. . . . . from John A. Heisler, Supervisor

Township Open Space

We have all witnessed the results of the unbridled development of real estate in McHenry County. In particular, Algonquin and Grafton Townships now are becoming a sea of rooftops. They have forever lost or are losing their rural atmosphere, and the costs associated with this level of development are stretching the limits of local governments and school districts. The mathematics are simple. It costs more than $7000 per year to educate a child in our public school system. With an average of 2 ½ children per household, that equates to $17,500 per year. If the combined real estate taxes for both grade schools and high schools are perhaps $3000 for a new home, that leaves a deficit of over $14,000 per year per home that must be made up by the rest of us. Piled on top of that deficit are all the other governmental services required for these new residents.

Can commercial development help? I don't think so. While a new factory or office building might generate a significant amount of real estate taxes, the new employees will need housing and services that will far outstrip the taxes generated by the new commercial development. There is definitely a problem here, and few solutions exist to solve it. One solution might be to encourage commerce with a very low labor rate. Farming comes to mind. Another would be to discourage development of open space in Nunda Township.

Section 115.5 of the Illinois State Statutes provide for an “Open Space District” within a Township of a County with a population of 150,000 or more. Open space districts exist in Lake, Kane and Boone Counties, but not in McHenry County. Not yet. The Township has the statutory authority to develop an “Open Space Plan” to acquire a fee or lesser right of interest in tracts of open space in the Township. The “open space purposes” include the preservation and maintenance of open land, the holding of real estate with or without public access and the management and use of that property in a manner that will leave it unimpaired for the benefit of future generations. Further, if less than a fee interest is acquired from a farmer, for example, the property may continue to be farmed and owned by the farmer.

The cost of acquiring this type of property is much less than the ongoing real estate taxes associated with a housing development. The quality of life in a rural Nunda Township can be preserved. Please contact the Supervisor's office if you would like to support or join the committee to develop our plan.

Thanks, John A. Heisler

Open Space Committee

The "Open Space" Committee was organized to write the Open Space Plan. The Committee has not met since the defeat of the Bond referendum that would have provided the funding to implement the plan. For all practical purposes, there is no longer an "Open Space Committee". Any changes or opportunities for acquiring open space lands are brought directly to the Board of Trustees.