Wilmette Park District commissioners have approved a $45,000 study on the severity of problems and the cost of improvements at the Wilmette Harbor — a move the district says is crucial to determining whether to take over the property.
The study is set to take place this month, before boats return to the harbor April 28. The Madison, Wis.-based firm JJR, which had been working with the Park District on its lakefront master plan, submitted the only bid to perform the study.
The nonprofit Wilmette Harbor Association has managed Wilmette’s harbor, and its 290 boat moorings, for 74 years. Its lease with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which owns the site, expires at the end of the year. A state law allows a public body, like the Wilmette Park District, to privately negotiate a lease, otherwise it would be publicly bid — potentially pitting the Harbor Association against outside interests.
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The Park District has examined the issue for more than a year but is determining the cost to perform a major anticipated seawall reconstruction project, which a Harbor Association consultant estimated at $7.5 million to $10 million.
Park District Commissioner Darrell Graham said at a meeting this week that there has not been “a comprehensive study” of the site and noted that JJR’s study would focus both above and below the water level, but it would not include the north and south bulkheads and jetty streams.
“It will prioritize the projects that need to be done and it is going to give estimates of what the cost of those projects will be,” Graham said. The Financial Planning Committee “felt that it was necessary to get this information to the full board to debate and discuss it in order to decide what future steps, if any, we would take with respect to the harbor.”
Park District Board President James Brault also said the study is worth the expense.
“This is a very necessary step and expenditure in order for us to continue our due diligence as to whether or not we should be involved or can be involved with the harbor,” Brault said. “I think this will set a baseline for our future discussions.”