The Elmhurst Park District Board last week delayed voting on whether to allow a merchants group to build and donate a waterfall to the district in Wild Meadows Trace Park. Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the issue again July 9.
The Spring Road Business Association hopes to break ground next spring on the waterfall, which would sit next to the gazebo where the park and the Prairie Path intersect Spring Road. The 5-foot-high waterfall would be surrounded by benches and landscaping and would occupy about 600 square feet.
“I know some people are not sure about it because they fear it will overcrowd the area, but I think it will enhance the area,” said business association President Mary Anne Loftsgaarden. “It’s designed to look very natural.”
More Top Picks Honeywell True Hepa Allergen Remover
The business association is proposing to pay the $50,000 cost of the attraction, then donate it to the Park District, which would then pay to operate and maintain it. Steve Plumb, park services director, recommended that the district approve the arrangement, saying that the waterfall would cost less to maintain than the Bicentennial Fountain in Wild Meadows Trace Park at York Road, which costs the district about $4,200 per year.