Naperville intends to add more recreational areas
Naperville residents have about a month left to give their input on the park district's Open Space and Recreation Master Plan.
The park district held a feedback session before Thursday night's park board meeting, though few attended.
The draft master plan, which the board voted to release in November, analyzes the park district's current facilities and lays out potential short- and long-term plans to address its needs.
The park district currently has 17.7 acres of parks per 1,000 residents, exceeding the National Recreation and Park Association standards of 10 acres per 1,000 people. But because of projected population increases, by 2017 it will be short about 74 acres if it wants to maintain its current standard, according to planner Mary Gardocki.
After taking an inventory of park-district amenities, Brad Wilson, director of recreation, said trails, playgrounds and indoor recreation spaces are among the district's current shortages.
Indoor recreation space has been a hot-button issue over the years for the district. The board put plans for a $35 million indoor recreation center on hold a year ago after criticism from residents about its cost and what amenities would and would not be included.
The draft master plan also includes recommended major capital projects and their projected costs, such as:
• Nike Sports Complex development, $6 million to $8 million
• Seager Park improvements, $800,000
• Frontier Park improvements, $1.5 million
• Commissioners Park improvements, $3.2 million
• Southwest Community Park development, $5.3 million
• Knoch Park improvements, $3.5 million
• Knoch Park Barn renovation or new maintenance facility, $7 million
• Centennial Park bath house improvements, $5.1 million
• Knoch Knolls proposed nature center, $2.75 million
Land acquisition, especially in a long-debated open area between the ponds in the Hobson West neighborhood, was on the minds of some of the residents who have already given feedback to the park district, according to Eric Shutes, director of planning.
"We're always looking for land that's going to be compatible with what we have (and) that's convenient," Shutes said.
Mary Lou Wehrli, a former park commissioner, was one of the few residents to attend the feedback session. She said the park district also needs to make sure it is protecting the open space it already has, such as at Centennial Beach where some of the space is shrinking.
"They're taking what I have found to be beautiful green space where you could lay on the grass and picnic and have tables and they put maintenance stuff there," she said.
Nonetheless, she also commended the park district staff on the professional job they have done with the plan.
As it moves through the process of finalizing the plan, the district will also be looking to its new executive director for guidance. Daniel Betts, formerly Denver's deputy manager of recreation and facility services, takes the helm March 24.
The park district would like to wrap up the public input process by April 15 and could vote on a final plan this summer. The 75-page plan is available online at www.napervilleparks.org.
Residents can e-mail their comments to Gardocki at mgardocki@napervilleparks.org or mail them to her at 320 W. Jackson Ave.