Water feature dropped from new Mount Prospect park - for now
Mount Prospect officials are dropping a proposed water feature from the village's new downtown park for now, but the Edwin and Elsie (Meyn) Busse Park will feature a pavilion for outdoor events and entertainment.
The village board on Tuesday awarded a $537,000 construction contract to Clauss Brothers Inc. to build the park, which has a total budget of $675,000. Construction is expected to began at the end of the month and be finished by the end of November.
The park is being built at 19 and 21 S. Emerson St., where two homes previously stood. The village purchased the homes in April 2018 from the Busse family and demolished them to make way for the park.
Community Development Director Bill Cooney said the park's lawn area will complement the village green across the street and the pavilion will be reminiscent of the onion sheds that stood downtown in the early 20th century.
The village staff did not recommend the water feature because of recent Illinois Department of Public Health regulations requiring two washrooms and two shower facilities at public parks with water features, he said.
"It's a newly adopted ordinance, and we have been told it's going to be much more strictly enforced," Cooney said. "The likelihood of getting (an exception) approved is questionable."
However, Cooney added, builders will include a "stub-in" to allow for a water feature on the site at a later date.
"I'm still hoping for the water feature, so I'm glad that we're prepping the site to possibly make that happen, but I'm also really happy that we're moving forward," Trustee Colleen Saccotelli said.