Permits were overlooked in 1999 when Gordon Park drainage system was installed, resident claims

UPDATED – Sept. 21, 6 pm: Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn, when asked to comment on Hirt's findings, today issued the following statement:

"The Park District has made application to us to renovate Gordon Park. We intend to address some housekeeping matters as it relates to easements and the like, through that review process. We appreciate that Mr. Hirt has brought some of these matters to our attention. We also look forward to a redeveloped Gordon Park!"

The Park District of La Grange failed to obtain necessary permits from the village and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) when it installed a new drainage field in Gordon Park in 1999, according to a La Grange resident.

Harlan Hirt, a retired civil engineer and member of the village's environmental quality control commission, said neither the village nor MWRD could produce copies of the required permits in response to request he filed under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

Hirt also claims that water drained from Gordon Park is going directly and illegally into the MWRD's Deep Tunnel reservoir via a connection near the water tower at the park's south end.

Hirt said his findings are based on research involving a map of the village sewer system, plans prepared for the park district in 1999 prior to installation of the drainage field and firsthand inspections in the park.

Now retired, Hirt, 70, was employed for 37 years as an engineer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Among the EPA projects he was worked on was an environmental impact statement for the Deep Tunnel.  

Hirt brought the matter to the attention of the park board at its regular meeting Sept. 16, at which time he provided them with a written summary of his findings.

At Monday night's special board meeting, park commissioners thanked Hirt for bringing the matter to their attention and said they would investigate.

Its unclear what impact Hirt's findings might have on the park district's plans for a major renovation of Gordon Park.

The park district is in the process of soliciting construction bids for the renovation. However, a first round of bids was rejected by the park board Monday night after it was determined that inadequate legal notice had been provided.

The two southernmost baseball fields at Gordon Park have been plagued by flooding in recent years and are a major reason cited by the park board for undertaking the renovation.

Hirt said that his study determined that flooding on the ballfields is the result of improper crowning and poor maintenance, noting that the outfields do not have that problem.

Hirt is a member of La Grange Friends of the Parks, a group of residents that is fighting the park district in court over plans to sell a portion of Gordon Park to a developer. But Hirt said his study and findings are unrelated to that effort.