QUINCY — Design work for the new Quincy-area fieldhouse and swimming pool is scheduled for 2024. Voters narrowly approved the formation of a new regional parks district in the November election, with 1,008 votes in favor and 945 against.

Park district property owners will pay 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to fund the district. Quincy city Administrator Pat Haley said the work necessary to form the district will take some time.

“The election was certified on (Nov.) 28, and you have to have your levy certification in on (Nov.) 30,” Haley said. “All of this (organization) would have to be done in two days. We realize that’s not possible. So basically what that means is that people aren’t going to be taxed as part of this parks district until 2025.”. 

Haley expressed appreciation to the voters for saying yes to the idea behind the fieldhouse.

“We made it bigger than what is normally necessary just for the city of Quincy,” Haley said. “We made it big enough that it would draw people to this town. That was the vision, this is a tournament-size facility. This will be a regional draw for team sports and (athletic) activities. That’s going to generate all sorts of economic activity here in our town, and really relieve the long-term perception that there’s nothing to do in Quincy.”

The district will include Quincy and George as well as unincorporated areas around Quincy. The boundaries will be the same as the Quincy School District, minus the section of the school district in Douglas County.

Since the parks district encompasses the two cities and parts of Grant County, the board will have at least one representative from each city and one from the county. Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter has been appointed to the county’s position. 

Most parks districts have their own staff and administrators, Haley said, but in this case, it’s envisioned that the district would contract with the city of Quincy for those services. 

The fieldhouse, called the Q-Plex, will be about 143,000 square feet. The preliminary plan includes enough space for a football field, up to four soccer fields depending on the number of players, an indoor track and two courts that can be used for basketball, volleyball or pickleball, among other activities. 

The swimming pool will replace the existing Quincy Aquatic Center. It will be in East Park, but on the location of an existing baseball field. Earlier this year Quincy officials announced plans to move the baseball fields. City officials already were working on preliminary designs for both the pool and the fieldhouse.

“Both of them were in conceptual drawings. Now we’ll go ahead and start the design of those,” Haley said. “We’re going to start to work into a more final design. So there will be some community input as we move forward with that.”

The building’s frame will be covered with a membrane rather than having solid walls, Haley said.

“They have a method of securing it so that it supports the same loads as a normal building would. It has the same structural strength,” Haley said.

Over time the membrane will have to be replaced, he said.

“But there again, it’s just stripping off the membrane and putting on new stuff. So the costs of these are a lot less,” he said. “That’s kind of what prompted this whole thing to happen, is that we decided to try something a little less expensive, but still very functional.”

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.