Commitments Should not be Broken

I spent the better part of a day at a Lake County Forest Preserve District (LCFPD) meeting listening to testimony concerning rebuilding the golf course at Fort Sheridan. While most of the discussion centered around the economics concerning a marketing study on the viability of another golf course in Lake County, several of the Commissioners did grasp the real issue at hand.

While the President of the LCFPD stated that her preference would be to see 100,000 visitors a year at the Fort Sheridan property instead of the 20,000 a year that would be generated by redevelopment of the golf course, a majority (about 75%) of the Commissioners that spoke realized that the core issue in the discussion was," is the LCFPD going to HONOR the commitment made to Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest, and the Army to build and maintain a golf course as the master plan described and is required in the deed". This obligation was in consideration for the purchase/transfer of the 250+ acres of this lakefront land to the LCFPD. While a prior offer of 10 million was rejected by the Army, the revised offer presented by the LCFPD and promoted by the partnership of adjoining communities was accepted because it was part of a package of Historic Preservation, Environmental Remediation, and additional clustered density on the remaining portions of the disposition property. Our own Highland Park/Deerfield representative Michelle Feldman hit the nail on the head when she stated that the forest preserve should honor the agreement or give the land back.

Historic Preservation and Environmental Remediation was costly and also a big part of the consideration of the transfer of open space at no cost. Environmental analysis identified landfills, pesticide storage areas, asbestos-containing material, PCB-containing transformers, unexploded ordnance, and a variety of petroleum products and metals in the soil and groundwater. Entire ravines that were filled with contaminants were fully remediated into the natural gems that currently exist. Environmental cleanup began in 1993. Ninety-four buildings, including 64 designed by Holabird & Roche, are situated on the 110-acre Historic District, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984. If I am not mistaken the project costs to produce this cutting edge project was about 300 million in 1990 dollars.

Monies for the consideration of this purchase from the Army should come from acquisition and development funds since that was also promised to our residents as we supported several referendums in the 90's. When the first and second LCFPD referendums were promoted several county representatives specifically stated that those monies would cover the complete development of the Fort Sheridan obligation to the Army and our citizens.

Why are some folks trying to revise history? If you ask anyone that was around and involved in the deal, the facts are clear. If anyone out there doubts me (and I was very involved in this process) please call others like Ray Geraci, Pete Koukos, Dan Pierce, Joyce O'keefe, Lisa Cervac, Paul Diambri, or many others you can find.

We now need to move forward and reconvene the Joint Planning Committee of our three communities and the LCFPD to develop a plan that meets commitments acceptable to the partners including resident representatives. Concerning golf demand, we should look at all our surrounding properties in HP and Lake Forest to determine if we can transition some of these into other use to best serve our regional needs. I have always been a proponent of re-using the Highland Park Country Club for passive and natural stormwater management along with much needed play fields for our children and active adults.

It is the time for constructive dialog and putting the issues and commitments of Fort Sheridan into action so we can put this issue to rest. The LCFPD with the leadership of Anne F. Bassi has done a wonderful job with the development of public access and remediation of the beaches, bluffs, and ravines at the Fort. We need to come back together and move forward on projects like Open Lands is developing. They are implementing a wonderful plan of trails and remediation all along the Southern portion of Fort Sheridan. Highland Park and Highwood will continue to negotiate with the Navy and Forest City on a redevelopment plan South of Bartlett Ravine that is a real "Green Development" and is a partner in the community approach to the bluffs and shoreline.

Dialog and partnerships make us stronger and will continue to provide great solutions to our community and county if we all just continue work together and honor our past commitments.