Hamman

[blankcheck]

BB is not the best site because of the cost factor involved.

[blankcheck]

Again, they knew going into negotiations with BB that it was going to be a battle. For the original 25 acres, the SB original offer was 105,000/acre - they settled for 257,000/acre (over double). Everyone is up in arms about the new boundaries - Well, I am more concerned about what this is going to cost us (again the bond issue). That to me is a key component in this whole mess.

[rj]

Here is the proposed siting of Hamman



Here is an arial view



A closer look at the landfill

[gatormom]

plainfield204 said:

Looks like there are plenty of possible locations in the south section.

With 250 Acres to work with IMO a location could be found to minimize the impact of the dump.

Honestly, it does not matter. While the dump is an issue, the problems with Oswego SD's and the City of Aurora's loss of revenue are much more important.

Do you think that Oswego SD would agree to give this land up? It is zoned light industrial which means higher taxes and no additional children in their schools.

The City of Aurora faces an interesting problem. What do you support; the land that originally was for a church which gives you nothing or lose taxes paid on the Hamman land.

How many of you really believe that the Oswego SD and the City of Aurora are going to pass on the tax money when there is another site availabe in the city of Aurora.

[Arch]

blankcheck said:

BB is not the best site because of the cost factor involved.

Again, without cost, what is the best?

The math used to justify AME purchase is spotty and packed with hopes, wishes and unknowns and several untruths at best.

Since the numbers are really not known on every line item and there are some in there that are questionable, let's take it off the table for now.

What site is best without considering money? And why is it best?

[WeBe204]

gatormom said:

plainfield204 said:

Looks like there are plenty of possible locations in the south section.

With 250 Acres to work with IMO a location could be found to minimize the impact of the dump.

Honestly, it does not matter. While the dump is an issue, the problems with Oswego SD's and the City of Aurora's loss of revenue are much more important.

Do you think that Oswego SD would agree to give this land up? It is zoned light industrial which means higher taxes and no additional children in their schools.

The City of Aurora faces an interesting problem. What do you support; the land that originally was for a church which gives you nothing or lose taxes paid on the Hamman land.
How many of you really believe that the Oswego SD and the City of Aurora are going to pass on the tax money when there is another site available in the city of Aurora.

Ashwood Park was originally zoned light industrial as well. Baring finding an industry that used foam rubber covered mini vans no industry could get approval for the site. So, the people who owned the land rezoned it to residential. (poof Ashwood Park is born) Which in turn I hear annoyed the district because that added more homes to the district. That might just explain the last set of new boundaries.

I am just speculating that ligt industrial surrounded by homes probably won't have much luck on the other side of the tracks either.

[gatormom]

brad204 said:

gatormom said:

Honestly, it does not matter. While the dump is an issue, the problems with Oswego SD's and the City of Aurora's loss of revenue are much more important.

Do you think that Oswego SD would agree to give this land up? It is zoned light industrial which means higher taxes and no additional children in their schools.

The City of Aurora faces an interesting problem. What do you support; the land that originally was for a church which gives you nothing or lose taxes paid on the Hamman land.
How many of you really believe that the Oswego SD and the City of Aurora are going to pass on the tax money when there is another site available in the city of Aurora.

Ashwood Park was originally zoned light industrial as well. Baring finding an industry that used foam rubber covered mini vans no industry could get approval for the site. So, the people who owned the land rezoned it to residential. (poof Ashwood Park is born) Which in turn I hear annoyed the district because that added more homes to the district. That might just explain the last set of new boundaries.

I am just speculating that ligt industrial surrounded by homes probably won't have much luck on the other side of the tracks either.

There are already plans for two concrete companies to move into that area Brad204. This is not Naperville we are talking about, it is Aurora. That is not a slam to Aurora or Naperville, just a fact.

ETA: This is confirmed, the concrete companies moving from another site to that area.

[WeBe204]

I'll believe it when I am darting around cement trucks But good info.

[Arch]

gatormom said:

There are already plans for two concrete companies to move into that area Brad204. This is not Naperville we are talking about, it is Aurora. That is not a slam to Aurora or Naperville, just a fact.

ETA: This is confirmed, the concrete companies moving from another site to that area.

Well, thank the good Lord it wasn't a WalMart!

[gatormom]

brad204 said:

I'll believe it when I am darting around cement trucks But good info.

Once again, I can guarantee you, two concrete companies will be moving to the Hamman Farm area. As a mater of fact, the water issues with Hamman farm restrict just about anything moving there, per my source. The concrete companies are going to be allowed to operate from a well.

Until Hamman installs a water tower, per the 2003 annexation agreement, nothing that requires fire protection will be allowed. The cost for Hamman, several million.

Of course, you don't have to believe me. WVHSParent is in possession of emails from very reliable sources and is my verification that this is accurate.

[Arch]

No fire protection, well water only, next door neighbor's place is a dump...

PASS. Scratch that off the list.

[jftb]

Wait a minute, wait a minute! Catch me up here, please, those of you who seem to be in the know. I lived in D203 when all of the boundary uproar went on with the first MVHS at BB. I'm new to all of this. Why are you all still debating sites? Didn't Dr. Daeschner's recommendation on Wednesday mean anything? At that time, Hamman was the cheaper site, but he still did not choose it, citing that time was important and Hamman could not be ready for '09. Even if it's cheaper now than before, why are you guys thinking it might be the site? Cheap didn't help before?

Wouldn't the district look stupid to put out a huge report on Wednesday and then change their minds the following Tuesday? Since they're already facing a huge credibility crisis with their mismanagement of BB, would they really turn around that quickly?

It was my understanding that it was important to the district back in the MVHS BB days to split up the six title 1 schools so as to make a more equitable mix (well at least at two of the schools). Per No Child Left Behind, it is not in 204's best interest to have an underperforming school. (although I see many ESs have made huge leaps!) Hamman would make it difficult to split up these schools. Under MVHS BB, the six schools were split 3 and 3. With Eola/Molitor, the six schools would be split 3 and 3. I wasn't part of all this before, as I said, but wasn't that one of the big factors in choosing boundaries?

I'm not criticizing in the least, just trying to get caught up with all this madness!!!!!

[WeBe204]

gatormom said:

brad204 said:

I'll believe it when I am darting around cement trucks But good info.

Once again, I can guarantee you, two concrete companies will be moving to the Hamman Farm area. As a mater of fact, the water issues with Hamman farm restrict just about anything moving there, per my source. The concrete companies are going to be allowed to operate from a well.

Until Hamman installs a water tower, per the 2003 annexation agreement, nothing that requires fire protection will be allowed. The cost for Hamman, several million.

Of course, you don't have to believe me. WVHSParent is in possession of emails from very reliable sources and is my verification that this is accurate.

Oh no worries, I believe everything I read on the internet :)Cement companies are transitory businesses at point of need. Does not surprise me given the level of development in the area. Just means we are growing.

[jftb]

Still confused! How can cement companies be moving into an area and Hamman still be negotiating price? Or is it Macom that you think is negotiating on price? How could Hamman have been on the table if it's already going to be a concrete company?

[blankcheck]

Again - going back on history a little.
We were sold on the freshman centers being the end all - be all. After that was approved, they had $$ left over and decided to purchase the 25 acres of BB (for a premium as I posted). It was for another middle school. At the time, why would they purchase land there knowing they were so close to Scullen? But theY did. They knew back then that negotiating with BB would be hard because of the cost, the stipulations(no school, sell back to BB for original purchase price and lawyer fees)
Now, knowing all that, if they ever thought of a 3rd HS, why did they not pursue other land and then go to the voters when land was secured? Think about it - They paid 257,000/acre for those 25 acres. Could they not have secured different land at a much lower cost? That way, they voters would have known exactly what land they had and where the 3rd HS was going.
No , instead, they put us through a half baked idea of a referendum (no land secured) and boundaries just to get the yes vote.
So, here we are today, learning about different (potential land opportunities) where the boundaries are all messed up. Are there problems with these additional sites? Yes.

We are finding out now that the only way to secure and build a comparable school to WVHS & NVHS is to accept a bond for a higher interest rate and get a "Kick back" to shore up the funds so that it looks to the taxpayers that they are ONLY spending 124M when actually they are spending over 140M for this HS.

Many of you may not be here for the long haul - I for one had hopes that we could. Many of you here may be in 204 for only a few years, however, there are many of us who have been here a long time and have hopes of still living here.

Bottom line - No where in this district will be good enough to satisfy everyone - whether it is the location of the school or boundaries. What I do know is that we WILL be paying for this for a very, very long time. You just don't get "kick backs" on loans without paying for it. AND MIND YOU - WE WILL PAY FOR THIS!!!!!