After two years, 10 public meetings and $45,000 spent on a consultant’s study, the Wilmette Park District says it will not submit a bid to lease and manage the scenic harbor that sits between the Baha’i temple and Lake Michigan.
The idea had angered some boat owners and residents, who feared the threatened takeover of Wilmette Harbor would result in increased fees for mooring slips and leave taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in repairs and improvements. Park District officials never revealed their ambitions but had said they could possibly expand their portfolio of lakefront recreation opportunities.
More than 150 people attended a meeting on the harbor in the North Shore suburb late Thursday, and those who spoke were predominantly against a Park District takeover.
Later Thursday, after emerging from a closed-door session, park board President James Brault announced that the district had decided not to submit a bid “at this time.”
He cited reasons including the minimum $67,000 per year lease cost required by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, which owns the harbor; a Park District consultant’s report that showed more than $11.7 million in necessary upgrades over the next 15 years; and the outpouring of opposition from boat owners and Wilmette residents.
The private Wilmette Harbor Association has held a lease for the property with the Water Reclamation District for 74 years. The agreement expires at the end of November.
For two years, the Park District has studied the possibility of taking over operation of the harbor. Earlier this year, the park board hired consultant SmithGroupJJR for $45,000 to analyze the harbor’s condition and structural needs.
The report, received last month, showed millions in necessary improvements. But residents were frustrated that park commissioners never detailed their ambitions for the location, other than possibly increasing fees and expanding the harbor beyond its 290 mooring slips.
The park district had expected to rely on a provision in state law that allows a government entity to bypass public bidding when negotiating a lease with another taxing body. That changed Sept. 6 when the water reclamation board voted to seek public bids for the lease, which specifies a 39-year contract with a minimum $67,000 annual payment, in addition to performing regular dredging and maintenance.
Harbor Association officials confirmed that they are preparing to submit a bid to continue operating the harbor.
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