Park City mayor criticizes Gurnee
Park City Mayor Steve Pannell says his small town dropped a formal objection to a planned vehicle recycling facility in neighboring Gurnee because he didn't sense any support from that village's elected leaders.
Pannell says he was surprised Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik issued an after-the-fact letter this week stating she believes the Auto Parts City recycling operation shouldn't be built near Route 41, bordering a mobile home complex in Park City.
"In the future," Pannell said in a letter faxed to Kovarik, "it would benefit both of our communities if you took a clear stand on an issue instead of hiding behind your village board."
Reacting to Pannell's criticism, Kovarik said it would have been improper for her to come out against Auto Parts City before the final village board vote.
"Why have a process?" Kovarik said Thursday. "Why have board meetings? Why have public hearings?"
Kovarik's public stance Monday came three weeks after the Gurnee village board granted approval to Auto Parts City by a 6-0 vote. She said while she disagreed with the village board's action, she decided against a veto.
Hundreds of Park City residents near the property in question filed a written objection with Gurnee over the recycling facility. The formal protest from the residents triggered a state law that required a favorable vote from at least four of six Gurnee trustees.
Gurnee trustees rejected Auto Parts City's plan with a 3-3 vote in April. Pannell and Park City aldermen issued a formal objection before the April vote.
Auto Parts City succeeded on its second request in Gurnee with a slightly modified plan that passed 6-0 Oct. 1. Park City didn't object to the second plan.
Pannell said if he knew Kovarik was a potential ally, then Park City would have continued a lawsuit against Auto Parts City's owners on another matter. Instead, he said, Park City settled and agreed not to object to the revised vehicle recycling plan for Gurnee.
Kovarik contends her thoughts about Auto Parts City wouldn't have mattered to Park City because it settled the lawsuit well before this month's vote.
In the letter she read to Gurnee's six trustees Monday night, Kovarik said the fact Auto Parts City needed to meet 29 conditions for approval indicates the facility isn't the best fit for the nearly 16-acre site by the trailer homes and Route 41.
Kovarik also expressed environmental concerns because the Auto Parts City land is at the mouth of the Chicago River's north branch watershed.
"We are the guardians of the future of Gurnee," Kovarik said. "Our job as board members is to protect the future. That means considering consequences from decisions made today."
Auto Parts City proponents say vehicle recycling is common in Europe and is friendly to the environment.