Wilmette Park District Seeks Ways To Decongest Gillson Park Beach

More than 400 boats, dozens of paddleboard users call Gillson Park beach home during the summer.

  Wilmette Park District is looking at three options to help sailors, kayakers, windsurfers and stand-up paddleboard users moving safely along the beach near Gillson Park during the May-October season, Wilmette Life reported.  Among the options include moving paddleboard users to the South Beach non-swimming area or moving paddleboard use to Langdon Beach—both options have potential problems and staff is researching the options before sharing it with the park board’s recreation committee on March 18, Wilmette Life reported.  Related Coverage

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Wilmette Wants to Reach Broader Group for Lakefront Master Plan Input

Wilmette Park District wants to get feedback from parent-teacher organizations, senior citizens, young families or local Rotary groups.

Wilmette Park District says they want to hear from more than just lakefront activists on the potential futures of lakefront parks, and plans to meet with consultants to see if they are hearing and acting on the same messages commissioners have received from residents, Wilmette Life reported.  The park district board also wants staff to provide a list of what must be done at Gillson and Langdon parks, along with estimates of the costs, Wilmette Life reported.  Last year, Wilmette Park District hosted public hearings to share the Lakefront Master Plan, which includes the renovation of the Gillson and Langdon parks and beaches.   Smith Group JJR, a Chicago design firm, is helping the park district with surveying and gathering recommendations …

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Top 10 Most Read Stories of 2012 in Wilmette, Kenilworth

The 10 topics that most interested readers during the past year were stories about local eateries, noteworthy crimes, unfortunate accidents and exceptional residents.

Now that the year is nearing its end, it offers an opportunity to look back on which stories most interested Wilmette-Kenilworth Patch readers. What story did you follow most closely? 1. C.J. Arthur’s closed in September, but the space could soon be home to a new gastropub. Residents must have felt down after we reported that C.J. Arthur’s, one of Wilmette’s few live music spots, would be closing its doors at the end September after serving the North Shore for 23 years. Yet, less than three months later, we broke a story that a group of eight Wilmette families had leased the former C.J. Arthur’s storefront with an aim to turn the space into a new gastropub by late next spring. News of a potential family-friendly tavern and eatery serving “…

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Editor's Pick: Committee Recommends Public Use for Elmwood Avenue Property

The village’s Municipal Service Committee members said the option would benefit the village as a whole.

POLL: Do You Agree with the Elmwood Avenue Beach Recommendation?

The village’s Municipal Service Committee said it will recommend the property become a publically-accessible, passive-use nature preserve.

Yesterday, Wilmette-Kenilworth Patch reported that the Elmwood Avenue right-of-way is one step closer to becoming a publicly-accessible, passive-use nature preserve after the village’s Municipal Service Committee recently decided it would likely recommend that option to the Village Board. But the committee’s recommendation, which could decide the future of the controversial 80-foot wide, 600-foot long strip of land, was only one of several alternatives. What do you think? Did the committee get it right? Or is there a preferable alternative? Take our poll and let us know!

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Committee Recommends Public Nature Preserve for Elmwood Avenue Property

The village’s Municipal Service Committee members said the option would benefit the village as a whole.

Wilmette’s Elmwood Avenue beach and right-of-way is one step closer to becoming a publicly-accessible, passive-use sanctuary and nature preserve after the village’s Municipal Service Committee members unanimously decided Thursday that the option presented the best overall choice for the community. Committee members will present their choice as a recommendation to the Village Board sometime in the coming months. The recommendation provides a clearer vision for the future of the 80-foot wide, 600-foot long right-of-way that runs from the eastern end of Elmwood Avenue to Lake Michigan. In the past, neighbors have painted the stretch of land as a “Wild West”, free-for-all, safety hazard, where a combination of boat launches, speeding jet skis…

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Editor's Pick: Wilmette Harbor Needs $11.5 Million in Repairs, Park District Considers Lease

High costs and public outcry reportedly lead to the decision.

Wilmette Park District Won’t Pursue Harbor Lease

High costs and public outcry reportedly lead to the decision.

The Wilmette Park District announced Thursday night that it will not submit a bid to manage Wilmette Harbor. At the end of a lengthy Park Board meeting, which ended with a closed session, Park District Board President James Brault reportedly emerged to say that commissioners had decided not to submit a bid to lease the harbor because of the high associated costs and the public’s seemingly overwhelming opposition. “The board had come to a consensus to not pursue the lease given the terms set forth by the [Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago],” said, Steve Wilson, executive director of the Wilmette Park District, Friday. “What went into a lot of the decision making was the public sentiment that they heard throughout …

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Narda F

10:33 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012

Are you trying to be Gertrude Stein, the "literary genius", hahaha?   more ›

POLL: Should the Wilmette Park District Lease Wilmette Harbor?

Tonight's Park Board meeting will be spent discussing the pros and cons of a potential lease.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) will go out to public bid by the end of the month for a 39-year management lease of Wilmette Harbor, leaving the Wilmette Park District little time to decide whether it wants to submit an offer. Tonight's special Park Board meeting will be spent weighing the costs and benefits of leasing the property. While some on the board have argued that the lease could help expand the park district's lakefront services and spawn new revenue sources, others see the harbor's $11.5 million in needed repairs as a potential burden to local taxpayers, boat owners and the park district, itself. The Park Board meeting will be held tonight at 7:30 p.m., in the Mallinckrodt Community Center.

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Wilmette Harbor Needs $11.7 Million in Repairs, Park District Considers Lease

Before the Wilmette Park District opts to bid on a lease of Wilmette Harbor, it will weigh the cost of the marina’s much-needed repairs.

The results of recently-completed study commissioned by the Wilmette Park District revealed that Wilmette Harbor is in need of nearly $11.7 million worth of repairs over the next 15 years, leaving it to the Park Board to determine whether it is worthwhile and financially wise for the district to manage the marina. According to the study, the harbor would require $48,750 worth of immediate repairs, more than $2 million within five years, over $4 million more within a decade and an additional $5.55 million within 15 years’ time. Though the Wilmette Park District Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at its Monday meeting to accept the study’s findings, board members made few indications as to their leanings concerning a potential lease. …

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NHL

4:08 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012

well, we came real close to losing "gorki park", and i wouldn't doubt it if they try it again.... which ain't gonna be a laughing matter......   more ›