McHenry County College May Hold Public Forums on Baseball Stadium August 20, 21 22

Although there is no press release on the McHenry County College web site, MCC President Walt Packard and his college board may be bowing to public pressure to allow taxpayers some public meetings.

But MCC surely is not giving much notice. I can’t find anything in the Northwest Herald and the first meeting is supposed to be four days from now. Maybe there will be a front page story the day this is published.

I have an August 12th letter to MCC Board Chairman Scott Summers in which the writer, who has asked not to have his/her name made public, includes the following paragraph:

“I suggested that the college should consult with the residents of District 528 about the proposed expansion, its educational merit, the inclusion of the stadium and what precedents might be set that would be detrimental to Crystal Lake’s recharge. He (Mr. Packard) said that meetings would be held. And I have learned today that August 20, 21 and 22 have been set for “informational meetings” at various venues in the County.”

Maybe citizens will even be able to ask questions, a privilege denied me at a college board meeting.

Maybe college officials will heed the advice of Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commissioner Vincent Esposito.

At the end of Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Commissioner Vincent Esposito strongly and helpfully recommended that the college hold public meetings where citizens could get answers to questions asked or implied in public testimony before his commission.

To be more specific, Esposito said,

“Have public meetings.

“Answer their questions, so you don’t have an angry mob.”

The letter writer makes this suggestion:

“I do not believe that ‘informational’ show and tell meetings would be sufficiently informative for those who are looking at the proposals carefully. When such meetings are publicly notices (I learned via email this morning that county board members were alerted, but saw nothing in today’s Northwest Herald), the experts MCC is relying upon should be present to answer questions. Experts such as EquityOne, for example.

“When I gave a CPA EquityOne’s two-page ‘Cash Flow Analysis,’ asking for her analysis, she responded that it would be impossible to comment on these two pages, as the assumptions on which the numbers are based are missing. I would assume that trustees have been given this information, and will ask that this and other supporting documentation be provided to the public as well, in order for us to better understand what is being requested, and how it will be financed.”

Tomorrow some question you might ask, if MCC really has public meetings.= = = = =
McHenry County College Board Chairman is on the upper right. McHenry County College President Walt Packard can be seen on the left.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *