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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTIONS-1976-059-R-76• • 59-R-76 RESOLUTION Commending the Metropolitan Sanitary District for its policy of leasing its surplus lands to the City of Evanston at minimal charge WHEREAS, the City of Evanston -has set an example in creative use of surplus lands of the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Chicago (MSD); and WHEREAS, the entire North Shore Channel area is served by educational and recreational programs maintained by the City of Evanston on MSD surplus lands; and WHEREAS, a group of residents with vision and determination solicited and obtained considerable funds from the private sector to develop Ladd Arboretum and build the Ecology Center on 17.3 acres of MSD surplus land and, in the process, garnered the enthusiastic support and encouragement of literally thousands of school children, educators, youth, and adults; and • WHEREAS, the evaluation of plant materials and associated develop- ment incorporated in Ladd Arboretum during the past seventeen years since it was begun in 1959 are estimated to have a current evaluation of $350,000; and WHEREAS, the physical plant of the Ecology Center, completed in 1974, together with the equipment it contains, is a $150,000 investment by private citizens; and o WHEREAS, the City of Evanston has annually underwritten the increasing maintenance cost of these two facilities at an annual cost now amounting to $25,000; and WHEREAS, the,Ladd Arboretum is now a showplace of natural beauty as well as a laboratory for environmental education utilized by countless residents of northern Cook County; and WHEREAS, the Ladd Arboretum also has become a site of international renown being viewed by dignitaries from throughout the world because one of its components is the Rotary International Friendship Garden where dedicatory ceremonies are regularly held as foreign celebrities visit the nearby world headquarters of Rotary International; and 1 -2- 59-R-76 • WHEREAS, the Ecology Center, located within Ladd Arboretum on MSD surplus land, provides on -going programs for thousands of Cook County residents to foster appreciation of these resources; and' WHEREAS, the Ecology Center members and staff have cooperated with the MSD in informing northern Cook County residents of the benefits of the Deep Tunnel through presentations and displays.; and WHEREAS, the Evanston Community Golf Course was built on 75.5 acres of MSD surplus land in 1919 as a not -for -profit recreation facility by the City of Evanston and the Wilmette Park District as a convenient, inexpensive, "in -town" golf course where shorter holes invited the participation of the elderly and women and where, from the beginning, it was one of the rare golf courses that welcomed children learning the game; and WHEREAS, the Evanston Community Golf Course has fulfilled this role successfully for over fifty years and continues to keep fees at a minimum so • that more children and adults can enjoy this wholesome -sport near home; and WHEREAS, a governing body of unpaid civic leaders have continued to improve the Evanston Community Golf Course so that duplication now of the 18-hole facility would cost, conservatively, $252,000 (or $14,000 a hole), exclusive of the land value, and, from a current operating budget of $54,300, allocates $17,800 to the actual maintenance of the utilized MSD surplus lands, in addition, to programming the facility in a way that provides valuable leisure -time experiences for residents of all ages living in this urban area; and WHEREAS, 24.7 acres of MSD surplus lands opposite the Ladd Arboretum also have been developed as a parkland in a high density urban area in accordance with the 1966 master plan of landscape architects Novak and Carlson, Inc., with an estimated total cost of $394,538; and • WHEREAS, these canal lands now include three theme playgrounds for children, two ball diamonds, one mile of bicycle paths, many landscaped areas for passive enjoyment and picnic areas; and -3- 59-R-76 • WHEREAS, since September, 1970, the Recreation Department of the City of Evanston has operated Chandler Leisure Center, a facility located on MSD surplus lands and subleased from the U.S. Naval Reserve, as one of three major public community centers within the City limits and, here, in 1975 alone, served as clientele of one hundred thousand; and WHEREAS, all of these facilities -- the Ladd Arboretum, the Ecology Center, the Evanston Community Golf Course, the Canal Park Lands, and Chandler Leisure Center -- are improving the quality of life for many people only because the developmental costs have been primarily borne by private funds, because the City Council of Evanston has authorized the expenditure of public funds to maintain these lands and facilities and because MSD granted favorable leasing arrangements so that these worthwhile facilities were affordable; and WHEREAS, all of the MSD surplus lands in Evanston are zoned Residential-1 (for single families only) and would have no potential value as industrial or commercial land to the MSD except where the City of Evanston would agree to rezone this open space otherwise; BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that, the City Council of the City of Evanston, commend the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Chicago for its generous and enlightened policy of leasing its surplus lands to Evanston at minimal charge and urge that in any land management policies being formed, the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Chicago consider the outstanding contribution Evanston has made in the development and maintenance of MSD lands, as well as the thousands of children and adults who are currently served by the facilities now located on MSD surplus lands and request that MSD continue to lease these lands at token rental or sell them outright at minimal cost. ATTEST: /s / Maurice F. RrQWn City Clerk ,.Adopted i� �6 i� C ept!— _r 17 Is/Edgar V nn -m n, Jr_ Mayor , 1976