The Winnetka Park District is serving up changes they hope local tennis players will love.

Park commissioners unanimously approved on Thursday, July 24, a $1.3 million bid with Chicagoland Paving Contractors, of Lake Zurich, for the reconstruction of seven outdoor tennis courts at the A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center, 530 Hibbard Road.

Costa Kutulas, director of parks and maintenance, said the outdoor courts are more than 50 years old, but most users may not realize it because of frequent maintenance over the years.

But he said all that maintenance, including adding coats of asphalt onto existing ones and multiple coats of paint, ended up making the root of the maintenance issues worse.

Recently, Kutulas said park district staff discovered “subpar subsoils” underneath the courts, which have contributed to moisture damage.

“Our goal and objective here is basically to start over, correct the subsoil issues that we have, and address the root concerns so we can put back a court that is going to be playable and enjoyable for the tennis program for many a year,” he said.

The plans, as Kutulas explained, are to demolish Courts 1-7 and rebuild them within the same footprint.

Peter Lind, with civil engineering firm Gewalt Hamilton Associates, said the project will also include measures to prevent future damage to the courts.

“Water (is a) powerful element here that we’re dealing with, and we’ve got to get it out of these courts,” he said. “Right now, with a clay surface, it’s going to hold moisture and so we’ve got to get it from beneath the courts and we’ve got to get it away.”

The solution, Lind said, is to install a flat curb around the barrier of the courts that will help hold them together.

Additionally, the project reportedly will include moisture protection measures, including a geothermal fabric and drainage improvement measures.

Lind also said that the “pitch,” or incline, of the courts will be changed. Currently, the courts are pitched toward the tennis center, but the improvements will change that so that accumulated water goes elsewhere, including drainage areas and toward the parking lot.

The plans also call for the removal of an ADA ramp that is out of compliance and replace it with a path that is level with the courts.

While the Park Board also approved a budget adjustment due to the cost of the project being higher than anticipated, Pat Fragassi, manager of the A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center, told commissioners that there may be grant opportunities available from the U.S. Tennis Association.

He said the district would have to apply for any grants, but there is a chance that, if all goes well, the park district could have the opportunity to receive up to $20,000 per court.

Commissioner David Seaman commended Fragassi on his leadership of the tennis program.

“We got to continue to invest in an unbelievable facility,” he said. “I’m fantastically supportive of this.”

Kutulas said demolition is expected to begin around August. The goal is to have the majority of the project done by November. After that, he said the courts will be left alone until around June, when they will be painted.

In addition to the court replacement, commissioners also unanimously approved a $188,000 contract with Musco Sports Lighting to replace the lights on five of the outdoor courts.

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Efforts to clean up Elder and Centennial beaches are on track to be completed by August.

Costa Kutulas, director of parks and maintenance for the Winnetka Park District, said that, if all goes according to plan, Centennial Park Beach should reopen around Aug. 9, with Elder Lane Beach opening soon after.

Both Elder and Centennial have been closed to public swimming because of hazards in the water and the sand. Earlier this summer, the Winnetka Park Board gave direction to staff to find out how they could get the beaches open for residents.

As previously reported by The Record, the beaches were able to be open this summer, although swimming was still not allowed.

Kutulas said, during the Park Board’s regular meeting on Thursday, July 24, that the construction team was mobilized on Monday and got work done throughout the week. He said they’re currently working on the southern portion of Centennial Beach, removing debris and “inline shore elements.”

Once the park district’s role is completed, Kutulas said the Village of Winnetka’s contractors will come in to remove and replace about 65 feet of an outfall pipe located at Centennial. That is expected to begin on Aug. 9.

The only delay reportedly would be with high waves on the lake, since the construction teams need to be on the water to complete the work.

To keep residents informed, Kutulas said that the park district has placed a beach attendant on site to keep residents updated on the construction process and why it is happening.

Additionally, Kutulas provided a brief update on the permitting process for dog beach fencing.

The park district has submitted a permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a temporary dog beach fence. That application will be receiving public comment until Aug. 18.

Kutulas said the park district is looking to have a follow-up conversation with the Cook County Department of Animal Control to discuss the permit application as well.

In response to questions from commissioners, Kutulas said he doesn’t know a timeline of when the fence would be installed since there are more meetings that need to be held.

While the dog beach is temporarily unavailable, Kutulas said that the Winnetka Park District has been working with the Wilmette Park District to offer guest passes to residents so they can utilize the Gillson Park dog beach.

“We are very thankful for the efforts of the Wilmette Park District to allow us to combine our efforts here during this downturn,” he said. “We are very thankful for their opportunity to help support us with our issues as well.”

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As the plans for the Elder-Centennial beach project in Winnetka remain on hold, park district staff provided an update to park commissioners on Thursday night about next steps.

The plans to refurbish Elder and Centennial beaches have been in the works for years and have seen multiple iterations, including a now-dormant property exchange agreement, the withdrawal of permit applications for the first set of plans, and, most recently, the pause of a proposal that was in the middle of the Village of Winnetka’s public review process.

The latest change comes after the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals and Plan Commission each unanimously voted to oppose the plans, and the Winnetka Park Board, in June, unanimously voted to pause the public review process in order to re-examine and revise the designs.

At the Park Board’s meeting on Thursday, July 24, Costa Kutulas, director of parks and maintenance, reported that the park district is currently reviewing the scope of work with the design team and has received proposals that are currently being reviewed.

Following a review from legal counsel, Kutulas said documentation for any change orders will be prepared.

“We can bring (the change orders) to the board; they’re fully vetted and ready for potential execution for the board,” he said, adding that the goal is to have the change orders ready for the August regular board meeting.

Kutulas said that he expects the change orders to total around $100,000.

He referred to this part of the review as Phase 1 and said the second phase will include schematic design and updated drawings for the regulatory boards, and that it will not necessarily include construction documents.

Commissioners Cynthia Rapp and Colleen Root, the latter of whom participated remotely, both asked and encouraged the park district to hold public engagement meetings to keep residents informed of the latest changes.

“We had masses of residents giving public comment to different commissions,” Rapp said. “Is there some way to make sure that that’s not going to happen again, because we’ve addressed some of the concerns before we do it?”

Kutulas responded that the revised plans will be based on feedback from both of the regulatory boards and public comments from those meetings.

“The plan on this was to take everything we’ve heard thus far that’s fruitful and will get us to a plan that’s best for the entire community,” without spending additional funds on public engagement or open houses, he said.

Commissioner Christina Codo, the former Park Board president, added that she believes the comments made at the regulatory board meetings are more impactful than feedback received at any open house or additional public meetings, calling it “valuable.”

“The feedback is stronger, in my opinion …. the engagement is of higher quality,” she said. “It’s hard to listen to, but it is of higher quality than anything we got at any of our open houses.”

Codo later added, “Everyone who stands up and makes public comment at those hearings, every person on those advisory boards has done some of the research work necessary to making an informed opinion, and that helps us make a better project. … It’s very intense, it’s very passionate, but that’s OK because to me, that means it’s very important to these people who are actually taking the time to speak.”

Commissioners meet with village staff, trustees

At the same time the review has been going on, Park Board President Elise Gibson said that she and Codo have had multiple meetings with Village of Winnetka officials regarding the lakefront plans.

“It’s been good collaboration,” Gibson said. “We’ve taken out our pens and broken down a lot of the issues. We haven’t solved them by any means, but I think we’re having a lot of really good communication in terms of understanding different views and really working toward trying to come up with a more streamlined understanding as to where the village and the park district might be able to devise a solution to the Elder-Centennial plan.”

Codo added that the meetings have been more than just sitting down and talking with village representatives.

“We’ve also had field trips,” she said. “We went out to Illinois Beach State Park (in Beach Park) and we also walked Elder and Centennial and Lloyd and Tower (beaches) together just to look at locations of elements that we’re discussing, and we discussed them so that we’re all on the same page, which I think is fruitful.

“It’s time-consuming, but I think that it puts us all on the same page.”

Gibson added, “We’re really trying to work together and find some common ground.”

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Winnetka officials are all aboard for a needed refresh to an 80-year-old property in the heart of the village’s key business district.

Village trustees during their Tuesday, July 15 meeting unanimously approved plans submitted by Metra to renovate the existing Hubbard Woods train depot and platform.

Metra, which leases the site at 1065 Gage St. from Union Pacific, intends to conduct a series of improvements as well as build several external updates on the property.

The main priority of Metra’s plans, according to village documents, is to make the station, including spaces of the station building, its entrances and pathways to platforms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The now-approved external improvements at the site include the replacement of the existing pedestrian bridge over the tracks, the addition of ADA ramps on both the east and west side for access to the new pedestrian bridge, and the addition of two elevators.

Additionally, project developers will also replace staircases from the pedestrian bridge to the train platform level, replace platforms, add track-level warming stations, replace the staircases from Scott Avenue to the platform, and add landscape screens on the west end of Hubbard Place to screen the pedestrian bridge and proposed ADA ramp, per plans submitted to the village.

Representatives from Metra told trustees that the existing windbreak shelters would also be removed, restored and reinstalled.

Project plans also call for what village officials describe as a “slight relocation” of the Green Bay Trail to the east. That relocation is included in plans to provide proper clearance around the proposed east elevator tower and new warming shelters.

Metra representatives also confirmed during the July 15 meeting that the transit agency also plans to update the two restrooms inside the building to meet ADA accessibility standards as well.

Interior updates within the building will also include relocating and enlarging the existing janitor closet, repairs to the existing doors and windows, upgraded mechanical and plumbing and other changes.

The ticket booth space located inside will remain, officials confirmed during the meeting, but there is a possibility that space could turn into something more.

Village Manager Rob Bahan said the village will be renewing its leases for both train stations in town and, as part of that process, officials will be working on the buildout for a potential vendor to be located in the ticket booth space.

Metra representatives told trustees that they’re expecting a 12-month timeline for completion of the renovations. The project required review by the State Historic Preservation Office, and Metra will need to take a few additional steps with both the office and Union Pacific before work can begin.

Trustees expressed their appreciation that the project, which has been discussed and considered for more than a decade, is now moving forward.

“This is one of those projects with an extremely long horizon,” Bahan said. “Literally, my first month on the job, this was a project that we had a special meeting on to try and move forward. Originally it was a funding problem and then it became working through (Union Pacific). So, it’s great to see this come about but it’s been a long time.”

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