Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

In reply to the post card you see here, an article about which you can find here, Lakewood Village President Erin Smith wrote the following letter to her constituents:

October 21, 2010

Dear Resident:

Several days ago, many of you received an unsigned postcard in the mail about the proposed sports complex. We truly appreciate the residents who have taken the time to call their elected officials or Village Hall to seek answers to questions raised in the mailing. It is important to us that each of you has factual answers to any questions you may have about this development. Therefore, we are incurring the expense of sending this mailing to each household in our community in an attempt to once again address the issues raised in the anonymous postcard.

• There was NOT a deficit in Fiscal Year 2009-10. In fact, due to careful oversight and prudent management, the General Fund showed a small surplus in Fiscal Year 2009-10. This is remarkable in the current economic climate and reflective of the AAA Rating assigned to the Village of Lakewood by Standard & Poor’s – the highest rating possible.

• Total out of pocket costs incurred to date are date are NOT $554,000. This figure includes waivers of approximately $483,000 in annexation and platting fees, which are not out of pocket expenses. These types of fees are generally assessed against residential developments that do not, in the long run, generate sufficient revenues to offset the cost of services. Such fees are commonly waived for commercial developments that generate different types of revenues. The approximate $100,000 in out of pocket expenses that we have incurred to annex 686 acres of property was a strategic investment that is consistent with our Comprehensive Plan, Boundary Agreements and Facilities Planning Area. This process was initiated long before the sports complex was proposed. This investment brought four existing businesses into our Village, resulting in an immediate increase in sales tax revenues. More importantly, we have secured municipal oversight of this property for future commercial development, which we believe is essential to our community’s long term financial health.

• The Village of Lakewood has NOT committed $5 M to bring water and sewer to the site. Per the annexation agreement, the Village of Lakewood is committed to providing water and sewer utilities to the site, but the means to do this has not yet been determined. While $5 M is a reasonable estimate to extend our existing utilities to this site, other options, including the provision of on-site utilities, are being carefully studied and may significantly reduce these costs. Any utility costs will also be partially offset by the tap on fees of the systems’ new users. The provision of utilities will be necessary for ANY commercial business to develop along the Route 47 corridor and has always been contemplated as a part of the long term vision for commercial development.

• Comparisons to RedTail Golf Course are not relevant. Many years ago, the Village of Lakewood made a decision to purchase RedTail Golf Course. As the owner, the Village of Lakewood is responsible for all debt incurred as a result of ownership or operations. The Village of Lakewood will issue no debt nor have any ownership role in the sports complex. Taxpayers will not be responsible for the payment of debt if the sports complex is not successful.

• The Village of Lakewood is NOT committed to using its resources to fund any “match” required of a grant. Any grants submitted are done so in close consultation with the development team and with a clear understanding of their role and responsibility, including providing any required “match.” We will not move forward with constructing any grant project until the “match” funds have been provided by the development team.

• Environmental groups within the County support the proposed project. References within the website about a letter from the McHenry County Conservation District (MCCD) make it appear as if there are ongoing concerns about the project from an environmental perspective. This is simply not true. The Village of Lakewood and the development team have proactively reached out to the environmental community from the beginning of the process, and their input has been invaluable. One of the environmental groups even spoke in favor of the sports complex at our Board Meeting. We will continue to actively partner with all of these groups to implement best practices such as “dark skies” (minimal light pollution) and aquifer recharge.

The reality is that these postcards and the website have likely been generated by individuals who live near the project site and simply do not want their neighborhood to change. We are sympathetic to their desire to maintain the status quo, which is why we have spent countless hours attending meetings, personally answering emails and telephone calls, and responding to requests for information. The reality is, however, that both the Village of Lakewood and the development team have followed all protocols and all of the necessary approvals are in place for the project to move forward once the financing has been finalized.

I anticipate that you will receive further correspondence from this group, and I strongly encourage you to contact one of your elected officials or Village Hall if you have a specific question about the project. A Frequently Asked Questions document and the most recent newsletter (which contains a great deal of information about the project) are also available on our website at village.lakewood.il.us.

Very truly yours,

Erin Smith, President, Village of Lakewood

cc: Board of Trustees