Glen Ellyn shifts park funding to shore up wetlands

Money set aside for a renovation of Churchill Park in Glen Ellyn will instead go toward a project that will restore two small natural wetlands in Ackerman Park and complete work at Ackerman's new playground.

The money became available after an attempt to secure a state grant to restore wetlands in Churchill and build a boardwalk around frequently flooded pathways fell short.

Glen Ellyn Park District officials approved the reallocation of $43,000 at their meeting on Tuesday.

Most of the money, $40,000, will be used to restore 50-foot buffers required by DuPage County that were encroached upon several years ago.

The buffer at the northwest edge of the park was affected more than 10 years ago when the park district stored wood chips too close to the wetlands.

Meanwhile, about five years ago, the village of Glen Ellyn encroached on the northeast side during snow cleanup. The village will reimburse the park district $6,000 for that work, said Superintendent of Parks Dave Scarmardo.

"Anytime you impact a buffer, there's measures that you have to do," he said. "You have to restore the property to its original condition."

The money comes from a $75,000 fund that had been budgeted for the Churchill project but that was no longer needed when the district was rejected in its attempt at a $300,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant for the work.

The $75,000 was for engineering and design work on the project. Scarmardo said the district will try for the grant again in July. He said he expects all wetland work at Ackerman to be done within two to three weeks.

The remainder of the money, $3,000, will help the district complete work on a new playground at the park and brings the total cost to $93,000 for the playground, Scarmardo said.