Palmer’s last stand

KANKAKEE – Kankakee Valley Park District Commissioners Don Palmer and Ray Eads were ribbing each other before Monday’s board meeting.

The two are leaving the board, opting not to run for re-election in next Tuesday’s municipal general election.

Palmer was passing out a hardcopy to his fellow commissioners for a presentation he would give near the end of the meeting.

Eads joked he had written Palmer’s name on his ballot.

Without missing a beat, Palmer said he placed Eads name in as a write in.

In a final act, Palmer discussed his thoughts about what the district should be.

During his six-year term, Palmer has been a vocal proponent for the nature and senior citizens of the park district.

“I’m making one last shot at making you aware of what other communities are doing around us and what’s possible,” Palmer said as he began his presentation.

It started with a YouTube video produced by Kankakee County Soil and Water Conservation District of the work by Limestone Park District and volunteers to Hawkins Park.

They planted various trees, plants and flowers native to the area.

KVPD Executive Director Ross Brunni and Superintendent of Building and Grounds Rick Collins had each visited the park, which is still under construction.

From there, Palmer discussed two specific park areas where regular mowing may be curtailed, the south side of Cobb Park along the river as well as the stream that runs through Beckman Park near the Kankakee Country Club.

Both areas could be allowed to revert to native plants.

“Maybe a park area like that doesn’t need to be mowed as frequently as we mow it,” Palmer said.

“If we use the right ground cover, we could save both in labor and in soil quality in time. I just thought we could revisit this.

“Beckman Park near the Kankakee Country Club side where the stream runs through is not used other than mowing. Again, I am making another shot at this perspective.”

Commissioner Dave Skelly asked Palmer what he was wanting to do.

“Are you looking at plantings and making it restorative or letting the grass grow?” Skelly asked.

At this point Commissioner Jimmy Frey added he had talked to a company that solely deals in prairie walkways.

“They were talking about this as some of the best investments for park districts who want to utilize unused space,” Frey said.

“Not only does it cut down on the amount of time for upkeep and grass cutting, once you get these native plants, they benefit one another because they don’t need as much upkeep as much as watering goes.

“The plan is to add other native plants with those existing ones around a parkway. They said as far as space goes it is a small investment upfront and there is less you need to do on the back end,” Frey concluded.

Commissioner Mike Matthews is a proponent of more native growth.

Matthews explained what is causing the bank of stream at Beckman Park to fill in.

Turf grass is a short root; it doesn’t support soil.

Native plants have a longer root system and support the soil, Matthews said.

“The stream banks are filling in because of the turf grass. Over time, the creek is going to get shallower.”

Matthews said he is for adding more native plants to the district’s 37 parks.

He said the upkeep is important, too.

“Now I’m all for that but we need to have people on staff that know what native plants are and how to care for them,” Matthews said.

“If you don’t have the staff, a bunch of trees and weeds are going to come back in and eventually everything is going to look ugly. It’s an aesthetic thing we are trying to find a balance.

“It’s like let’s build a butterfly garden. If you don’t know what it takes, then how are you going to know how to take care of it,” Matthews said.

If you want a vegetable garden, you need to know what you can grow in the garden, he said.

“There needs to be some knowledge. There also needs to be funding to help and allow for proper upkeep.”

Matthews cautioned his fellow commissioners that the future of such restorative lands will need future boards and employees to have a similar view.

“We can do something now and five years later it is overrun. These can be costly projects,” Matthews said.