Official: Costs for Fox Bluff plan are 'too high'

A master plan to restore and develop parts of the Fox Bluff Conservation Area in Cary has been approved, but the McHenry County Conservation District has to wait until resources become available before moving forward with the project.

The plan, which was approved by the conservation district board of trustees last week, calls for seven stages of updates to be made to Fox Bluff for an estimated total cost of at least $11.6 million.

"The carryout is that the district currently has no resources to make any of this happen," said Wendy Kummerer, communications manager for the conservation district. "As soon as resources become available, we can hit the ground."

How the conservation district will obtain those resources has not yet been determined, she added, and this year's budget does not set aside any funds that could go toward the project.

David Brandt, president of the board of trustees, said the only way the conservation district will get enough funding to cover the entire cost of the project is by asking the public, likely through a referendum that specifically outlines where additional tax dollars would go.

"When this is all going to shake down, that's anybody's guess," he said.

The Fox Bluff project was divided into phases to give the conservation district time to plan and seek funding, according to the master plan. Individual phases range from $100,000 to $4.2 million.

Updates that will be made to Fox Bluff include five miles of additional hiking trails, canoe and kayak launches and better public access to the Fox River. Additionally, the conservation district will add points of interest and historical markers throughout the southern part of conservation area, which was formerly known as Camp Algonquin.

The master plan also includes repurposing four out of 54 former Camp Algonquin buildings: the Board of Trade Recreation Hall, the Pioneer Center Barn, the Ritz cabin and the Tribune building. The maintenance, restoration and development of these facilities makes up most of the final five phases of the master plan and the bulk of the project's cost.

Without the cost of professional services, those stages are estimated to cost about $9.4 million - and it's a cost that Bona Heinsohn, treasurer of the MCCD board of trustees, said is too high.

"At this time, we simply cannot afford that," she said.

But Brandt, who voted in favor of the plan, said saving the buildings allows the conservation district to preserve history. The recreation center, he added, provides a destination spot within Fox Bluff that he hopes will be used for weddings and other large events.

Camp Algonquin was previously leased to the YMCA, which ran the camp. But the property "came back into the conservation district's hands unknowingly" when the YMCA shut down in 2011, Kummerer said.

Since then, the conservation district has worked to develop a plan for using the camp space and updating the rest of the Fox Bluff area.

"Not every request can be honored ... but the master plan is very publicly friendly," Brandt said. "I'm impressed with the plan, and I think it's a very accommodating process."

But Heinsohn said she's doubtful that the conservation district will ever be in a financial state where it can afford this type of project.

"If we were working in an unlimited financial situation, the buildings would be great because it is nice to have a location to showcase the cultural and historic elements of the site," she said. "But we're not in that situation, and I don't foresee us being in a situation like that in the future, near or far."