The public got its first look at cost estimates for the planned revamp of the Winnetka Park District’s Elder and Centennial beaches this week at the Winnetka Park Board meeting on April 27 with a potential $21.5 million price tag, a number that outgoing Commissioner David Seaman said surprised even those on the board.
“I share the community’s shock at the number. I don’t think there’s anybody on the board when we got these numbers (that didn’t say) ‘Are you kidding me?'” he said. “These are a lot different than we would have expected a year ago.”
Seaman, who has worked alongside Park District Superintendent of Finance Jim Crocker on budgeting matters, said there is $10.5 million available for the Park District to use on the project and none of that money is coming from budgets for other projects.
Director of Parks and Maintenance Costa Kutulas said the $21.5 million number is for the overarching dream project that would see the beaches combined through an unresolved land swap with billionaire resident Justin Ishbia.
“I know there’s been a lot of discussion around $21 million but that would be the entire project, in its entirety, all in,” Kutulas said. “That takes a few assumptions. One, securing 261 which has not been identified yet, that’s still in discussion, and what happens south of Centennial.”
Ishbia currently owns the property at 261 Sheridan Road, which splits Park District land. In order to combine the beaches, the land swap was drafted and signed in October 2020 but deeds have yet to be exchanged.
The project is expected to be completed in three phases with the first taking the lion’s share of the cost at about $14 million, the second around $5 million and the third around $2.5 million.
One factor driving costs up is the need to replace and relocate a village-owned stormwater pipe at Elder Beach, the largest in the village’s system. Because stormwater falls under the village’s jurisdiction, residents said that the cost shouldn’t fall on the Park District.
“The white elephant is we think the village should be paying for this,” outgoing commissioner Mickey Archambault said. “We’re really doing our best to try to convince the village to please work with us, understand this is their system, we’re going to need major input to design. All we’re really asking is, you got an $80 million stormwater project. This should be part of that project. Help us and pay for this thing which is beneficial to the entire community and not just lop it onto us to take all the hits.”
Commissioners passed a motion during the April 27 meeting to approve the primary elements of the project and to assign at least two board members to negotiate design, construction, operation and maintenance of the pipe with the village.
Despite the high cost, Board President Warren James said it is absolutely critical to replace and relocate the stormwater discharge pipe that he says has long outlasted its lifetime.
“We are not looking to approve the expenditure of $21 million tonight. That is not where we are in the process. This is the first step in understanding the cost implications of the project,” James said. “Clearly, we’ve got a lot of value engineering to do and some tough decisions to make as to what is necessary and what is a nicety.”
The board also voted to remove non-motorized boat programming from Elder and replace it with swimming after Commissioner Eric Lussen brought the idea forward in response to ongoing resident requests to not over-engineer the parks. Commissioner Colleen Root then proposed to make both beaches swimming despite concerns by engineer Matt Wright of Red Barn Design & Engineering that there won’t be enough sand retention at Elder Beach.
Despite that change, James said that programming on the beaches can always be adjusted in the future.
“Let’s get this thing going. Let’s stop trying to find ways to not do it. Let’s find a way to do it. Let’s move forward,” Archambault said. “This is two years and counting. And people think ‘let’s do this before that’ and you just keep kicking that can down the road. It ain’t going to get cheaper. folks.”
Archambault and James were the two votes not in favor of the programming change to add swimming to Elder, with James abstaining from the vote.
Commissioner Cynthia Rapp favored including a viewing platform on the northern breakwater at Elder Beach but Lussen and other commissioners expressed reservations about the idea.
“I think of little kids running out, running away from their parents and jumping,” Lussen said. “It just terrifies me.”
Residents have asked for years to bring the matter to referendum to allow the public to vote directly on the design plans or find some other way to gauge the public interest. To satisfy this, Root suggested that the Park District conduct a survey asking residents if they want a headland beach system, which prevents sand loss through the use of breakwaters at the north and south ends of the beaches, and how they would like to use the beaches. Her suggestion was voted down 5-2 and the overall motion to approve design features that include a headland beach system, an Americans With Disabilities Act access path and other features passed 5-2 as well.
Another approved motion authorized park staff to create the permits needed for submission to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Metropolitan Chicago Water Reclamation District, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Village of Winnetka but not submit the permits until brought to the board for final approval.
Several former Park Board commissioners — including Angie Dahl, Mary Garrison, Susan Snyder and Susie Schreiber — spoke in person about the board’s need to regain the respect of the public. They took particular issue with the lack of appropriate video and audio of meetings, the continued lack of transparency they said doesn’t appropriately serve the public and the high cost of the Elder/Centennial project that could be used for other Park District projects.
Laurie Peterson read a letter from former park commissioner Barbara Williams which said there should be a referendum for the public to vote on the project.
“I think it’s really significant that we’re hearing opposition on this from a lot of former parks commissioners,” Peterson said. “Personally, I put their opinion very, very highly in my estimation of what’s going on.”
