Itasca Park District seeks $1.2 million Springbrook Nature Center project; village agrees to draft MOU and consider up to $300,000 contribution

The Itasca Park District told the Village of Itasca Board of Trustees on Aug. 6 that it intends to apply for an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant to fund a roughly $1.2 million capital project at Springbrook Nature Center and asked the village to enter a memorandum of understanding to support the application and commit up to $300,000 if the grant is awarded.

Park district representative Mary Fran Lano of the Itasca Park District told trustees the grant program typically matches projects 50% up to $600,000 and said the park district would contribute $300,000 of the remaining local match if the village agreed to provide the other $300,000. "The budget is $1,200,000 which if we receive it, the grant will give us $600,000 which leaves $600,000 to be funded," Lano said.

The proposed capital package described to the board includes a large picnic shelter (approximately 40-by-80 feet) that could serve for education and events and provide a covered surface for a glycol ice rink; a seasonal plaza adjacent to the shelter; enhancements to an existing outdoor classroom and an…