Minooka receives $600,000 grant to improve Aux Sable Springs Park

The village of Minooka has received a $600,000 Open Space Land, Acquisition and Development Grant that will allow the village to add even more improvements to Aux Sable Springs Park.

Village Administrator Dan Duffy said the new project will cost about $1.2 million, including the required match in funding from the village and additional trails tapping into the existing trail system, new community shelters, pickleball courts and splash pad.

“Locally, we tend to throw in a little more funding for things like getting a bigger splash pad and adding a few amenities,” Duffy said. “The village takes on the extra costs, and that’s something we’re finalizing right now.”

In this case, that would mean a bigger splash pad or possibly an extra pickleball court. He said he still expects the project to cost about $1.2 million with that information in mind.

Minooka last received an OSLAD grant six years ago, which Duffy said it used to build the infrastructure for future improvements at Aux Sable Springs Park. Phase one added trails through the wooded area and along the creek, in addition to fixing the main infrastructure issues such as the entrance and parking lots.

It also allowed for the building of baseball and softball fields, along with several soccer fields.