Update: Park Board Postpones Rosewood Vote

Update 7/24/2012: Park Board President Scott Meyers emailed Patch to clarify that the board's trip to Rosewood Beach this Thursday will not be the first time each member has seen the beach staked out -- just the first time they'll see it together.

"The Park Board Commissioners have each previously visited the site individually," Meyers writes. "This will not be the first time that the individual Commissioners will have seen the site, but it will be the first time we will be able to do it as a group and with the participation of the architect."

Meyers also explained that he purposely scheduled this visit after the Board had received the Pro Forma and related financial information for the project so they could evaluate both the economic elements of the proposal as well as the physical during Thursday's visit. 

Earlier: The Park District Board of Commissioners has postponed its vote on the Rosewood Beach redesign from its July 26 meeting to sometime in August.

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Rather than vote on the plan next Thursday, the park board will instead take a field trip to Rosewood, . The commissioners will be joined by park district staff and the plan's architect.

"What we decided to do was go down and review the site in person with the architect and have the opportunity to see this for ourselves," Park Board President Scott Meyers told Patch on Friday. "It's part of the continuing due diligence."

The after working on it for over a year. The plan involves a guard house, restrooms, concessions and . The total estimated cost for the project is $4,661,372.

Though there won't be a vote on July 26, the board will likely discuss the project after returning from Rosewood to West Ridge Center for its meeting.

Park Board Commissioner Cal Bernstein thinks it's a good idea to visit the site. He's gone to the site on his own but is looking forward to seeing it with the other commissioners and the plan's architect.

"It's a methodical process we've been going through," Bernstein said. "I'm still solidifying my opinion on what should or should not be done."

Park Board commissioner Elaine Waxman agreed that the site visit would be helpful. She took a similar visit with the task force shortly before

"It makes a difference when you see where everything is," Waxman said. "When you see the layout it helps you make a more informed decision."

One Park Board commissioner, however, is less enthusiastic about the vote delay.

"I'd like to vote and get this done with already," Park Board Commissioner Brian Kaplan told Patch on Friday. 

Though Meyers was reluctant to give a definitive date when the vote would be held, he said it would likely happen in August. 

"I hope our decision to continue the analysis is not interpreted by either one side or another as leaning in any particular direction," Meyers said. "We just want to make sure we're making the right decision."

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