Dist. 204 to quit fighting for land

[casey]

brad204 said:

forthekids said:

Wolf's Crossing goes to Eola. I've done it many times and is quite fast.

That road is in horrible shape, but sure put your kids on it. My train commment stands.

You're right about that, Brad. The road is narrow, curvy, dark, and one lane plus you have to cross an at-grade crossing that is somewhat dangerous. I don't see that being a good solution for anyone.

[casey]

Just thought I'd post the DH article rather than the link. Makes for easier reading.



District 204 officially abandons the Brach-Brodie land in court
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald StaffContact writerPublished: 2/5/2008 12:16 AMSend To:

Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officially has given up its pursuit of the Brach-Brodie property more than two years after it first filed suit to purchase the land.

The two sides were in court Monday morning so the district could put a stop to the condemnation proceedings for 55 acres off Route 59 near 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora.

The district already owns 25 acres at the site and had hoped to purchase the additional land to build Metea Valley High School.

Indian Prairie, which includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, says a third high school is needed to ease overcrowding at Waubonsie and Neuqua Valley high schools.

District leaders had said the Brach-Brodie land was the best available site for the high school and decided to pursue it through condemnation when they couldn't agree on a price with the landowner.

That process came to a halt in September, however, when a jury decided the land is worth $31 million -- $17 million more than the district anticipated.

Late last month, the school board announced it had found a more affordable piece of property -- an 87-acre parcel along Eola Road south of Diehl Road -- to house the proposed 3,000-student school. The new site will cost about $16.5 million.

Even though the district now has given up the Brach-Brodie land, the two sides aren't done with each other. They will be in court again March 17 to hear any further motions.

"We won't be filing anything in the condemnation case," said Rick Petesch, attorney for the district. "We'll wait for their motions regarding (legal) fees. And whatever else they add to that."

The district also has to offer to sell the 25 acres it already owns back to the Brach-Brodie trust for the amount it originally paid -- about $6.4 million. The trust has not indicated whether it is interested in buying it back.

Petesch said he plans to write a letter to the trust later this week asking it to make a decision by a certain date.

"We'll give them a deadline, and if they don't meet that deadline, we might ask the court to impose a deadline on them," Petesch said.

Brodie attorney Steve Helm did not return calls seeking comment.

Land: It's still not over between district, Brodie

[confused]

bob said:

confused said:

95th already does go through to Rte 30, as Wolf's Crossing - although it might curve south a little bit. To go this way, you'd be going West of WV than cutting back East to get there. On mapquest it doesn't appear to be a faster route for people coming from Rte 59/95th St area - not sure though.

Huh? You would take the new 95th to Eola and make a right.

You can see the possible road in Google map satellite.

gotcha - I thought you were saying take 95th to rte 30.

[d204mom]

proschool said:

Dist. 204 to quit fighting for land
Brach-Brodie site owners could seek damages now
By Justin Kmitch | Daily Herald StaffContact writerPublished: 2/2/2008 12:28 AMSend To:

Indian Prairie attorney Rick Petesch said Friday he anticipates Monday's hearing will open the door for the property owners to respond and seek damages from the district for court costs and legal fees.

He hopes it also will begin the process of determining whether the property owners want to buy the 25 acres back from the district.

"We've asked them several times to tell us what, if anything, they intend to do with the property," Petesch said. "We hope those discussions can take place once we abandon our right to purchase the remaining 55 acres."

Steve Helm, the attorney representing the trust that owns the Brach-Brodie property, called Monday's court date a "trigger mechanism."

"If they are granted the motion to abandon, it would trigger our right to buy back the 25 acres," he said. "That would also be the appropriate time for us to make a claim for certain monetary damages resulting from attorney fees or any damage resulting from the condemnation actions."

Helm said he won't be surprised if the judge also advises the property owners to list their claims and attempt to settle with the district out of court.

A few things:

HEY where's our 25 acres? We were told it's going to be a piece of cake. We just write them a letter asking if they want it back and if they don't respond within 30 days it's ours. Hmm. Been 30 days now.

HEY why did D204 refuse to sit down and try to work things out? Doesn't seem very neighborly and it looks like we didn't act in good faith.

And lastly That would also be the appropriate time for us to make a claim for certain monetary damages resulting from attorney fees or any damage resulting from the condemnation actions. Well, right now is not the appropriate time. Judge Kilander granted them a continuance to make sure they have all of their ducks in a row with regards to their damage claims. Our ducks seem to have flown south for the winter and may have decided to stay there permanently.

[d204mom]

casey said:

District 204 officially abandons the Brach-Brodie land in court
By Melissa Jenco

The district also has to offer to sell the 25 acres it already owns back to the Brach-Brodie trust for the amount it originally paid -- about $6.4 million. The trust has not indicated whether it is interested in buying it back.

Petesch said he plans to write a letter to the trust later this week asking it to make a decision by a certain date.

"We'll give them a deadline, and if they don't meet that deadline, we might ask the court to impose a deadline on them," Petesch said.

The 25 acres. Oh, yeah, we'll just write them a letter. No problem. So easy. It'll be free and clear in no time.

The funny thing is, there are so many bigger fish to fry at this point no one's even concerned about a paltry 6.4M.

Eveyone seems pleased as punch and basking in the "fiscally responsible" feedback that flushing away another 6.4 on top of however many millions we are going to pay BB isn't even on the radar screen.


But MWGEN is so much cheaper!

[macy]

d204mom said:

casey said:

District 204 officially abandons the Brach-Brodie land in court
By Melissa Jenco

The district also has to offer to sell the 25 acres it already owns back to the Brach-Brodie trust for the amount it originally paid -- about $6.4 million. The trust has not indicated whether it is interested in buying it back.

Petesch said he plans to write a letter to the trust later this week asking it to make a decision by a certain date.

"We'll give them a deadline, and if they don't meet that deadline, we might ask the court to impose a deadline on them," Petesch said.

The 25 acres. Oh, yeah, we'll just write them a letter. No problem. So easy. It'll be free and clear in no time.

The funny thing is, there are so many bigger fish to fry at this point no one's even concerned about a paltry 6.4M.

Eveyone seems pleased as punch and basking in the "fiscally responsible" feedback that flushing away another 6.4 on top of however many millions we are going to pay BB isn't even on the radar screen.


But MWGEN is so much cheaper!

You might want to wait til May to post the $$$ going down the toilet picture. If the BB damages are as high as some speculate we might need a few more buckets in the picture you posted to represent the amount of lost $$$$$ that could have been spent on our kids education.

If that happens, I'll post a picture of myself over the toilet tossing up cookies over the wasted dollars that could have gone into education.