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BOURBONNAIS — On its way to reimagining Bourbonnais’ Riverfront Park, a village family has provided the village more opportunity with a generous donation.
On Monday, trustees approved an ordinance accepting the donation of three wooded lots located next to the park’s western boundary.
The Kenneth and Marjorie Johnston family owns the three parcels — totaling 6.63 acres — which includes 600 feet of Kankakee River shoreline.
The donated land would be for park usage only, according to the ordinance.
Plans for the donation began about six to seven months ago, Mayor Paul Schore said.
According to the ordinance, the village agreed to reimburse the Johnston family for costs associated with the donation up to $10,000, plus attorney’s fees.
Schore said the village would not disturb the wooded acreage.
“There are no plans to expand into it other than add a natural trail for the public to enjoy the area,” Schore said after Monday’s board meeting where the ordinance passed 5-0.
Trustee Rick Fischer was not at the meeting.
Riverfront Park sits on 13.1 acres and includes 1,120 feet of shoreline. It is located in the 1200 block of Canterbury Lane.
The park offers benches, biking and walking trails, fitness equipment, access to fishing, frisbee golf, a grill, a historic pavilion, picnic tables, a seasonal restroom and a Little Free Library.
NEIGHBORHOOD PARK
Riverfront Park is one of 24 neighborhood parks the village maintains, which includes the newest park located in The Grove behind the village’s community center.
The land donation comes approximately a year after the village began plans for updating and renovating Riverfront Park.
It is another in a series of “Imagine Bourbonnais” initiatives welcoming the community to participate in the Master Plan for Riverfront Park.
“Imagine Bourbonnais” is part of the village’s marketing and branding of the village as it moves forward.
Larry Linman, a neighboring property owner to the Johnston acreage, helped bring the village and family together to start the process, Schore said.
“When we started the Riverfront project, this (the land) came about from the meeting [held last February] with the community,” Administrator Mike Van Mill said.
“We are thankful for Larry Linman, who I talked to at Jewel, and he said property might be available. With his help, we connected with the property owners and we are where we are today. For a family to want to do this is very generous.”
NEXT STEPS
The village was in the process of putting together information on the types of things residents wanted to keep and add to the park when discussions began with the Johnston family.
“We had to hold off on our planning sessions for Riverfront Park and what people want to see there,” Schore said. “We can start that up in the future with the added pieces of land.
Assistant Administrator Laurie Cyr said the village held one informational meeting and had one online survey completed on Riverfront’s plans.
The next step for the village is for the Planning Commission and Zoning Appeals to hold a public hearing before the land can be annexed.
If approved by the planning commission it would go to the board’s Economic and Community Development Committee. Approval by the committee advances the measure to the board of trustees, who will make the final decision whether or not to annex the land.
Cyr said it will take a couple of months to go through the process.
https://daily-journal.com/news/local/bourbonnais_news/bourbonnais-family-donates-riverfront-property-to-bourbonnais/article_adbb9b36-d9ae-11ef-9274-0f566a0d5bf1.html