The Looser-Flake Foundation has committed $250,000 over the next five years to the Aledo Park District to support the construction of the Aledo Aquatics Center. Mercer County Family YMCA will manage and staff the new facility.
Administered by the Quad Cities Community Foundation and dedicated to supporting charitable causes in Mercer County, the Looser-Flake Charitable Foundation was established in 2013 by the estates of Dorothy Looser-Flake and Roberta Looser, sisters who were born and raised on a family farm near New Boston. They cared deeply about the community that gave them so much growing up. So much so, that they left a portion of their estates to establish the foundation.
The aquatics center will be an accessible and affordable community resource centrally located in Aledo at the old Farmer’s Grain and Coal property. The aquatic center includes a bathhouse, zero-depth pool, diving board, splash pad with mini-slides, and more in addition to the 40,000 square-foot pool.
In addition to funding from the Looser-Flake Foundation, the project is supported by state funding, community fundraising, and private contributions.
Construction on the aquatics center is expected to begin in the spring of 2025.