Dist. 204 chooses new Metea site
An 87-acre parcel along Eola Road south of Diehl Road should be the new site for Metea Valley High School, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 administrators said Tuesday.
The northern Aurora site will cost about $16.5 million and is owned by St. John AME Church and Midwest Generation, an independent power producer, officials said.
Administrators said they will take their proposal to the school board in a special meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Crouse Education Center, 780 Shoreline Drive in Aurora. There will be time for public comment.
It's been a frenzied few months for district officials, who previously identified the Brach-Brodie property at 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora as the best site for their third high school.
The district, which covers parts of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, already owns 25 acres at that location and wanted to buy an additional 55 to create an 80-acre campus.
But the landowners and school leaders were unable to agree on a price and the district pursued condemnation. A jury decided the site was worth $31 million -- $17 million more than the district planned.
School officials said they couldn't afford the new price and began looking at three other sites, including the Eola Road land.
"I'm glad the public can now see the product of some of the work we've been doing for the last several months," board President Mark Metzger said. "We're certainly pleased our objectives are achievable (with this plan)."
Officials also looked at an 80-acre, $14 million parcel in southeast Aurora called Hamman Farms. It lies just outside the district's southwestern boundaries.
But leaders decided annexing it into the district would be too lengthy and uncertain a process.
"It's a nice site," Superintendent Stephen Daeschner said, "but we couldn't have gotten it fast enough to build in '09."
They also considered an 86-acre parcel for roughly $17.9 million along 248th Avenue in southwest Naperville. But it's too close to Neuqua Valley and negotiating with the Macom site's multiple landowners would be a long, complicated process, leaders say.
That left the Eola land, of which 49 acres belongs to the church and 37 to Midwest Generation.
The district considered the site in 2004, but church leaders had no interest in selling then, and the Midwest Generation land wasn't for sale.
It took a little luck and some "massive negotiations" to get to where officials are today, Daeschner said.
"(The district) reached out to us several months ago," said Charley Parnell, spokesman for Midwest Generation. "Before that, we had not given a lot of thought to selling. But we managed to strike a deal and we wish them well."
The Eola plant, which produced power when demand was at its peak, last operated in early 2007.
School leaders say there are no safety concerns with the site. The firm is working toward meeting specific environmental standards, and consultants have determined the school is far enough away from power lines, leaders say.
If the board approves the purchase of the Eola site, construction on the school could begin this spring.
"We'll be very proud to have another 204 high school (in Aurora)," Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner said. "We'll work very closely with them on their construction plans to make sure they meet their schedule."
Officials hope the bulk of the building will be done by August 2009, with extras like the pool and auditorium to be completed later. Freshmen and sophomores will move in first.
Waubonsie Valley's freshmen building would be converted in August 2009 into a middle school.
The site will require new high school boundaries. It took the district months of public hearings and debate to reset the boundaries in preparation for opening at the Brach-Brodie site.
Administrators say they're reviewing options and will recommend a plan in the next few weeks.
"We're not going to take anything seriously until the board OKs the land," Daeschner said. "But we'll be ready to react immediately after."
Leaders also must decide what to do with their 25 acres of Brach-Brodie land. Selling it back is an option.
Steve Helm, attorney for the Brodie trust, said the district has taken no formal action yet and it's premature to say it will abandon its rights to the other 55 acres.
But if officials do, they'll have to pay the landowners for attorney fees and litigation expenses that could be more than $4 million. The landowners also could seek other damages.
School leaders say the new site still is within budget. The total cost of the plan for land and a 3,000-student school will cost no more than $146.2 million, they say.
Administrators also said Tuesday they're leaning toward not asking voters for an operations tax increase in 2009, an idea that has been talked about for years.
District 204's quest
A look at Indian Prairie Unit District 204's pursuit of land for Metea Valley High School:
May 2005: District purchases 25 acres of Brach-Brodie property off Route 59 near 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora.
December 2005: District files condemnation suit to obtain the remaining 55 acres of the Brach-Brodie site it needs for 80-acre high school campus.
February 2006: Attorneys for Brach-Brodie file motion to dismiss case, saying district didn't bargain in good faith.
March 2006: Voters approve $124.7 million tax increase to pay for a 3,000-student high school to be built on Brach-Brodie property.
Nov. 15, 2006: Judge grants district permission to continue its quest for the land and denies the land trust's motion to dismiss.
Nov. 28 2006: State lawmakers refuse district's request for "quick-take" powers to obtain access to the land.
January 2007: State Rep. Joe Dunn again files a request that state lawmakers consider giving the district immediate access to the land.
January 2007: Paul Lehman, head of Macom Corp., suggests his property at 248th Avenue and 95th Street as a viable alternative to Brach-Brodie site.
Jan. 23, 2007: Judge grants the district access to the land for soil samples.
March 1, 2007: Judge sets Sept. 17 court date for jury to determine the land's cost.
March 29, 2007: Without a vote to spare, the Illinois House approves "quick-take" legislation for the district.
April 2007: A city of Naperville memo indicates it could take at least four to six months before Macom could complete all the work necessary to have its site ready for review by city council.
June 6, 2007: After Dunn's "quick-take" proposal stalls, state Sen. Randall Hultgren, a Winfield Republican, takes the reins in trying to get a similar proposal passed.
Aug. 6, 2007: School board President Mark Metzger accuses state Sen. Linda Holmes, new sponsor of the "quick-take" proposal, of delaying the legislation unless the district changes its high school boundaries for two subdivisions. Later in the day, under pressure from the district, a Holmes' spokesman says the senator plans to move the plan forward. The legislature, locked in an overtime session budget battle, never votes on the measure.
Sept. 17-Sept. 26, 2007: The condemnation trial includes testimony from experts as to the value of the land. School district: $250,000 an acre; Brodie trust: $540,000 an acre; Brach trust: $650,000 an acre.
Sept. 26, 2007: A jury unanimously sets the price of the 55 acres at $28.5 million plus an additional $2.5 million in damages. The cost is more than double what the district believed the property is worth.
October 2007: The district begins negotiations on four possible sites for Metea, which it does not disclose.
Oct. 25, 2007: The school board announces it cannot afford the Brach-Brodie property and asks the court for a new trial.
Nov. 19, 2007: The Brodie trust files a motion asking the courts to force the district to either buy its property or pay additional fees. It also makes a motion to dismiss the district's request for a new trial.
Jan. 8, 2008: A judge denies the district's request for a new trial.
Jan. 15, 2008: District administrators recommend building Metea on 87 acres off Eola Road just south of the Illinois Prairie Path. The parcel, owned by St. John AME Church and Midwest Generation, would cost $16.5 million.
Source: Daily Herald reports