This week’s community spotlight, is on the Mt. Hope-Funks Grove Park District. The Park District is located at 107 N. West Street in McLean. To start off, I interviewed the director, Stacey Reinhardt. She turned over some of the questions to the board president, Jenny Denham, to get more information on the history of the building. 

Jenny wrote, “When Olympia shut down our grade school in McLean to consolidate, it devastated our little town. We hated to see our beautiful building sit empty. There was discussion of starting a private school, renting rooms to local businesses, a storage facility, etc., but it was decided that a Park District would be what we moved forward with. In 2004, we started the park district with no tax referendum and our budget was next to nothing! Once we did get that tax to go thru we updated the building and started having our annual events.” Losing the school was something that affected the town deeply, so they wanted to put the building to use in other ways. Now, many locals, and even out-of-towners, come in to use the building in McLean. 

The annual events that the Park District host include a Halloween party, Independence Day Celebration, Sign & Wines, a fall Vendor Fair, and free family photo sessions with a local photographer. 

You can also rent out the three meeting rooms that hold up to 50 people ($10/hr.) or the gym that can hold up to 300 people ($15/hr.) to host your own gatherings. Tables and chairs are readily available in all. The building is also equipped with a commercial kitchen that can be rented at $25 per day.

The public has access to three fitness center rooms with monthly, quarterly, or yearly memberships. Memberships start at just $13 per month and $10 for senior citizens. Two rooms hold ellipticals, treadmills, stationary bikes, and row machines for cardio workouts. The other room, for strength and training, has free weights, kettlebells, resistance bands, and a 4-station weight machine. Different yoga classes are also held for a small, extra charge.

Coming up soon, the Park District will be breaking ground for a walking track around the baseball diamond. They are possibly wanting to add outdoor workout equipment and more benches, too, when the budget allows.

The board is welcome to any new ideas or suggestions from the public about future events or how the building is currently being run. To contact Stacey, call the office number at 309-874-2382. You can also find out more information on their webpage at mhfgparkdistrict.com or their Facebook page.