DuPage forest preserve garage project gets a boost

A long-stalled project to build a fleet maintenance garage at Blackwell Forest Preserve has overcome a significant hurdle.

DuPage County Forest Preserve officials on Tuesday revealed plans to get water for the site - long a major sticking point - from Warrenville.

Before the facility is built, however, forest preserve commissioners are expected to reconsider several aspects of the project that previously upset neighbors.

"The next step is to figure out a facility that works with the neighborhood," forest preserve President Joseph Cantore said. "What the forest preserve wants is to be a good neighbor. We want people to be excited about whatever takes place there."

That most likely means the facility will be different from how it was envisioned back in 2010, when commissioners decided to build it near McKee Marsh off Mack Road.

The original plan, which called for the structure to be 29,000 square feet and have 16 vehicle bays, drew strong opposition from neighbors.

"There was a lot of controversy," Cantore said. "Would you want to live next to big behemoth of a building? Would you want to live next to something that isn't pretty? No, nobody does."

Until recently, the only issue that appeared to prevent the structure from being built is that the site needs water service to meet fire protection requirements.

As part of a proposed intergovernmental agreement that commissioners reviewed on Tuesday, the district is going to get that water from Warrenville.

The city and district still need to approve the agreement. If that happens, the district will spend about $1.6 million to install a looped water main extension to carry water to the site.

The district could have pursued a deal with West Chicago for water, but officials said "total life cycle costs" are expected to be less with Warrenville.

"The Warrenville proposal," Commissioner Al Murphy said, "is a win-win for the forest preserve and the taxpayers."

Right now, part of the district's vehicle maintenance work is done at an existing Blackwell facility. The rest is done at Churchill Woods Forest Preserve near Glen Ellyn.

District officials have said the Blackwell site was chosen, in part, because the site is centrally located.

Still, a former commissioner who was among the neighbors opposing the maintenance garage said she was hoping the district would pick another spot.

"The community still does not believe that's an appropriate place for the building," Shannon Burns said. "Personally, I still would like to see the criteria for the building, because how do you know what you're looking for unless you know what it is you need to meet?"

If the site isn't going to change, Burns said neighbors would like to see the size of the structure reduced.

"My hope is that they can revisit some things like having a paint bay," Burns said. "Maybe they could take some of the stuff that is not routine and make the building smaller and, therefore, more aesthetically pleasing and less of a footprint on the environment."

Whatever design for the building the district pursues, Cantore said he wants everyone, especially the neighbors, to be excited.

"This is a new era in the forest preserve," Cantore said, "and I want it to be more of an era of cooperation."