Officials divided over land purchase

HOMER GLEN -- The village's plan commissioners are stepping into the fray over the village's first major land purchase, saying they're "astonished" the village board hasn't yet asked for their opinion on the deal.

The plan commission will host a public forum during its Nov. 16 meeting about the village's impending purchase of Dunn Farm, commission chairman Brian Stevens said.

Stevens said he's been getting questions from residents about the details of the deal, and that the plan commission has a responsibility to weigh in on village matters that impact the comprehensive plan.

"I'm a little bit offended that the village board didn't ask for the plan commission's opinion," he said.

The plan commission is asking members of the village board, Homer Chamber of Commerce, local sports groups and the township administration to share their thoughts on the Dunn Farm purchase during the meeting, and also is inviting the public to comment. That kind of open dialogue about the purchase should have happened before board members signed a letter of intent to purchase Dunn Farm as the site for its first community park, Stevens said.

"This is the largest actual monetary, as well as acreage, purchase in village history," he said. "It could very well be that Dunn Farm is the right piece, at the right time, at the right place, but the public doesn't know."

Something else the public doesn't know, Stevens said, is that the village would have to enact a municipal property tax to cover debt payments if the sales tax doesn't generate enough money to pay for the $7 million purchase. The possibility of that happening is next to none, however, village manager Paula Wallrich said, adding that village staffers have been "very conservative" in crunching the numbers to see what Homer Glen can afford.

Five of six trustees supported the move to purchase Dunn Farm, which sits at 159th Street and Messenger Boulevard, for close to $7 million. But Mayor Jim Daley, who appoints the plan commission members, has lobbied hard for the village to buy Woodbine Golf Course instead of Dunn Farm for its community park site.

While Stevens said he didn't consult with Daley before deciding to call the forum, several trustees are dismissing the event as pure politics.

"This is just the mayor not getting what he wants," Trustee George Yukich said.

Trustees also said the village board spent years surveying residents and holding focus groups to develop a plan for the village's first community park. Real estate negotiations had to be done privately until a letter of intent was signed, they added, under the advice of the village attorney.

"I did a benefit cost analysis of both properties, and I know (Trustee) Laurel Ward did as well," Trustee Mary Niemiec said. "We were elected to use our best judgment to determine what community could want."

Now that the board has signed a letter of intent to purchase Dunn Farm, some trustees said, it's too late to back out of the deal.

"At this point in the process, it's kind of the 13th hour," Trustee Russell Knaack said.

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