Resident asks Elgin council to act on Lords Park recommendations

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A gaggle of geese sit on the ponds edge Thursday at Lords Park in Elgin. June 23, 2011 | Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media

Updated: September 29, 2011 12:55AM

ELGIN — Last July through November, then-Councilman Mike Warren spearheaded a task force that looked at ways to improve Lords Park and presented its recommendations in December.

On Wednesday night, Terry Gabel, a resident from that east-side neighborhood, came before the city council to remind it that it had not addressed those recommendations.

In an email sent Tuesday, Gabel noted that “although fiscal issues are certainly responsible for the lack of movement on the more expensive recommendations, there are other areas which require only minimal city expenditures.”

Lords Parks and its 111 acres have been part of the city since 1898. The park caught the public’s eye in the spring of 2009, at the height of the recession, when the city decided to close its petting zoo and farm and was looking at options for its small herds. That led to the formation of the grass-roots Friends of Lords Park Zoo, which also plants community gardens in the park as part of its mission.

Gabel’s concerns include what to do about the four aging female elk, four deer and two bison in the park’s remaining small zoo. He also claimed there is strong community support to bring back the farm animals to the petting zoo that formerly operated at Lords Park in the summer.

Gable also noted the report made suggestions for dealing with algae blooms in the lagoons through use of federal grant money for which the city might qualify, improving park pathways and improving ground drainage near a basketball court area.

Gabel said the Friends of Lords Park Zoo organization has raised more than $17,000 to fix the pens holding the bison. According to Gabel — who was not a task force member but attended the sessions — with matching funds from the city of up to $25,000, a unnamed private donor would match the city’s contribution up to $20,000.

That source wants to know one way or another by August whether the city would take part in the matching funds process, Gabel said. With the total funding from those three sources, he contends there would be enough money to complete the upgrade for the bison enclosure.

Task force member and zoo advocate Laurie Faith-Gibson Aiello also addressed the council Wednesday, asking for direction on what steps it would like to take next from the work done last summer.

Serving on the task force along with Warren and Aiello were Parks and Recreation Director Randy Reopelle; Art Puotinen, pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church; Peggie Stromberg, executive director of the Elgin Public Museum; architect Bruce Dahlquist; electrician William Lauderdale; Elgin Academy basketball coach David Vogt; Elgin Community Network and parks and rec advisory board member Carl Missele; city marketing officer Cherie Murphy; and Councilman John Prigge. The group disbanded after presenting its report.

Topping its wish list for the park were capital improvements to park ponds and Willow Creek; funding the Elgin Public Museum in the park through the city’s general fund instead of revenue from the Grand Victoria Casino; and making the museum a hub for educational offerings in the park, with a focus on environmental efforts.

Mayor Dave Kaptain said Thursday morning he intends to meet with representatives who served on that committee to discuss funding of the fence for the bison.

“We need to make the matching funds a budget item and can’t do that until this fall,” Kaptain said.

Kaptain also would like to discuss priority items with those who were on the group. Since becoming mayor this spring, Kaptain said he has been working to reorganize city commissions and would like the Lords Park task force to become a subcommittee of the parks and recreation board.