$1.2 million face-lift proposed for McHenry’s Cold Springs Park

Since Cold Springs Park was donated to the city of McHenry in 1994 by the Park Ridge Estates subdivision builder, there has been little development on the 46-acre parcel.

A new proposal developed by the McHenry parks and recreation department, with the help of Hitchcock Design Group and resident input, would spend $1.2 million to enhance Cold Springs’ multiuse trail; add nature-based play and fitness areas, an outdoor classroom area with seating and parking; and connect the park’s trail to the McHenry County Conservation District‘s Prairie Path.

“A lot of the park we are not going to touch,” Bill Hobson, parks and recreation director, told the McHenry City Council Monday. But there are areas that would be rehabbed into a more natural state, including through the removal of buckthorn and other invasive species, he added.

Residents were vocal in their desire to keep the park passive with only minimal amenities, Hobson said.

The council voted 6-1 to approve the plan and to authorize the city to submit the proposal to the state for consideration for an Open Space Lands Acquisitions and Development grant. If successful, McHenry would be eligible for up to $600,000 in funding, the total match allowed by the grant program. The city’s half would be funded by its park development donation fund, Hobson said.

Alderwoman Chris Bassi, 4th Ward, was the lone dissenting vote, stating the proposal was “too much for too little improvements.”

The mowed grass trail that cuts through the park — which is two-thirds wetlands — would be expanded from .66 miles to .78 miles, according to the proposal. That trail would include both paved and crushed stone sections, use boardwalks to cross wet areas, and include a birding observation deck and another overlook site too.