Vernon Hills park changes aim to reduce flooding in Gregg's Landing

The Vernon Hills Park District is updating Beaver Creek Park, a nearly 1-acre property in the Gregg's Landing subdivision which has had problems with dying trees and flooding.

The park district already has cleared the park at 2087 Beaver Creek Drive of invasive plant species like buckthorn, honeysuckle, box elder and cottonwood trees. The next steps in the project, expected to cost about $20,000, are to plant new trees, add a wooden sign, install flower beds around the sides of the park and stabilize the creek banks.

The village of Vernon Hills also extended the storm sewer pipe behind some of the homes in the area.

Park District Commissioner Cindy Kessler lives next to the park. Previously, she said, the drainage pipe ended on the east side of her property, and water would overflow the creek banks and go into her yard. Flooding was a major concern.

"I think it's going to turn out very nice once it's all done," she said. "It'll be different, but it'll be very pretty."

Superintendent of Parks James Kim said there are no plans to add large structures like gazebos.

"A bench might be the biggest thing out there," he said.

The park is a designated flood plain, and the creek that runs through it flows into Lake Charles. Kim said the park district wants to prevent more sediment from getting into the creek and flowing downstream.

At a public meeting Thursday, park district officials reassured residents that they will be adding 15 to 20 trees to replace what they've removed - perhaps swamp oaks, a quick-growing species native to Illinois and readily available at nurseries.

"My biggest thing was I wanted to know how tall the trees would be, because the trees previously were really tall," resident Bernadette Buntin said.

Some residents criticized the park's appearance since trees were removed, saying they've lost a sense of privacy.

Park District Executive Director Jeff Fougerousse said renderings displayed at the meeting do not represent "the final footprint" of what will go into the park, but officials will work closely with the village on the plans.

Beaver Creek Park is not the only Vernon Hills park to experience issues with flooding. Of the 24 parks in the district, almost half are flood plains. The creek will always have water flowing through it, from Libertyville toward Lake Charles, Fougerousse said. But the district can add grasses, hedges and flowering plants to try to combat erosion.

Officials said they have to wait for the soil to dry out before they can finish the rest of the changes to the park. They estimate the work will take until the end of May or early June.

"You'll be pleasantly surprised once the village gets done with it," Fougerousse said.