Forest preserve weighing Oak Meadows options

Oak Meadows Golf Course in Addison won't have a new clubhouse until 2011 at the earliest.

The 86-year-old structure owned by the DuPage County Forest Preserve was gutted by a lightning-sparked fire in February. Forest preserve commissioners are debating whether to rebuild with what's left of the structure or start fresh.

"The existing building had a lot of character and charm with the dark wood," forest preserve board President Dewey Pierotti said Tuesday. "It was like walking into a castle."

Currently, the forest preserve is haggling with its insurance carrier over the cost of replacing the building and its contents as well as recouping wedding reception and event revenue from the clubhouse's closure. Pierotti said commissioners have decided to hire a company to negotiate a settlement with the insurance carrier. At the time of the blaze, fire officials estimated damages to be around $3 million.

The forest preserve's director of golf operations, Dean Westrom, said rebuilding the clubhouse or tearing it down and starting over will take about the same amount of time.

"No matter what, we'll have to bring it up to code," he said.

When the forest preserve purchased the golf course in 1985, the buildings were grandfathered so they didn't have to meet expensive safety and fire code requirements. The damage to the clubhouse was so extensive that any rebuilding would require installation of modern fire and safety equipment, which includes ceiling sprinklers that might have reduced the fire's destruction.

In March 2008, Westrom presented the board with a report indicating it would cost $6.5 million to build a new clubhouse at the golf course. The report was requested to determine if it would be more cost-effective to build a new clubhouse than make proposed upgrades, Pierotti said. The board chose to make upgrades to the existing structure. Pierotti said those included new carpet throughout and other aesthetic improvements.

Addison Deputy Fire Chief Don Markowski said investigators determined the fire was caused by lightning based on weather reports and the point of origin. Because of the high-dollar loss, Addison fire officials automatically called in the DuPage Fire Investigations Task Force to assist with the investigation.

"They bring resources that make the investigation cost-efficient," he said.

Markowski said initial reports that smoke and fire detection equipment failed were inaccurate. Because the fire started in an older roof layer, smoke detectors below didn't sound until the fire had spread significantly. But once the building was fully involved the alarms were working, Markowski said.

Forest preserve police discovered the fire when the building's burglar alarm was activated by the bolt of lightning that shook the clubhouse. When officers arrived, they didn't see flames or smoke. But as they were clearing out, they caught a whiff of smoke and called the fire department. By then the fire had been burning inside the roof for close to 30 minutes.