[0:00] Good evening and welcome to the Tuesday,
September 8th, 2026 session. Lake Forest
[0:05] City Council, will the clerk please call
the roll?
[0:08] » Certainly.
Honorable Mayor Tack.
[0:10] » Here.
>> Alderman Novotny is absent. Alderman
[0:13] Clowes.
>> Here.
[0:14] » Alderman Powers.
>> Here.
[0:15] » Alderman Prescott.
>> Here.
[0:17] » Alderman Waldeck.
>> Here.
[0:18] » Alderman Bassill.
>> Here.
[0:19] » Alderman Walder.
>> Here.
[0:21] » Alderman Culbertson.
>> Present.
[0:23] » Mr. Mayor, you have a quorum.
>> Excellent. Please rise and join me for
[0:26] the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge allegiance
[0:30] » to the flag
>> of the United States of America
[0:33] » and to the republic for which it stands,
>> one nation
[0:37] » under God,
>> indivisible,
[0:39] » with liberty and justice for all.
[0:44] » Okay.
All right, the first item on the agenda
[0:48] tonight is comments by mayor and um
I'd like to discuss a situation that's
[0:56] come up regarding one of our police
officers. Last week uh Lake Forest
[1:00] police officer
Philip Sarnacki was involved in a tragic
[1:04] accident while visiting
family in Nicaragua. He suffered a
[1:08] severe head injury and remains in a
coma. Thanks to incredible generosity
[1:14] of the greater Lake Forest community,
Officer Sarnacki's family was able to
[1:18] secure an air ambulance and bring him
home.
[1:21] He's expected to arrive in Chicago this
evening. Uh he will be transferred to
[1:26] Northwestern Memorial Hospital where
he'll continue to receive specialized
[1:30] medical care. Uh we want the community
to know
[1:34] that uh we share how deeply grateful
uh Officer Sarnacki's family is for the
[1:40] tremendous outpouring of support from
Lake Forest residents, businesses, and
[1:45] community organizations, and we will
continue to keep Philip and his family
[1:49] in our thoughts and prayers.
[1:53] Um that's my only comment for for
evening. Uh comments by city manager is
[1:57] next.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor and members of the
[2:00] city council. Good evening. I have one
item under my report and what has
[2:04] become, I think, a September tradition
of inviting Lake Forest Open Lands
[2:09] Association under our community
spotlight. It's been a very busy year
[2:13] for Open Lands and here to share
some stories about what's been happening
[2:19] and what's coming in the future is
president and CEO of Lake Forest Open
[2:22] Lands, Ryan London. Ryan, turn over to
you.
[2:30] » Good evening, honorable mayor and the
members of city council. On behalf of
[2:34] our board of governors, our talented
staff and our dedicated volunteers, I am
[2:38] deeply grateful for the opportunity to
provide our community
[2:42] with an update on Lake Forest Open
Lands.
[2:44] For nearly 60 years, it's been our
privilege to steward our community's
[2:49] ecologically healthy landscapes in
perpetuity while providing accessible
[2:53] nature preserves for all, as well as
inspire and engage our community to
[2:58] explore, understand, protect, and
celebrate the natural world.
[3:04] Our summer camps were so popular last
year that we expanded our offerings in
[3:08] age, so now we went to age 1 and 1/2
through 15 years old.
[3:13] For the sixth consecutive year, we
collaborated with our indigenous
[3:17] partners, the Trickster Cultural Center,
to offer the Native American experience,
[3:22] which is a summer camp offering
storytelling, music, team sports,
[3:27] history, and art. These programs provide
youth the opportunity to disconnect from
[3:32] technology and immerse themselves in the
natural world. We also sent students on
[3:37] our annual trip to Yellowstone. That's
that upper right picture.
[3:40] We did have our annual trip to
Ontario for a week-long canoe trip
[3:46] canceled due to the wildfires up there.
That top left picture are our summer
[3:51] interns. That's our 30th class of summer
interns. Uh they spent their summer
[3:55] learning the land trust business,
stewarding the preserves, monitoring
[3:59] rare species, and this year plenty of
storm damage clean up in the preserves.
[4:04] Uh they spent their Fridays doing
externships with partner organizations,
[4:08] and one of their favorite field trips
with was a visit with the city of Lake
[4:12] Forest Forest Preserve Department.
Since I was here last, we've also
[4:16] started three new programs to engage the
youth of Lake County. Uh an Eco
[4:20] Ambassador program uh for students run
by our coastal programs coordinator, um
[4:25] Hannah Granger, that's based up at
Illinois Beach State Park, and there
[4:28] they are at the park. Uh we also started
a Youth Environmental Leadership Council
[4:33] for students across Lake County, as well
as our Susie Hoffman Award for
[4:37] Conservation, that is a high school
scholarship program. We've awarded eight
[4:42] high school scholarships with Lake
Forest High School, Woodlands Academy,
[4:47] uh Waukegan High School, as well as uh
Cristo Rey St. Martin.
[4:52] For the adults, every Monday morning
this month, we are hosting our guided
[4:57] bird hike. It's a different preserve
each week.
[5:00] Um and then every Thursday in September
is sunset yoga at our conservation
[5:04] campus at Melody Farm. Of course, all
are welcome anytime to walk, play, or
[5:09] embrace a quiet moment in nature. Our
preserves are open 365 days a year with
[5:15] over 20 miles of trails to enjoy.
Our website is fully searchable with a
[5:20] sortable calendar that's easy to find on
your phone. Uh this fall we have over 45
[5:25] different public programs uh for folks
that they can sign up for. One of those
[5:29] that we feature is our conservation
cocktails. So, each month we have a
[5:33] subject matter come and speak on Friday
evenings at our conservation campus.
[5:37] This Friday, we're having Scott Jamison,
uh vice president with Bartlett Tree, uh
[5:42] to talk about the 400 swamp white oaks
planted at the September 11th Memorial
[5:48] as a symbol
of hope and renewal.
[5:51] In October, we're going to be hosting
Jim Louderman of the Field Museum where
[5:55] he'll cover his specialty, which is
timely with the season, insects.
[6:01] As Jason mentioned, September in Lake
Forest means our final goodbye to
[6:05] summer. Hopefully a goodbye to those
flies that we've been seeing down at the
[6:09] lake
and the start to fall as we host our
[6:12] annual fundraiser Bagpipes and Bonfire
taking place on Sunday, September 27th,
[6:17] 4:00 to 7:00 at Middlefork Farm Nature
Preserve. This year's event chairs are
[6:22] Amy Falls and her husband Hartley
Rogers. This one-of-a-kind
[6:26] multi-generational family favorite
invites our entire community to join us
[6:30] for live music, Highland athletes,
Highland dancers, field games, and much
[6:34] more.
Saturday the 24th is our annual fall
[6:39] tree sale and pre-sale for that starts
on Friday, um
[6:45] Excuse me, I think I misspoke. Saturday
the 24th, uh the pre-sale starts on
[6:49] Friday, September 18th and that is at
our new headquarters, the Negus campus
[6:53] for Open Lands. I'll talk a little bit
about that later.
[6:56] Um October also means the start of our
weekly Eco Crew. So, that's Saturday
[7:01] mornings and then Wednesday mornings we
have our Adventures in Restoration. Uh
[7:05] local residents can learn from our
talented staff on
[7:09] all the trades of ecological
restoration. Um
[7:13] as we look ahead to November,
uh the start of our prescribed burn
[7:16] season. Our healthy local habitats are
fire adapted, meaning that historically
[7:21] they've thrived on natural fires to help
release the seeds from their hard seed
[7:25] covers and to open the understory of our
woodlands for more sunlight. Uh we have
[7:29] a fully trained staff of professional
crew conducting these burns throughout
[7:33] the preserves with burn safety as our
top priority. If anybody is interested
[7:38] in volunteering and learning about this
work, uh you can reach out.
[7:42] In July, we reopened our West Skokie
Nature Preserve. It had been closed,
[7:47] excuse me, for about a year while we
made the trails accessible,
[7:52] » [clears throat]
>> replaced all of the boardwalks out
[7:53] there, and created a new bridge over the
Middle Fork to connect a future trail.
[8:01] On October 1st, we are excited to
participate in the launch of Threads of
[8:06] Time, which is a new book honoring the
great Ellen Stirling, uh the Lake Forest
[8:11] Shop, and all the wo- women who have
been woven into the legacy of that
[8:15] community treasure. Ellen was involved
with so many different organizations
[8:19] that keep Lake Forest special, but Lake
Forest Open Lands was near and dear to
[8:23] her heart. Uh her father, Volney Foster,
was our founding chair
[8:30] back in 1967.
So, I'm pleased to share that 2027 will
[8:34] be a year not just focused on this
incredible milestone, but what's ahead
[8:38] for Lake Forest Open Lands. So, please
save the date on our birthday, Friday,
[8:42] June 18th, which is also my birthday, um
for a special community event to gather
[8:48] at our new headquarters, uh the Nagel
Campus for Open Lands.
[8:52] We recently completed a new strategic
plan with a revised mission,
[8:56] um
a new vision, and a roadmap to continue
[8:59] our work ensuring that nature and
community thrive together.
[9:03] Uh this will be we're just working on
this publication for the public, and
[9:07] this will be on our website soon.
Um our five new goals are deepening our
[9:12] care for the land and water entrusted to
us, um building a a connected and
[9:16] engaged community of members, partners,
and supporters,
[9:20] expanding our engagement and education
programs, ensuring that we have the
[9:24] organizational strength needed to
sustain conservation for generations,
[9:28] and still
uh protecting key properties.
[9:32] During this process, which completed
back in May, we were also awarded our
[9:37] fourth accreditation. So, that's um
we're the first land trust in Illinois
[9:42] to become accredited and we are the
first one to actually go through it four
[9:46] times, which
uh exciting for me, our next cycle
[9:49] instead of being every 5 years, it goes
to 7 years.
[9:54] Um this month we'll also be launching a
new app on our website where folks can
[9:59] uh navigate the preserves. This has been
a long-standing request. Um so, you'll
[10:03] be able to wayfind out in the preserve.
You'll actually be able to see mileage
[10:07] um
for all the various trails. Um
[10:10] so, that's exciting. That's been a um
a long project in the works. We've
[10:14] actually working on that since last
winter.
[10:17] I mentioned their new headquarters. So,
we've moved um from the corner of
[10:22] Waukegan and Deerpath.
Our new home for our administrative
[10:27] headquarters is actually just north of
the muni- the municipal building on the
[10:31] other side of that chunk of woods in
Middlefork Savanna. Uh it's the former
[10:35] headquarters for Metro Storage and Matt
and Blair Nagel
[10:39] um gave this general generous gift uh at
the end of last year. It was the largest
[10:44] in-kind donation that we've ever
received. So, for the first time in our
[10:48] organization's history, we have all of
our staff under one roof, which is
[10:52] very exciting. Lots of collaboration
going on in the lunch room
[10:56] and the water cooler.
I'm excited to share that uh later this
[11:01] fall we'll be breaking ground on the
Negaunee Foundation Center. This is our
[11:06] new uh reimagined conservation campus
with an expanded program space um to
[11:11] better fit uh the quality and the size
of the programs that we're teaching now.
[11:16] So, this will be um the corner of
Deerpath and Waukegan will be our
[11:20] primary programmatic hub and again all
of our administrative headquarters are
[11:24] over at the Nagel Campus.
[11:30] And I'm pleased to share that our
advancing innovative Great Lakes habitat
[11:35] solutions and building community coastal
and cultural resilience project is well
[11:39] underway. We're actually nearly complete
with our
[11:44] our our bluff armoring. So we've brought
in 5,000 tons of armor stone to secure
[11:50] our bluff and revegetate it.
And offshore we're completing
[11:56] the furthest into Lake Michigan offshore
reefs ever done in the state of Illinois
[12:01] for fish habitat. So this was a NOAA
funded project. It's a three-year
[12:05] project. Most of the construction will
be completed um
[12:10] this year.
Um
[12:12] and then the rest of the two-year two
years remaining will be doing
[12:16] the revegetating and the monitoring out
there.
[12:19] The goal is for the preserve to remain
open. We're going to have significant
[12:23] trail closures. So right now
the shoreline and the beach are closed
[12:27] as they transition to doing ravine work
in Meaty ravine as well as
[12:32] the storm water outfall on Sheridan
Road. Some other trail closures will
[12:36] will occur. For now folks are following
those trail closures and the site is
[12:40] able to remain safe
and open in parts while they're doing
[12:43] the work.
[12:46] And finally I'd like to acknowledge my
sincere appreciation of the council's
[12:51] decision back in January to co-apply for
Illinois Nature Preserve dedication for
[12:55] McCormick Ravine. I'm pleased to share
that the Nature Preserve Commission has
[12:59] accepted our joint application with no
changes and will formally vote to
[13:04] receive the conservation easement at
their meeting next week.
[13:07] The action requested in your omnibus
agenda this evening will allow that
[13:11] dedication to be finalized. So a quick
reference map
[13:16] before you here. So
Lake Forest Open Lands number five on
[13:21] this map is dedicating 32.2 acres as
nature preserve.
[13:26] The city of Lake Forest, which which
owns all of the yellow portions, uh will
[13:31] be dedicating 14.1 acres of nature
preserve, all of which is already
[13:36] dedicated in conservation easement held
by Lake Forest Open Lands.
[13:40] And Lake Forest Land Foundation, our
affiliate, um will be dedicating .65
[13:45] acres, that's that number two parcel, um
as nature preserve buffer. And then Lake
[13:51] Forest Open Lands will be dedicating uh
the remaining 1.7 acres in the blue as
[13:57] nature preserve buffer. So, the total
dedication is 48
[14:01] 48 acres. And this recognizes the most
intact example of Lake Michigan ravines
[14:07] in Illinois, and I believe it's a proud
moment in the collaboration between the
[14:11] city of Lake Forest and Lake Forest Open
Lands in the preservation of this
[14:15] community treasure.
[14:20] Any questions for me or comments?
>> Any questions for Mr. Monden?
[14:28] » Uh since I do like to hike on that
trail, when do you anticipate the work
[14:33] um
being finished and uh you're still able
[14:36] to go out down to the beach?
>> We actually accelerated the schedule a
[14:41] little bit because of this winter
forecast that we're anticipating with
[14:44] the super El Nino. Um
it's tough to say exactly, but we're
[14:49] hopeful that most of the heavy
construction will be done before the end
[14:53] of November.
>> Okay.
[14:55] Well, I I recommend it and I'm very
appreciative of the families and
[14:59] institutions that helped you finance
that development. Thank you.
[15:05] » Yes, Mr. Cullerton.
[15:09] » A quick question, similar to yours, we
like to hike down there as well.
[15:13] Are the stairs open?
>> The stairs are closed.
[15:16] » Okay.
>> So, there is signage as well as some
[15:19] temporary construction barricades
that'll guide you where you can go.
[15:24] Um Um
the main trail that folks will be able
[15:26] to do is along that Crest Trail to
Hunter
[15:29] » Okay.
>> Crest Trail to the north.
[15:30] » Okay.
Thank you.
[15:32] » Sure.
>> Others?
[15:35] » [clears throat]
>> All right.
[15:37] Ryan, thank you very much for the
presentation.
[15:39] » Thank you.
>> Great job.
[15:42] » Thanks, Ryan. And that concludes my
report this evening.
[15:47] » Okay, the next item on the agenda is an
opportunity for citizens to address the
[15:51] council. Is there anybody present that
would like to address the council?
[15:56] Please.
[16:09] » Thank you, Mayor and council members.
Just um
[16:12] gosh, I'm so touched by everything that
people are doing for our officer and and
[16:18] how it's not only expanded around
uh the area, but it's expanded around
[16:24] the country and the world. So, it's it's
wonderful to see people so generous to
[16:28] help out. Um so, thank you for those
kind words about what's going on. Uh
[16:33] just a couple of other fun things. Um
Lake Forest Day was amazing. I haven't
[16:38] We haven't been together since then. So,
um thanks to everybody for a wonderful
[16:43] time and it was fun seeing everybody in
the parade and and um
[16:48] just I think everyone had a fabulous
event. Um and then uh just kind of a a
[16:55] thank you to our police and fire for
always keeping us safe and doing a great
[16:59] job. Um just a a plug for the library.
If anybody has a chance, for 2 weeks on
[17:05] their on their YouTube page, they have a
wonderful history of um the naval
[17:10] station, which I found very interesting.
So, um I thought you might be interested
[17:16] in that, and then um,
I guess that's about it. Just thank you
[17:21] everybody. This is such a wonderful
city, and and I'm just honored to be a
[17:25] part of it. Thanks.
>> Thank you very much. Is there anybody
[17:29] else present that would like to address
the council on non-agenda items?
[17:34] Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to
committee reports, of which there are
[17:37] none this evening.
Followed by items for omnibus vote
[17:41] consideration.
Uh, I'm going to read all the items. If
[17:45] there are any items that alderman would
like removed or taken separately, please
[17:49] let me know
after I've read all the items.
[17:53] Seven items this evening. Number one,
approval of the Monday, August 3rd, 2026
[17:58] City Council meeting minutes.
Item two, approval of the check register
[18:02] for the period
July 25th through August 21st, 2026.
[18:09] Item three, consideration of a request
to waive the fidelity bond requirement
[18:14] in connection with holding the raffles
in the city of Lake Forest for
[18:17] Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Health
and Fitness Center
[18:20] and the Women's Board of Northwestern
Medicine
[18:23] Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest
Hospital. Approval by motion. Item four,
[18:27] approval of a contract amendment with
GSG Consultants Incorporated
[18:32] in the amount not to exceed $28,790
for additional engineering design
[18:37] services associated with the Walden Lane
East Bridge repairs project. Item five,
[18:43] consideration of ordinances approving
recommendations from the Building Review
[18:47] Board for 347 Cherokee Road, 1554 Big
Oaks Court, 780 Green View Place, and
[18:53] 1286 North Sheridan Road. First reading
and if desired by Council, final
[18:57] approval.
Item six, consideration of ordinances
[19:00] approving recommendations from the
Zoning Board of Appeals for 170 East
[19:04] Lewis Avenue
and 347 Cherokee Road. First reading and
[19:09] if desired by Council, final approval.
And finally, consideration of a request
[19:13] to authorize the city manager to sign
the dedication of nature preserve
[19:16] addition to the Jean and John Green
Nature Preserve at McCormick Ravine.
[19:22] Uh by motion,
are [clears throat] there any items that
[19:25] the aldermen would like removed or taken
separately?
[19:30] Hearing none, uh
then may I have a Can I have a motion to
[19:34] approve the omnibus items as presented?
>> So moved.
[19:38] » Second.
>> This will be a roll call vote.
[19:42] » Alderman Powers?
>> Aye.
[19:43] » Alderman Care?
>> Aye.
[19:45] » Alderman L'Heureux?
>> Aye.
[19:46] » Alderman Bassbell?
>> Aye.
[19:47] » Alderman Walder?
>> Aye.
[19:49] » Alderman Culbertson?
>> Aye.
[19:50] » Alderman Clemmons?
>> Aye.
[19:52] » Seven yeas, zero nays. Motion carries.
>> Very good. Uh the next item is old
[19:56] business, of which there's none this
evening, followed by new business, of
[19:59] which there's none this evening.
Next item on the agenda is uh additional
[20:05] items for discussion or comments by
council members. Is there any
[20:09] additional commentary from
aldermen?
[20:14] Hearing none, okay. Uh we will now ask
for a motion to adjourn into executive
[20:19] session pursuant to ILCS 120/2C6.
The city council will be discussing the
[20:25] lease of property owned by the public
body.
[20:28] Uh
I will note that there will be no
[20:31] further business following executive
session. May I have a motion to adjourn
[20:35] into executive session?
>> So moved.
[20:39] » Second.
>> This will be a roll call vote.
[20:49] » Alderman Care?
>> Aye.
[20:51] » Alderman L'Heureux?
>> Aye.
[20:53] » Alderman Bassbell?
>> Aye.
[20:54] » Alderman Walder?
>> Aye.
[20:55] » Alderman Culbertson?
>> Aye.
[20:57] » Alderman Clemmons?
>> Aye.
[20:58] » Alderman Powers?
>> Aye.
[21:00] » Seven yeas, zero nays. Motion carries.
>> We are adjourned into executive session.
[21:04] As previously noted, there'll be no
further business following the executive
[21:08] session.
>> That's it.