The May 4, 2004 Special Meeting was called to order by Supervisor Anderson at 7:40 p.m. at the Community Center. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Clerk Johansen called the roll with Supervisor Anderson and Trustees Manser, Judy, and Kupar present. Trustee Gillen was absent.
Business – Presentation and Discussion for Action:
Review Presentations from Landscape Design Firms for Headwaters Conservation Area Project: Supervisor Anderson stated the only item on the agenda is landscaping design projects for the Headwaters project. He pulled numbers out of a bowl for the order of presentations.
First was Landscape Resources Inc. Bryan Baumgartner and Randy Brockway, landscape architects, and Melcy Pond, water resources engineer, presented. Randy Brockway stated Blackberry Creek drains to the south, and has tremendous views in that direction. There are gravely areas on the slopes. He participated in open space acquisition in Lake County. Opening open space for public access will gain support for referendums. They will be able to work in close cooperation with V-3. His experience is as a landscape architect. Melcy stated she has extensive experience with trails. She is experienced with agricultural sites. She is currently working on stabilizing the Fox River. She works on the hydrology of the site and has experience saving unique sites for public use. Randy stated he worked for the Morton Arboretum and on conservation. He would work on trail building and public access.
J. Kupar asked are you experienced on sites like this? Randy, yes, in Lake County. They have equestrian trails separate from multiuse trails. They have a good relationship with storm water management. It is important to get the permitting process on time and on budget. K. Judy asked have you worked with townships before? Melcy stated they have worked with counties, municipalities, and citizens groups. K. Judy asked, in the construction phase, do you monitor on a weekly basis? Melcy stated, on a daily basis, and report weekly. K. Judy asked do you have other projects? Melcy stated Elk Grove Village, Dundee, and others. Bryan stated they have about ten crews, but Randy has few projects at the moment. They have about sixty people employed. N. Anderson asked if you master planned a whole forest preserve. Answer was yes.
Next was WRD Environmental. Geoff Deigan stated we are new to this. Jack Shouba introduced us. We have made a comprehensive proposal. We are an ecological design and build firm. Our main focus is urban areas. We have done wetland restorations. Warrenville was the furtherest west. We have been in business since 1997 and have about 25 seasonal employees based on the workload. We worked on Mayor Daily’s green initiative where we ripped up parking lots to reduce urban heat. We take underemployed and unemployed urban youth to train.
K. Judy stated we are not overly committed on the front end, but heavily on the back end. R. Manser stated your focus seems to be different. Reply was we see budget constraints and good ideas that drop off the table. We did a feasibility study of a native prairie restoration of a railroad right of way. Political elements became involved, and the wrong people were selected, and the project had a poor outcome. We went back and did it a second time and it come out great. Landscape is not the only element but it has to go in the ground the right way. J. Kupar asked do you pull specifications off the shelf and that’s what you mean. Answer was yes, for the bid package. This is a collection of data that already exists. K. Judy asked have you worked with V-3 before? Answer was no, but we have worked with that kind of company before. N. Anderson asked what kind of permits do we need? Answer was he doesn’t know the history of the project or what has already been done. He was only introduced to it in the last few days. K. Judy asked would you handle permits? Answer was he doesn’t know if we have a permit line item. N. Anderson stated we are exempt from cost. Obtaining permits would be included per Geoff.
Third was Conservation Design Forum. Jay Womack, landscape architect, stated they are located in Elmhurst. They are a 25 person firm of landscape architects, hydrologists, ecologists, and botanists on staff. Their vision is to create a park that will protect the headwaters. Water is the key to the site – that’s key to restoring native plants, soil temperatures, etc. They have been working on restoring the Blackberry watershed for the last eight years. Employee Ken Johnson lives in Campton Township. He has a horse farm there. There is a need to balance equestrian needs with others. The native prairie that was here for thousands of years had roots that went 20 to 25 feet into the ground. To restore this think of wetlands created by groundwater recharge, not by overland flow. Also create places for structured and non-structured play activities. They are working with V-3 and with the Kane County Cougars. They have worked with Dick Young.
K. Judy asked who have you worked with the last eight years? Tom Price worked with N.I.P.S.I., and the Conservation Foundation. They got millions of dollars in grants from OSLAD and others. J. Kupar asked what is your relationship with V-3? Answer was hand in hand, no boundaries. What is your over-site philosophy? Answer was it depends on the contract documents. We go through the bid process and let landscape contracts. We would be on site two or three times a week. There may be weeks when no-one is there. We will have to nurture the project for a year. We may have an equestrian trail around the wetland, but you can’t have horses going through the wetland.
Fourth was Hitchcock Design Group consisting of Hitchcock Design and Hay and Associates. Steve Conners, landscape architect with Hitchcock Design, and Tim Pollowy restoration ecologist with Hay and Associates spoke. Hay and Associates is a 30 person firm with 24 landscape architects. Steve stated we have a fixed budget because of OSLAD funding. We think of play equipment, a sled hill, and a wetland with a buffer zone, or Army Corp will step in. Tim stated this requires a storm water permit from Kane County and other permits they will obtain. They will include interpretive signage that targets kids and adults. This needs to be family friendly. They did Settlers Park in Plainfield. There is a construction document phase, and then a bidding phase where they market for us with contractors. They become an extension of our staff and get the bid that meets our budget. There will be one person to call and weekly meetings when construction is heavy. The better contractor is the one that requires the less involvement by us. They worked a 14 acre site in Northbrook with an OSLAD grant, where they had to retain storm water on site. The environmental side of Hay and Associates office is in Geneva.
R. Manser stated the cost estimates are not here. Township Administrator Glas stated that was in the previous months packet. K. Judy asked is there a base price and add-ons later? Answer was yes, we need to get into the project to know what we need. Per Kathy, we need to compare apples to apples, and that’s hard to do here. J. Kupar asked have you done a project this size before? Answer was yes, Hay is working on a 100+ acre wetland project in Aurora. We have done a lot of parks. K. Judy asked have you worked with V-3? Answer was yes. Kathy asked what are the heavy maintenance items? Answer was from a restoration aspect, you can’t have a contractor drop out after a year. You need him in for second and third year maintenance. There could be a need for a maintenance bond.
Fifth was Wehler Peterson Associates in Batavia, a 70 year old firm. John Wessel spoke regarding land planning and park planning. His firm was involved in Cantignay Gardens and Ravenna. They don’t do a lot of marketing but word of mouth. The St. Charles Park District recommended them. They have been involved in over a dozen park designs in St. Charles. They have been involved in planning Campton Hills Park, and have done grant submittals for Kane County.
K. Judy asked did you work on the Nelson Lake Plan with Dick Young? Answer was yes, this was habitat and ecological restoration. There were some boardwalk, bike, pedestrian, and horse trails. This will take four to five years. J. Kupar stated Nelson Lake is similar to what we want to do here. What was your input? Answer was brainstorming, planning, grant proposals, not construction. We have six people on staff, three project managers, two landscape architects, and rely on outside consultants. We have worked with V-3.
Supervisor Anderson thanked the landscape design firms for their presentations. He stated the Board would review their presentations, and be in contact with them.
Executive Session – Land Acquisition: Supervisor Anderson stated there was no Executive Session Business.
Adjournment: J. Kupar Moved the Special Meeting adjourn. R. Manser seconded the motion. On a voice vote Supervisor Anderson and Trustees Manser, Judy, and Kupar voted aye. Trustee Gillen was absent. The motion passed and the meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Richard Johansen
Clerk