The shuttered Kenilworth water plant’s future is still hazy, officials said this month, but it could become much clearer once village residents have their say about it with the help of a survey put together by Kenilworth’s plan commission.
The brick building at 1 Kenilworth Ave. sits atop Kenilworth’s one public beach and already provides bathroom facilities for beach users. Its future, and any possible adaptive reuse, may well be tied to the beach; Village President Ann Potter said Monday that its location makes it critical to find the best long-term use of the property.
A paper version of the resident survey is available at Village Hall, 419 Richmond Road, according to Community Development Director Susan Criezis.
The online version, available at http://www.villageofkenilworth.org/ went live Monday, and by midday nine or 10 households had responded – which plan commission head Cary Johnson said reflected a high percentage of the village’s approximately 850 households for such a short time.
The survey closes in three weeks, Criezis said, and the village will send a postcard to each household reminding residents to complete it. Once it closes, the plan commission will collate the data and send it to the village board, ideally by the board’s December meeting, with a recommendation on what the next step should be, Johnson said.
Any final decision will be deliberate rather than swift, he and Potter said this month.
“The community needs to know there’s nothing on paper right now,” Johnson said. His group’s remit at this point is solely data gathering, he said; even the survey was drafted to avoid leading questions that might suggest a commission point of view.
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The process started in January, when village trustees directed the commission to ask village residents and beach users what they want, Criezis said. Commission members met this summer with groups including Kenilworth Park District board and staff; Kenilworth Sailing Club members, representatives from both the Kenilworth Historical Society and Joseph Sears School; and plant neighbors.
The commission also surveyed beach users. A majority of respondents said the beach was important to them, including helping them decide whether to live here, Criezis said.
The next step was the village-wide survey, which asked questions about both the beach and the building, she and Johnson said.
Why the slow pace?
Johnson noted the site’s history – Kenilworth’s water facilities have been in place since 1890, and the current building opened in 1928 and operated for 87 years before the village switched to buying water from Wilmette in January.
“A situation, an opportunity like this only happens every 100 or so years,” he said. “We want to do it right.”
Once the village board reviews the commission’s findings – Potter joked, “we let the plan commission do the heavy lifting” – it will be up to trustees to decide the next step.
Potter said the easiest part of that process would be discarding unpopular ideas, adding, “If there’s something the community doesn’t want, we can eliminate that.”
Secondary questions will also arise, Johnson said: “if you keep (the building), how do you that, how do you maintain that? It’s a huge undertaking.”
“I think what’s important is that whatever is decided, that this community embraces it,” he said.
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy