The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District is making certain the H-F Racquet & Fitness Club will be cool and dry for guests.
Park commissioners approved two contracts for major improvements at the 44-year-old racquet club, 2920 W. 183rd St. in Homewood, that will improve the heating and air conditioning system and the roof over the tennis courts.
The park district will use insurance money from a 2014 hail storm to cover some of the expenses. Work will be completed by the end of October.
The three 20-year-old air conditioning units serving the offices, portions of the locker rooms, conference room, hallways and Kids Kourt need to be replaced, Josh May, club manager, informed the park board.
Replacing the units will require a crane. May said the new units will meet the Illinois Energy Conservation Code.
May said the insurance claim allowed for replacing the air conditioner coils. Instead, the park district will take the money and use it to reduce the $44,900 payment to Mechanical Concepts of Romeoville to replace the units.
May reported to the park board that it has been hard to keep dripping water off the tennis courts the past few years. Heavy rains and snow melt can leave courts wet and unsafe. The wetness reduces playing time and consequently revenues.
After considering its options, the board agreed with May’s recommendation and decided to replace the shingled roof over the 10 tennis courts and replace the roof’s internal steel gutters with a membrane material.
The roof portion of the work will be covered by insurance. The cost of replacing the gutter system and insulation will be paid by the park district. Commissioners approved a bid of $370,453 for the roofing and a maximum of $32,250 for the gutter work from Korellis Roofing of Hammond, Ind.
