Politics & Government

Disc Golf, Nature-based Playground Among Remaining KLM Plans

The Hinsdale Administration and Community Affairs Committee will vote on an item Monday night that would retain the same design and management firm that oversaw the south shelter project.

A disc-golf course, cutting-edge playground and a renovated lacrosse field are likely to come at with $149,978 of Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant funds. On Monday night, the Parks and Recreation Department will ask the Administration and Community Affairs (ACA) Committee to approve the use of $24,900 to retain Design Perspectives to oversee the bidding and construction of the remaining improvements.

Design Perspectives helped the village complete its OSLAD application in 2010 before designing and managing the 2011 construction of the park's new south shelter, which was paid for with money from a Lyons Township grant, according to a TribLocal article published in May.

Director of Parks and Recreation Gina Hassett said Design Perspectives, which is based in Naperville, managed the shelter project professionally.

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If the ACA Committee gives its approval Monday night, the item will be voted on by the Board of Trustees at its Tuesday night meeting.

In a memo sent to ACA Committee members in advance of Monday's meeting, Hassett included a cost spreadsheet that indicating that under the direction of Design Perspectives, the completion of the seven projects, which also include renovations to the park's north shelter and a new multi-use trail, would be nearly $60,000 less than if all the projects were bid out to general contractors individually. 

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Hassett said the nine-hole disc golf course has been included in the department's long-term plan since the early 2000s, but has not come to fruition due to budget constraints.

The director said the layout and characteristics of KLM make it ideal for disc golf, which she said would attract residents of all ages. 

"It's such a great park for it," Hassett said. 

The Parks and Recreation Department estimates that, under the direction of Design Perspectives, the disc golf course would cost $8,527.50.

A "Nature Explorer Playground" is also part of the last OSLAD-funded plans and would cost $35,710. Hassett said such playgrounds are "new and upcoming," but also are rare in Illinois. The playgrounds include equipment that resembles natural objects, such as logs and plants.   

The biggest chunk of the remaining OSLAD money, more than $55,000 would go towards re-grading the park's lacrosse field. 

Hassett said the bidding of these projects are expected to be completed during the winter and the construction of some projects, including the disc golf course, would be completed in the spring. Others, like the re-grading of the lacrosse field, would not be completed until the summer or fall. 

According to the Village of Hinsdale website, OSLAD is "a state-financed grant program that provides funding assistance to local government agencies for acquisition and/or development of land for public parks and open space." 


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