February 07, 2025
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Manteno to add fishing pier to pond at Legacy Park

By Christopher Breach
In 2019 the village of Manteno completed a trail at Legacy Park that follows along Interstate 57 for more than a mile. The village is expanding the pond at Legacy Park and adding another trail from the parking lot to the fishing pond.

In 2019 the village of Manteno completed a trail at Legacy Park that follows along Interstate 57 for more than a mile. The village is expanding the pond at Legacy Park and adding another trail from the parking lot to the fishing pond. (Tiffany Blanchette)

MANTENO — In a few months there will be a fishing pier available at Legacy Park in Manteno.

At Tuesday’s Manteno Village Board meeting, trustees unanimously approved Phase 2 of the Legacy Park upgrades, awarding a bid to Tenco Excavating of Bourbonnais to the tune of $984,111.

The work includes expanding the pond on the southwest corner of Legacy Park that will also include a fishing pier.

Village Administrator Chris LaRocque said the idea of the fishing pond was suggested by former board member Sam Martin, who saw a similar park up near New Lenox.

“There are people who fish over there,” LaRocque said. “The original bid, when it went out, we kind of realized after that happened, that we probably need some lighting, some additional things on that pier to make sure that it was safe.”

In addition, there will be a path to the pond from a nearby parking lot, which is also being expanded. The pier will also be ADA accessible. Work on the expansion will likely start in the spring.

“Everybody [on the board] thought the pier would be a nice thing,” LaRocque said. “… That was the process, and again it was on the original design.”

LaRocque noted the idea for Legacy Park was planned back in 2006 and construction of the park began in 2008.

The park, which was completed in 2012, was also financed by Manteno Township which owns half the land the park sits on that borders Interstate 57 on the west. He said it’s been a collaborative effort over the years.

“It was a mutual thing that they really felt would benefit the area,” he said. “And I have to say, it’s an impressive park, and I think they’ve done a wonderful job continuing to improve it as the original design was intended.’

OTHER BIDS

There were three other bidders on the Legacy Park Phase 2 project. Those were Schwartz Excavating Inc., of Countryside, for $1,002,950; R&R Inc./Rueben Smith Construction, of Bradley, for $1,093,345; and Kankakee Valley Construction Co., of Kankakee, for $1,178,713. The engineer’s estimate was $1,213,290.

“We received four bids, and [Tenco] was the lowest bid by about $20,000, and it is lower than our engineers estimate by about $250,000,” board member CJ Boudreau said.

Board member Joel Gesky was mayor pro-tem on Tuesday, filling in for Mayor Tim Nugent who was unable to attend the meeting.

Gesky asked LaRocque to explain in detail the bidding process and about the reasoning behind the amount of money spent on Legacy Park. It was in response to a comment during public participation, questioning why a million dollars was being spent on the fishing pond/pier.

“This board and this administration, obviously, for a long time, even with former board members, have decided that the parks are important part of our community,” LaRocque said. “We have a lot of parks for a small town, and we’ve done an amazing job improving them and maintaining them.

“And kudos to Jim [Hanley, public works superintendent] and his staff. We don’t have an outside company that does all that. It’s done by public works.”

https://daily-journal.com/news/local/manteno-to-add-fishing-pier-to-pond-at-legacy-park/article_11ff3cd4-d86e-11ef-b80d-5b9d488792da.html