Recreation fees going up in Orland Park

By Jeff Vorva

Prices for sports and activities will be going up in Orland Park.

The village’s board of trustees voted Sept. 19 to increase fees for Sportplex’s open gyms, athletic fields and Centennial Park Aquatic Center membership and daily fees.

Village officials cite rising costs of labor, materials, supplies, services and improvements for the hikes.

The aquatic center draws huge crowds for swimming in the summer and the rates in all categories are categories are going up.

For the membership fees, the early-bird fees for residents will rise from $93 to $105. Fees for a couple blossom from $140 to $155. Family rates will bulge from $175 to $195 and seniors will rise from $58 to $65. Non-residents will pay $255 for individuals, $380 for couples, $510 for families and $160 for seniors.

Recreation and Parks Director Ray Piattoni said 786 resident memberships and 162 non-resident memberships were sold in 2022, generating $343,975.

Regular season passes will also go up for residents and non-residents. In 2022, 574 were sold to residents and 156 to non-residents.

Full-day daily admission fees, which generated $559,097 in 2002 will rise for residents from $11 to $12 and evening rates go from $8 to $9.

Non-resident daily feels with be $25 from Mondays through Thursdays and $26 from Fridays through Sundays and holidays.

Trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes voted “yes” to the hikes but argued that the cost for non-residents should be increased even more.

“In light of the huge village subsidy for the pool, I honestly don’t think the non-resident billing fees for the pool are enough,” she said. “They should be 2 1/2 times that of what a resident pays.

“Weekends are probably our heaviest traffic for participants, and I would like to see that increased.”

She said that some residents have told her that on weekends, the pool is filled with non-residents and they have not been able to use it.

Mayor Keith Pekau recommended exploring that in the coming week and voting on another increase for non-residents if need be.

Sportsplex gym fees will rise from $5 to $6 for residents, $10 to $12 for non-resident youths in the eighth-grade and younger and $17 to $20 for non-resident adults.

There are a variety of athletic field fees on fields with and without lights depending on the percentage of residents on teams.

The athletic field fee raises could bring in an added $16,300, the SportsPlex fees an extra $19,700, the pool membership fees $18,200 and the daily pool fees $43,000.

“I want to be clear that when we say additional revenue, citizens should understand we’re not making a profit,” Trustee Brian Riordan said. “We’re still subsidizing this to a significant extent in our budget. This is offsetting some of that. Don’t get confused that we’re profiting because we’re charging extra for the pool.

“Centennial’s pool brought in $322,000 and it costs us over a million bucks to operate that facility,” added Pekau.