How Beatles connection helped land key parcel for Lake County forest preserve
A 99-acre wooded parcel off Gilmer Road in Fremont Township likely is among the last that will be acquired by the Lake County Forest Preserve District with funding approved by voters in 2008.
The pending $958,000 purchase will be paid for in part from a nearly depleted $185 million authorized by voters 11 years ago to buy and develop land. The district's proposed 2020 budget lists only $873,580 remaining for land acquisition.
"This is a great grand finale for what is pretty much the end of our bond (referendum) dollars," Executive Director Ty Kovach said.
And in this case, a little "help" from a famous Beatle may also have been a factor in sealing a deal that long has eluded the forest preserve.
Officials say they have an agreement to buy the Dearlove property, which sits about a mile north of Route 176, as an addition to the Ray Lake Forest Preserve. The district received a state grant of $362,000 for the purchase and will fund $596,000 from what's left of the referendum proceeds.
What is now the Ray Lake Forest Preserve began with a 7-acre acquisition in 1992. The preserve itself was created with the purchase in 2000 of the Ray Lake farm. Altogether, there have been 12 acquisitions and the preserve has grown to 1,039 acres.
This latest piece is considered important in the restoration of wetland and upland areas amid district properties that comprise thousands of acres. It has been on the district's radar for decades and on Kovach's to-do list since he was hired six years ago.
"This has been Ty's white whale for a long time," Commissioner Adam Didech said during a recent discussion of the purchase.
So how did it finally happen? It turns out the owner's love of music in general, and of the Beatles in particular, played a role.
Before he came to the Lake County Forest Preserve, Kovach worked at some exotic locales, including five years as chief operations officer for the Mustique Co. Ltd. on the 1,400-acre private island of Mustique, part of the island country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the West Indies.
Paul McCartney was among the famous guests, and as the guy in charge, Kovach worked with him at times.
"We understood (the land owner's) love of music and fondness for the Beatles, and Paul McCartney was a visitor to where I used to work in Mustique," Kovach said. "That was an icebreaker."
The purchase has been recommended for approval by the forest district's planning committee. It is expected to be approved by the full board Oct. 8.
There is about $7.1 million remaining from the 2008 referendum funds for development projects, according to Finance Director Steve Neaman.
All of those funds are included in the $14.8 million 2020 capital improvement program. If the projects are completed as planned, Neaman said, the remaining referendum money would be spent.
About $6.7 million in the 2020 capital improvement program is targeted for upgrades, building replacement and tree planting at the Lakewood Forest Preserve, the district's largest, near Wauconda.