Dundee Twp. Park District stops talks on gravel pit

Dundee Township Park District commissioners later this month will silence all discussions regarding a gravel pit on the site of Bonnie Dundee Golf Course in Carpentersville.

Tom Mammoser, executive director of the park district, Friday said that although an alternate use of the 105-acre course at routes 25 and 68 is a possibilty, commissioners at the Aug. 6 meeting vocalized their opposition to mining the site.

"The consensus of the board was that they would not be in favor of mining the property," Mammoser said in a statement. "The board will take formal action that will remove mining of the property from future consideration and will also not do any research regarding this issue."

Mammoser said the action will be included on the Wednesday, Aug. 20 agenda.

Previously, the board had given the go-ahead to conduct soil tests to find out what was the underneath the greens, said Commissioner Jim Bonkoski, vice president of the board.

"When we talked about doing the tests, it was never my intention to mine the property," Bonkoski said. "In my mind, it was never going to go any further than the tests we were going to do."

Talk of turning the 84-year-old golf course into a gravel pit first arose during the district's 2006 strategic planning session. Park District Commission President Frank Scarpelli first floated the idea and Mammoser said the district has not endorsed the plan.

"The current nature of the discussion is preliminary and any change in the use of the property is not imminent," Mammoser said. "The property may remain a golf course indefinitely and no changes will be implemented prior to the 2011 season."

Other potential uses of the 18-hole course, which the park district purchased in 1991, include creating a regional park, an amenity that is missing from the east side of the district. A concept for the course discussed in 2006 included several activity areas, walking and bike paths, as well as a driving range and nine-hole golf course, Mammoser has said.

Additionally, declining rounds at the club have forced the district to consider the course's future.

"As rounds have decreased and inflationary expenses increased, the Park District has had to consider subsidizing golf operations during the past several years," Mammoser said.