Glen Ellyn moves to annex part of country club

Despite some residents' concerns, the Glen Ellyn village board has approved an agreement to annex portions of the Glen Oak Country Club.

The plan would bring additional tax revenues to the village and a new water system to the country club, located roughly between Hill Avenue and I-355.

Some neighbors living near Glen Ellyn said they fear the agreement could lead the village to pursue annexation of their homes, but officials said there are no such plans in the works.

The country club and village periodically have discussed connecting to the village's Lake Michigan water system over the past several years.

"They're interested in that for a variety of reasons and water quality is one of them, fire sprinkler pressure and volume is another," village Planning and Development Director Staci Hulseberg said.

Although the country club will use the new water system for its facilities, Hulseberg said it still plans to use existing wells for watering its landscaping and grass.

The annexation covers only 19 acres of the country club's property, leaving roughly 133 acres unincorporated.

Under an operating agreement also approved this week, the club will pay the village about $45,000 a year in taxes.

The property to be annexed includes a 300-foot-wide piece of land adjacent and south of Hill Avenue, as well as three other parcels.

The 50-year operating agreement calls for the country club to pay 115 percent of the resident water rates and to be responsible for constructing a public water main along Hill Avenue from Cumnor Avenue to the "east right-of-way line" of Golf Avenue.

The water main will help the village connect its water system, Hulseberg said.

"For water system quality and for pressure, you really want to have all your water systems connected or looped," Hulseberg said, "And so the idea is to extend the water main even farther to the east past the country club and then head north under the railroad tracks to connect up with Crescent Boulevard so we don't have dead-end water mains."

The agreement also prohibits the village from annexing other parts of the property without permission from the country club.

Although the basic agreements have been approved, Hulseberg said slight changes already have been added and the village attorney still needs to approve the pacts.

Some neighbors have expressed concerns about how the annexation might affect their neighborhood.

Joel Johnson said he's concerned it could lead to the village pursuing forced annexation of nearby residences.

"As a resident for 35 years in this neighborhood, I really hope to be able to retire there, stay there, and live out my life kind of the way it is," Johnson said.

Village Manager Mark Franz attempted to quell Johnson's concerns.

"We don't have any future plans to annex the residential neighborhoods at this time," Franz said. "What we are working toward is annexing the commercial area down by the Hill Avenue bridge."

Dale Melin, who lives on Acorn Avenue, said his kids have all graduated from college and now he and his wife want to live their lives in their home "without interference from the village."