DuPage Forest Preserve's water deal could pave the way for Blackwell garage
More than four years after deciding to build a fleet maintenance garage in Blackwell Forest Preserve near Warrenville, the DuPage County Forest Preserve District finally has a plan to get municipal water for the site so the once-controversial project can proceed.
Forest preserve officials on Tuesday said a proposed intergovernmental agreement has been drafted that would allow the district to get water service from Warrenville for the facility, to be built near McKee Marsh off Mack Road.
“I'm really happy that the city of Warrenville — Mayor (David) Brummel, the rest of the city council and their staff — has worked in concert with us to get this done,” forest preserve President Joseph Cantore said.
Forest preserve commissioners voted in December 2010 to build the garage after the plan drew strong opposition from neighbors. But construction never started, in part, because the district needs water service for the site to meet fire protection requirements.
If Warrenville approves the agreement in the coming weeks, the district will spend about $1.6 million to install a looped water main extension to carry water to the site.
The district also will comply with Warrenville's request for new trails.
As part of the deal, Warrenville wants the district's help in building the new trails, including a half-mile trail along the south side of Mack Road, from Route 59 to the McKee Marsh parking lot.
The second proposed trail is a half-mile “interpretive” trail that would be installed along the west bank of the DuPage River's west branch, between the Illinois Prairie Path on the north and the Warrenville Grove Forest Preserve parking lot on the south.
The third proposed trail would be a quarter-mile trail through Blackwell that would connect the Maple Hill and Fox Hollow subdivisions.
“It provides Warrenville with the bike paths they requested,” Commissioner Al Murphy said of the proposed deal. “It's a win-win for everybody.”
Acknowledging that the garage plan previously upset neighbors, Cantore said the next step will be to work with the community “to make sure that entire campus is what the community envisions.”
The original plan called for the fleet maintenance garage to be 29,000 square feet and have 16 vehicle bays. Additions to an existing 5,200-square-foot office and an existing 14,600-square-foot garage also were planned.
Cantore said there may be “some changes” and “some improvements” to the plan. “We want everybody to be excited about what's going on there,” he said.
Right now, some of the district's vehicle maintenance work is done at the Blackwell site. 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.