The Waukegan Park District’s Board of Commissioners has voted to forge ahead with preliminary designs for a proposed revitalization of Waukegan Municipal Beach.
At $600,000, the current plan is a scaled-back version of the $5 million plan originally envisioned in 1998. That plan, which included an elaborate water playground, could still be built, but not all at once, Park District officials said.
Commissioners approved a $48,000 contract with Chicago-based Smith Group JJR Inc., a planning and engineering firm, to study options for the first phase of the project, which would concentrate on the southern end of the beach area.
The contract calls for the firm to survey the area, assess conditions and determine how to make the best use of the money budgeted for the revitalization, district officials said. Specific projects will be determined later.
Also at Tuesday’s board meeting, commissioners voted to award a contract to J.W. Turf Inc. of Pewaukee, Wis. for a John Deere fairway lawn mower for $25,878. Commissioners awarded another contract to Schmidt Implements Inc. of Salem, Wis., for a John Deere tractor at $20,037.
Both items will be used at the district’s three golf courses. Commissioners also announced that state Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) had secured a $200,000 state grant for the district to be used for capital improvements in the parks.
