Pre-Construction Engineering to Begin at Fort Sheridan

An engineering services contract will be let to prepare bidding and contract documents for implementation of the Public Access Improvements as part of the Fort Sheridan Master Plan.  The contract requires committee and board approval. The Planning Committee will consider this matter at its June 6, 2016 meeting.

It is important to note this is for the engineering services and not for the actual implementation and restoration work.

BACKGROUND:

The Fort Sheridan Master Plan was approved by the Board on November 10, 2015. As part of the Plan approval, the Board directed staff to proceed with the implementation of all public access and restoration work north of the Parade Grounds. The public access portion of the work includes improvements and reconfiguration of the existing access drive, a new paved 45-car parking lot with an evaporator toilet, trailhead improvements at the north parking lot with an evaporator toilet, 0.7 miles of new asphalt trail, improvements to the existing 1.8 mile grass trail, removal of the remaining section of George Bell Road, accessibility improvements to the existing Hutchinson Trail, five new timber boardwalks/bridges, and two scenic overlooks.

The engineering services contract will provide land surveying, wetland delineation, data collection, subsurface drainage inventory, permitting and agency coordination, design, engineering, geotechnical investigation, hydrologic/hydraulic analysis, and preparation of bidding and contract documents. Engineering work is scheduled to begin in July 2016 with completion anticipated in January 2017.

FINANCIAL DATA:

This project was approved as part of the adopted FY2015/2016 Capital Improvement Plan in the amount of $2,943,146.00. This portion of the project (engineering services) was estimated at $262,228.00. The actual cost is $220,765.00

Open Letter to Lake County Forest Preserve Planning Committee

Following is  a letter I sent to each member of the Lake County Forest Preserve District (LCFPD) Planning and Restoration Committee. I strongly encourage you to express your concerns as well. I have provided contact information at the end of this letter.

Dear <Planning & Restoration Committee Board Member>,

On Monday, 8/31 your Planning & Restoration Committee agenda item 8.2 is “Recommend

approval of Revised Concept Plan for Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, and permission to proceed with preparation of Final Master Plan.”

On behalf of the hundreds of people who have voiced their comments on the outcome of this matter, I am requesting that no vote is taken on this item at this meeting on Monday.

My understanding is that you have not seen the Revised Concept Plan. Requests to see this Revised Concept Plan by Lake County residents as well as by the media have been denied.

The LCFPD has gone to great lengths to study the usage of the Fort Sheridan Preserve and

Over 500 people expressed their views on the Fort Sheridan Master Plan Concept Plans

obtain public sentiment. Certainly you should receive a briefing on the findings of the usage studies as well as an understanding of what has been revised in the Revised Concept Plan.  However, moving forward with a vote without due deliberation, thoughtfulness and respect for your invested constituency is not the best practice of a representative government.

As you well know from the over 500 comments compiled by LCFPD from open houses, email, letters, and Idea Exchange public sentiment ran over 2:1 against either Concept Plan A or Concept Plan B. Even taking Plans A & B together, public sentiment ran 3:2 against these options versus the citizen-authored Plan C.

It is a tribute to the value your constituents place on their Forest Preserves and Fort Sheridan in particular to have such a high level of public engagement.  We are your donors, beach cleaners, volunteers, nature field trip leaders and, of course, taxpayers. All we ask is that your deliberations are thoughtful, unhurried and representative of your public.

The irony is that this property, carrying the historic title of “Fort,” has been a battleground of sorts for such a long time. We ask that you be the statesman and be responsive and inclusive in recommending a plan for the future of Fort Sheridan Preserve.

This letter was sent, individually to the following committee members. I encourage you to do the same BEFORE 8/31. Thank you.

Board members of the Lake County Forest Preserve District Planning & Restoration Committee

Bonnie Thompson Carter – Chair    BCarter@lakecountyil.gov

Nick Sauer – Vice Chair                   NSauer@lakecountyil.gov

Carol Calabresa                              CCalabresa@lakecountyil.gov

Bill Durkin                                        BDurkin@lakecountyil.gov

Sandra Hart                                     smhart@lakecountyil.gov

Diane Hewitt                                    DHewitt@lakecountyil.gov

Sid Mathias                                      smathias@lakecountyil.gov

Craig Taylor                                      CTaylor@lakecountyil.gov

Tom Weber                                       TWeber@lakecountyil.gov

The “Mysterious” Revised Concept Plan for Fort Sheridan

On Monday, August 31 the Lake County Forest Board planning committee will be asked to approve a Revised Concept Plan for Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. The agenda item reads:

“Recommend approval of Revised Concept Plan for Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, and permission to proceed with preparation of Final Master Plan”

There’s only one problem. What is the Revised Concept Plan?

• Has anyone seen it?
• Will the committee receive both a presentation AND be asked to vote on the same day?
• In spite of the hot contention of this issue, is the public completely shut out from either viewing or commenting on this plan BEFORE it is voted on?
• Is this really the way we want our government to function?

It is both unfortunate and sad when our government plays a cat and mouse game on issues of concern and interest to the public. This has been the history of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve Master Plan process:

• Failure to engage the public prior to purchasing 2900 trees.
• Failure to have an approved plan in place prior to purchasing trees or engaging a contractor to plant the trees.
• Failure to engage the public prior to developing  two unpopular plan options
• Aggressively discouraging public presentation of an alternative plan
• Failure to distribute the Revised Concept Plan before a vote on it

Whew. I guess we get the government we deserve. If this is ok with you, that is. It is not ok with me.

The Revised Concept Plan will be considered at the meeting of the Planning & Restoration Committee on Monday 8/31 at 1:30. The committee meets at Lake County Forest Preserve HQ at 1899 W. Winchester Road in Libertyville.

You can see the  Agenda – Planning and Restoration Committee here (click to download).

And you can see the proposed recommended committee action & background study they conducted over the summer here (click to download).

But you cannot see the Revised Concept Plan. It is a Mystery.

How the Lake County Forest Preserve Does Things

On Monday, June 1, 2015 the Planning Committee of the Lake County Forest Preserves District (#LCFPD) voted to spend $100,000+ to plant 2600 native trees and shrubs in Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. A deeply contentious issue, the vote sets in motion a set of actions that will eventually extinguish 52 acres of successful and unique grassland prairie and the wildlife it supports on the Lake Michigan shore. It is one small backward step for man and one small backward step for mankind.

No Plan. No Support.

The action was taken in the absence of an adopted Master Plan for Fort Sheridan. It was also approved in the face of widespread and vocal opposition. Dissent the District has attempted to stifle at its origin and not share with the board members when successfully expressed in public comment.

Coin of the Realm: Bullying

Although no blood was spilled, the bruises were evident as Board President Ann Maine and her staff spun a tale made of whole cloth, bullied and intimidated other board members who did not share her worldview.

Cart Before the Horse?

The public comment  and committee member questions focused on the one procedural issue:

How could the county move forward toward a contract to plant trees on the grassland before there was an approved Master Plan supporting that land management?

There was an audible sucking in of air in astonishment as President Maine exclaimed, with complete disdain for the democratic process, “If we waited for plans, we’d never get anything done.” This disregard for due process was echoed by the District’s Director of Natural Resources Jim Anderson who commented, “This is how we do it.” Meaning, of course, without the approval of the county commissioners or the support of its constituent public.

Shh! Nobody Likes Your Plan.

So besides overrunning the political process, President Maine and staff are withholding till September the outcome of public comment held through a structured online comment forum together with comments written at a well-attended open house.  And there’s a reason why.

What President Maine doesn’t want to share is the overwhelming rejection of either of their Concept plans A or B in favor of options that very much resemble exactly what Fort Sheridan Preserve provides today, a fine grassland habitat.

Is Ignorance Bliss?

With their vote today it would appear that the Planning Committee of the Lake County Forest Preserve District is comfortable ignoring its constituents and making insufficiently informed decisions. Thank you Commissioners Hart & Mathias for your rejection of this proposal. We regret your being intimidated for being “freshmen” commissioners. You demonstrated great insight & savvy not shared by your colleagues.

The matter goes before the Finance Committee on Thursday, June 4 and, if approved, to the full LCFPD Board of Commissioners on Tuesday June 9.

The Case for Plan C at the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve

Plan C is a citizen-based initiative to provide an alternative to the ill-conceived Concept Plans A & B being advanced by the Lake County Forest Preserve District.

What is exceptionally appealing about Plan C is that it is the only option that has a proven track record of success. Plan C is close to the status quo of what the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve is today and has been for the last 3 years. And this has proven to be a very popular and huge success. Plan C builds on that success. It needs your support.

Plan C Supports Public Access & Grassland Habitat

Plan C retains the 80 car parking lot and the successful grassland habitat. Click to download & view the larger PDF image.

Principal tenets of Plan C

• Retain the existing 80 car parking lot.

The existing hard-pack 80 car parking lot enables centralized walking access for the elderly, handicap and families with young children to the lake, southern ravines as well as the grassland trails. Citizen-collected data indicates that an 80-car parking lot meets the parking needs of the Preserve more than 90% of the time. LCFPD has no data on parking requirements. Their plans are based on guesses and political objectives.

• Maintain the grasslands.

The successful grasslands are home to nesting grassland birds, species whose numbers have diminished largely due to loss of habitat. Plan C also supports additional study prior to any consequential negative impact. Additionally the open space panoramic prairie view is one of the favorite features of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve with visitors. All LCFPD data has been provided by citizen scientists. They have no data of their own on the success of this grassland.

• Plant trees along the western end of Fort Sheridan.

This will help deaden the traffic noise from Sheridan Road and block the visual sightline of buildings and traffic for those in the Preserve thereby improving the natural environment experience.

• Plant new trees in existing stands where trees are in decline.

Rejuvenate existing wooded areas that have been diminished through natural events and the absence of proactive management.

• Proceed with proposed Parade Ground enhancements.

Plan C supports both Concept A & B proposals to naturalize the perimeter of the historic Parade Grounds as well as to complete the walking trail loop

• Improve picnic area in the existing main parking lot.

Provide picnic areas near the parking and restroom facilities.

• Upgrade toilets in the existing main parking lot.

Replace existing portable toilets with evaporator type toilets and locate near existing main parking lot and near Cemetery parking lot.

• Add platform for Natural Viewing Area & Hawk Watch.

Build a permanent platform near the existing main parking lot in cooperation with the nascent Hawk Watch station.

• Add two additional litter stations for dogs.

Enhance dog management by adding on-leash signage and dog waste stations near the main parking lot and the Cemetery parking lot.

Plan C Addresses Management Issues

Plan C is also the only option that explicitly recognizes the problems that have emerged at the Preserve and need to be addressed. These include:

• Unauthorized entry to Lake Michigan along the non-swimming lakeshore
• Degradation of the bluff due to off-trail foot traffic
• Identification and preservation of plants of concern

Identification and Protection of Plants of Concern

The Preserve is fortunate to be host to several plants of concern. These plants and their habitats will be identified, cordoned off, labeled. Educational programming is proposed to draw attention to these plants and encourage their preservation and continued development consistent with the LCFPD 100-year Vision to restore the area to ecological health.

Bluff Protection

There are multiple bluff protection strategies that can be deployed individually or in combination. These include:

• Nature-scaping the bluff with shrubs that deter foot traffic,
• Signage at the bottom & top of the bluff  identifying the threat to the bluff
• Physical restraints such as roping the area

Lakeshore Management

Lakeshore management is a seasonal enforcement matter. Prominent signage, assessment of fines and periodic enforcement sweeps along the lakeshore at strategic times will send the message that this shoreline is not for public swimming.

Plan C Needs Your Active Support

Tell the Lake County Forest Preserve that your support Plan C by going to their website and submitting your comments on their form. It does NOT matter if you are a Lake County resident or not. Please share your opinion.

Tell them you support:

1. Retaining pubic access and the existing 80 car parking

2. Retaining the successful and popular grassland habitat

Video: Forest Preserve Intimidates, Threatens Arrest at Open House

Our group attended the LCFPD Fort Sheridan Open House at which we were physically blocked from entering the Open House, harassed &  intimidated and threatened with arrest and removal. We just wanted to provide the input they solicited. Watch the video of the entire episode.

These Are the Plan Options. These are the Only Plan Options.

It would appear that the Lake County Forest Preserve District under the direction of President Ann Maine has plans for the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. And it doesn’t matter a damn what anybody thinks. Don’t kid yourself. They are absolutely committed to forcing their poorly conceived plans, called Concept A and Concept B on the public regardless of public sentiment. And the only public sentiment they want to hear is that which is legally required and nothing more.

We Really Don’t Want Your Stinkin Feedback

The Forest Preserve held a public open house on April 8. My invitation from Executive Director Ty Kovach told me that I was “invited to an Open House to learn about improvement plans for the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve and to provide feedback regarding the plans.” With the intent of providing constructive and effective feedback, our group thoughtfully prepared a comprehensive set of alternative options highlighting what we felt the County-sponsored plans were lacking. We spent hours talking to environmental experts. We talked to people who visited the Preserve. We assembled maps, a fact sheet and other documents to make our case and to share with others at this open house. And then we showed up at the Open House to share what we had learned.

“No Other Plans Allowed”

When we arrived with our material, we were all but tackled at the door by LCFPD staff. Our path was blocked. Our map was grabbed. We were told that “no other concept plans were allowed in the building.”  We pushed through this nonsense. Immediately the LCFPD Chief of Police was on us telling us to take our material out of the Open House.  I asked the Chief, “I cannot present my plans? And the Chief responded “You cannot.” In the course of further discussion the Chief threatened to call the Highwood police and have me removed from the Open House. Some Open House.

Stay Out of Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve

Incongruous as it seems, LCFPD does not want people to come to the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. They don’t want people to walk along the magnificent bluff. They don’t want people on the Lakeshore. In a direct quote from a top staffer, “Go to Illinois State Beach if you want to see Lake Michigan.” Really?

Just Say No to the Forest Preserve

Reject the LCFPD thoughtless Concept Plans. Reject their “not welcome here” attitude. We have a better idea. We call it Plan C. As soon as we recover from the trauma of the Open House we’ll share it with you.

Voice Your Opinion

Please tell the Forest Preserve that you want public access at Fort Sheridan. Tell them that you want to preserve the successful grassland prairie. Do it now and do it here.

Why Public Access at Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve is Important

The most significant aspect of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve Concept Plans being advanced by the Lake County Forest Preserve District (LCFPD) is the provision for parking.

Just a Public Works Project?

To the casual public, the location of the parking lots and the number of parking spaces may look like an innocuous public works project. But in fact it encapsulates some fundamental public policy issues. Permit me to connect the dots.

Reducing the number of parking spaces and moving parking further from the bluff and the lakeshore achieves two things:
1) It puts a physical limit on the number of people who can be in the Preserve.
2) It makes it inconvenient for people to visit the very assets of the preserve (bluff and lakeshore) that they find appealing.

Such an incredulous outcome begs the question:

Why would the Forest Preserve want to limit visits and make it inconvenient?

Overuse:

One answer has been given overtly by LCFPD President Ann Maine who has said “We can love our parks to death.”

Enforcement:

The second answer has to be inferred because LCFPD hasn’t addressed it directly. That answer is that LCFPD has an enforcement problem. The lake shore is a non-swimming beach. So one way to keep swimmers off the beach is to make it very difficult to get to the beach in the first place.

Let’s explore this and understand why this thinking is wrong minded and not in the public interest.

In opposition to the LCFPD 100-year Vision

The “100-year Vision for Lake County” was recently adopted by the LCFPD as one its three pillars for the next 100 years (Leadership, Conservation, People) – Under the “People” section they state:

“The Forest Preserve District and partners will promote an active, healthy lifestyle by providing convenient access  for people to enjoy outdoor recreation and explore nature in clean and safe preserves and on an accessible regional network of land and water trails…..”

Certainly the proposed plan is in direct opposition to this stated objective.

We don’t protect what we don’t experience

Conservation organizations and the think tanks that support them have recognized that people won’t be motivated to allocate resources to protect our environment if they don’t experience the environment. This may seem obvious, but there is a lot of work done and data to support this thinking.

Richard Louv’s seminal book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder created an increased interest in children’s environmental awareness. In sum, we are raising generations of people who do not experience and do not have convenient access to nature.

Can we really love Fort Sheridan to death?

No. Not with proper management. I have personally driven around Lake Michigan and witnessed many forms of lake shore management where endangered plants are growing and where endangered birds (e.g. Piping Plover) nest. You need only drive to Montrose Bird Sanctuary (Magic Hedge) that is frequented by far more people in less space than Fort Sheridan. Aggressive dog management, ropes cordoning off important plant areas are all in place to prevent us from “loving our parks to death.” Ann Maine is wrong. Only by mis-managing Ft. Sheridan can we injure it.

But this management takes some thoughtfulness, ongoing maintenance and money. And, in the end, this is about LCFPD not wanting to spend the money at this Preserve.

Missed education opportunity

If LCFPD believes we have important assets that should be protected, rather than make this Preserve difficult to access, make an effort to identify and protect these assets. Put up signage explaining their value. Create programs around these assets and help people understand the important & endangered species right under their feet (literally). Don’t hide these resources where nobody can see them or know anything about them. Education is a key mission of LCFPD. Why would LCFPD shirk from this responsibility? This is an opportunity that should not be missed!

Again, from the 100 Year Vision:

“The District will engage its diverse population through creative education and outreach programs to ensure that future generations are inspired to treasure and support Lake County’s unique natural, historical and cultural resources.”

Oh yeah? Well, not with the proposed Concept Plans. In fact, the proposed plans are directly in opposition to these adopted policies.

The wrong people are affected

Commissioner Sandra Hart said it best in her recent email about the proposed plans. She wrote,

“I believe that these Concept Plans will significantly impact the number of veterans, elderly, disabled, and families who can visit Fort Sheridan to view Lake Michigan from the bluff or the shoreline. By decreasing or eliminating parking from the existing area, it will be very difficult for less mobile people to enjoy this spectacular vista.”

In a nutshell, the healthy & mobile will not be deterred. Teens and healthy young people without children will still flock to this lakefront because the mile walk from wherever they can find a place doesn’t bother them. And they’ll pee in the woods. And swim in the lake. But families with kids and the mobility challenged will be excluded.

This is embarrassing and damning public policy and we cannot let it prevail. We must separate the access issue from the enforcement solutions. Public access and the parking required should be provided. Let’s focus on enforcement as a separate issue.

Public comment on the proposed plans is welcome through April 30 by going to this website. Make your opinion known.

Highland Park / Highwood Favor Existing Public Access – County Conceals Opposition

“Upon review, both Highland Park and Highwood are strongly opposed to having access and parking closed and/or significantly restricted.”

As a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made to the Lake County Forest Preserve, we have secured a letter jointly signed by the mayors of Highland Park and Highwood. In no uncertain terms, the mayors have appealed to LCFPD to maintain the “popular parking” that now exists. Saying that the plans “would make lakefront access significantly challenging, contravening the goals of providing enhanced access in the first place.”

As citizens we are so fortunate to have tools, like the FOIA, that permit us to shine a light on that which public officials may choose to keep hidden. As the LCFPD presented a second unpopular draft of its Master Plan in March, they claimed to have sought counsel with unspecified others to develop their plans. But, in fact, what the LCFPD heard was outright opposition. Regarding this opposition, the county said nothing and in doing so they misled us.

We appreciate the validation provided by Highland Park and Highwood of our desire to maintain public access and keep our public forest preserve conveniently accessible. By concealing opposition LCFPD has egg on its face. In the end there is no support for the Master Plan concepts advanced by the LCFPD.

Unfortunately, there are some in the LCFPD who seem intent to limit access to Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve and its magnificent bluff vistas and shoreline in spite of what the public desires for their public land. There is an open house on April 8 for you to tell the LCFPD that you want this access. Additionally, LCFPD will accept online comments from April 1 – April 29 at www.ideaexchangelcfpd.org.

Here is the letter sent by Highland Park and Highwood that LCFPD chose not to share with us.

 

 

The Fort Sheridan Preserve Hypocrisy

100 parking spaces and a clubhouse on the bluff were approved for a golf course. But for a natural preserve? No parking or maybe 20 spaces.

Take a step back from the current controversy and observe the hypocrisy of the Forest Board regarding the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve.

The picture at right is the plan originally proposed by the Lake County Forest Preserve for a 100 car parking lot and clubhouse on the bluff. It was ok then. Today, not ok.

No Trees. Approved.

The existing and approved Master Plan for Fort Sheridan calls for a golf course. This golf course would have taken over the entire greater expanse of the area we now call the grassland. It would have also spilled over to the Parade Ground with 4 golf holes surrounded by residences. Planting trees? Not on these fairways. That’s the plan. But wait, there’s more.

Club House on the Bluff. Approved.

This wasn’t going to be just some 3 par golf course to knock the ball around. This was going to be a Championship Golf Course with a Club House – on the Bluff overlooking that Great Lake. This was going to be Big Time with Golf Outings and maybe even Professional Tournaments. And, until golf revenues went south, this was the Plan. It was approved by your Lake County Forest Preserve. They were ALL IN.

100 Car Parking Lot. Approved.

A shot-gun start at a Championship Golf Course would put 18 foursomes on the course. That’s 72 people playing golf. Plus caddys and Club House Staff. And every 15 minutes a new foursome Tees off. Popular every spring, summer and fall weekend, that parking lot adjacent to the Club House on the Bluff of Lake Michigan would have to hold what? 125 cars? 150 cars? Probably. And the County approved this. They were ALL IN.

Street Parking? Approved.

And when the Tournaments were held, in addition to all the celebrities, there would be the spectators. And where would they park? They’d park along Leonard Drive and anywhere else they could squeeze a car. And the residents of the Town of Fort Sheridan subdivision were ALL IN with this plan.

Fast forward to today and what do we have? That same Forest Board that was prepared to surrender the Preserve to a golf course and surrender the Lake Michigan bluff to a club house and build a large parking lot wants to reduce parking to just 20 cars near the bluff. Board president Ann Maine worries that we will suffocate this Preserve with overuse when, in fact, the County was prepared to plow it into sand traps and plant water-demanding turf grass instead of self-sustaining indigenous prairie grasses. Talk about suffocating!

Hypocritical Public Policy

So I just want it to be noted that what was already approved and acceptable is now not acceptable. And the only thing that has changed is that instead of making a lot of money running a golf course, which the Lake County Forest Preserve was perfectly happy to do, they have to provide public access and basic sanitary services. And for that they are balking. Just say no to toilets.

Golf on the “historic” Parade Ground? Approved.

And one more footnote to this rant. I have always been less concerned about the Parade Ground section of the Forest Preserve. I sincerely believe that the residents of the Town of Fort Sheridan subdivision have a strong investment in both the maintenance and appearance of this property that is circumscribed by their homes and their wishes in this area should be respected. But at one point this, too, was going to be part of the golf course.

Today there are modest plans to reduce grass cutting by planting trees and shrubs at the edges of the Parade Ground. When I inquired about why the entire Parade Ground couldn’t be landscaped for more economical maintenance I was told, with a straight face, that the County wants to “respect the historic nature of the Parade Ground.” Really? What about that Championship Golf Course for which they were prepared to completely plow up the Parade Ground? Oh, that.

So when the LCFPD says that the proposed Master Plan is to prevent us from destroying the Fort Sheridan habitat you really have to ask, but isn’t that what THEY were planning to do with their misbegotten golf course? Evidently what was OK then, is not OK now. Hypocrisy.

Fort Sheridan Master Plan Concepts – The Video

One thing I’ve learned about truth is that there are many versions of it. Each person interprets the world through his or her own lens. And that is their truth.

My truth is that our public preserve, Fort Sheridan, is about to be closed to the public and inaccessible to people with mobility problems who seek to visit the main attraction – the bluff and the lakefront. That the accidental prairie that has proved so successful as a habitat for rare grassland birds is about to be diminished and possibly ruined. Our state scientists don’t know what will happen to the bird habitat due to the planting of 50 acres of trees. And our County hasn’t even considered the issue. That’s my view. But don’t believe me.

Here’s a 13 minute video of the presentation of the concepts for the Fort Sheridan Preserve’s Master Plan. I’ve annotated some unclear parts and added some additional text commentary. I also edited out sneezing and coughing and some irrelevant editorial by the presenter expressing his own opinions.

Keep in mind just one more truth. Lake County Forest Preserve District hasn’t lifted a finger to engage the public in any discussion regarding the Fort Sheridan Preserve. No mechanism exists to provide them feedback other than writing the committee members. Only a vigilant public has pulled the covers back on their initiatives and shined the light on their activities. Now they are racing toward a public hearing on the Preserve scheduled for April 8 for 2 hours during a weekday rush hour. This is clearly intended to continue to keep the working public out of the discussion. This is what they have called, “a process that works very well.” I think they should be ashamed of their behavior. That’s my truth. Watch the video and find your own truth:

Fort Sheridan Preserve Master Plan Open House April 8

The Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve Master Plan Open House will be held on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, from 5-7 PM at the Midwest Young Artist Center within the Town of Fort Sheridan Subdivision.

Unstructured Open House like this one held in 2012 permits one on one discussion regarding the Fort Sheridan Master Plan

There is no formal presentation and attendees may arrive anytime within the scheduled Open House hours. The main purpose of the Open House is to gather feedback on the proposals prepared by the Lake County Forest Preserve.

Information on the options and plans will be posted. Forest Preserve staff and commissioners will be present to engage in one on one discussion.

---

The Open House will be held at the following address:

Midwest Young Artist Center
878 Lyster Road
Highwood (Map)
5 PM to 7 PM
(This is located in the Town of Fort Sheridan subdivision on the west side of the Parade Ground)

If you cannot attend, you can provide your input online here.

County Pushes to Make Fort Sheridan Preserve Inaccessible

Reduced parking, inconvenient public access and a look-the-other-way attitude toward people with mobility problems are the cornerstones of the proposed Fort Sheridan Master Plan being entertained by the Planning and Restoration committee of the Lake County Forest Preserves. The goal of the plan is, quite simply, to keep the public out of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve.

No Vision. No Input

Drifting along with plan concepts not based on any publicly adopted vision, the County has corralled the Master Plan for Fort Sheridan into two poor options. To arrive at this point the county has eschewed any public input into the plan process. Those who have sought to speak to the plans at committee meetings have been shoehorned into 3 minute speaking slots during a legally mandated public comment period. “We’re sorry; your time is up no matter what you have to contribute.”

It is noteworthy to observe that members of the Planning & Restoration committee, many of whom have never been to the Fort Sheridan Preserve, have unlimited time to weigh in on the best plan for this unseen property. Those who know can’t speak. Those who speak don’t know. It is unseemly. But I digress.

Clueless

Initially introduced in November 2014 after 2 1/2 years of inactivity, the first Master Plan drafts raised eyebrows due to its cluelessness regarding the emergence of a grassland bird population and a populist-inspired hawk observation program. Instead the county struggled with an isolated 3-year-old random request for a kayak launch (now discarded) and where to pee.

Hidden Agenda

Chronic whining by some Forest Board members that if people actually come to this remarkable property their presence will ruin it cleverly masked the reality that the County has a problem enforcing the no-swimming lake front and the crowds that it can and does draw on a very few days of the year. Public use issues at this Preserve are real but keeping people out is not the solution. They are, of course, wrong.

Reduced Public Access

So what remains in play is the ability of the public to actually visit this public lakefront property. Today there are 100 total parking spaces. Proposed plans reduce this to only 20 spaces near the lake shore. Another option puts a small parking lot over ½ mile from the coveted bluff and lake shore. All intended to send a clear message that the public is not welcome at Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. This, of course, is wrong.

No Public Input

The County is conducting this Master Plan process without even a Tweet or a Facebook post let alone solicitation of interest on their website or other communications. Nevertheless, due to the sharp eyes of some County agenda-watchers, over 15 people showed up at the inconvenient Monday afternoon sub-committee meeting to express their interest and race through their concerns with a stopwatch monitoring their speaking time. The County considers this public input. This, of course, is also wrong.

Sneaky Urgency

The County, which has taken 3 years to get to this point, seems suddenly intent on resolving this matter before people are aware and spring & summer users of the Preserve can be engaged. Sneaky. And cowardly. And certainly not in the public interest.

Take Action Now

If you care about the outcome of the Fort Sheridan Master Plan, you will want to certainly be at any upcoming public discussion. But you need not wait. You should express your concern to each member of the Planning & Restoration Board. Not a Lake County resident? It doesn’t matter. Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve is a world-class property that transcends political boundaries. What you think matters.

Contact Planning & Restoration Committee Board Members:

Ann Maine, President LCFPD amaine@lakecountyil.gov
Bonnie Thomson Carter, Committee Chair  BCarter@lakecountyil.gov
Nick Sauer, Vice Chair  NSauer@lakecountyil.gov
Carol Calabresa   CCalabresa@lakecountyil.gov
Bill Durkin  BDurkin@lakecountyil.gov
Sandra Hart    smhart@lakecountyil.gov
Diane Hewitt   DHewitt@lakecountyil.gov
Sid Mathias     smathias@lakecountyil.gov
Craig Taylor     CTaylor@lakecountyil.gov
Tom Weber     TWeber@lakecountyil.gov

The Fort Sheridan Master Plan Disaster

Under the direction of Executive Director Ty Kovach, Lake County Forest Preserve District (LCFPD) staff presented to Forest Board committee members three misguided alternatives for the management of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve.

Although labeled Concepts A, B & C by the staff, I will call them what they are: Bad, Worse and Worst. As a summary, all of the proposals incorporated the common theme of making the attractive assets of the Preserve inaccessible to the public and destroying the rare grassland habitat.

The most prominent aspect of all the options was the reduction in total parking spaces and moving the remaining parking to remote locations ¾ of a mile from the bluff and the beach. Other lowlights of the plans included:

• Reduction in the size & configuration of the grassland prairie of sufficient magnitude to destroy its value for nesting grassland birds
• No provision for the nascent Fort Sheridan Hawkwatch & potential elimination of hawk watch site lines.
• Closing auto access to the preserve via the existing Gilgare Lane
• Construction of toilets ¾ of a mile from the bluff and the beach

If You Build It…

Since the opening of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve it has suffered from a major problem: Success!

The Preserve’s public opening was enhanced when LCFPD created interim trails. The trails brought throngs of hikers, dog walkers, photographers, bird watchers and joggers into the bucolic rye and black-eyed susan grasslands and out to the magnificent bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. The ½ mile of continuous beachfront attracted hundreds of beach goers even though the beach is legally closed to swimming. In response to demand, the LCFPD increased the parking lot from 20 to 40 and then 80 spaces and even added additional parking on the north side by the cemetery with access to the trails.  It was – and is – a smashing success. Apparently too much so.

The Beach Management (a/k/a People Stay Out) Plan

The Fort Sheridan beach has always been a nettlesome issue with the Forest Preserve. According to LCFPD, the cost of remediating the lake for swimming in a location in which ordnance may be in the water is financially untenable. So the most effective option to manage demand is to keep people off the beach.  One can do this by shooing them away or just make it a ¾ mile to one mile walk to and from your car.   And if one wants to use the toilets, plan on a 30 minute round trip. That should keep the riff raff away.

We Hate (or don’t understand) Grasslands

Although there is no approved master plan, the LCFPD has already received a grant to plant 2900 trees in Fort Sheridan and surrounding area. I don’t get it. I like trees. But the Fort Sheridan grasslands, one of two large expanses in the county, has already proved, in its short life, to be a haven for common as well as endangered species of grassland birds. In spite of this achievement, or perhaps entirely ignorant of it, the plan calls for diminishing the grassland to the point of uselessness as a habitat for these birds. Moreover, apparently the Forest Preserve doesn’t even require a plan to proceed with the planting of the trees. It becomes a fait accompli.

Ignorance or Arrogance?

Without doubt the magnetic appeal of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve is the breathtaking bluff views and Lake Michigan beach access. Certainly having 250 acres of unbroken grassland and forested areas enhances the appeal but the main event is the lake. Fort Sheridan is not property looking for a purpose. It was telling to hear Restoration & Planning Committee Chairperson Bonnie Thompson Carter actually say that “the LCFPD has to determine what kind of uses it wants to drive.” That ship has sailed, Commissioner Carter. The population of Lake County has made it clear about what they like. And they are going to want to park their cars near what they find attractive and use convenient sanitary toilet facilities that don’t take a major effort to use. And the job of our Forest Preserve is to accommodate that interest not thwart it.

What’s Next?

The LCFPD spent two years developing this dumb plan in darkness and secrecy without soliciting any public input. It is unclear how quickly they may move forward with their bad plans. They do not seem to have a good concept of how to gather public input as they are simply presenting limited options rather than collecting input from their constituency. It’s dumb. But it is their way. Therefore you must tell them what you want.

Take Action

Following is a list of the board members of the Planning and Restoration Committee and the LCFPD Executive Director. Send each one an email. Include a copy to your own Lake County Board member.

Tell them you want:

• Convenient public parking access to the bluff and the lakefront
• Sanitary toilet facilities within an easy walk
• Preservation and enhancement of the rare prairie grassland habitat
• Ongoing input into the planning process – not just a response to their plans

And tell them you want a response. And if you don’t get one, write them again.

Board committee members:

• Chair, Bonnie Thomson Carter BCarter@lakecountyil.gov
• Nick Sauer nsauer@lakecountyil.gov
• Steve Carlson SCarlson@co.lake.il.us
• Bill Durkin BDurkin@lakecountyil.gov
• Sandy Hart smhart@lakecountyil.gov
• Craig Taylor CTaylor@lakecountyil.gov

Ty Kovach akovach@lcfpd.org (Executive Director of LCFPD)

Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve Vision

I, too, have a dream. However, it’s probably more appropriate to call it a vision of what the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve should become. Having worked together with hundreds of others to reach this point where we might plan for the future of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, we have an interest in seeing it developed for the remarkable and unique resource that it is.  Here is a first cut at what that plan might be.

I. Introduction

The Lake County Forest Preserves District is embarking on a plan for improvements and management of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. With the cooperation of multiple individuals, we have endeavored to draft a compelling vision for the preserve that optimizes its value to each of its stakeholders including its residential neighbors, nearby communities, adjacent land uses and land owners and all Lake County residents.

This vision incorporates Fort Sheridan’s history and its location on land having rare and unique attributes.

II. Vision

Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve should be managed to:

• Showcase its unique natural features including
  • Lakefront
  • Lakefront bluff
  • Ravines
  • Prairie grassland and savanna
  • Cultivate a vibrant & protected grassland bird habitat
  • Identify & protect environmentally sensitive areas
  • Manage land subject to ecological criteria
  • Provide an amenity to Lake County and the Town of Fort Sheridan
  • Respect and relate to its adjacent land uses
  • Contribute to the well-being of Lake Michigan

III. Criteria, Constraints & Opportunities

Decisions about Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve should be based on the following criteria, constraints and opportunities including:

• Geography – physical features and relationship to land use at its boundaries
• Flora & Fauna – existing and desired
• Public Use – permitted, facilitated and excluded
• Facilities

III. a. Geography

The Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve is part of a network of publicly accessible land. It must be managed consistent with the overall land use and environmental well-being of the entire area, not merely the land owned by the Forest Preserve. This requires communication and coordination with other entities.

Proximate land in conservation includes the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve on the south and Lake Forest’s McCormick Woods on the north. Together this public land makes up hundreds of acres of forest, savannah, prairie grassland and over 2 miles of Lake Michigan lakefront and bluff.

• Prairie grassland, Oak Savannah, Ravines
• Prime nesting for grassland birds
• Non-motorized user access
• Restoration to pre-settlement condition – probably Oak/Hickory Savanna
• Ecologically correct biodiversity
• Identification and protection of ecologically sensitive areas

III. a. 1. Lakefront

• Manage lakefront access
• Passive use – dog walking, hiking, sun bathing
• Stormwater effluent/water quality management
• Bluff preservation, erosion management and restoration

III. a. 2. Cemetery

• Adjacent land use consistent with the dignity and quiet of the cemetery
• Connection of cemetery (open gate) to adjacent forest preserve perhaps with trails and areas for repose

III. a. 3. Openlands/McCormick Woods/Town of Fort Sheridan

• Consistent and seamless integration with adjacent land use and land development
• Remove barbed wire fence on north side of Ft. Sheridan
• Coordination with Lake Forest on trails and paths between Fort Sheridan and McCormick Woods
• Parking & traffic management

III. a. 4. Historic Ft. Sheridan residential/Parade Grounds

• Surrounded by residences of the historic Town of Fort Sheridan, the Parade Ground should be managed to complement the residential neighborhood.
• Passive use
• Planting to minimize lawn cutting/maintenance requirements
• Water retention/stormwater management

IV. Flora & Fauna

• Audit environmentally important areas (nesting areas, Red-headed woodpecker habitat, etc.)
• Management to insure sustainability of important areas
• Planting to encourage likely/desired animal species habitation

V. Public Use

• Passive Recreation
• Walking, dog walking, running, biking (dedicated areas only)
• Designated picnic areas (near each parking lot)

VI. Facilities

• Restrooms – off existing parking lots
• Parking
  • Improve existing parking and optimize
  • Create second parking lot off Sheridan Road
  • Picnic Shelter(s)

VII. Implementation

• Transparent planning and implementation process and calendar
• Creation of Citizen Advisory Committee (Friends of Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve)
• Ongoing management plan
• Allocation of budget

This vision is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Lake County Forest Preserve District. It is for discussion only.

Comments are encouraged.

Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve Public Planning Open House

A public Planning Open House on Tuesday evening, June 12, will be held at the Midwest Young Artists Center, 878 Lyster Rd., Highwood, in the historic Fort Sheridan property.

In March, after years of analyzing declines in demand for golf and financial feasibility concerns, the Lake County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners voted 21-1 not to pursue construction of a golf course at the site. Instead, Forest Preserve Commissioners wanted to concentrate on completing additional trails and other more typical Forest Preserve outdoor recreation and habitat restoration improvements for the general public to use and enjoy at Fort Sheridan.

Staff and commissioners are soliciting your ideas for potential future improvements to this preserve.  What amenities will enhance this environmental gem, ensure that it is an asset for the neighbors and a treasure for Lake County residents?  Your input regarding future trails and other potential outdoor recreation and open space improvements is critical.

At the Planning Open House, the public is invited to drop in anytime between 4 and 8 p.m., to review maps and other information about the natural resources and existing public trails and facilities at Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, and to provide input regarding options for additional future outdoor recreation and habitat restoration improvements. In an informal setting, Forest Preserve staff members will be available to answer questions. Weather permitting, Forest Preserve historians and naturalists will conduct optional tours of the historic sites and natural areas within the preserve.

Since obtaining the northern 250 acres of the former military base, the Forest Preserve District has restored the wooded ravines and bluffs along the Lake Michigan shoreline, constructed a paved bike and hike trail, installed educational outdoor exhibits, and completed military base cemetery improvements.

Comments from the open house will be reviewed by the Forest Preserve Board of Commissioners and taken into consideration for the site’s future planning.

Directions to the event:

Enter the Fort Sheridan gates on the east side of Sheridan Road At its intersection with Old Elm Road. Follow Simonds Way east to Leonard Wood, and turn right. Follow the road to the right as it becomes Lyster Road. The Midwest Young Artists Center is the seventh yellow brick building on the right. There is parking and a back entrance covered with a burgundy awning.

Those unable to attend the Open House may submit ideas via email at FORT@LCFPD.org.

Highland Park Out of Step on Fort Sheridan Golf Course

After three years of tortuous deliberation the Lake County Forest Preserve District, finally agreed to seek removal of the requirement of a golf course at the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve by a nearly consensual 20-1 vote.

When the moment came, the vote was predictable in its majority if not its unanimity. But what was less predictable was Highland Park’s continued and active opposition to the will of the county as well as that of most of the people in the county and Highland Park. It is a city council gone rogue and out of step with its public.

Highland Park has two golf courses. With one owned by the City and the other by the Park District, the extent of its financial calamity is muted. Each is losing money. This year the city will shovel a portion of our general operating fund tax dollars into its golf course fund so that bills can be paid. Every time someone tees up on a municipal golf course in Highland Park, the public chips in $25 toward those green fees.  With other municipal needs unfunded and deferred, that’s pretty nice of us to allocate scarce resources to golf.

The City is supposed to unload its financial sinkhole of a golf course onto the Park District by January 1, 2014.  Wisely, in this municipal version of “hot potato” the Park District may not take it. It is an option they have. Which is why it is curious for the City to aggressively be supporting building yet another municipal golf course. If I were the Park District I wouldn’t take this liability knowing more competition was on its way.

When the county held its vote, acting Highland Park City Manager Patrick Brennan told a united Forest Board that, essentially, they were wrong.  What he said exactly was, “it would be our preference that we work cooperatively together to find some resolution to this matter rather than going forward on opposite positions and governmental bodies working against each other.” A not so veiled threat if there ever was one.

Based on its landslide vote, the Forest Board now turns to the Army with whom it holds the agreement to remove the golf course requirement.

What we don’t need is a meddling municipality with its own desperate golf course troubles to interfere.

Army Should Act Quickly on Fort Sheridan Deed Change

Tuesday’s 3/13 meeting of the Lake County Forest Preserve District Board is a crucial moment – among many crucial moments – in determining the outcome of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. Those who favor public access of the open space and want to see the golf course mandate removed should be cautiously optimistic that the board will agree to drop the golf course mandate from the deed restriction.

Do the math

If you add the following:

• ten forest board commissioners who voted “No” to not go forward with the RFP to seek a private developer plus
• three commissioners who voted “Yes” but are actually opposed to the golf course plus
• the commissioners who are running for office and have now publicly stated their opposition
• Anne Bassi, a lame duck commissioner for whom the “process”  she embraced has finally led her to support lifting the deed restriction requiring a golf course

Add these up and, well, it’s a landslide in favor of seeking a change in the deed restriction that mandates a golf course. It’s a crucial moment. But this still isn’t over.

What’s next?

Hopefully with a unified  – maybe unanimous – vote,  the forest board now must address the Secretary of the Army to modify the agreement. The Army has no reason not to comply. Nevertheless, that’s the next step – and possibly the last – in this tortuous ordeal.

This matter has dragged on for years. And while I’ve always believed the “no golf” option was evident from the beginning, the three plus years of public conversations have only proven this assumption.

Now it is time to move forward quickly.  Land use uncertainty is not good for the neighborhood property values. And Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve must get into the queue for financial resources to manage it the way we hope it will be. It would be our expectation that the Army responds quickly to the request the forest board will make of them after they adjourn their meeting on Tuesday.

Forest Board to Vote on Lifting Fort Sheridan Golf Requirement

The following was enclosed in an email from District 23 County Commissioner Anne Bassi:

Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve Update

Board of Commissioner discussion and vote

March 13, 2012  10^th floor  18 N. County, Waukegan

10:30 a.m. or 30 minutes after the Lake County Board meeting adjourns

Following the lack of response to the RFP (Request for Proposals) for private sector proposals to develop a golf course on the Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve, the Board of Commissioners will discuss, and vote on, the next step(s) at our March 13, 2012 meeting.  The Board will consider our staff recommendation that we begin negotiations with the U. S. Army to amend the portion of the deed restriction that addresses a golf course.

The specific wording of the restrictive covenant on the use of the property is: “The land herein conveyed shall be a golf course and recreational open space in perpetuity and not devoted to another use …”  Forest Preserve District staff is recommending that we ask the U. S. Army to remove the portion of the covenant that reads “a golf course and”, while retaining the portion that states “the land herein conveyed shall be recreational open space in perpetuity and not devoted to another use ….”

The 259 acre Fort Sheridan Preserve was transferred to the Forest Preserve District by the U. S. Department of the Army in three increments between 1999 and 2001; the District received the final deed in 2002.  The property included Lake Michigan beachfront, bluffs, ravines, open space and golf course, and the transfer was subject to a deed restriction stipulating that use of the property is restricted to recreational open space and a golf course.  Forest Preserve maintenance of the Ft. Sheridan Cemetery was also part of the transfer agreement.

The Forest Preserve District has spent years exploring options for developing a golf course on the Ft. Sheridan property in a fiscally responsible way, and in compliance with the deed restriction that accompanied the transfer the property.  We have analyzed the financial implications for different types of courses to determine if there were any development options whereby user revenues would cover the cost of course development, operation, and debt service.

The golf market decline pre-dated the overall economy’s decline by around five years.  Perhaps this is a temporary change in the market, or perhaps it represents a systemic change in the way people currently live their lives and do business.  According to the National Golf Foundation’s article in November 2011: “Golf Industry Economy – “A 10-year snapshot”, “golf course over-supply has diluted the stagnant demand and created a highly competitive environment ….”   Echoing national trends, the Forest Preserve’s four courses have experienced declining rounds annually since 2004.

The Forest Preserve’s policy is that we do not subsidize golf facilities with general taxpayer funds.  Development, operating costs, and debt service for district courses are paid for from course revenues and accounted for in a separate enterprise fund.  The budget for funding Fort Sheridan has always included debt funding for development of the course, to be repaid from user fees.  The taxpayer dollars allocated to the Ft. Sheridan Preserve were set aside for trails, restoration, parking, bridges and roads open to the general public; information relating to this preserve on our referenda dating back to 1993 confirms this.  The funds expended to date on design and feasibility of the golf course were allocated from interest earnings and other non-taxpayer dollars.

To date, approximately $7.8 million has been expended at the Ft. Sheridan preserve, including restoration of Hutchinson Ravine (for which the District won national awards), Janes Ravine, roads, trail bridge, a Lake Michigan bike/walking trail connecting to the McClory Trail, a wood chip trail along the wooded ravine, a storm water management channel to protect the restored ravines from future erosion, education and historical exhibits, demolition of structures, dirt and debris pile remediation and litigation costs.

I understand that there are strong feelings and passions on all sides of the debate on this issue, and all of the arguments have merit.  However, at the end of the day, there are no viable options for building a golf course in a fiscally responsible way.  We need to bring closure to the golf course issue before we can develop a new master plan by bringing stakeholders together to vision the type of preserve that will be an asset for neighbors and a treasure for County residents.  I will be voting in favor of negotiating to have the covenant amended to remove the portion addressing a golf course.

• For more information on the Fort Sheridan Preserve, the District has created a link on its homepage www.lcfpd.org
• You can post your comments for Forest Preserve Commissioners at Fort@LCFPD.org.
• A PowerPoint presentation reviewing the history of the 259-acre Fort Sheridan property can be accessed on the Forest Preserve’s website at http://www.lcfpd.org/docs/2011-3%20Fort%20Sheridan%20project%20history.pdf
• For a “virtual tour” of the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve improvements to date, visit the link below where you can view images, learn about the preserve’s trails, educational exhibits, cemetery, lakeshore, natural resources and ongoing restoration efforts.

http://www.lcfpd.org/preserves/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.view&object_id=163&type=SF

• Extensive online information about the military and natural history of Fort Sheridan is available at www.ExploreTheFort.org

Anne Flanigan Bassi
Lake County Forest Preserve Commissioner
District 23
abassi@lakecountyil.gov

Candidates And Media Stand Up Against Zombie Golf Course at Fort Sheridan

Undying zombie that is the Fort Sheridan golf course limps forward

The seemingly unending Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve land use dispute is now rolling into its second election season. In spite of the public’s general attention deficit and its desire to see complex issues created, negotiated and resolved in a 1 hour TV time slot (including commercials), the undying zombie that is the Fort Sheridan golf course limps forward. This time, however, political candidates are taking note.

The undead Fort Sheridan golf course’s cohorts, being most of the other municipal golf courses in Lake County struggle for life by attaching themselves to the public trough and sucking up general fund tax dollars. Highland Park is injecting over $300,000 of general fund tax dollars into its golf course holding while trying to pass the hot potato of ownership to the city’s Park District. Lake Forest is rearranging the deck chairs on its Titanic golf cash drain by hoping a private management company will supply their secret sauce to success.

Although golf rounds played have been in decline almost this entire century, most elected representatives have had their heads buried pretty deeply in their sandbox when it comes to addressing their golf problem. Fortunately things are changing. And it is about time.

For those who have followed this long-running serial comic series, Lake County Forest Board decided that it couldn’t afford to build a golf course but maybe they could slough the burden onto an unsuspecting private company. However,  businesses being smarter than most government agencies, the widely advertised opportunity to build a golf course on Lake Michigan received exactly zero response.

Under this political cover, the flood gates of negative sentiment regarding golf at Fort Sheridan have begun to appear.

In the 15^th District, Carol Calabresa, the heroic chairperson of the Fort Sheridan Golf Course Advisory Committee and incumbent commissioner has expressed her opposition to golf at Fort Sheridan. Her opponent, also opposed, wants to also sell off all the other county golf courses.

In the 13^th District, Board candidate and former Illinois State Senator David Barkhausen has been one of the few early opponents of the golf at Fort Sheridan and has now made it part of his campaign.

The local general circulation media, a timid shadow of its former self, rarely addresses a true controversy. Yet the Lake County News-Sun published a thoughtful editorial acknowledging “second thoughts” on the golf course matter and saying, “Perhaps it is time to rethink the county’s commitment to the project…”

As of now, the Fort Sheridan golf course option is wounded but still moving. It would appear, however, that County Board candidates whose public position’s are now in the spotlight are lining up in recognition of the dismal fiscal realities of municipal golf. Media is trailing in agreement. And so is an economically sensitive electorate – at least for as long as they can pay attention to the zombies reaching for their wallets.

Anne Flanigan Bassi Update on Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve

The following is from Lake County Forest Preserve District board member and county commissioner Anne Flanigan Bassi as distributed in her email newsletter:

Anne Flanigan Bassi
Lake County Board – District 23
abassi@lakecountyil.gov   847-432-6291

The Forest Preserve District has spent years exploring options for developing a golf course on the Ft. Sheridan property in a fiscally responsible way, and in compliance with the deed restriction that accompanied the transfer the property.

In June of 2011, following the recommendation of an Advisory Committee that had spent almost two years analyzing options, the Forest Preserve District (FPD) Board of Commissioners voted to issue an RFP (request for proposals) to the private sector to submit proposals for a privately funded 9-hole golf course at Ft. Sheridan.

The national golf market decline pre-dated the overall economy’s decline by around five years.  Perhaps this is a temporary change in the market, or perhaps it represents a systemic change in the way people currently live their lives and do business.  I have heard opinions on both sides.  The District believed that private sector was in the best position to determine the future of the golf market, and whether they could bring the necessary expertise, economies of scale and synergies to bear on the project to enable them to more economically develop and operate the course.

The deadline for submitting proposals from the private sector was January 6, and no proposals were submitted.  During February or March of this year the Forest Preserve Board will be discussing policy direction in light of the lack of response to the RFP and next step(s).

I am aware that this subject is of interest to many, and will advise you of all future meetings where this subject will be discussed.