Winnetka Park District completes its beach cleanup, passes baton to Village

The Winnetka Park District has completed its portion of the long-anticipated cleanup of Elder and Centennial beaches, wrapping up a process that began earlier this year.

The cleanup was one of the highlights during an update on the Elder-Centennial beach project at the Park Board’s regular meeting on Thursday, Aug. 28.

While plans to renovate both Elder and Centennial beaches remain in development, commissioners directed park district staff earlier this year to find out how to safely get both beaches open. Elder and Centennial had been closed to the public for years because of hazards in the water, including exposed metal and concrete.

Costa Kutulas, director of parks and maintenance, went through photos taken during the cleanup and showed commissioners all the material that was removed from Lake Michigan. It included stone and metal, as well as tires and barrels.

Kutulas also noted that the construction team tasked with cleaning up the beaches ended up recycling some of recovered debris to help them with their work. He said in order to remove the end of a pier, the cleanup crew needed to build a “causeway” to carry their equipment, and used the debris to build a “road” to complete the task.

“We’re pleased to report that anything that we saw with the clear lake views and looking through our drone imagery has been removed,” Kutulas said.

He did note that, since the cleanup was finished, some smaller pieces of debris have washed up.

“We’re trying to stay on top of those things,” he said. “With the nature of the lake and the amount of debris that’s in Lake Michigan, sometimes they come up. They wash up on shore.”

While the park district’s portion of the project is done, Kutulas said the Village of Winnetka’s work on the Elder Lane outfall pipe is ongoing. Park district staff said they do not know when that work will be completed.

Park Board Vice President Jeff Tyson asked if the Village would remove any debris that is caused by the pipe work, to which Kutulas responded that they would.

“We’ve had great collaboration,” Kutulas said.

Commissioner Colleen Root expressed concern about damage that has been caused by the construction vehicles during the pipe project. Reportedly, a maple tree was lost and another was damaged.

Park District Executive Director Shannon Nazzal said the park district is working with the Village on fixing any issues that come up, including such damage.

“They have agreed to pay for the replacement of the lost tree and monitor the tree that was damaged, as well as make any repairs,” she said. “We’re currently working through an amendment to the (memorandum of understanding) to make sure the park district is protected in that manner.”

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