Kane committee: Demolish old jail, think big for new site

A Kane County committee studying uses for the shuttered jail off Fabyan Parkway and the now-closed Settler’s Hill landfill hopes to have a proposal by next May.

In the meantime, the committee wants to demolish the old jail and relocate the Kane County Diagnostic Center and a fleet maintenance garage.

The Fabyan Property Utilization Subcommittee on Monday didn’t make any final recommendations on what to do with some 700 acres bounded by the Kirk Road on the east, Fabyan on the south, Route 25 on the west and the Union Pacific Railroad on the north.

But committee members — which include Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns and Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke — agreed to think big to craft a plan that will make it a recreational and educational destination as well as tax-revenue generator.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Burns said.

Schielke said he and others went to the highest point on the shuttered landfill — about 166 feet high — several years ago. “It was phenomenal, that view,” he said. “It’s a very unique spot.”

Some ideas that were brainstormed include building: a Ravinia-style outdoor performance center; a hotel and convention center; trails for walking, rehabilitation and cross-country skiing; a celestial observation tower; a sled/tubing hill; an area where people can pilot remote control gliders.

Mike Donahue, committee chairman and county board member, said plans could feed of off the nearby Elfstrom Stadium, where the Kane County Cougars baseball team plays, and the ice rink and indoor soccer facility along Kirk.

“We want to take a broader look at it because of there’s a lot of synergies that could occur in the future,” Donahue said.

The committee will meet again Oct. 17 and also must hire a consultant to study the fiscal impact of the facility as well as determine which governmental body will own, operate and maintain the area.

Donahue did not have an immediate time frame for the full county board to consider the demolition request, which is estimated to cost about $975,000, but said it would first have to go through at least one committee before a final vote.