Former Mayor Belsky on the Highland Park Country Club

The disposition of the Highland Park Country Club and or Sunset Valley Golf Club is a great opportunity for improving the quality of life in Highland Park

In my view Sunset Valley should remain a golf course. Closing the Country Club course will increase rounds at Sunset Valley and therefore assure its long term financial. The Country Club course should be re- deployed for three purposes including storm water management, outdoor recreation, and for senior and youth services.

Flooding during severe rain events remains a problem for Highland Park. Putting additional detention ponds on the property may, in part, ameliorate flooding. Our area is also underserved by the Forest Preserve District of Lake County which provides large tracts of land with walking trails to the north. The Country Club property would be ideally suited to becoming a place for walking trails and if practicable pavilions for picnics and additional ball fields. All of this would be synergistic with the current activities at the Recreation Center.

While the Senior Center on the lake and the Youth Center behind Karger function well they are somewhat isolated and would be more effective and efficient if they were relocated to the Country Club building. Locating these services at the Club will enable coordinating programming with the recreation center and the reconfigured open space as envisioned above.  

Because the club building generates revenue through private parties, it may require some creative interior design to maintain the ability to hold such events in a new senior/youth center. This sort of work could be potentially funded through the proceeds of selling of the existing Youth and or Senior Centers. I know this will be a tough pill to swallow as many people have historical ties to both buildings. However, it is what happens within the walls of these buildings that is most important and this will be enhanced by locating these programs under one roof.

Finally, if Sunset Valley does not have the capacity for additional rounds one option would be reduce the Country Club course down to a 9 hole course. There is no such product in our area and it would complement the driving range/golf learning center nearby. This would still leave ample acreage to do what I describe above.