park facilities and services for the community," Park District Executive Director Jackee Ohlinger said. "Our revenue projections are based on several key sources such as property tax, replacement tax, interest income, facilities income and donations. These revenue sources combined give us a solid financial foundation to support our planned initiatives.”

Ohlinger said expenditure plans include operating expenses such as salaries, maintenance, utilities, program expenses, educational incentives for recreational activities, and capital projects and purchases.

"These expenditures are carefully planned to ensure we meet both our operational needs and strategic goals," Ohlinger said. "Our financial health remains strong with manageable debt levels and a robust reserve fund. We've included a contingency plan to address any unexpected financial challenges, ensuring we remain resilient and sustainable. The tentative budget aligns with our mission to provide outstanding park services and facilities."

Ohlinger said the park district's audit will be finalized in July as well.

Spring Lake

Park District Director of Recreation Maureen Stevens said Monday that Spring Lake Pool opened June 5 for the season. She said attendance numbers have been steady and have increased since temperatures have become warmer.

With the closing of Hopkins Pool in DeKalb, Spring Lake has seen "a ton" of DeKalb residents coming to swim in Rochelle, which Stevens called "great to see." Group swimming lesson numbers at the park district are steadily increasing, Stevens said, going up from 91 in the last session to 125 in the most recent session. Swim team has begun its season with its first meet Thursday.

Spring Lake recently underwent a surprise safety inspection and Stevens said the inspection yielded zero items that needed to be improved or adjusted.

"They got basically 100 percent on their test, so we're pretty thrilled with that," Stevens said. "It included required paperwork and posting, three different scenarios with our entire lifeguard team and they didn't miss a single step, and also some observations of their scanning scales. We're very proud of everyone."

Ohlinger said the heater at Spring Lake was recently cleaned and maintenanced for the season. The pool was also recently inspected by the state fire marshal and new chemical controllers, pumps and switches were recently installed in its filter room.

"The pool opened June 5 with a bang," Ohlinger said. "It was really wonderful to see the amount of excitement down there this year. There's a vibe down there that I haven't seen in a while and it's really great."