K_\ =Xidj`[\ › j_Xnlic%Zfd&_lekc\p › K_lij[Xp# Efm\dY\i )(# )'(* › D:
| NEWS
2
Huntley High expansion on target By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO j[`Y\e\[\kkf7j_Xnd\[`X%Zfd HUNTLEY – A new fieldhouse, redesigned main entrance and reconfigured parking are the first improvements set for the $30.8 million expansion of Huntley High School to start late spring. The changes are a part of an extensive overhaul detailed in a design plan presented to Huntley District 158 board members earlier this week. The plan includes new classroom space and science labs, a re-purposed library geared toward the 21st century, a retooled cafeteria, and multiple common areas.
Members compared the concepts to features seen in community colleges. They now wait for March, when the first construction bid will be presented for approval. “I really want to hit the fast forward button and see what this looks like because this, to me, is incredible,� Board President Don Drzal said. “It’s very exciting.� The initial bid later this spring will kickstart a twoyear construction project meant to accommodate the 3,000 students expected at Huntley High School by the end of the decade. By this summer, construction crews should be adding
a fieldhouse to the southeast corner of the school. The new main entrance, located toward the middle of the school, will eventually lead students and staff to a redesigned cafeteria and library. Construction on those interior improvements are set for the latter half of the project. The $30.8 million project overall includes $16.9 million for additions, $4.24 million for renovations and $2.3 million for general site improvements. As presented, the design fits within the district’s budget for the project, which includes $3.64 million in completed work to the school’s football, baseball and soccer fields. Of-
ficials are using a $39 million construction grant from the state to pay for the changes. Superintendent John Burkey said the changes to the library, added common areas and redesigned classrooms all accomplish the flexible, open and collaborative learning space that administrators and teachers wanted during the design phase. “It’s getting to a place now where it’s really meeting the needs of what we set out to do. ... It is going to provide collaborative space for kids that doesn’t exist today,� Burkey said. The forthcoming changes later this spring could also in-
clude work that addresses the school’s traffic problems. The district and McHenry County have been in negotiations about adding temporary traffic signals at Main Street and Marengo Road, and at Harmony and Hemmer roads. The district also wants to make improvements at the school’s exits along Harmony, including a new road east of the school that would lead students to a new student parking lot. The traffic changes could take effect by next school year, if the district secures the proper permits and finalizes funding with the county, Burkey said.
Rutland firm on bus issue Taxpayer appeals Sun City riders could lose service By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO j[`Y\e\[\kkf7j_Xnd\[`X%Zfd HUNTLEY – Rutland Township trustees on Tuesday remained resolute in their stance that leaves numerous Rutland riders in Sun City Huntley without bus service by the end of the month. The four trustees have argued that a new bus service would inevitably be paid through increased property taxes and break a campaign promise to keep taxes low. They didn’t waver from that position Tuesday during the board’s monthly meeting. The officials were forced to address the issue after nearby Grafton Township decided last month to cut its own bus service Nov. 30 to the Rutland senior and disabled riders in Sun City. In a race against time, Supervisor Margaret Sanders proposed two alternatives that would create a bus service for all Rutland residents. But the ideas failed to garner a motion that would have triggered a vote. “The trustees have a (financial) duty to represent property taxpayers ... We four trustees ran on a premise that we would be property tax watchdogs,�
Ăˆ@ ZXeĂ‹k Y\c`\m\ k_Xk g\fgc\ nflc[ efk Y\ n`cc`e^ kf _Xm\ k_\`i kXo\j iX`j\[ Yp ) `e fi[\i kf _Xm\ j\e`fi Xe[ [`jXYc\[ kiXejgfikXk`fe ]fi k_\ Zfddle`kp%É Margaret Sanders IlkcXe[ Kfnej_`g Jlg\im`jfi Trustee Fred Bulmahn said. The trustees’ decision likely leaves the Rutland riders in Sun City without a bus service, unless a special meeting is called before Nov. 30 to try and bridge the divide between board members. The bus conflict developed earlier this summer, when Grafton Supervisor Jim Kearns asked the Rutland board for $14,400 annually to help pay for the Rutland riders. Grafton has been trying to shed costs as it rebounds from near bankruptcy earlier this year. It spends $80,000 annually for the service. The village of Huntley also contributes $10,000 a year to help Grafton service riders in Rutland. Nearly 57 percent of the
Grafton bus riders this year are from Rutland. Kearns’ plea met resistance after the Rutland trustees questioned the need for the service. He then proposed a fare hike on Rutland riders and lowered the board’s annual contribution to $9,600. Sanders proposed Kearns’ counteroffer Tuesday to continue service to the Rutland riders in Sun City. She also proposed Rutland join a Kane County bus program that would provide on-call service to residents outside of Sun City. The solution, she said, would amount to a $2 property tax increase to the average Rutland homeowner. “I can’t believe that people would not be willing to have their taxes raised by $2 in order to have senior and disabled transportation for the community,� she said. Trustee John Payson said the bus issue could be revisited when officials sit down to craft a budget next year. Officials then would have more time to assess the long-term costs of running a bus service. “You have to put a plan together ... If we want to do this, let’s figure out how many rides we are going to do and what items we can cut from our budget to do this and hold our levy flat,� Payson said.
on the decline By KEVIN P. CRAVER bZiXm\i7j_Xnd\[`X%Zfd
WOODSTOCK – For the first time in almost a decade, the number of property owners appealing their assessments has taken a dip. But it has yet to be seen whether the state will slap another countywide multiplier on next year’s bills. About 7,000 property owners have appealed their 2013 assessments from which next year’s property-tax bills will be calculated. The total is down from the record 10,413 appeals filed last year for 2013’s bills that taxpayers just paid, Supervisor of Assessments Robert Ross said. Thursday was the last day to file an assessment appeal for property owners in Burton Township, the last of the county’s 17 townships to publish. Owners have 30 days to appeal from the publication of their townships’ assessments. The main factor Ross attributes to the dip is that assessments have lowered enough so as not to result in significant tax bill hikes. Part of the reason for the skyrocketing number of appeals in the wake of the bursting of the housing bubble was that many owners’
bills were increasing despite plummeting home values. “I think the major reason is that the three years of assessment loss have more or less caught up with the market,� Ross said. However, county taxpayers could be hit again with a state multiplier – increasing everyone’s assessment by a set percentage regardless of what they did or didn’t do with their property – if the appeals that were filed lower the county’s total assessed value by 1.5 percent or more. The Illinois Department of Revenue in 2011 raised every McHenry County property’s assessment by 3.48 percent to compensate for lost value. It was the first time since 1983 the department imposed one for the county. The number of appeals and decreased county assessment value resulted in a 1.7 percent state multiplier on 2012 property-tax bills and a 2.43 percent multiplier on this year’s bills. The number of assessment appeals fielded by Ross’ office stayed fairly consistent – between 600 and 875 – from the mid-1990s until the housing market tumbled and the Great
See APPEALS, page 5