This past week our community celebrated the opening of The Preserve of Highland Park. Festivities kicked off on Thursday June 2 at an event recognizing key partners in the project including the construction teams, Resident Advisory Committee, the City of Highland Park, Lake County, and the State of Illinois. Park Board President Terry Grossberg hosted the ceremony. Among those in attendance were Illinois Senator of the 29th District, Julie Morrison; Illinois Representative of the 58th District, Bob Morgan; and City of Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering along with members of the Park District of Highland Park Board of Commissioners, Parks Foundation of Highland Park Board members, and City Council members.
The public grand opening event took place on Saturday, June 4. Over 200 residents enjoyed a day exploring the natural world around the ponds and at the turtle meadow, new nature maze, pollinator garden, and sand play area.
The Preserve of Highland Park is a unique 100+ acre property comprised of green lawns, nature-based play areas, specialized native gardens, restored woodlands, and walking and biking trails that connect neighborhoods, downtown Highland Park, and regional biking trails. Visitors can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, and experiences of nature and outdoor play. The property provides enhanced habitat for several native species including turtles, pollinators, and over 110 species of birds.
Interpretive, interactive signage and ongoing public programming opportunities will allow visitors to learn about important conservation efforts. The Preserve will host summer camp visits, nature educational programs, fitness classes, and special events. The Recreation Center of Highland Park, The Highland Park Senior Center, and the Highland Park Golf Learning Center/Rivers Edge Adventure Golf are steps from the outdoor spaces and trails of The Preserve.
The Preserve is also designed to take advantage of manufactured and natural features to help with local flood relief – including added capacity for flood storage, conversion of 50+ acres of turfgrass into native plantings that absorb and cleanse stormwater, and restoration of more than 2,500 linear feet of pond shoreline providing large-scale water quality benefits in the highly developed Skokie River watershed.
We always think of summer through rose-colored glasses – the nice weather, holiday celebrations, beach vacations, lounging around with a tall cold drink, and a great book. But, summer can also mean a lot of stress if you try to pack in everything you can into this short 3-month season. Take some time to de-stress your summer!
According to the Mayo Clinic, the best way to relieve stress is to get active. Virtually any form of physical activity can act as a stress reliever. Even if you’re not an athlete or you’re out of shape, exercise is still a great stress reliever.
There is no time like the present to get moving!
Here’s a bucket list of 10 “must-do” family outdoor activities at the Park District of Highland Park:
The Park Board of Commissioners adopted the Beach and Boating Safety Week Proclamation declaring May 23 – 30 as Highland Park Beach and Boating Safety Week and encouraged that these safe practices continue throughout the summer.
The Park Board of Commissioners reconsidered the approval to enter into an agreement with Securatex and rejected all the proposals received on April 13, 2022, for the 2022 Lakefront Security Services. As a result, an emergency approval to enter into an agreement with Gamma Team Security, Inc for Lakefront Security Services was approved by the Park Board of Commissioners.
The Park Board of Commissioners approved Base Bid Items 1, 2, and 3 and Alternates 1 and 2 from Team REIL Inc. for the 2022 Moraine Park Path Improvement Project, and authorized the Executive Director to enter into an agreement in the amount of $586,314. Also approved was revisions to Section 8.9 “Participation in Programs and Use of Facilities” in the Part-Time Employee Personnel Policy Manual, Section 8.13 “Participation in Programs and Use of Facilities” in the Full-Time Employee Personnel Policy Manual, and Ordinance 2022-04 Authorizing and Providing for the Conveyance or Sale of Surplus Personal Property.
Other updates included a brief overview of the events in June to celebrate the grand opening of The Preserve of Highland Park, an engineering proposal from Gewalt Hamilton Associate to replace the concrete deck and shade structures at Hidden Creek AquaPark, a review of the Centennial Ice Arena renovation project and timeline, and progress reports for the bridge replacement and removal along with cart path resurfacing projects at Sunset Valley Golf Club.
Commissioner Grossberg was elected for President of the Park Board and Commissioner Freeman was elected for Vice President. Executive Director Romes was appointed as Secretary to the Park Board, Coordinator Hejnowski was appointed as Assistant Secretary acting under the general supervisor of the Secretary, Director Peters was appointed as Treasurer, Director Kopka was appointed as the District’s IMRF authorized agent, Sikich LLP was appointed as the District’s auditor, and Ancel Glink was appointed as the District’s attorney.
The Park Board of Commissioners approved the Executive Director’s Annual Salary and the Hidden Creek AquaPark Concrete Deck Replacement Engineering Services Agreement.
Manager Acevedo provided a programming and staffing update for summer operations at Hidden Creek AquaPark and Rosewood Beach. Manager Pierce provided an update of summer operations for Park Avenue Beach and Boating Facility.
Sikich LLP presented upon the Annual Comprehensive Report and commended staff since there were no deficiencies and zero adjustments were made.
Available May 31-September 1, excluding July 2-4
Daily boat launch passes are available for purchase at the Recreation Center of Highland Park for power boats, sunfish sailboats, SUPs, and kayaks. Personal watercrafts are not eligible for daily launches this season. The daily pass includes parking and in and out privileges for the day. Daily boaters are asked to return their daily pass card in the Park Ave drop box at the end of their visit.
Personal Watercrafts are not eligible for daily launches.
Recreation Center of Highland Park
1207 Park Ave West
Hours:
The Park District of Highland Park works with many partners to maintain and nurture its designated natural areas, all 350 acres of them. Working with other agencies, including the Shedd Aquarium, the Chicago Botanic Garden, Lake-Cook Audubon, and local school districts, builds a shared understanding that guides the management of our natural areas.
The Park District was among the first to participate in a citizen science project launched in 2017 by the Shedd Aquarium’s research team in collaboration with the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology. The Shedd started the project to increase their understanding of the local impacts of climate change and contribute to the natural history of Great Lakes fish.
The Park District provided initial observations with three of 17 monitoring sites located in Highland Park. Their staff and volunteers join others throughout the Lake Michigan and Lake Superior borders in Wisconsin and Michigan. “We work with scientists at the Shedd to track migratory fish that are moving out of Lake Michigan into the Ravine streams that are tributary to the lake,” says Rebecca Grill, natural areas manager for the Park District. “Seeing the results from the other sites gives us a sense of what is happening on the larger scale and over time.”
The Park District is also a longtime partner in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Plants of Concern program. The project was launched in 2001 to monitor rare, threatened, and endangered plant populations. “The Park District can effectively and proactively protect our ecosystems and better manage our rare plant populations with the information gathered,” says Grill.
The Park District also helps record the migratory and resident birds that use the lakefront in collaboration with Lake-Cook Audubon, the local chapter of the Illinois Audubon Society.
One of the Park District’s most rewarding partnerships has been with local school districts for the “Trout in the Classroom” program, a collaboration between the Park District, North Shore School District 112 and 113, Highland Park High School Environmental Science students, the Gary Borger Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Heller Nature Center staff, and our own Natural Areas Program.
“Trout in the Classroom” culminates in fish release events, at which students release rainbow trout they’ve raised in their classrooms into select ravine streams. One of the program’s hopes is that once they reach maturity, the fish will return to the ravines to spawn, indicating that they are a healthy wildlife habitat.
What makes these partnerships so important, according to Grill, is that by collecting and sharing information regionally, we create a more comprehensive picture of what is happening long term. It is also a chance for Highland Park to highlight our community’s unique natural habitats. “These regional connections are an important tool in decision making to keep our natural areas healthy and protected,” she says.
Imagine that your backyard covers 800 acres. If you live in Highland Park, in a way, it does. That is the size of the land cared for within the boundaries of the Park District of Highland Park.
Caring for this big outdoor space is a team overseen by Dan Voss, Director of Parks. “It definitely requires a multi-pronged approach,” notes Voss. “There is a difference in managing a large community park such as Danny Cunniff Park with its athletic fields and playgrounds and a woodland preserve such as Heller Nature Center.
Consider the District’s newest park –The Preserve of Highland Park. Located adjacent to the Recreation Center of Highland Park, the new park includes 100 acres of green lawns, nature-based play areas, specialized native gardens, restored woodlands, and walking and biking trails that connect neighborhoods, downtown Highland Park, and regional biking trails.
The first thing a new visitor to The Preserve may notice is that half of the Park’s acres are planted with native flowers and select grasses that thrive there. These new habitat areas are a welcome addition to the land already managed by the District’s natural areas program led by Rebecca Grill, natural areas manager.
“It’s a park that will attract people who won’t necessarily seek out a forest preserve or even our own Heller Nature Center,” Grill says. “At the same time, it is a park we will manage a little bit differently than our other large community parks such as Cunniff or Fink Parks.
One surprise may be the necessity of mowing native areas. “That surprises people,” Grills says. “They say, ‘Why did you cut everything down? It looked great.’ We have to think down the road, and sometimes we have to mow down areas to add additional seeds, or because we have invasive annual weeds growing.”
At the same time, there will be more traditional gardening going on than at any of the designated natural areas as found in parks such as Heller. Specialized gardens that showcase pollinator plants, native shrubs, and native plants in a traditional garden bed will require careful pruning and care of native shrubs and a small grove of apple trees.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t have green spaces within The Preserve,” Grill continues. “That was deliberate in creating areas for picnicking or areas for a pick-up ballgame. Stepping in and out of natural areas into those mowed green areas will give visitors a sense of stewardship.”
For those areas, traditional parks maintenance including weed whipping, lawn mowing, and trash removal will be essential. “To cover both aspects, the District has been able to bring on staff that has specialized skills in ecological restoration and knows how to manage a traditional park,” says Voss.
An essential part of the Park District’s management program is its volunteers. Grill estimates volunteers perform about 2,000 hours of community service annually. “A core group helps us every Friday working in different locations,” she says. Put these all together, and you get a success story like the Skokie-River Woods project. Since 2009, roughly 15 acres of wetlands on the parcel of land along Highway 41 have been restored or enhanced. This was done in consort with the City of Highland Park, which owns the land, the Lake County Forest Preserve District, the Stormwater Management Commission (SMC), grant money through the Illinois Department of Resources and volunteer groups such as the Boy Scouts, whose troop members pulled invasive plants like buckthorn. In 2016, the Park District won an SMC award for best management practices.
“We’re fortunate that Highland Park residents appreciate, enjoy, and understand their natural areas,” Voss says. “We’re very appreciative we have support from our Park Board and lucky we’re able to have a budget that allows us to not only have staff to maintain the areas but also to bring in contractual services that we would otherwise not have the manpower to perform.”
To inquire about volunteering with the Park District of Highland Park, contact Liz Ricketts at ericketts@pdhp.org.
It’s apple blossom season at The Preserve! Providing early blooming flowers is key to helping pollinators get through the lean months of spring. Five varieties of apple trees in the Pollinator Garden give honeybees a welcome boost.
Join us on Saturday, June 4 from 10am – noon, for the Community Grand Opening Celebration of The Preserve of Highland Park, our new park and natural area! Enjoy a morning of free fun activities including:
The Preserve of Highland Park
1207 Park Ave West
Highland Park, IL 60035
Conversion of the site from its historical use as a golf course began in November 2020. Today, The Preserve of Highland Park celebrates nature and our place in it. The unique 100+ acre property was designed to take advantage of the interesting golf-related topography and includes green lawns, nature-based play areas, specialized native gardens, restored woodlands, and walking and biking trails that connect neighborhoods and downtown Highland Park, and regional biking trails. Visitors can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, and experiences of nature and outdoor play.
Park Board Commissioners met with the principal architect at Holabird and Root to discuss conceptual planning for the West Ridge Park and Site Project.
The Park District of Highland Park received six sealed bids on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, for materials and labor to complete the 2022 Park Avenue Boat Launch Improvements Project. Staff provided an update on project funding options.
Staff provided an update on the Moraine Fencing Improvement Project which is intended to address access control for patrons who visit Moraine Beach. Based on staff’s findings, the Committee favored the option to continue messaging that the beach is open for all patrons and will be entirely open for off-leash dogs.
Staff provided an update on Sunset Woods Park Playground, including landscaping and signage plans. The project remains under budget, with an anticipated grand opening in June of 2022.
Staff also provided an update on the welcome signage at Sunset Woods Park and the incorporation of the Sheahen Woods history.
Staff provided an update on the Dectron Mechanical System at the Recreation Center of Highland Park, which is budgeted to be replaced in 2023.
Staff also reviewed the April request for proposals and bid results.
The Park Board of Commissioners approved the base bid from Lakes and Rivers Contracting, Inc. for the 2022 Park Avenue Breakwater and Boat Launch Project, authorizing the Executive Director to enter an agreement in the amount of $2,221,890. Contributing funds for this project have been made possible from community donations to the Park Foundation of Highland Park, totaling $400,000. The Park Board also authorized the Executive Director to enter into an agreement with SmithGroup for the Park Avenue Boat Launch Construction Administration Project Proposal in the amount of $68,000. Consent Agenda items approved by the Park Board of Commissioners included the 2022 Park Avenue Dredging Project, the 2022 Lakefront Security Services Request for Proposals, the 2022 Heller Nature Center Entrance Improvements Project Bid, and the Recreation Center of Highland Park Mechanical Engineering Proposal.
The Park Board of Commissioners deferred consideration to approve the Moraine Park Path Improvement Project Rebid to the May 11 Workshop Meeting.
At the April 27 meeting, the Park Board approved construction of Phase 1 of the Park Avenue Breakwater Project in the amount of $2,221,890. The base scope of this project includes removal of the existing barge breakwater and boat ramp, stockpiling and salvaging existing breakwater fill and armor stone, construction of a new steel sheet pile breakwater with a concrete crown wall and construction of a new concrete boat launch. Funding for the project includes $2,000,000 from the Park District’s capital fund and $400,000 from the Parks Foundation of Highland Park, made possible from community donations. Construction begins this Fall.
| PHASE 1 | |
|---|---|
| Capital Budgeted 2022 | $2,000,000 |
| Donations (approximate as of 4/27/22) | $400,000 |
| Lakes & Rivers Construction Total Base Bid with Value Engineering | ($2,221,890) |
| 5% Contingency | ($110,000) |
| SmithGroup Construction Phase Service | ($68,000) |
| Anticipated Amount Under Budget | $110 |
Phase 2 of the Breakwater Project is construction of ancillary items that support safe use of the boat ramp including an ADA accessible floating dock, safety bollards and lighting. This phase is currently not funded and is estimated to cost $280,000. The Park District has applied for a Boat Access Area Development Grant through IDNR for $200,000. If the Park District is awarded this grant, additional funds will be needed to complete the project. If the Park District is not awarded the grant, portions of Phase 2 will be delayed until funding has been secured. In this instance, an estimated $180,000 will be needed to complete necessary portions of Phase 2. The Park District will likely seek construction bids for Phase 2 in December 2022 for construction to be completed by Memorial Day Weekend 2023.
