McHenry County Blog

The Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission gave preliminary approval to Metra’s proposed Ridgefield Train Station, but conditioned it on making multi-million dollar road improvements recommended by city engineering firm Patrick Engineering.

The improvements, most overdue, according to Patrick engineers Ryan Westrom and Chris DeRosia, would include signals at Country Club and Hillside Road, plus Market and Ridgefield Road next to the Union Pacific railroad tracks. In addition, suggested improvements at McConnell Road and Country Club were requested. Finally, the motion asked that Metra make whatever improvements would be necessary for commuters to be able to get out of the parking lot on the 9,360 vehicle per day Country Club Road.

“If improvements are made, they will accommodate the traffic we projected,” Westrom told the commissioners.

The engineering firm, starting from scratch, projected that about 36% of the station’s commuters would come down Country Club Road from the north, 41% down Hillside Road and 22% from north of the site across the tracks through Downtown Ridgefield. Do the math and you see that 77% is predicted to come from the same side of the tracks where the 17.5 acre station will be located.

Members expressed frustration that none of the roads were under city jurisdiction. The engineering report said current traffic volumes merited signals on both ends of Market Street in Downtown Ridgefield.  And, one at Tartan Drive and Ridgefield Road by 2015.

Consensus was expressed that commissioners wanted to protect Ridgefield residents and business owners, although none are located within Crystal Lake city limits.

Motions to change the zoning from Estate Residential to Semi-Public and Public Use passed 5-0, as did a motion to approve how Metra proposed to meet the city’s Watershed Ordinance.

A motion from former City Councilman Dave Goss to approve a Preliminary Planned Unit Development, contingent on staff recommendations and road improvements suggested by Patrick Engineering passed 3-2.

Metra’s presentation suggested that property values around train stations generally increased with the prediction being that farmland north of the station site on Country Club Road would “have development pressure…(with) higher density development, higher land values.”

Goss voted against his own motion, based on his belief that the commuter station would lower property values in Ridgefield. He was joined by Commission Chairman Jeff Greenman.

Commissioners Don Batastini, Vince Esposito, Alan Skluzacek voted in the affirmative, although Esposito had said earlier, “I don’t think a train station that size needs to be out there.”

When the issue reaches city council on April 6th, a three-fifths approval vote will be needed, according to Metra’s local attorney Joe Gottemoller.

Earlier, Gottemoller had argued that the new traffic generated by Metra “is very small.” He noted that none of the improvements recommended by the traffic consulting firm, for example improving Market Street, were on McHenry County’s Five-Year Plan.

During the public comment period Chris Conway from Hillside road worried about increased garbage on the road and its taking more than the ten minutes it now takes her to get out of her driveway.

“We kind of feel there’s some insider trading going on on this property,” speaking for herself and neighbors.

The property is half owned by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler.

Also speaking was Craig Steagall, land owner across the tracks from Koehler’s land.

He questioned the traffic experts traffic projections. Earlier he had hired his own traffic consultant and presented results to the city council.

“How did 84 Lumber get in there without making those improvements?” he asked.

Steagall also asked how the decades-old agriculture zoning for the former Flowerwood nursery property got changed to industrial through “a zoning map correction.” (Later Planning and Economic Development Director Michelle Rentzsch confirmed that what Stegall said was correct.)

“There’s been an allegation I’m on my high horse because of a sour land deal,” he continued, telling of how Metra approached him to buy 12 acres and how Alexandra Lumber was considering purchasing 20 acres prior to purchasing 84 Lumber’s abandoned yard. Steagall then pointed out that under the discussions he had had with Metra to buy land south of the tracks, he and his partner would have had to put in $500,000 to a million for infrastructure improvements, a cost burden he considered unreasonable.

Steagall compared Metra’s planned station to

• “Health Care—Start over,”
• “the Bridge to Nowhere” and
• “the Cornhusker Kickback.”

Speaking also of the Lily Pond Road station, which will be built on donated land, Stegall concluded,

“It’s Metra stations for all our friends.”

Another man asked if people, especially McHenry County College students and employees would have walking and biking access.

“Would it be good service to the college.”

No one from McHenry College offered public comment.

“What prevented Metra from putting the station on the south side of the tracks,” another person asked.

In rebuttal, a factoid came out that was interesting.

Over 60% of the people using the Pingree Road Station are from Lake in the Hills.

Replying to Steagall, Gottemoller said, “Sour grapes. That’s a political item that we don’t have anything to do with.”

Rick Mack, representing Metra, explained that 15 trains would come down the track each morning and that the Lily Pond Road Station (called East Woodstock) was put on the south side of the tracks so most cars using it wouldn’t have to cross the tracks.

He explained that capacity throughout McHenry County was being expanded, pointing to all the empty land between Woodstock and Harvard.

“This is an entire upgrade, not just to address today,” Mack continued. Earlier, it had been pointed out that train storage would be moved from Crystal Lake to north of Woodstock, that there was no room to store additional trains in Crystal Lake.

“All of these improvements are interconnected.”

Traffic concerns were widespread among the commissioners.

Greenman said,

Jeff Greenman

“We’re going to trust the county to do what it needs to do and trust the state to do what it needs to do.

“There are so many interdependencies, so many ‘what if’s’

“It’s a huge risk.”

At the end of the meeting, Goss thanked the city council “for standing up for the traffic study.”

Metra had asked to use its own traffic consultant, but that was rejected by the council in favor of one on the city’s approved list.

The rumor mill says that Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley now favors the Viking Dodge site for a pool and community center, so perhaps this graphic by “Heck of a Guy” Crystal Lake blogger Allan Showalter of its fiery demise was in error.

I would say, favors it “again,” but Shepley was not specific as to the location when he spoke  to Crystal Lake seniors January almost a year ago.

Then, Shepley told the seniors that one of the sites was nearby. He was standing in the Senior Services building next to City Hall on Woodstock Street.

“The park district is looking at one near where you are sitting,” Shepley said.

He talked specifically about the old Oak Manufacturing building, where I had my last legislative office.

“The site (the park district is looking most closely at) is a building that is already in place,” the Mayor continued.

“If a pre-existing building, it takes less work (than new construction),” he continued.

I didn’t speculate about Viking Dodge being the location, but in February, the rumor mill was throwing off information pointing in that direction.

That turned out, of course, to be Viking Dodge.

And the Crystal Lake Park District voted to pay $6.3 million for it.

Although, through a Freedom of Information Act request, I discovered Oak Manufacturing’s old facility was in play.

Shepley predicted it would be open within two years after passage of the referendum necessary to finance it–2012.

The city council turned against Viking Dodge in September, primarily for traffic congestion reasons.

Even with an eventual new entrance on Ridgefield Road.  That’s the black line above.

Now the grapevine is saying that the YMCA had decided not to proceed with a new swimming pool, which would have been privately financed, because of the litigation resulting from the deaths of Chicago high schoolers in the. paddle boat accident.

So, I tried to check out the rumor.

I emailed Shepley at his city council address.

It’s been a while since I asked. Certainly time for Shepley to have replied.

Without confirmation the rumor remains a rumor.

Let me know if you can confirm it.

The following are some observations on the traffic problems brought up by Metra’s proposal to purchase 17.3 acres on Country Club Road in Ridgefield for a new stop.

As a long-time resident of Crystal Lake, I am very familiar with the streets and intersections in question.

When I visit McHenry County College, I take Ridgefield Road to Tartan Drive, and have had many occasions to drive on Country Club and Hillside Roads.

It certainly would be nice to have a Metra station in Ridgefield.

There are a lot of people living between easy access to the downtown stations in Crystal Lake and Woodstock, and, with some paved walkways and ingenuity, students from the towns along the rail line could commute to MCC. It would be a good, green complement to the bicycle path from Oak Street to the College, currently under construction.

However, I am in complete agreement with Craig Steagall that locating the station on the north side of the tracks behind the 84/Alexander property would lead to a traffic fiasco.

The problem is that none of the roads in question, with the possible exception of Ridgefield Road, is the kind of artery that can handle the bursts of traffic following the arrival of a commuter train.

In recent years, I have observed a considerable increase in traffic, presumably to and from Bull Valley and the northeast part of Woodstock, taking Ridgefield Road to the rail crossing, then continuing on Country Club.

It appears that it can be a challenge even to make a right turn, toward Crystal Lake, out of Tartan Drive, let alone a left.

Because of the traffic coming from Woodstock headed for the Ridgefield rail crossing, I also have found it difficult to make a left turn off westbound Hillside onto Country Club.

In my opinion, the installation of a traffic light at the southern intersection of Rt. 14 and Ridgefield Rd. has facilitated this pattern. This would be especially true of southbound traffic, because before the light, it was risking one’s life to turn left from Ridgefield to 14.

I can’t imagine these already-overtaxed roads being able to handle the additional load of a Metra station.

I’m not even sure that siting the station in the “yellow circle” in Mr. Steagall’s diagram or elsewhere on the south side of the tracks would work.

In that case, yes, people could use both legs of Ridgefield Rd. to get to the station.

I presume there would be a traffic light at the northern junction of 14 and Ridgefield, by the Lutheran church. This would work fine for people coming from the southeast and west.

The problem of eastern access would remain, however.

There are a lot of people from Bull Valley and McHenry who would have to take the old, skinny Bull Valley roads and cross at the awkward Ridgefield crossing. Unless there is to be a terrific amount of restructuring of the eastern Ridgefield intersections (which, as Mr. Steagall has pointed out, would require tearing buildings down), I don’t see that problem going away.

But the south-side location would be better than the north-side one.

There’s a more fundamental issue here, though.

There is no way to get directly from northwest Crystal Lake to McHenry, as I have learned over many years. One can be excused for thinking its affluent residents want it to be hard to get through Bull Valley.

You can either go all the way over to Walkup or wind your way along roads like Cherry Valley and Bull Valley Roads, all posted with whimsically varying speed limits designed to generate speeding tickets. (They haven’t nailed me yet.)

The residents are inconvenienced too, of course, but so are the many people who might like to be able to drive to and from, say, MCC, to McHenry.

So it’s more than just a problem of the Metra station. To be sure, the station would make this a lot worse.

One last point:

A couple of years ago, I watched the sad unraveling of MCC’s Health, Wellness, Athletic Complex project, the one that was supposed to be financed through a minor league baseball team.

Putting aside the merits and demerits of that project for now, I find it curious that the two issues that killed it

• traffic and
• the Crystal Lake watershed

do not seem to have entered into this current discussion in any significant way.

Did those involved learn nothing from the attempt by the College to sneak something through without real planning and public scrutiny?

With the MCC experience in mind, I would be astounded if Crystal Lake cooperates with the north-of-the-tracks Metra station, unless the fix truly is in.

I hope that this issue stirs up some public concern.

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Anyone else have thoughts they would like to share? My email is way down to the right on this page.

Other articles that might be of interest (listed in reverse order of publication):

Saturday, 8-15-9 The Ridgefield Metra Deal

Friday, 8-14-9 Metra Votes to Purchase Ridgefield Station Site

Friday, 8-14-9 Craig Steagall Unleashes Broadside Against McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler over Metra State Land Purchase

Friday, 8-14-9 Metra Scheduled to Approve Former Flowerwood Land for Station in Ridgefield This Morning

Thursday, 8-13-9 $1.5 Million Being Paid for Ridgefield Metra Site Half-Owned by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler

Thursday, 8-13-9 Metra Transparency Worse than McHenry County College’s

Wednesday, 8-12-9 Ridgefield Businessman Takes on McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler over Proposed Metra Station

Friday, 8-7-9 Musings on the Proposed Ridgefield Metra Station

Wednesday, 8-5-9 Alexander Lumber’s Move to Ridgefield, Proposed Metra Station Implications

On the way back from Wonder Lake, I found these two John McCain signs that didn’t hold up to Sunday’s wind.

This yard sign got caught on this bush on Country Club Road near Ridgefield.

The 4X8 foot one at the edge of Flowerwood’s property on Route 14 near Ridgefield Road was down, too.

Naturally, I hope his candidacy holds up better than these two signs.

On the way back from Wonder Lake, I found these two John McCain signs that didn’t hold up to Sunday’s wind.

This yard sign got caught on this bush on Country Club Road near Ridgefield.

The 4X8 foot one at the edge of Flowerwood’s property on Route 14 near Ridgefield Road was down, too.

Naturally, I hope his candidacy holds up better than these two signs.

Crystal Lake’s Jim Athans started his company Chemtool in Crystal Lake, built a modern campus facility on Ridgefield Road and expanded it.

Now, business is growing so rapidly (revenue up 40% last year); he needs more space.

He looked west of Marengo and just across the Boone County line in Garden Prairie, plus Wisconsin.

It appears that the Boone County Board is closing in on a the biggest industrial development project since it landed Chrysler in the early 1960’s.

The Rockford Register-Star reported Friday that the company is nine votes away from approval at its new location.

But, those votes may not come easy. Nine votes represent a two-thirds’ majority of the Boone County Board. Five seem to be already committee, having voted for the project in the county board’s Planning, Zoning and Building Committee, where the vote was unanimous.

The extraordinary majority is required because of objections from neighboring property owners, one a you-pick berry business on U.S. 20.

Reporter Kevin Hass quotes Susie Silberhorn as follows:

It’s the perception. Who’s going to want to buy vegetables if there is a chemical plant next door?” Susie Silberhorn said.

The site is across from Kishwaukee Elementary School and near the Kishwaukee River.

School folks fear for the safety of their children with the trucks entering and leaving the site and local residents and the Soil and Water Conservation District are concerned about potential pollution of the aquifer.

As I wrote earlier, my father had similar concerns when Chemtool applied for its permit to build on the sensitive Crystal Lake watershed.

But, there have been no water pollution complaints about Chemtool since it moved to Ridgefield road.

I find it more than a little strange that local officials are not fighting to keep Chemtool in McHenry County.

The article says Freeport and St. Louis also would like to have Chemtool.

The Boone County Board will vote Wednesday.

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The picture is of Chemtool’s headquarters and manufacturing plant on Ridgefield Road in Crystal Lake.

Crystal Lake’s Jim Athans started his company Chemtool in Crystal Lake, built a modern campus facility on Ridgefield Road and expanded it.

Now, business is growing so rapidly (revenue up 40% last year); he needs more space.

He looked west of Marengo and just across the Boone County line in Garden Prairie, plus Wisconsin.

It appears that the Boone County Board is closing in on a the biggest industrial development project since it landed Chrysler in the early 1960’s.

The Rockford Register-Star reported Friday that the company is nine votes away from approval at its new location.

But, those votes may not come easy. Nine votes represent a two-thirds’ majority of the Boone County Board. Five seem to be already committee, having voted for the project in the county board’s Planning, Zoning and Building Committee, where the vote was unanimous.

The extraordinary majority is required because of objections from neighboring property owners, one a you-pick berry business on U.S. 20.

Reporter Kevin Hass quotes Susie Silberhorn as follows:

It’s the perception. Who’s going to want to buy vegetables if there is a chemical plant next door?” Susie Silberhorn said.

The site is across from Kishwaukee Elementary School and near the Kishwaukee River.

School folks fear for the safety of their children with the trucks entering and leaving the site and local residents and the Soil and Water Conservation District are concerned about potential pollution of the aquifer.

As I wrote earlier, my father had similar concerns when Chemtool applied for its permit to build on the sensitive Crystal Lake watershed.

But, there have been no water pollution complaints about Chemtool since it moved to Ridgefield road.

I find it more than a little strange that local officials are not fighting to keep Chemtool in McHenry County.

The article says Freeport and St. Louis also would like to have Chemtool.

The Boone County Board will vote Wednesday.

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The picture is of Chemtool’s headquarters and manufacturing plant on Ridgefield Road in Crystal Lake.