Couldn’t wait until the regular meeting on March 26th.

I just chanced upon the special meeting notice, which you can see below:

Here’s the recommendation:

McHenry County College Board Report #09-49
Special Board Meeting March 12, 2009
Proposal to Sell Approximately
3.67 Acres of MCC Real Estate

Information:

At the Special Board Meeting of February 18, 2009, the Board of Trustees heard a presentation by Mr. John Maguire on behalf of BMB Communications Management, LLC, regarding a proposal to purchase approximately 3.67 acres of McHenry County College real estate for the purpose of constructing a 1,500 foot communications tower. A proposed purchase contract outlining the terms and provisions of the purchase was provided to the Board and made available to the public.

At the request of members of the Board of Trustees, the item is back on the Board’s agenda for consideration, along with a revised final purchase contract, a copy of which is attached. Mr. Maguire is unable to attend the March 12 Special Board Meeting. However, Mr. Tom Zanck, Attorney for BMB Communications Management, has a copy of the contract signed by Mr. Maguire and will be at the Special Board Meeting to address questions from the Board of Trustees.

The specific revisions in the proposed final purchase contract include:

1.All references to charitable contributions being made to MCC, the Foundation, or other charities designated by MCC have been revised to delete the Foundation and alternate charities. The contract now provides that the contributions will be made to McHenry County College District No. 528. Please refer to page 2, paragraphs 2a and 2b of the attached revised final purchase contract.

2.Mr. Maguire has agreed to make a non-refundable initial deposit of $2,500 for the first six months during which time he will petition for approval of the communications tower construction at the project site by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Mr. Maguire believes he will know within six months whether or not the FAA will approve the project site. In the previous version of the contract, all deposits were refundable if the project were cancelled within four, six-month periods (24 months total). Please refer to page 5, paragraph 9f of the attached revised final purchase contract.

An additional consideration is that Illinois Compiled Statutes, specifically 110 ILCS 805/3-41, provide authority for the Board of Trustees

“To sell at private or public sale any personal or real property belonging to the district and not needed for community college purposes.”

It is, therefore, incumbent upon the Board to determine that the subject acres of real estate are not needed for College purposes.

Recommendation:

If the Board of Trustees believes the approximately 3.67 acres of real estate identified in the purchase contract is not needed for community college purposes and it is in the best interest of McHenry County College to sell those acres of MCC real estate to BMB Communications Management, LLC, according to the terms and provisions of the attached purchase contract, it is recommended that the Board

1) affirms a finding that the approximately 3.67 acres of real estate provided for in the purchase contract are not needed for community college purposes, specifically for McHenry County College purposes;

2) approves the sale of the specified acres of real estate to BMB Communications Management, LLC; and 3) authorizes the Chair and Secretary, on behalf of McHenry County College District No. 528, to sign the purchase contract previously signed by Mr. Maguire.

Brian Sager, Ph.D.
Acting President

You can find the revised contract here.

So far there has been no evidence that the college board or officials have done any due diligence besides liability from the construction and potential (but unlikely) collapse of the tower.

There is no evidence that any outside expert in the radio tower business has been consulted to determine if the price offered is as much as could be expected.

I repeat, the junior college is willing to release no reports or analysis about this project beyond the memo above and the report from its risk management consultant.