Although design plans for a memorial park honoring victims of drunken driving probably will undergo some changes, board members in Orland Park-based Consolidated High School District 230 on Monday voted to allow administrators at Andrew High School to work with a group of residents on the proposal.
Several family members and friends of the late Kristen Schipits approached district officials nearly two months ago requesting that land near the football field at Andrew, 9001 W. 171st St., Tinley Park, be donated for a park honoring her memory.
Schipits, 18, an Andrew graduate, was killed in November by an allegedly drunken driver.
At their meeting Monday at Andrew, the District 230 panel voted unanimously to let Andrew administrators cooperate with the group on making the half-acre park a reality, but it also will honor families whose loved ones died under similar circumstances, said board member David Dore.
The board will have final approval on the plan, he noted.
Officials announced their intention to approve the cooperative venture at their Sept. 25 meeting.
They since have learned that a utility easement runs through the property targeted for the park, which means its layout must be altered, said district spokesman Jim Sibley.
“I think there’s a desire on both parties to work together,” Sibley said.
The proposal caused a minor controversy when board member Rich Kelly contacted park backers after their initial presentation in August to offer his support. Kelly said at a subsequent board meeting that the action reflected his opinion and that he did not speak for the board as a whole.