District seeks authority to "quick take" BB Land

[wvhsparent]

eagledad said:

lacy said:

The report they posted on the district website was not specific enough for the general public to conclude that BB was the best site. The information was very vague.

You must have read a different report than I, because the one I read was quite detailed, with a great deal of info and not vague at all.

Are you sure your read it?

I have to admit I read the very same report too...found some mistakes/misassumptions, which I brought to the attention of the author. He acknowledged my finds, but made not attempt to correct.
IMHO there was a bias to the report to favor BB, but hey it's done it's what the majority wanted...not much more can be done about it now, it's in the hands of the courts now

[wvhsparent]

Land’s status hazy
No certainty Dist. 204 can start on Metea Valley High School in the spring

By Sara Hooker
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Indian Prairie Unit District 204’s push to acquire the land it needs to build a high school in Aurora may be in trouble.

Officials hoped to obtain “quick-take” powers from state lawmakers during the fall veto session, which began Tuesday, to gain immediate access to the 55 acres off Route 59 near 75th Street and Commons Drive known as the Brach-Brodie property.

That land, when combined with 25 acres the district already owns, would create an 80-acre campus for the new Metea Valley High School scheduled to open in the fall of 2009.

But the district’s ability to win quick-take powers appeared uncertain Tuesday after an assistant to state Rep. Joe Dunn said the Naperville Republican doesn’t plan to sponsor such legislation until the spring session.

The quick-take powers would let the district take over the land before a jury rules on a sale price for the land in a condemnation lawsuit the district filed last December to obtain the land.

Dunn later reconsidered, Superintendent Howard Crouse said, and agreed to consider the legislation should a judge rule to let the condemnation suit continue.

“If it becomes apparent that because of the timing of the decision on the (condemnation suit) or the length of the agenda of the veto session that it’s unlikely that the legislation would get passed, it’s better for us not to put it forward,” Crouse said.

Dunn did not return calls for comment.

Officials touted quick-take powers as a way to level the playing field in negotiations with the trust that owns the Brach-Brodie property and as a possible solution to their need to gain access to the land as quickly as possible so construction can begin in the spring.

Timing is critical, district officials say. The 3,000-student school is needed to ease overcrowding concerns in the district that covers portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook. But if the start of construction is delayed, officials worry the project will come in over its $124.7 million budget.

Waiting until the spring to ask for quick-take powers raises the possibility of the delay.

In the meantime, DuPage Circuit Judge Robert Kilander is expected to rule today regarding a request by the landowners to dismiss the suit, which alleges the district did not bargain in good faith by offering $257,500 per acre.

The district says that amount is comparable to the cost of other land in the area. Attorneys for the trust say the land is worth much more.

Should the judge rule in favor of the district, the condemnation action would continue and a jury trial would be scheduled for sometime next year to determine the value of the land.

If the case gets dismissed, the district would need to start condemnation proceedings anew or select a new parcel of land.

“It’s extremely important,” said District 204 attorney Rick Petesch of Whitt Law. “If we’re unsuccessful, we’d have to start all over from square one and that would create a significant time delay, so it’s extremely important.”

Crouse acknowledged there could be a construction delay without gaining quick-take powers this fall but remained hopeful.

“I still think construction is going to start in the spring,” Crouse said. “It may not be at the time we’d like it to be, but I think we’ll still start construction this spring.”




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I wondered why I did not find anything at the IL general assembly site...now I know why not.
I will be so glad when HC is gone!...what a goof!

[EagleDad]

Yes, there was a flurry of activity yesterday. Joe Dunn made this statement to a reporter (that he would not sponsor the quick take this session), and it triggered a barrage of feedback to his office from concerned residents, including me.

Needless to say, I believe he reconsidered. I made it plain to him, 60%+ of the population supports this. If you stand in the way and in essenentially veto it yourself, forget about me ever backing you for statewide or other office again, and I have always supported Dunn in the past.

We'll see today how he represents us.

It will be a big day, with the ruling expected as well.

[204parent]

I'm working on my signs..."Joe Dunn is DONE!!!"

[blankcheck]

Maybe his opinion stemmed from the fact that usually the "quick take" is used by the tollway authority, not really by school districts. He may be concerned that if approved and we start developing the land, if a jury decides that the land is worth more than 257/acre, it will obligate the taxpayers to pay more money that originally approved with the referendum. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[gatormom]

I guess one would have to ask Joe Dunn. We can conjecture all we want, but the only one who truly knows is Joe Dunn himself. It could also stem from the fact that he just didn't know that it was important to his constituents. Apparently, thank you ED, it has been made clear to his office that it is.

[EagleDad]

FYI here is Joe Dunn's office contact info if anyone needs it:
Springfield Office:
[phone]

Naperville Office:
[phone]

[EagleDad]

blankcheck said:

Maybe his opinion stemmed from the fact that usually the "quick take" is used by the tollway author

[dcyst]

fyi - I voted for the referendum.

[momof3]

The fact that all 4 Chicago democrats voted 'present' illustrates, for me anyway, the importance of MM to our district. IMO, this school funding issue is turing into a city-vs-suburbs thing and with his pending position as president of the Illinois School Board Association, we need his voice in the policy - making.

[blankcheck]

I still do not like the plan. The Daily Herald even stated so today... ITS A GAMBLE!. Is everyone at "all costs" with this property? Do you even realize what the ourcome maybe? Are you so set on BB that you are willing to pay whatever a jury decides? Sorry-I totally disagree with this approach. You can tell me all the comparable you want to, however, where will the jury pool come from? Certainly not from around here.

[bob]

blankcheck said:

I still do not like the plan. The Daily Herald even stated so today... ITS A GAMBLE!. Is everyone at "all costs" with this property? Do you even realize what the ourcome maybe? Are you so set on BB that you are willing to pay whatever a jury decides? Sorry-I totally disagree with this approach. You can tell me all the comparable you want to, however, where will the jury pool come from? Certainly not from around here.

With QuickTake the judge decides the fair price. IF BB doesn't like the outcome, they can still go to jury.

[Arch]

No one in their right mind is going to set the price so far above market.

[proschool]

ITS A GAMBLE!.

Voting no for the first referendum was the gamble.

[gatordog]

blankcheck said:

... ITS A GAMBLE!

...and its democracy, just like the referendum. I am not afraid of letting the jury process decide what is fair and right, if that is what it comes down to.

The 9-0 Executive commitee vote in favor was a strong bipartisan endorsment of Quick-take, in my opinion. I look forward to the full House considering this. I hope they show a committment to education in this case.

I still hold out hope that after Quick-Take is granted, the SD can use it as bargaining chip and hopefully get BB to settle, without having to use it.