D-46 must give where it's gotten

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D-46 must give where it's gotten
Friday, November 18, 2005
By Brian SlupskiSource: Northwest Herald
School District 46 officials should agree to give land for the widening of Route 176. If not, then the Prairie Grove village board should reject the Tall Grass subdivision. Tall Grass is a 653-home project that District 46 is depending on. Without Tall Grass, the school district would not get 20 acres for a new school and would lose $6.2 million in fees. District 46 has been given a lot, not only by the village board, but also by taxpayers. Since 2000, taxpayers in District 46 have been gouged. In 2000, the owner of a $300,000 home in Prairie Grove paid about $2,690 in taxes to District 46. By 2004, the same homeowner was paying $3,537 to the district. In 2002, district residents approved a tax-increase referendum. But similar to the situation currently going on in Huntley School District 158, the referendum resulted in a tax increase higher than advertised. However, unlike District 158, rather than try to keep the tax increases under control, District 46 officials have cashed in. Not surprisingly, the district's local property-tax revenue nearly doubled between 2000 and 2004, from about $4.2 million to more than $8.1 million a year. Regardless, District 46 officials still have the nerve to cry poor. So the village board approved exorbitant impact fees on new homes, about $21,800 for a four-bedroom house. Prairie Grove Village President Michael Breseman never was a fan of the Tall Grass project. But he knew that it was important to the school district. And village officials worked hard to meet deadlines imposed by the property owners who were selling the Tall Grass property, south of Route 176 between Smith and Valley View roads. "I have never seen a volunteer board put in the hours these guys have," said Gary Overbay, a traffic engineer who has worked with Prairie Grove and several McHenry County communities. Now, village officials are asking the school board to put forth the same effort for something they deem important: the future of Route 176. Any widening likely is decades away, but you have to get the land when you can. District 46 Superintendent Mary Fasbender said she was worried the road would be too close to the school, would be too loud, and would eliminate some parking. But the road would be only 20 feet closer to one corner of the school, from 80 feet away to 60 feet away. Second, the village has proposed a barrier that would make the school safer. If a car on Route 176 goes out of control, 20 feet is not going to make much difference. A concrete barrier will. The bottom line is that if the school district isn't willing to work fast to resolve the Route 176 issue, then the village board needs to reject Tall Grass.