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 aviary/flight cage; habitat restoration and wetland work; interpretive signage; lighting; and utilities tie-ins to the nature center. Lano said the park district would operate and maintain the ice rink if built.

Why it matters: the OSLAD program awards competitive grants for park and habitat restoration projects; a district award would replace roughly half the project cost with state funds and accelerate work described by staff as needed for wetland restoration. Lano told the board wetlands on the site have been overrun by invasive plants and that the park district and village currently face near-term invasive-species management costs estimated at about $250,000 over the next one to three years.

Project schedule and budget details presented at the meeting: the park district plans to submit an OSLAD application in September (Lano said she believed the grant deadline was Sept. 16), expects the grant awards in January 2025, and said a typical award timeline would allow two years to complete the project if awarded (target completion about May 1, 2027). The park district presented a $1.2 million conceptual budget and described scaled-down alternatives of roughly $600,000 that would limit shelter size and reduce other elements. Lano said the glycol ice-rink equipment quote obtained during review was about $70,000 and that a large shelter of the size described would likely cost several hundred thousand dollars.

Trustees and staff asked operational and financial questions during the committee discussion. Trustees pressed on how the ice rink would be operated and whether users would pay; Lano said operation details and possible nominal fees had not been finalized but that the park district has operated similar glycol rinks elsewhere. Trustees also asked whether the village would be committed to the full $300,000 if construction inflation pushed costs higher. Lano said the park district and its architects had included inflationary contingencies in the $1.2 million figure and that the park district would look for internal cost savings and value-engineering before returning to the village if further funding adjustments were required.

Mayor Prine and Village Public Works Director Mike (Public Works Director) told the resident speaker during public comment that village staff would review factual materials provided by the resident regarding a separate alley/easement tree-removal and that staff would return a recommendation to the board. That remark was made during the public comment period and is separate from the Springbrook project discussion.

Action taken: Trustee Leahy moved to direct staff to draft a memorandum of understanding between the Itasca Park District and the Village of Itasca to support the OSLAD grant application and to express the village's intent to consider contributing up to $300,000 if the grant is awarded; the motion was seconded, carried on roll call, and will return to the board as the MOU for formal approval. The MOU itself had not been completed at the Aug. 6 meeting and any final approval of the MOU will require a future board vote.

Next steps: staff will draft the MOU and return it to the board for consideration with the parameters discussed (support for the application and possible up to $300,000 village contribution if the grant is awarded). The board will consider final approval after staff and legal complete the memorandum and any related permitting or intergovernmental items.