Mayoral candidates take aim at city attractions

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

JOLIET — They were the projects built to improve Joliet’s quality of life when casino money was rolling in and the city budget was black.

Silver Cross Field, Splash Station Waterpark, the Joliet Area Historical Museum, and the Joliet Public Library Black Road branch.

Now that the city faces a $27 million deficit in 2012 (minus $6 million in reserve funds if they have to be used up), these projects face scrutiny.

Except the Black Road library branch. You don’t hear any complaints about the library. Nothing written below applies to the Black Road library branch.

But the mayoral candidates have different opinions about what should be done about the other three.

The biggest target has been Splash Station.

“That’s got to go,” said Jan Quillman, who wants it sold to a private operator.

The city pays about $170,000 a year on bonds used to finance the construction of Splash Station.

But it’s the only outdoor water recreation in Joliet, and Joliet is the fourth largest city in Illinois. No public pool in a city of nearly 150,000 people?

“The same people who want to sell Splash Station say there’s nothing for the kids to do,” said Thomas Giarrante, another council member running for mayor.

The answers aren’t easy, especially when you add in the Rialto Square Theatre. The “Jewel of Joliet” is getting $700,000 in city support this year, and many candidates say that number has to come down.

But there is widespread support for the next big project, even though it has a big price tag: the public transit center planned for downtown. The total cost is $42 million. The state has promised $32 million. Add in funding from railroads, and the city of Joliet’s portion is down to $7.5 million. But can Joliet afford it?

Every candidate seems to want to build the transit center, except one.

“How can we spend $7.2 million that we don’t have?” asked Dale Vollmer. “That’s how we got into this mess.”

Here’s a snapshot look at what the candidates think about continued city funding for big projects past and future — and the Rialto.

Lester Brown

Brown’s not ruling anything in or anything out, although his most negative outlook is for Splash Station.

“Splash Station is not making the money it was intended to make,” he said. “We need to sell those things that are not flourishing in the city. We have to generate revenue.”

He’s pretty positive about the transit center, which, Brown said, will help turn Joliet into a metropolis. “On the surface, I think it’s a good idea.”

Warren Dorris

Dorris said all these projects will be submitted to stakeholder committees he will create. The committees will include business people, who will weigh in on the financial issues, and recreational people, who will offer their insights.

“There are some venues that we may not be able to afford to fund anymore,” Dorris said.

He does not, however, view Silver Cross Field as a problem now that the Slammers are in town. Dorris points out that the ballpark generated revenue for the city until the JackHammers fell on hard times.

The public transit center? Dorris is on board.

“I believe that project is going to spur a lot of jobs and help us promote our city,” he said.

Thomas Giarrante

Giarrante doesn’t want to put “For Sale” signs on Splash Station or anything else.

These are amenities that are good for Joliet’s image and help attract business to the city, he said. Shutting them down will send the wrong signal.

“You’re going to have a heck of a time trying to get business to come here if the things you have you’re trying to sell,” he said. “They’re going to say, ‘Why do we want to go to Joliet?’”

A quarter-million people have come to Splash Station since it opened, said Giarrante, who also chairs the council’s Waterpark Committee.

“Silver Cross Field is paid for,” he said. “We don’t make a lot of money from it, but it’s not a burden.”

The museum bears the closest scrutiny, he said.

Giarrante believes Rialto finances will improve with the city as the complex rents out more of its office space. That, he said, will be easier with the arrival of the public transit center, which will attract more business downtown.

“There’s no way I’m going to vote to close the Rialto,” Giarrante said. “We have people who say we never should have torn down the old courthouse. And, I agree.”

Diane Harris

Harris is ambivalent about Splash Station depending on its financial outlook.

The museum, she said, should be left alone: “It’s very educational for the children.” Silver Cross Field, she said, should be given “an opportunity to flourish” with the new team, but the field should host more events.

She’s unsure about how much funding the Rialto should get and thought it could be used as a tax write-off by the city — but the city does not pay taxes.

Harris was unsure about financing for the transit center but said if it’s going to cost the city $7.5 million, “I’m think we should take a real serious look at it.”

Kevin Hegarty

It’s yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes again from Hegarty as to whether these were good projects and should continue getting city support.

Splash Station is “a great project.” Silver Cross Field is “a tremendous asset for downtown Joliet.” The museum is “another great attraction,” and its Route 66 exhibits attract people to Joliet, Hegarty said.

The Rialto Square Theatre may cost the city “a lot of money. But when you look at businesses in downtown Joliet, it’s a lifeline to them.”

The proposed transit center also will be a boost for downtown. Hegarty is for it.

Michael Marconi

“There was no demand for Splash Station. There was no demand for a ballpark. And, there was certainly no demand for a museum,” Marconi said.

He would sell Splash Station and Silver Cross Field, and cut back on the hours at the museum.

“I believe the people of Joliet want the Rialto,” Marconi said. But, “I think we’re going to have to reevaluate the money that is going to the Rialto. It’s not going to be $700,000.”

He’s for the downtown transit center. It will add jobs and help downtown.

Andrew Mihelich

“I know all the good that the museum does,” Mihelich said. He’s on the museum board of directors. But the Rialto does a lot of good, too, he said. Even so, the city needs to talk with the boards of the museum and theater about how much money they’re getting.

“Silver Cross Field is a great asset to the city,” he said. But, “If there is a buyer for Silver Cross Field, everything is on the table.”

That goes for Splash Station, too. But Mihelich noted that the city agreement with the Joliet Park District, which runs Splash Station, may make it hard to sell.

As for the public transit center: “It’s going to be the future for the city, not only in terms of the future of downtown development.”

Jan Quillman

Quillman has been suggesting the sale of Splash Station for a long time.

“There’s nothing there for people to do,” she said. “The kids don’t like it.” And, there are so many backyard pools, she said, that the city doesn’t need its own. Besides, people can go to water parks in neighboring towns.

She also has been a critic of Rialto operations. City funding has to come down, she said, and the Rialto needs to get more contributions from the private sector.

Silver Cross Field is in good hands with the Slammers as tenant, according to Quillman.

“I love the museum,” she said. But “it can’t be open every day. They need to look at changing how they operate and reinvent things.”

Dale Vollmer

Vollmer said all big projects should have gone to the taxpayers in a referendum for approval before the city spent money.

“The projects that are already done, we’re stuck with,” he said.

The problem with selling Splash Station? “No one’s going to buy a white elephant. No one’s going to buy Splash Station.”

Vollmer thinks kids in baseball uniforms ought to be able to get into Silver Cross Field for free, and Joliet residents should not have to pay to visit the historical museum.

As for the Rialto: “It’s a money pit. Everybody loves it. I love it. It’s the jewel of Joliet. But somewhere along the line they have to stop spending money they don’t have.”

He’s not for the transit center and doesn’t think it will ever be built. The state, Vollmer says, will never come through with its share of the money.