School board meeting

School District #2 held their monthly meeting on November 26, 2002.

Board members include George Zimmer (Superintendent), Julie Retzlaf (Principal,Nippersink Middle School), John Druszck (Principal, Spring Grove School), Judy Jones (Principal, Richmond Grade School), Lee Eakright (Business Manager). Nadine Kattner (Board President), Julie Miller, Lynn Hunter, James Hasken, Scott Mackey, Toni Wisinski, Dan Vetter and Diane Bushing.

Lynn Baker presented “The Complex Rhythms of Eighth Grade Boys” which featured a group of five Middle School boys. The five minute drumming exhibition recalled ancient tribal communication techniques using drums. The presentation was clearly enjoyed by all present.

A public forum on school funding was suggested by an audience member. His proposal included: 1. the board consider the Illinois State responses; 2. deficit spending and a new referendum are to be avoided; 3. the budget be scrubbed to reflect community needs; 4. all school expenditures be clear to the public.

Zimmer clarified points in a recent letter which described $600,000 in program cuts. His goal is a strategic plan for budget cuts.

John Drummond and Rommy Lopat, who live adjacent to the hotly contested Trees on Broadway property, gave a lengthy presentation about the reasons why they are asking the village to delay the annexation. “Some people accuse us of being NIMBY’s (not in my back yard philosophy),” said Drummond. “And I guess to some extent that might be true.” Drummond said that he is a professional architect and that he is very familiar with large scale developments such as Tamarack. Lopat has a Masters degree in Urban Planning.

“Comdisco owned over 1140 acres which it used for a corporate hunt club for 15 years.” said Drummond. “Comdisco paid one million for the property in the mid 1980’s. In the year 2000 it asked for and was granted annexation into the village of Richmond which immediately increased the land value. Then Comdisco went into receivership and sold the property to Marcamp for $16,000,000. Land value is driven by the densities allowed. If a property is annexed, its value goes way up. Much of the Tamarack property is wetland. The total buildable land goes down to less than 600 acres which increases the density of housing.”

According to Drummond, entrances to Tamarack are difficult on the east, south and west sides of the property. This is why the Trees on Broadway annexation is so important to the developer.  With the help of lawyers and land planners, Drummond entered significant arguments opposing the annexation until some major issues were resolved.

“There is no master plan for the Tamarack development,” said Drummond. “There is no study of traffic impact for Broadway St. and Route 12. The developer has refused to provide insight into the larger site south of the Trees property. The real focus for the Trees on Broadway annexation is on the Tamarack property to the south. In the original Comdisco agreement nothing but a minor residential street was allowed. The village must integrate all of the streets into the community. The proposed cluster plan for the housing development will create urban density. Richmond will be no different than the typical suburban town. We’d like to see a mix of lot and house sizes. We think economic diversity is good for Richmond.”

According to Drummond the impact fees are locked in for the Tamarack development and Tamarack will enjoy a reduction if anyone else gets one according to the annexation agreement. “If we assume that each of the 1,600 homes planned for Tamarack sends just one child into the school system, then we’ve replicated the overcrowding situation we see today,” said Drummond. “We need to keep in mind that the Urban Land Institute (ULI) is 80% and controlled by commercial realtors and land developers. This organization has a hand in developing our community. The proposed bypass is not a regional consideration, but rather a village priority. We are arguing for a rational solution and we encourage the village to say NO to the Trees annexation until we get a master plan for the Tamarack development.”

Zimmer said, “When annexation is given the values go up three to four times. To purchase a school site becomes a lot more expensive. What is going to happen when people go to work on Broadway? The village should demand a traffic study.”

In other business an announcement was made that high school had the highest ACT scores in McHenry County.