Carpenter Park project in a 'holding pattern'

Renovation plans for Carpentersville's Carpenter Park were in full swing before the state froze funding for it and other park projects across Illinois.

By March 2015, a contractor had been hired, and the village's public works department had removed all equipment, restroom shelters and basketball courts in anticipation of construction. The village had purchased $45,000 worth of equipment for a new playground, and plans were in place to add a 9-hole disc golf course, a sand volleyball court and a multi-use trail that connects to the regional Fox River Trail.

But when the $400,000 matching Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development state grant awarded to Carpentersville was suspended in March, so too was the roughly $1 million Carpenter Park project.

Within two weeks, the public works staff presented the village board an alternate, more affordable plan for park improvements that could be completed without the state money.

"(Trustees) elected - and I don't blame them - to wait and see what the state funding was going to do," Public Works Director Bob Cole said. "We've been waiting ever since."

Months later, Cole still doesn't know when construction could begin on the project, which also includes new half-court basketball courts, a picnic shelter, a gazebo with bags game courts, new restrooms and improvements to the softball field.

At a December village board meeting, Cole said the first step of the project would be to grade and restore the softball field turf, which he would like to complete during the summer.

After the state grant is reinstated, however, it may take six to eight weeks before the agreement with contractor Fuerte Systems Inc. is mobilized, Cole said.

"I don't know when that day may be," he said.

If the state money isn't released by the March 2016 election, Cole said he likely will approach the village board again about the alternate village-funded plan, which would eliminate the disc golf course, some softball field improvements, bags game courts and a few other features.

The alternate plan, he said, would bring the total project cost down from $1 million to $619,795.

"We'll probably approach (trustees) again and see what their attitude is," Cole said. "But ultimately, it's the board's choice."

The village's flagship park has long been used for annual events such as the Odd Fellows of Century Lodge's Rock the Fox music festival, a village-sponsored Oktoberfest and a Chicago Cyclocross Cup race - all of which were canceled or moved this year due to project uncertainties.

"We didn't want to commit to them and then have our park under construction," Cole said.

Moving into 2016, Cole said, officials and event planners must once again avoid committing to large-scale events that require significant planning. Smaller, one-day events, such as community yard sales, may be acceptable, he added.

"We're in a holding pattern," Trustee Pat Schultz said.

Residents, too, are missing the playground and other amenities, Cole said. A volunteer group offered to install the already purchased playground equipment themselves, but Cole said he's more comfortable waiting for the contractor.

For now, he said, there's nothing to do but wait.

"I know (village officials) are very anxious to get something done," Cole said. "Carpenter Park is their flagship park. It's a beautiful park, and they want it to be used by our residents."