While it won’t last as long as originally envisioned, West Park will see higher than normal use this fall — including installation of temporary lights — due to some planned repairs at the Glencoe Park District’s Takiff Center headquarters, parks officials said recently.
At their July 18 regular board meeting, Glencoe park board commissioners unanimously voted to move organized youth leagues of soccer, lacrosse and football games normally played at Jerry Reinsdorf Field, which is adjacent to the Takiff Center headquarters, to West Park for approximately two months this fall. The change is due the scheduled renovation of the Takiff Center parking lot and the walking trail, officials said.
Commissioners and staff members believed West Park, which sits outside of West School, was the best location for the leagues to play through November.
“There is no other place to put these activities,” commissioner Lisa Brooks said at the park district’s July 10 Special Projects and Facilities Committee meeting, when the matter was originally discussed. “This would be the only choice we have.”
Park District Executive Director Lisa Sheppard conceded there would be an inconvenience for the West Park neighbors.
“Obviously there will be more noise than there is normally in this area,” she said, while emphasizing the change is only planned for 2017.
But officials said any nuisance for neighbors will not last as long as originally intended.
When commissioners and staff discussed the plan at the July 10 committee meeting, the belief was the games at West would start in August. But Sheppard reported at the July 18 board meeting that the park district did not receive any bids from companies meaning the changes will put the project out to bid in August, setting back the timeline.
Therefore, starting in August, the leagues will begin at Takiff until the construction starts, which Sheppard now envisions starting in mid-September.
When the youth leagues do move over to West, Sheppard stated many of the games will be on the park’s west side.
“That is probably the one location that is farthest away from houses,” she said.
Michael Lushniak, the park district’s director of recreation and facilities, said a 50-yard football field and some soccer fields can be accommodated.
Sheppard said games would stop at 9 p.m. on all weeknights and night play would not be allowed on weekends.
As part of the plan, staff members foresee either three or four 4000-watt temporary lighting towers being put up to illuminate the fields. The exact number has yet to be determined, they said, as officials will evaluate safety needs.
Chris Leiner, the park district’s director of the parks and maintenance said it still being debated whether the standards will go up and down every night or let them stand. He acknowledged there will be some glare into people’s homes.
Park district officials estimate the rental costs of the lights to be $600 a month per tower. The towers would be similar to the ones used for the July 4th festivities at Lakefront Park.
Sheppard said they are working with the village on placement of the light standards. The village’s public works director, David Mau, said the proposal is still being reviewed, but he expects a temporary license to be granted.
Park district officials said that almost all of the organized groups that run the assorted youth leagues have agreed to play at West.
The only exception so far is the Glencoe Baseball Association, which has a fall league. Both sides say discussions are ongoing.
“We look forward to hearing specifics from the Park District as to how this construction projects impacts our overall field usage,” GBA President Paul Guten wrote in a text message.
Commissioners signed off on the proposal given they did not want to see the organized leagues shut down.
“My feeling is the community — and certainly the user groups — have a certain level of expectation of the park district that we are here to provide the fields that are needed for the accepted repetitive uses,” park board member Steve Gaines said at the July 10 committee meeting. “By taking that away, I think it behooves us to do something just like this to continue to be able to have services available. It is part of what our mission is.”
West Park, which encompasses almost five acres and is next to West School, is itself under construction this summer. Once finished, the amount of playground space will be nearly doubled, according to park district spokeswoman Erin Maassen. She said that initiative is slated to be finished in time for the start of the 2017-18 school year.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter.
