Removal of trees will cost Glencoe $350,000 as part of pending deal with county

After a disagreement among officials with the Village of Glencoe and the Forest Preserves of Cook County related to a new clubhouse at the Glencoe Golf Club, the two entities appear to have come to an agreement on a way forward.

Glencoe Village Manager Phil Kiraly updated the Village Board on the progress of those negotiations at the board’s regular meeting on Thursday, Nov. 21, and shared a draft agreement in the board packet.

Portions of the Glencoe Golf Club are located on land owned by the Forest Preserves, including “the approximate 66 acres of the front nine and areas of the clubhouse campus and our driving range,” Kiraly said.

An agreement that has reportedly been in place for more than 100 years allows Glencoe to utilize county land for the golf club, with an amendment in 2017 that Kiraly said “addressed a series of issues that we were working through with the district and also included a buildable area — a boundary, if you will — for the hypothetical replacement of the clubhouse should that ever come into being.”

In April 2023, Glencoe voters approved a referendum to renovate the clubhouse. Kiraly noted that during the design phase of the project, “the buildable area was not sufficient to accommodate the building, the stormwater systems, planned geothermal systems as well as some modifications to the parking lot.”

But as previously reported by The Record, this past summer county officials did not appear interested in furthering any discussions regarding the future of the clubhouse.

On Thursday, Kiraly said he was “pleased to report that over the last (6 months) or so, we have made a lot of progress.”

As shown in the board packet, the draft updated agreement includes a number of agreements the Village believes will allow the clubhouse project to move forward.

According to Kiraly’s memo in the board packet, the Village will pay the Forest Preserves of Cook County at least $349,000 and then remove 32 trees on county property, which will reportedly be necessary for the clubhouse expansion. In a followup note, Kiraly said the Village plans to plant 36 new and native trees on the clubhouse campus.

Additionally, in the pending agreement with the county, the project must include sustainability components, such as construction to LEED silver standards, geothermal HVAC systems, recycled building materials and bird-friendly glass when practical, and at least 75 percent native plantings on new landscaping, plus a plan for removing invasive buckthorn.

Other details of the draft agreement include joint Village and Forest Preserve signage, an enhanced partnership between the two entities on programs that support equity and inclusion, and the Forest Preserve retaining ownership of all structures on the property.

“However, should a casualty event occur, the Village retains the discretion to rebuild clubhouse or not and retains the right to demolish the new clubhouse at its discretion, provided the FPCC is first offered the option to assume its management and maintenance,” according to the agreement.

The agreement will remain in place until June 15, 2049, with an extension allowed if both parties agree to it.

Kiraly said the agreement will be on both board’s agendas at their respective December meetings.

He added that, once approved, it’s expected that plans for the clubhouse will be finalized and it will go out to bid with construction anticipated to begin in the spring of 2025.

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