By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
If you’ve driven past York High School this past week, you’ve no doubt noticed that excavation has begun at the large open area between the school and St. Charles Road, which will be used for underground stormwater storage vaults per an intergovernmental agreement between District 205 and the City of Elmhurst. The vaults will be topped by an artificial turf field, which will make them available as athletic fields for physical education and other outdoor activities.
City officials made a commitment more than 10 years ago to address the City’s stormwater challenges in an effort to protect residents and home values in town. To do so, then-Mayor Steve Morley noted, “we really needed the help of our fellow taxing bodies.”
For land-locked Elmhurst, that meant negotiating with both District 205 and the Elmhurst Park District for use of their open lands for temporary stormwater detention. Deals were reached with the Park District for retention sites at Golden Meadows Park and on a large field at York Commons and with District 205 for a retention area at Madison Early Childhood Education Center.
The first plan was rejected by District 205, but after “thousands of hours and significant expense,” the Board and the administration were able to put aside their differences with the City in order to reach an agreement.
“I believe our community expects us to work together to find solutions that best meet the needs of the entire community, while wisely stewarding the resources entrusted to us,” Board president Kara Caforio said. “The signing of the IGA represents the beginning of a new chapter in Elmhurst.”
