Winnetka Park District, schools urge Village to clean up ‘unsafe’ work site

Debris left behind during cleanup and restoration of Winnetka’s Crow Island Woods is causing conflict between the Village, park district and District 36 as the entities look for a solution and answers.

Crow Island Woods, 1140 Willow Road, is the site of an intergovernmental agreement that was pursued as a result of the Village’s ongoing stormwater project.

According to a memo from Park District Executive Director Shannon Nazzal, who updated the Park Board at its Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday, Sept. 12, that agreement “allow(s) the Village of Winnetka to utilize areas of the park site to install underground storage facilities and box culverts to help address the flooding in southwest Winnetka.”

Nazzal added at the meeting that the IGA was amended this past spring to allow for an area that was used for equipment storage.

The agreement included a provision that the park site be restored “in a condition with clean soil that was free from contaminants and safe for the public’s use,” she said.

But in June, when the project was wrapping up, park district staff noticed “a great number of debris, including glass, ceramics, some metal items in the surface that we felt was unsafe for the public to use,” according to Nazzal.

Costa Kutulas, director of parks and maintenance for the Winnetka Park District, said the park district and Village were discussing potential remediation for the debris throughout the summer, both via email and in-person meetings.

Ultimately, those discussions led to a memo from the Village on Aug. 21 where they outlined their proposed solution to remove the debris and restore the site; however, Nazzal said at Thursday’s meeting that the park district is not satisfied with the Village’s proposal.

“We feel that the solution is not particularly adequate for what we are expecting and what the community expects of that site,” she said.

This has led park district to find its own solution.

“At this point, we are prepared to move forward with a third-party consultant to look at what remedy is most appropriate for this situation,” Nazzal said. “So we are reliant on a firm chosen by us, by the park district, rather than a firm chosen by the Village, to have our side of the story told.”

She added that there is money available in the park district’s budget for a consultant, “so it’s within our purview to get that completed and get that going so we can get an answer on that.”

Part of the stormwater project has also included restoration of a “berm” adjacent to Crow Island School, 1112 Willow Road. Winnetka D36 School Board President Dan Waters told the Park Board that the district has also seen “a significant amount of glass” in the construction area.

“This is sharp glass,” Waters said. “And it is pervasive throughout the berm.”

Kutulas said the park district will look into the possibility of a cost-sharing agreement with D36 for the use of the consultant.

Park Board President Christina Codo was supportive of an agreement.

“It’s unfortunate that we have the same situation, but I’m optimistic that we can participate together on a solution,” she said.

Park Commissioner Warren James expressed frustration with the Village and said that when the IGA was being negotiated, “one of the major sticking points … was our knowledge of the fill material that had been placed decades earlier under Crow Island,” later adding the agreement was that, “if you uncover this debris, you need to be responsible for it.”

He said there should have been a stop work-order issued once the debris was discovered.

“There needs to be a thorough investigation and explanation for how and why this happened,” James said.

While Commissioner Colleen Root didn’t blame James for being upset, she also was hopeful that a positive solution could be achieved by working “collaboratively and in a productive, not hostile, fashion.”

“I walked it, I looked at it, and I thought, ‘No, you can’t put kids there. You can’t do it,’” she said. “But I’m sure that we can come to a peaceful and amicable resolution. I’m very confident of that.”

In response to criticism from D36 and the park district, Winnetka’s Village Manager Rob Bahan said in a statement:

“The Village values its relationship with its intergovernmental partners as we work together to implement stormwater improvements for our community. We continue to be fully committed to finding mutually-agreeable solutions for all parties in a timely manner.”

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