McHenry County Blog

Finance Committee Chairman Marc Munaretto began the debate over whether to provide the developers of the McHenry County SportsPlex three more months to round up people to loan them money.

Mary McCann took up the cause of those living off Hamilton Road, one maintained by township government.

Kathy Bergan Schmidt commented on traffic congestion.

“The only real major change is that they’ll (fix the intersection).

“That’s not going to cut it,” the Democrat said.

She said she had looked at the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Five-Year Plan. “Within the next five years, the only think…is to resurface.”

“Given the state of the Illinois economy or lack thereof,” she wasn’t so sure even the resurfacing would occur.

She asserted that it was “time we brought the infrastructure first.”

She also pointed out that the SportsPlex’ promise of jobs talked in terms of Full-Time Equivalents.

“FTE’s don’t mean full-time jobs,” she observed.

Gaining the floor, Munaretto explained that Lakewood is “working as well as it’s able to accommodate the residents.

He pointed out that failure would mean “the loss of Recovery Fund bonds in McHenry County.”

Munaretto then dropped this tidbit:

“The EB-5 funding program seems to be fully subscribed.”

His conclusion?

“If we don’t extend, it doesn’t mean this project is going away. It just means it will start a year or two later when the EB-5 (financing kicks in).”

Wonder Lake’s John Hammerand, also a member of the Finance Committee said that the County Board wasn’t “showing good faith.”

The SportsPlex developers didn’t live up to their side of the agreement.

“Now, they’re here begging for an extension. The reason we’re here is that they didn’t sell the bonds.”

Finance Committee member Tina Hill, in whose District 5 the SportsPlex will be located, implied that the contract did not say “on this date we will withdraw.”

She tried to explain away the conflict as a “difference of agreement.”

“The audience has heard of bureaucratic double talk?” Hammerand interjected.

The SportsPlex resolution before the County Board contained the following language:

“ WHEREAS, Section 3 of Resolution R-201004-12-093 (passed April 20, 2010) did state that the Bonds must close no later than September 30, 2010 and in the event the Bonds did not close by September 30, 2010 the Allocation shall expire and revert back to the County…”

“We put a date in these agreements for a specific reason,” Ersel Schuster said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know a date certain.”

Speaking to the merits of the project, she contented,

“This would be an absolute gridlock for the region.”

“I lived on Route 47 in the 1960′s. It was supposed to be widened to four lanes. It’s fifty years later.”

She spoke of the “insatiable appetite” that municipalities have for “grabbing and grabbing” and leaving “the rest of us picking up the bill for it.

“I take great offense that we made the “Summertime Blues” list (see Lakewood’s SportsPlex Makes “Summertime Blues” Critique of Pork), a screwball list.

Schuster moved that consideration be postponed until the next County Board meeting, but her motion was defeated in a voice vote.

District 5′s Paula Yensen, a Democrat, announced she was changing her vote from “Yes” to “No.”

She express two concerns:

1. “a lot of questions being left unanswered as far as viability goes”
2. “the 47 corridor and whether the volume can take that kind of vehicle capacity”

“In my district, District 5, people are having a difficult time making their mortgage payments.”

She added that while Crystal Lake, Huntley and Woodstock might have vacant ball fields, in the “Village of Lake in the Hills we’re over capacity.”

The SportsPlex gained enthusiastic support from Crystal Lake’s Barb Wheeler.

First, however, she mused over the conflict between a fear of traffic and the desire for more jobs.

She told of her family’s spending time at the Schaumburg Soccer Fest and having worked with EquityOne to get the multi-use facility built. She bought gas there and ate meals, improving the local economy.

“McHenry County is a great family neighborhood. When it comes to practice time, we can’t find a time in Barrington or Ridgefield.”

“Environmentally, this is going to be a fantastic facility.”

“This is a private facility,” someone from the audience interj

“Excuse me, you’re done,” McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler said.

Munaretto defended free enterprise.

“This is still America.”

Right after Munaretto’s defense of private enterprise, Ersel Schuster said,

“It’s being sold as something for the community and it is not. It is private.”

Then Tina Hill spoke.

“I assume it will cost me some votes in the next election,” she said as she sat before about 100 of her constituents, all of voting age.

She said she was going “to vote my conscience.”

When the vote was held it passed 15-8.

The eight voting “No” on the SportsPlex question were Yvonne Barnes, Randy Donley, John Hammerand, Jim Heisler, Mary McCann, Kathy Bergan Schmidt, Ersel Schuster, Paula Yensen (in whose district the project sits).

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Other articles that might be of interest:

County Board Gives SportsPlex, Baseball Stadium, Wonder Lake Dredging More Time to Borrow Money

Citizens Speak Against SportsPlex, Lakewood Officials Support

Lakewood Approves McHenry County SportsPlex

Lakewood Explains SportsPlex

I did not receive this letter to Lakewood residents until this morning and, then, it did not come from village hall, but from Village Trustee Ken Santowski. It accompanied his report to constituents on village affairs and can be found immediately below this post.

September 3, 2010

Dear Lakewood Resident:

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lakewood, I am writing to inform you of a McHenry County Board Meeting on Tuesday, September 7th, at 9:00 am, which is critically important to the Village of Lakewood. On Tuesday morning, the County Board will vote on a request by the McHenry County Sportsplex, LLC to extend the deadline for the sale of $18 M of ARRA Recovery Zone Bonds from September 30 to December 31, 2010. These bonds, which serve as a bridge loan, are an essential component of the funding model for this project.

The residents who live in the vicinity of the project have actively and vocally expressed their opposition to the Sportsplex. On Wednesday, Trustee Blake Hobson and Village Manager Catherine Peterson joined me at a meeting with more than 100 residents from the unincorporated areas near Pleasant Valley Road and Hamilton Road. While many of these residents said that “the complex is beautiful” and that they would like to see it in McHenry County, they do not want the project near their properties. They are an organized group and, in addition to the numerous phone calls and letters they have already sent to every County Board Member, they plan to be at the meeting on Tuesday morning to express their opposition to the project.

We acknowledge that change is difficult, especially as it relates to land use. However, the Village Board feels that it is unrealistic to believe that there will not be development at the intersection of two state highways. The sports complex, with its open space and commitment to the highest environmental standards, is a significantly better neighboring use than the standard “big box” development along most major highways. Every attempt has been made to take the neighboring properties into account and to minimize the impact of the sports complex upon them.

Commercial development along Route 47 is a critical component of Lakewood’s long-term financial plan. Today, sales tax revenue represents a very small part of our revenue stream. Downward pressure from the State Tax Cap and the current economic environment force us to look at new revenue streams to support the continuation of existing service levels. As a Village Board, we believe that economic development at Route 47 is essential to our long-term financial stability.

On July 27, 2010, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lakewood unanimously approved the annexation, zoning, Special Use/Planned Unit Development; and Annexation/Development Agreement for the McHenry County Sportsplex. The approval of this project represents nearly a decade of planning and preparation by our staff and elected officials, including: the execution of signed boundary agreement with all of our neighboring communities to create a specific planning area; approval of our Facilities Planning Area (FPA) to be co-terminus with this defined planning area; expansion of our water and waste water facilities; regular review and adoption of our local Comprehensive Plan; and active participation in McHenry County’s 2030 Plan. It has always been our intent that this key intersection of two state highways be developed as a destination utilizing best environmental management practices, and this proposal meets these objectives.

If you support our recent annexations and the development of the McHenry County Sportsplex, it is important that you make your voice heard. For your convenience, I have attached contact information for every member of the County Board. I strongly encourage you to contact each Board member before Tuesday to indicate your support. I also hope to see many Lakewood residents attend Tuesday’s meeting, which takes place at 9:00 am, on the 2nd floor of the McHenry County Administration Building on Ware Road, just north of the county courthouse.

If you have any questions regarding the sports complex, I encourage you to access the Frequently Asked Question documents available on our Village website, or to contact me directly with your questions at erin.smith.lakewood@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Erin Smith

Erin Smith, President
Village of Lakewood

Lakewood Village Trustee Ken Santowski has made it a practice to send emails about his take on village affairs. His latest missive follows:

Friends Neighbors and fellow residents,

Unfortunately the August 10th board meeting was canceled. We only had the August 24th meeting, and as you can tell I am very much behind in my updates. I have been working an extraordinary amount of hours (7 days a week) for one of my customers. Of course they are in the wind turbine business. The rest of my customers are down tremendously as is the rest of the companies in America. I apologize for this delay.

There were several items on this agenda up for discussion.

The first major one was an approval for the next phase of engineering for the proposed Huntley road bike path.

Unfortunately (and I had thought) Crystal Lake had  decided to pass on paying for part of the bike path.

With the engineering costs and the villages match, the village of Lakewood now has to pay the entire $247,000 (estimated)  portion of the bike paths estimated $994,000.00 cost.

CMAQ-CMAP portion would be $647,000 if given final approval.

As you know I have been against this bike path since the beginning, but only for economic reasons.

Now that CL has decided to let us pay for the whole project that money will be taken out of the Park and Rec fund, aka Redtail fund.

My concern is that we will lower that fund (which was at 1M and change) to a point where we might not be able to build the kind of clubhouse that will bring in the type of revenue (sales tax) that we need to meet the payments once the building is built.

Many residents, who want the clubhouse built first and foremost, have expressed this opinion to me  and others.

As a newly indoctrinated bike rider I would love to see more paths and trails, but in the “real business” world that I am from, we spend the money on things that are “needed” first, then “wanted” 2nd.

Julie Richardson questioned weather this project would set a precedent with CL. If we can spend our own money to build this bike path, then what is to stop them from thinking that way in the future.

Even though we give them $700K a year for park district. (Unfortunately by law we cannot repeal that decision) President Smith told the board that if we rejected the CMAP money it would set a precedent that our village was not willing to move forward.

I reminded the board and President (Erin) Smith that Ford Motors Companies rejection of federal stimulus money did not hurt them. In fact they are the #1 car company in America right now according to some leading reports.

But unfortunately when the vote was counted Julie (Richardson), Blake (Hobson), Carl (Davis) all voted yes. I voted no.

Erin Smith cast the deciding yes vote.

As I have previously stated I would love to see more bike paths and trails throughout the village and the county. But as we can see, this path is going to cost us the residents more money than was originally intended.

The motion passed, and the next phase of engineering work will be done. Once that is complete, the results are presented to CMAP for approval and funding. One of my biggest concerns is that the funding goes away after we spend almost $100K on engineering. Incidentally, why does it cost $100K to engineer a bike path?

The other major agenda item was the water rates. As you know when the water tower project was approved it was implied that with out triple AAA rating, favorable construction costs and some best management practices the impact to residents would be kept to a minimum.

When we first heard of the water tower project rates were expected to rise by a base of about $93.00 annually. Then it was lowered to about the $40.00 range after we received some preliminary estimates for construction. I was under the belief that through some cost saving measures, and other saving measures the impact would be significantly less than the $40.00 range.

Unfortunately that was not the case. I questioned where the costs savings disappeared.  When the motion was presented, I again voted no. Trustees Davis, Hobson and Richardson voted yes. President Smith cast the  deciding “yes”vote. Unfortunately your base water rates will be going up by about $3.50 each month. No, it is not alot of money, but if every taxing body took $3.50 each month out of your pocket, you probably would start to notice.
Many have accused me of being the “no tax increases” guy because I want people to like me. Well, there are plenty of people out there who don’t like they way I vote on certain items. Hopefully they can respect me as much as I respect them. I have always been willing to listen to them, especially when they don not agree with me.

The sports-complex is moving forward. Tuesday (tomorrow) there is a meeting at the county building to extend the deadline for the owners to get their share of the money in order to qualify for the low interest bonds.

Many people who have voiced their opinion against this complex are supposedly going to this meeting.

President Smith has asked residents (see attachment) who support this project to attend the meeting.

Unfortunately I will not be able to take time off work to attend this meeting. As you know I have been on a roller coaster with this proposed project. I originally voted yes because I wanted to give them the tools to either make this work or not.

I am not sure if the inability to raise the cash needed in time is a sign of the times, the economy or simply in the belief of the project. I recently spoke with someone from the project and the complete feasibility study still has not been completed, or at least it has not been made available. I am not sure of how things will go at the county level. Only time will tell.
As always I will do my best to represent you and your decisions.

Kenneth M Santowski

FYI -

The Styrofoam bins are in place throughout the village. They are located at village hall, public works (Haligus road), Redtail Golf course and of course my home. Feel free to drop off white Styrofoam (preferably clean, please) anytime day or night. If you have any questions feel free to contact me through email or directly by phone at 847-910-2985

Lastly, it was announced that the packets for those intended to run for the village board will be available as of Sept 21 at village hall. If you are thinking of running for office I encourage you to take one out.

Below is the emailed letter that Lakewood Village Trustee Ken Santowski sent concerning Tuesday’s meeting which resulted in the approval of annexation of additional property to the village, plus economic incentives to the McHenry County SportsPlex.

The SportsPlex is probably the biggest building project other than schools and hospital additions that have been seen in years.

I find the following conclusion of interest:

“…the village would only lose face if the project fails…”

Friends:

As you may have seen in the newspaper this meeting of 07/27/10 was devoted entirely to the SportsPlex.

Several key “things” had to happen before the MCS (McHenry County SportsPlex) could go forward in Lakewood.

There was a planning and zoning hearing to recommend annexing some other properties into the village so some infrastructure changes could be made. Those changes were presented as something good for the complex and those changes would only enhance the potential benefits of the complex to its neighbors and residents of Lakewood.

Over the previous couple of days I received a couple of calls (3 to be exact) from residents NOT living in Lakewood expressing their desire to have me vote against the MCS.

At first I was leery of their phone calls, but after listening to them I determined that some of their reasons for wanting to reject the complex were legitimate.

The #1 reason that I ascertained from those calls was that the complex would encroach upon their lives and severely impact their quiet existence.

Also that the MCS people had not contacted most of the non-Lakewood residents about how the complex would affect them.

Since I am not a member of the plan and zoning board, I sat in the audience like everyone else.

There were  many consultants and experts ready to speak on behalf of the project. The presentation went well.

Members of the audience were allowed to cross-examine those experts, voice concerns and eventually give their opinion’s. Several key objections were raised during this first meeting. All were dignified and sincere.

The village board meeting started after a short 15 minute break.

Once again the experts presented their case, members of the audience were allowed to cross-examine them, ask questions and give opinion’s.

While some pleas against the complex were based on the simple desire to ward off progress, again many major concerns were raised.

From my viewpoint it appeared that the complex has 3 major hurdles.

• Completion of studies showing the feasibility of the potential success of the project based on other similar projects;
• water and sewer supply and discharge, and
• traffic.

It appeared that several members of the audience had found a way to get under the skin of a couple of consultants. The consultants did not have the answers to questions, either because their study was not complete or their study did not encompass the residents questions.

The ability to have water and sewer on site seemed to be a rather large issue.

As of last night, the complex did not have a clear answer as to who and how water and sewer were being brought to the site. The other part of the question was as to the financial aspects of paying for that water and sewer rights.

Extensive traffic studies were done regarding the complex.

Unfortunately the traffic study did not include areas to the far west and far south side of the complex. It was in the engineers  opinion that those areas did not need to be studied since the current amount of flow through traffic represented only a very small % of the potential traffic survey.

I agree with those residents who raised these concerns. While the project looks good and seems to be a viable addition to the village, I had hoped that the MCS people had been more “neighborhood friendly” especially with those who do not live in Lakewood, but will have

• ball fields,
• parking lots and
• other “structures”

outside their windows and across the street.

During the meeting, I asked Jack Porter to make sure that he  does in fact talk to every single person directly affected by this potential development.

He said he would try.

Though these objections were raised it was not enough to dissuade the board (or myself) from stalling this project.

There are many larger and more legally challenging concerns that need to be taken care of by the developers before this project can move even on handful of dirt.

It was my belief that the business model they would be presenting to potential investors would be the stumbling block they most need to be aware of.

I felt that my giving them a “yes” vote it would be up to them to complete and answer those residential and non residential concerns and objections.

This project is far from being a done deal.

Many more meetings, plans, details, discussions (and Votes) will be needed before the first construction vehicle shows up.

Since their is no liability against the village if the project fails, I felt it best to let them proceed.

While we are making some concessions, deals, grant writing and revenue sharing the village would only lose face if the project fails.

While we are waiving a potential significant amount of fees, we would have done the same for any potential developer within the village’s limits.

Staff has spent time (a lot of time) researching the ways and means to accomplish the agreements made in the shortest period of time. While it is true that I have not been a huge supporter of certain staff members, I have to believe their efforts are put forth with the best of intentions.

I like the look and feel of this complex.

It meets all of the criteria that most towns would love to impose upon a development, but would not take the risk of asking.

Do I believe this complex will be successful?

It matters what you(r) level of success is at.

I do not think they will be able to obtain the eventual number of visitors each day/year without having serious growth pains and complaints.

However, if they only meet their number by 50% I believe the project could be sustainable long enough to ride out the horrendous economy, and still appease those who live nearby and those who would use the complex.

After the meeting ending I expressed my concerns of the developer being a “good neighbor” to ALL of our neighbors; even if they do not live here.

I explained to him that I would be checking with each and every property owner in the area to make sure he (Jack Porter) or his staff talks to them.

He seemed to take me seriously.

I shall keep my eyes, ears and mind open for ANY news, developments or even rumors regarding this complex.

Kenneth M Santowski

The Lakewood village board unanimously approved economic incentive and annexation ordinances that allow the $40 million, 165 acre McHenry County SportsPlex to proceed.

The result is three happy guys, Lou Tenor, EnRico Heirman and Jack Porter, plus a plethora of consultants who pretty much answered every question thrown at them.

A zoning hearing started at 6 at the Lakewood-owned Red Tail Golf Club with over 120 people in attendance at its peak.  Less than half that number lasted until the midnight hour when about ten minutes of voting approved all the paperwork.

Besides the consultants, village officials and staff, most in attendance were people objecting from the neighborhood.

Lakewood, trying to garner more revenue, has moved aggressively in the last two months to annex property along the western side of Route 47 up to the northern leg of Route 176.

Adjoining property owners are not happy.  That includes those who will be living next to baseball fields, plus those south of the area in unincorporated Colleens Cote.

Subdivision board member Peggy Keegan put it this way,

“You’re putting a ghastly complex in the middle of a corn field.  If it doesn’t succeed, you have a Motorola, you have a Sears Complex.”

“We feel all of this was done behind our backs,” Tom Balboney, also a resident from the subdivision, said.

An earlier supporter of the project had talked of his father’s having pointed to where Woodfield would be built.

Balboney said that’s why he had moved out here, to get away from places like Woodfield.

“We all feel this was done behind our backs,” he concluded.

Earlier Colleen’s Cote resident Catherine Francis had accurately observed,

Colleens Cote's Kathryn Francis told of the Blandings Turtle and blue birds she had on her property south of the property being annexed for ball fields.

“This feels to the residents as a moving train.  Suddenly you are in our back yard.  Venues could come in that would invite people that we wouldn’t want.  There has been no discussion about our safety.

“Are you telling us you want to do this to us for a half a million a year (in new revenue to Lakewood)?”

Village President Erin Smith told neighbors that their concerns would be taken into consideration.  Concerns included traffic on Hamilton and Pleasant Valley Roads, noise and light pollution.

It took two hours for the project’s consultants, choreographed by attorney Tom Zanck, to finish their testimony.

Traffic Engineer David Miller explained the new intersection that will result once Pleasant Valley Road is relocated south so it is opposite the south leg of Route 176.

No longer will motorists see a sign that asks, “got mulch?”

Once completed, there will be an elaborate entryway.

There will be ball fields all over the place.

A selling point to the proposal was its environmentally sensitive design by Jack Porter, who developed the Sanctuary of Bull Valley in the City of Woodstock.  High quality wet lands like Lighting Creek are being completely avoided.  The cold water creek, which contains the Iowa darter, a little perch, will be crossed by a boardwalk.

The boardwalk will be part of a trail system that will be available to the general public.  The

developers will charge those participating in tournaments, but don’t plan to do the same for family, friends, coaches, etc.

Porter touted the development as “an opportunity to stimulate the Northwest Quarter of the village.”

He described it as “a public-private partnership” that would never have happened without the support of Dick Durbin, Melissa Bean, Pam Althoff and the village board.

500 construction jobs will be created and under terms of the EB-5 financing, which, as former village president candidate John O’Hara put it,

“We’re selling visas to foreign residents.”

The Federally-approved financing device allows foreigners to invest $500,000 in a project like the SportsPlex and get a visa, as long as enough jobs are created.  For the amount of money involved, there must be 353 Full-Time Equivalent jobs created.

O’Hara summarized the financial arrangement like this:

“So, there’s no taxpayer risk for the EB-5 bonds, no taxpayer risk for the Recovery Zone Bonds.

“So, the only risk for the taxpayers is the off-site improvements.”

Village President Smith replied, “That’s right.”

The $18 million in county board-approved Federal stimulus bonds is being used “only as a start-up mechanism.”

It was also described as “a bridge loan.”

The off-site improvements include a promise by the village board to provide sewer and water to the property.  Current Lakewood sewer and water lines are about two miles away, so it may be cheaper to build on-site treatment and water facilities.

“The village has made a commitment to provide sewer and water,” Village Administrator Catherine Peterson explained.

A man asked why the SportsPlex was not being built on the east side of Route 47.

Porter replied there were three reasons:

• “the availability of land (on the west side of the road)”
• “it’s in the center of the county”
• “it would be in the village of Crystal Lake (if it were on the east side of Rt. 47)”

Financial information for the private enterprise was not revealed.

Stressed several times was

“This is all equity financing.”

Eventually, $36 million is being sought from E-5 financing, while $4 million in equity is being sought elsewhere.

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More illustrations here.

You will remember that when we arrived home from our East Coast trip, I discovered a flyer opposed to the Lakewood SportsPlex.

A second one turned up Sunday headlined,

NO TO THE LAKEWOOD
SPORTSPLEX

Here’s its content:

DID YOU KNOW?

• On Tuesday, July 26, 2010 the Lakewood Planning and Zoning Committee will be meeting at 6:00 pm at Redtail Golf Club.
• They plan to zone land for the SportsPlex that is NOT YET even ANNEXED to Lakewood.
• Their intention is to annex that property in the next 30 days.
• Show up and tell them NO MORE ANNEXATION!
• The last round of annexation of approximately 18 properties paid $5000.00 CASH, waived annexation fees and gave tax incentives to the property owners.
• Lakewood had to borrow the money from an impact fund to make the cash payments.
• Your village president claims that money will be repaid from sales tax revenue from the 4 businesses annexed to the village. It will take YEARS to recoup that money from the 4 SEASONAL BUSINESSES that joined the village.

The meeting is on Tuesday, which is the 27th, not the 26th.

Details on the agendas of the two meetings can be found here, as can what it will look like.

The unveiling of the the McHenry County SportsPlex details will start at Lakewood’s Red Tail Golf Course Club House at six Tuesday night.

Before the night is over, I’d give odds the deal, complete with so far unrevealed “development incentives,” will be approved, will be approved.

That’s when the following will occur:

“Public Hearing: Consideration and Recommendation for Map Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance of the Village of Lakewood to have the premises described hereafter zoned as AG Agricultural and B-2 General Business, respectively, consistent with the above-referenced Special Use Permit and Development Plan.”

Maybe you can figure out what that means, but I can’t.

Then, at 7 PM, what appears to be the most momentous village board meeting since Turnberry was annexed in order to allow the developer to avoid school and park district impact fees, the village board appears poised to annex more land and provide economic incentives to developers of the proposed McHenry County SportsPlex.

There will be a public hearing first on the

“Proposed Annexation and Development Incentive Agreement,”

as the agenda puts it.

I couldn’t find the “incentives” being offered the SportsPlex promoters on the the village web site.  Village officials sent this explanation in mid-July.  It mentions a flyer that many residents received earlier.

Here’s what seems relevant from Tuesday night’s agenda:

Public Hearing:

Proposed Annexation and Development Incentive Agreement with the Village of Lakewood,

• Patricia M. LeClair as Trustee under provisions of a Trustee Agreement dated July 9, 2008 and known as Patricia LeClair Revocable Trust,
• Napier Partners, L.P., and
• Donald A. Swanson, Owners, and
• McHenry County Sportplex, LLC, Petitioner

The Public Hearing includes hearings on and will include the following
matters:

• The Approval of the above Annexation and Development Incentive
• Agreement (“Agreement”),
• the Approval of the Annexation of the Parcels Subject to the Agreement,
• the Re-Zoning of the parcels subject to the Agreement,
• the Approval of a Special Use Permit for Planned Development of parcels subject to the Agreement,
• the Approval of a Preliminary Plat for the parcels subject to the Agreements and
• the Approval of an Agreement to the Comprehensive Plan for the Village of Lakewood concerning the parcels Subject to the Agreement

Motion to Approve Ordinance 2010-(64) – An Ordinance Approving an Amendment to the Village of Lakewood Comprehensive Plan

Motion to Approve Ordinance 2010-(65) – An Ordinance Authorizing Execution of an Annexation and Development Incentive Agreement Between the Village of Lakewood,

• Napier Partners, LP;
• Patricia M. LeClair Revocable Trust;
• Donald Swanson; and
• McHenry County Sportplex, LLC

Motion to Approve Ordinance 2010-(66) – An Ordinance Annexing the Napier and LeClair Properties Commonly Known as 12317 and 12512 Pleasant Valley Road to the Village of Lakewood

Motion to Approve Ordinance 2010-(67) -An Ordinance Zoning 12317 and 12512 Pleasant Valley Road as AG Agriculture District and 11717 Pleasant Valley Road as B-2 General Business District (Napier Partners, LP; Patricia M. LeClair Revocable Trust; and Donald Swanson Properties)

Motion to Approve Ordinance 2010-(68) – An Ordinance Issuing a Special Use Permit for Planned Unit Development for Property Commonly known as 12317, 12512, and 11717 Pleasant Valley Road (Napier Partners, LP; Patricia M. LeClair Revocable Trust and Donald Swanson Properties)

Motion to Approve Ordinance 2010-(69) – An Ordinance Approving the Preliminary Plan for the Napier Partners, LP; Patricia M. LeClair Revocable Trust; and Donald Swanson Properties

With everything scheduled to happen in one night and no documents on the village web site, there does not appear to be a desire to have reasoned discussion by the public on this biggest “deal” in Lakewood history.

This reminds me too much of the Jimmy Carter “Trust me” approach to his presidential election.

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Previous articles that might be of interest:

$18 Million Federal Stimulus Request for $40 Million Route 47 & 176 Lakewood Recreational Complex on County Board Finance Committee’s Agenda Tuesday

Concept Drawings of the Proposed McHenry County Sportsplex in Lakewood

May Letter Outlines $5 Million in Direct and Indirect Lakewood Financial Assistance to Sportsplex Developer Lou Tenore

So, You Want to Know More about the Lakewood SportsPlex?

Lakewood Village President Erin Smith Endorses Ken Koehler for County Board

First Electric Newspaper Finds Potential Snag in Lakewood SportsPlex

Chicagoland Foreign Investment Group Sends SportsPlex Investment Letter

Investment Bank Announces Commitment to SportsPlex, If

Thoughts on “Money in the Bank”

Lakewood SportsPlex Proposal Getting Curiouser and Curiouser

Lakewood Gains New Economic Development Tool

Lakewood Seeks to Annex 540 Acres, including Route 176 & 47 Golf Courses & SportsPlex Site

Judge Michael Caldwell Gives Lakewood Green Light to Grow to Route 176

Former Village President, Republican Activist Win Lakewood Trustee Spots

Big Zoning Doings in Lakewood Tuesday Night

Lakewood Annexes Past Route 47 Up to Route 176

Village of Lakewood Summer Newsletter, Anti-SportsPlex Flyer Arrive

Owners of a couple of hundred acres of land are asking to be annexed to the Village of Lakewood on Tuesday.

The annexation is connected with the SportsPlex, which McHenry County’s Board has allocated millions of dollars in loan authority under the Federal Stimulus Program.

The zoning meeting starts at 6 at Red Tail Golf Course’s club house.

After the public hearing, a regular board meeting will be held.

This summary of the inducements to annex was provided by Village Administrator Catherine Peterson:

• Waiver of annexation fees
• Cash payment of $5,000 per parcel
• An abatement of the municipal portion of the property tax bill for a period of five or ten years

She said that the waiver is void when the property is sold, except for the homesteads on Ballard Road.

The $5,000 per property owner payments are “to help defray legal and other expenses they might have incurred,” Peterson wrote.

“The money will be borrowed from the Impact Fee Fund and repaid with the additional sales tax revenues from the new businesses that will be brought into the community:

• Crystal Woods Golf Course
• Craig Woods Golf Course
• The Gardens of Woodstock and
• Kolze’s Garden Center

Pete Gonigam’s First Electric Newspaper reported it first, but he didn’t have the map you see below.

What you see in orange is the new area within McHenry County designated by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development as “Targeted Employment Area under the Alien Entrepreneur Visa Program.”

The yellow sections on the map are already so designated.

So, what does it mean?

Under the irreverently coined “buy a visa” program, foreigners with $1 million to invest in an approved job creation enterprise may obtain entry to the United States of America.

However, if the economic development occurs within a “Targeted Employment Area,” the required investment decreases to $500,000.

As you can see two townships—Riley and Chemung—previously were eligible for the smaller “entry fee.”

With the expansion of the Woodstock Greenwood Township section, whose northern edge is Ware Road (the street between the McHenry County Jail and the Administrative Building), to include the rural part of Dorr Township, Lakewood gains a potential source of investment for its part of the intersection of Routes 47 and 176. So does Woodstock as it expands southward toward Route 176.

The rural Dorr Township area was eligible because the census tract had an unemployment rate of 14.2% is 153% of the national average of 9.3%. (An area must be at least at the 150% level.)

Note that the connection is at a point. Only the edges of the census tracts touch. (See black mark on map.)

A January 6th letter from Lakewood Village President to Warren Ribley, Executive Director of the DCCA, states that “the proposed project” will employee “800 temporary and 400 permanent individuals.”

It references a January 7th letter to Village Manager Catherine Peterson from New York City attorney Stephen Yale-Loehr.

He delivers an affirmative answer as to whether the census tract can be designated a “Targeted Employment Area for EB-5 (the name of the “buy a visa” program) purposes.”

He points out his co-authorship of “Immigration Law and Procedure, the leading 20-volume immigration law treatise,” plus his teaching immigration law at Cornell Law School.

He has been a member or in a leadership position in the American Immigration Lawyers Association EB-5 Investors Committee since 1996.

And he says why this particular census tract, which contains the area proposed for the SportsPlex is eligible for a Targeted Employment Area designation.

DCCA apparently agreed with Yale-Loehr’s logic. That’s what DCCA Research Manager Edwin R. Taft’s February 16th letter indicates.

Read this article on The First Electric Newspaper about the unsavory background of one of the McHenry County SportsPlex’ consultants.

The publication reports SportsPlex supporters introduced “Terry Gaouette, Vice President of Administration and Business Consulting Services for H&K Sports Fields, Egg Harbor, WI, as a consultant.”

Further, that he was “Chief Financial Officer of the Milwaukee Public Museum and indicted on four felony counts in 2007 for draining money from the museum’s endowment funds to cover its declining operations and hiding it.”

The museum had to be bailed out by county government to keep it from going under.

Also of interest was McHenry County Board Finance and Audit Committee Chairman Marc Munaretto:

“I understood him to represent himself as the consultant for (McHenry County Sportsplex’s) business plan. I thought he was a paid consultant that helped develop the application.”

Munaretto told reporter Pete Gonigam it wasn’t his committee’s job to “drill down that far.”

The committee has also not “drilled down” far enough to even reveal to fellow county board members and the public who owns how much of the project.

Read the whole story.

It’s getting curiouser and curiouser.