Wilmette Park District

Comprehensive and Strategic Plans Approved!

At the July 8 Board of Park Commissioners regular meeting, consultants from BerryDunn presented the final draft of the District's 10-year comprehensive and 5-year strategic plans, and both were approved by the Board.

The District's new Plans are the product of Project Parks and Play: Explore the Possibilities, which launched in October 2022. This project involved several phases, including collaboration and engagement with the Wilmette community, Board of Park Commissioners and District staff, as well as surveys and comprehensive analyses.

The District's new plans are the product of Project Parks and Play: Explore the Possibilities, a project that kicked off in October 2022 and involved several phases of Board of Park Commissioners, District staff and community engagement, surveys and analysis.

The plans provide a road map to guide the future of Wilmette Park District's parks, facilities, recreational activities and operations to best meet the future needs of the Wilmette community. Implementation has begun: BerryDunn held a kickoff meeting for District staff on July 15 to get everyone started.

The Park District extends its thanks to each individual who took the time to share critical input; the process relied heavily on the community's guidance as these plans were developed.

To learn more about the project and view the plans, click here

P R O J E C T

U P D A T E S

Project Phases:

Our project work moves through a process that's broken into four phases: Defining, Planning, Execution and Completion. For detailed definitions of each project phase, go here

PLANNING PHASE

Hibbard Park Amenity Upgrades

Several of Hibbard Park’s amenities have reached the end of their useful life and need updating. The Wilmette Park District is working with Upland Design to determine the community’s interest in several potential improvements under consideration at the park. Potential options include, but are not limited to:

   •   ADA improvements

   •   Baseball field improvements

   •   Creating a safe loop trail

   •   Installing a pavilion

   •   Native planting improvements

   •   Outdoor fitness stations

   •   Skate park updates

   •   Tot lot updates

The Park District is currently applying for grants to help fund the work. To guide the process and meet grant requirements, the District has hosted two public input meetings and two surveys thus far for this project. The second survey is available through Wednesday, July 31. To view and complete the survey, go here

PLANNING PHASE

Gillson Park Infrastructure

Improvement Project

Park District staff continue to work through the permit review process with the Village of Wilmette and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Pre-construction meetings are scheduled for the end of July, with work set to begin in early September.

Click here to learn all about the Gillson project

PLANNING PHASE

Langdon Shoreline Protection

Project, and New Landscape Plan

District staff and consultants from SmithGroup continue to work through the permit review process with the Village of Wilmette.

A pre-construction meeting is on the horizon.

Click here to learn more about the Langdon project.

Additionally, the District’s parks planner presented a proposed landscape plan for Langdon Park at the July 22 Committee of the Whole meeting. The plan will complement landscaping included in SmithGroup's Shoreline Protection and Beach Access Project. The landscape plan will be considered for final approval at the August 12 Regular Board meeting.

PLANNING PHASE

Solar Panel Project at the

Community Recreation Center (CRC)

Verde Energy continues work on design and approvals. Park District staff shared feedback regarding placement and capacity of the panels, and Verde is incorporating that feedback into its plan design. Once plans are approved, the permit application process will start and work will begin in 2025.

A D D I T I O N A L

U P D A T E S

REGISTRATION PORTAL UPDATES: a group of Wilmette families are slated to review updates made to the District's Registration Portal interface and provide feedback. Look for more information about how the District is working to streamline the registration process soon!

SOUTH BEACH ADJUSTMENTS: The Board of Park Commissioners and Park District staff thank those who continue to share their thoughts about this summer's changes at South Beach. When new questions arise, or when information needs clarification, the District updates the South Beach FAQ document.

Click here to read the most recent South Beach FAQ

The Park District will continue to evaluate South Beach operations throughout the summer. They are listening to feedback and making adjustments where they can: recently, they expanded a space in the fence to improve lake views, added a mat leading to the water to accommodate the mobility-challenged, and moved some fencing further away from the sidewalk along Overlook Drive. Please continue to share your ideas and suggestions with Steve Wilson at swilson@wilpark.org.

EFFICIENCY REPORT: The Wilmette Park District Committee on Local Government Efficiency completed its decennial report on June 25. The report provides an overview and analysis of myriad aspects of the Wilmette Park District, such as: a general overview of governing statutes, ordinances, rules and procedures; shared services and partnerships; examples of efficient operations; transparency to the community: District awards and recognition;

benefits and services; considerations for increased accountability and efficiency; opportunities for increased transparency; opportunities for other intergovernmental agreements; and opportunities for savings.

The committee was formed in response to Public Act 102-1088, which was signed into law on June 10, 2022 by Illinois Governor Pritzker. The act required the creation of a Decennial Committee made of the elected body of the unit of government, the chief officer of that unit of government, and at least two members of the public. The two community members on the committee were George Pearce and Kaine Osburn, area residents with local government experience. Their time is deeply appreciated.

View the Efficiency Report here

A C C E S S

To view Agendas and Minutes from past Board meetings, click here. Minutes are posted after they are approved the following month.

Next Regular Monthly board meeting: Monday, August 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Village Hall at 1200 Wilmette Avenue, Wilmette.

Next Committee of the Whole meeting: Monday, August 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mallinckrodt Center, 1041A Ridge Road (side entrance), Wilmette

All meetings are open to the public. Details are posted on the Upcoming Meetings page on our website.

Regular Monthly Board meetings are available to view live on Channel 6 locally for Comcast subscribers. View a live meeting online here, or view previous meeting recordings here (scroll down to "Wilmette Park District"). Please check our website often for updates.