Capital Projects

The cooperation among Carol Stream Park District, Village of Carol Stream and County of DuPage is progressing. The people of these three public bodies have been working diligently on a solution to help alleviate the flooding in your part of the community. There was minor discussion at last Monday’s Village Board meeting on the planned Armstrong Park flood reservoir project.

If you’d like to learn more, please attend the Park and Facilities committee meeting on Monday, June 27, from 6:30-6:55pm at the Aldrin Community Center in Armstrong Park. There will be a short presentation of the history, the progress, and the expected look of the project and park to date.

Here’s a repeat of the key details on the project:

* The Park Board anticipates voting to approve the intergovernmental agreement at the June 27 Board meeting at 7pm – immediately following the committee meeting. The County will vote on it at their June 28 meeting. The Village approved it on June 20.

* The Park Board is pleased to report that Armstrong Park will not lose any of its current amenities (except for the Aldrin/Collins building). Some amenities will change or be re-located, but all the recreation opportunities available today will continue.

* The “look” of the park will change, especially in the southwest corner. The main flood reservoir will occupy this corner, going as far north as the western portion of Lake George, and as far east as the parking lot.

* The most significant change will be the loss of the southern portion of Lake George. The view of this area will be the earthen berm that defines the basin that will hold floodwater. The berm will be vegetated with prairie plants native to Illinois.

* Between the earthen berm and homes, the Park and Village will be planting numerous trees. Also, the walk/bike trail will follow the outside perimeter of the basin.

* The park improvements will be those recommended by the CSPD2025 citizen’s committee, and endorsed by voters, in 2009-10. They are briefly:

o Raised baseball-softball fields for better drainage; fewer rainouts

o Raised and re-built parking lot

o Snack bar and restrooms

o New, modern ball field lights with greatly reduced “spill” or glare

o Re-surfaced trails

o Trail lights 

We still plan for the Park Board, Village Board and County to host a public meeting for your review and information in late summer when plans are near completion.

Best regards,
Carol Stream Park District Board of Commissioners

The intergovernmental agreement for the proposed Armstrong Park storm water reservoir was on the agenda at June 20 Village of CS board meeting. It was approved by the village trustees. The park board will vote on it at their June 27 meeting, then county has it on their June 28 agenda. Once IGA is approved, then design work will begin in earnest.

There is a display at the Village Hall showing shows a draft design of what the project might look like. The plan shops a 15 acre-foot retention area that will hold overflow water from the creek. During a rain, when the retention area fills, the water will be pumped into a new, 100 acre-foot reservoir surrounded by a 16 foot berm. Once floodwaters recede the reserved water will be slowly released out the southwest corner of the park into the existing storm water system. The storm water portion of the Armstrong Park redesign will cover about 20 acres in the south portion of the park currently occupied by Lake George and the Aldrin Community Center.

In addition to the county’s storm water reservoir, the park district is planning several other improvements to the park. The existing hub of 3 baseball fields will be reconfigured and raised a foot or two higher to create a hub of 4 fields. The paths around the park will be redirected and repaved.

Related news articles: Daily Herald 6-21-11; Examiner 6-15-11

Dirt’s not flying yet, but there is a ton of action going on behind the scenes.

Since February 3, the park district board and staff have been hustling to get all the voter-approved referendum projects up and going. Right now, we have designs in various stages for the recreation center, dog park, three playgrounds, Armstrong Park, McCaslin Park; and, trail connections from O’Rahilly Park on Kuhn Road, under North avenue, through Red Hawk Park and over to the Great Western Trail of the Illinois Prairie Path.

At anytime you wish to know about where the projects are and where they are headed, just go to csparks.org/referendum. You’ll find an easy to read and understand of the progress and description of each project. Important dates and milestones are listed, and a map shows the location of the project, just in case you’re not sure.

We’d all like to see everything built and open next week, but it just doesn’t work that way. During all of the public input sessions, one message was clear. Residents want to see proper planning, careful preparation, and, “things done right”. That’s what’s going on as we have created a detailed and methodical approach to getting each park improvement “done right”.

With each project, we do our best to invite neighbors, local experts, and interested citizens to put in their two cents. There are many, many who have obliged and we want to thank each of them. Nothing helps more with a park or building design than having the end users contribute to the process. We are lucking in our Park District to have so many who are willing to take time from their busy lives to pitch in. Again, thanks to each of you!

While you are waiting to see all of the great things for the community’s park system, take time for a little recreation. Fall classes are starting soon, with many new activities and programs for adults, kids and families. Enjoy a few this fall.

The Carol Stream Park District continues to work to improve your parks and your neighborhood. If you’d like to know more information about any of these projects, please contact us at info@csparks.org, or 630-784-6100.

Playgrounds

Work is expected to soon begin on the redevelopment of Stonebridge, Sundance and Jirsa playgrounds. Neighboring residents recently viewed the draft designs and comments were favorable. Once plans are final, construction will begin.

Parks

Pavilions in Armstrong Park, Blue Heron Park, Friendship Park and Hampe park have been painted. Cement entrance paths have been installed at Cambridge and Kent Parks, this will stop vehicles from rutting up the park way as they enter and exit the path, and light fixtures in Community Park Bathrooms have been replaced to provide better lighting for patrons.

This fall, we will go to bid for the first wave of tree replacements. We are still losing trees to the emerald ash borer and from age. The plan is to plant two trees for each lost tree (dead or removed).

Recreation Centers
New room name signage has been installed in Simkus Recreation Center to make it easier for patrons to find rooms. New bathroom partitions were installed in the mens locker room at Simkus and the womens bathroom has been upgraded.

The Carol Stream Park District continues to work to improve your parks and your neighborhood. If you’d like to know more information about any of these projects, please contact us at info@csparks.org, or 630-784-6100.

Maintenance Garage

The new park district maintenance garage was completed in June 2009, one month ahead of schedule! The new garage allows for more effective and efficient operations.

This is the last project from the voter-approved 2000 Referendum. The garage is located just off Kuhn Road just south of Barbara O’Rahilly Volunteer Park.

The property was purchased from Illinois Department of Transportation and with the help of Illinois State Senator John J. Millner. Part of the old maintenance yard at Armstrong Park has been removed and replaced with green space.

Armstrong Shoreline Stabilization

Phase II of the project was completed in the fall of 2009.

The stabilization of the shoreline around Lake George included regrading the shorelines and adding emergent plantings, wet to mesic prairie seeding with erosion control blankets and water willows around Balog Island. Shoreline restoration improves water quality, improves fish habitat and reduces silting.

Cambridge and Charger Court Playgrounds

Charger Court and Cambridge Court, two of the oldest playgrounds in the district, will receive an upgrade this fall with new designs and new equipment.

Construction is expected to take place in August and September 2009.

The equipment for the new playgrounds was selected with the help of park neighbors. The new playgrounds will also feature concrete curbs and seating areas for longevity and minimal maintenance cost.

Glenbard North Synthetic Sport Field

The new artificial turf field at Glenbard North was completed in September 2009, and is being used for community recreation and sports in evenings and on weekends. The turf is virtually immune to rain, and will eliminate many rainouts and rescheduled games.

Carol Stream Park District is a financial partner in the project, contributing $675,000. This partnership saved $1.2million for Carol Stream taxpayers.

The Carol Stream Park District has a variety of Capital Improvement Projects that is working
on during this year. We will attempt to keep our residents up to date on these projects on
this site. These projects are funded through several means.

Funding for Capital Projects:

1. NR – Non-Referendum Bonding Authority (Tax Dollars)
2. Grnt – Grants (State or Federal dollars)
3. CiL – Cash-in-Lieu (Developer Dollars)
4. SR – Special Recreation Fund (Tax Dollars)
5. Ref -Referendum dollars (Tax payer approved)

Maintenance Garage (Ref, NR)

1. This is a community approved project from the 2000 Referendum
2. The New Maintenance Facility is being built on the newly acquired property off Kuhn Road just south of Barbara O’Rahilly Volunteer Park.
3. This is an 11,700 square foot facility that will house all of our park maintenance staff and equipment.
4. The property was purchased from Illinois Department of Transportation and with the help of Illinois State Senator John J. Millner.
5. This project began in summer 2008 and is slated to be completed by fall of 2009.

Red Hawk Concession/Restroom Facility (Ref, NR, CiL, Affiliates)

1. Concession/Restroom Facility has been built on the west side of the creek in Red Hawk Park located on the corner of North Avenue and Kuhn Road.
2. The facility includes a women’s and a men’s flushable restroom, drinking fountains and a concession facility that will be run by the Carol Stream Youth Football Association during their games on the adjacent fields.
3. The area near this facility has been seeded for an additional practice field for various sports. (Field will be open and available in the Fall of 2009)
4. Access to this facility can also be gained through the Wayne Township parking lot or along the path from the parking lot on St. Charles Road
5. The Park District and Wayne Township have worked together to form an intergovernmental agreement for the Park users to park in their parking lot in addition to the lot along St. Charles Road to the south of the park.

Slepicka Homestead Park (Grnt, NR, SR)

1. Park Design was completed by Brusseau Design Group
2. Park will include walking paths, sensory gardens, garden plots, and fitness stations.
3. The contract has been awarded to The Kenneth Company for the development of this park site.
4. Park began development in the summer of 2008 and is slated to be completed by the summer of 2009.
5. The Park is partially being funded with a Grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Armstrong Shoreline Stabilization (NR)

• There are two phases to this project.
• Phase I will being this summer and will include stabilization around the west pond as well as raising the path at the southern most area around Lake George. This phase should be completed by late Fall 2008.
• Phase II will begin next summer and will include the stabilization around the main lake. This is slated to be complete in the Fall of 2009
• The phase I pond will include emergent plantings with a goose grid, wet to mesic prairies seeding with erosion control blankets and water willows around Balog Island.
• The path on the southernmost tip of the main lake will be raised. This has always been pathway that floods with any significant rainfall. We hope to eliminate that problem in the future so the path stays open for our walkers to enjoy throughout even the rain time of year.