Kane County, forest district set to solidify Longmeadow Parkway agreements

As Longmeadow Parkway opponents prepare to take their case to Algonquin village board members, Kane County Forest Preserve District commissioners are ready to renew and expand an agreement with themselves to move the project forward.

A committee of forest commissioners unanimously approved a document this week that restates the agreed upon route of the $135 million toll bridge as it travels near and through the Fox River Shores Forest Preserve and Brunner Family Forest Preserve. It also solidifies plans to use soil from the excavation of the parkway to expand the Raging Buffalo Snowboard Park, have the county fund all associated engineering work and it locks in a 6.5-acre land donation from the county on the western edge of the Brunner preserve to serve as a "remediation area."

The full forest preserve commission must still approve the agreement. Once that happens, county board approval is a virtual certainty as forest commissioners also serve as county board members.

Commissioner and county board member Maggie Auger said the deal is a win-win.

"This agreement is an example of two governmental entities working together for the benefit of the taxpayers," Auger said. "It saves money on the county side and benefits the forest preserve with the enhancements at the Raging Buffalo Snowboard Park."

Auger is one of the leading proponents of the parkway. She is fueled in large part by ongoing support for the plan from her home village of Algonquin. It is one of several communities on the northern end of the county to pass a resolution in support of the project during the 20-year history of the plan.

Opponents are fighting to reverse that support in the homestretch before construction. Barrington Hills trustees denounced the project in a unanimous resolution earlier this week following pressure from opponents. Carpentersville trustees are also slated to vote on a similar resolution in coming weeks. In the interim, opponents will head to Algonquin on July 7 to question the village's support.

"Ask them why they thought it was a good idea to let developers build homes so close to the proposed project, knowing full well the enormous scope and size of it," reads a call to action for the meeting on the stoplongmeadow.com website. "What do they think about the property values? The noise pollution?"

Construction on the parkway is slated to begin this fall.