Park District Plans Town Hall For Borg Warner Referendum

FRANKFORT, IL — The Frankfort Park District will host a town hall meeting to discuss the non-binding referendum about Borg Warner on the upcoming April 6 ballot. The town hall will be held at 6:30 p.m. on March 25 at Founders Community Center, 140 Oak St.

According to the park district, the non-binding referendum is so the park district can gauge resident support about the park district considering purchasing the Borg Warner plant for recreational facilities. The park district board will assess the results of the April 6 election to determine if it will move forward with the process to further evaluate the property.

The park district said the evaluation process would include gathering community input, architectural and environmental evaluation, and business modeling.

Borg Warner announced last year that it would close its Frankfort plant at the end of 2021. The site is 26 acres, and the plant is 225,000 square feet, the park district said.

The property is currently for sale for $7.5 million.

According to the park district, the space would allow for a multitude of programming opportunities including rental and meeting space, turf fields, gymnasiums, swimming facilities, senior and teen drop-in-centers, fitness space and more.

“The hope is that residents will go to the polls and cast a vote to provide that Park District feedback. This unique opportunity could create a recreation campus next to Main Park. If this opportunity to get feedback was missed, I would be remiss. When the Borg Warner plant closes, it might find a new industrial occupant, remain empty or be torn down and rezoned. I would hate for residents to say, “the park district should have bought Borg Warner” and the district hadn’t explored the opportunity," Executive Director Gina Hassett said.

You can learn more about the referendum on the park district's website.

A non-binding referendum would not affect property taxes for residents. According to the park district, to impact property taxes, the district would need to have a binding referendum which, if successful, would provide funds to purchase and renovate the property.

The next opportunity that could be done would be in 2022, impacting the 2023 property taxes, the park district said.