Partnerships

There is no limit to what can be accomplished if you don't care who gets the credit.

Redmond Retention Pond was constructed back in the mid-1970s to ease flooding in Bensenville and downstream communities. After 20 years, and with the help of the state of Illinois and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, the Bensenville Park District and the Village of Bensenville have realized the dream of a long-range plan to develop that retention pond into a viable recreational facility.

Through the efforts of Senate president James "Pate" Philip and the Village of Bensenville president John C. Geils, funds were obtained through the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to grade the reservoir, reconstruct the spillways and install pedestrian bridges over the spillways. IDOT performed additional grading work, utilizing fill from the site to add the third lane on the Tri-State Tollway. After IDOT completed its work, the property was ready for development into a recreational site.

To augment the original 57 acres, the village and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County purchased an additional 23 acres to bring the total site to 80 acres. The acreage was then leased to the Bensenville Park District to maintain and operate.

In the spirit of cooperation at its best, the Bensenville Park District and the Village of Bensenville contracted with Christopher B. Burke Engineering (Rosemont, Ill.) and Alien L. Kracower & Associates, Architects (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) to develop the plan and let bids for the park construction. The picnic shelter and washrooms were designed by MRF Ltd. (Western Springs, Ill.) and the landscape architect was Susan Conant (St. Charles, Ill.). Amenities of the 80-acre park site include:

• Two lighted softball/baseball fields, one of which has a grass infield and a 1,100-seat stadium complete with concession stand and washrooms
• One-mile asphalt walking/jogging path
• In-line skating rink
• Two basketball courts
• Two sand volleyball courts
• Soccer fields
• Stone picnic shelter and picnic area
• Two playgrounds with adjacent washroom facilities
• 12-acre lake
• Boat launch ramp
• Parking for 240 cars
• Maintenance storage building
• Nature preserve island (wetlands)

The total cost of the development including some land acquisition was $8,057,331, with $6,146,388 coming from outside sources including a $200,000 OSLAD grant. The park district and the village share of the development was $1,910,943.

Bensenville has always had a unique situation in benefiting from the excellent cooperation among the five taxing districts (park, village, library, grade school, high school), but the development of Redmond Park has to be at the top of the list. Fenton High School

Top left Bensenville's new John C. Gals Field seals 1,100.
Bottom left Basketball courts and hiking/walking trails are featured alongside retention waters in Redmond Park.

Right: Youths love to skate in the park's popular in-line skate park. Photographs by Robert Kunkel.

girls' softball team plays their home games on the stadium field; the Fenton cross-country team plans to utilize the park for their home meets and tournaments, and the elementary school district plans to bus students from Blackhawk Middle School to Redmond Park in order to take advantage of the park for some of their physical education classes.

The local Little League and Pony League teams also use both fields for some of their regular season and tournament games. The Chicagoland area Men's Super 16-inch Softball League play regular season games and tournaments at the Stadium Field.

Redmond Park was named after former Speaker of the House and longtime resident of Bensenville William A. Redmond. The official opening and dedication took place on Saturday, August 16, 1997, when Mary Redmond of New York, daughter of William, was honored on behalf of her father.

The stadium has been named the John C. Geils Field in recognition of the Bensenville village president for his vision and dedication in the development of Redmond Park.

ROBERT KUNKEL
retired in January of 1998 after sewing more than 19 years as director of the Bensenville Park District.

Why the Partnership Worked

• The development of Redmond Park was a strong cooperative effort between the village and the park district.

• We only had one engineer, who coordinated the whole project. Several different architects were hired for the picnic area and playgrounds, one for the stadium, sand volleyball and basketball courts. With just one engineer, however, everything was coordinated.

• One of the real pluses of Bensenville is that we have tremendous cooperation among all taxing districts: the elementary school, high school, library and village. We work very closely together. We have lunch once a month. There's always a strong commitment to community.

- Robert Kunkel

Retention Pond Transforms Into Recreational Area

In Bensenville, no one takes sole credit for creating a thriving recreational area in the community