Homer Glen’s third village park, nestled close to wetlands and wildlife and featuring amenities such as a putting green, playground equipment and a doggie water fountain, was dedicated on Saturday.
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“The number of birds and wildlife … is just incredible,” said Trustee Marcia De Vivo at the dedication event for Erin Hills Park.
De Vivo, chair of Homer Glen’s Parks and Recreation Committee, cut the ribbon at the official dedication.
In addition to the ribbon-cutting, the dedication featured complimentary lemonade and ice cream for the estimated 40 attendees, an opportunity to check out the park’s amenities and Frisbees for children in attendance.
The park, which is about 1.5 acres, is located off the south end of Dublin Drive.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for it to happen,” said Eileen Crement of the Erin Hills subdivision.
Crement’s father, Ray Pecor, said that he has been a resident for 27 years of the Erin Hills subdivision and noted that it never had a park.
“It’s a wonderful addition to the neighborhood,” said Crement, who added the park provides an opportunity to “see who your neighbors are” and is a place to bring her 4-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Auggie.
The park’s amenities include playground equipment for different age groups, a picnic shelter, a 3-hole putting green, a doggie fountain, a trail extension to connect the park to a subdivision to its west, and two observation points, including a deck to view the detention wetlands and wildlife, which De Vivo said includes cranes, frogs and dragonflies.
The village plans to place an interpretive sign at each observation point describing what can be viewed and hopes to eventually have fishing in the detention wetland area, De Vivo said.
“It’s beautiful here,” De Vivo said.
Construction began in July 2013 and ended this month. It costs more than $300,000 and was paid in part with a grant, De Vivo said.
Now that Erin Hills Park has officially been dedicated, a Goodings Grove subdivision park is the next scheduled for completion, followed by a park on the Woodbine property, De Vivo said.