Campton Township
Public Hearing Minutes
Open Space Plan II
Community Center
November 4, 2004
7:30 P.M.
The November 4, 2004 Public Hearing on the Open Space Plan II was called to order by Supervisor Anderson at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Review and Discuss Proposed Open Space Plan II:
Supervisor Anderson began by stating the Mission Statement from page three of the 2004 Campton Township Open Space Plan II document that was provided to members of the public attending the meeting. Supervisor Anderson described the sample ballot questions on page 18 of the Open Space Plan II document. He referred to page 14, the time table for implementing the plan. On November 9, 2004 the Campton Township Board will consider adoption, or rejection, of the Plan. If adopted, the Plan will be submitted to the voters in the April 2005 election. If the Plan is approved by the voters, the acquisition process will be completed within five years. He stated the idea is to preserve land while it is still available, because it is disappearing rapidly. The proposed Elgin annexation is an example of that. He asked for Public Comment.
Public Comment:
Andrea Koppenhoffer asked is a referendum the only way to finance land purchases? Supervisor Anderson stated no, once we have referendum funds we can get matching grants that will increase the money available for land purchases. She asked are developers required to contribute open space? Answer was not to our plan, but in their subdivisions they can provide it, but it will be private open space for the subdivision residents. Dave Corron commented his family sold their farm to the Township and are very happy with the experience. People come out and enjoy it. Residents come out for hay rides and bon fires in the fall. Supervisor Anderson stated the Township gave Dave’s mother a life estate on the farm. Denise Morgan commented the Township had great foresight in passing the first referendum. Volunteers come out to do original prairie plantings. As the area is growing, properties are harder and harder to get. Barb. Wojnicki commented Campton was the fourth township in Illinois to adopt an Open Space program. As we worked with School District 303, we became aware it’s more beneficial for our tax bills to do open space, then to let it go to development. The Corron Farm would have become part of the Elgin annexation if the Township hadn’t bought it for Open Space. Ron Petrucci asked how do you maintain open space when you use interest income to do that? As principal goes down from acquisition, interest does too. Dave Phillips, Township financial advisor for Open Space, answered there is a set aside of 5% as an annuity for an interest reserve to maintain the land. Jack Shouba stated one of the Open Space properties will pay for itself by generating income from a wetland bank. Also to get grant money you have to have money from the referendum to match it. He is a botanist that volunteers to look for endangered species. The Township has provided a wide variety of Open Space to match different expectations. Ten percent of Cook County is public Open Space. Kane County is approximately 5%. Campton Township may be six percent. Here it looks like we have Open Space, but that’s deceptive, because most of it is farmland that is disappearing rapidly from development. It costs money to buy Open Space but it’s a one time expenditure with some ongoing maintenance. Schools remain permanently on your tax bills, and as development increases, so does your school tax bill. It’s pay me now, or pay me later, and later, and later. Patsy Smith commented she is active in opposing the proposed Elgin annexation. She is thankful Campton Township purchased the Corron Farm because otherwise we would be looking at a lot more houses there. The more Open Space we have, the more we keep our property taxes down, because there are less kids in the schools.
Adjournment:
Supervisor Anderson adjourned the Public Hearing.
Respectfully Submitted,
Richard Johansen
Clerk