Revisions to Winnetka beachfront plan coming along, aided by Village-park district meetings

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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