Battle over new Grafton Twp. hall could linger well into 2010
The long-running fight over plans for a new, $3.5 million Grafton Township hall could run a lot longer after a judge today barred officials from taking any steps to move forward with the controversial proposal until their next town meeting.
That meeting is not scheduled until April 2010, meaning that unless officials find a way to convene a special session or an appellate court overturns the ruling, the question over whether to build the facility could linger, and divide residents and officials alike, for at least 11 more months.
McHenry County Judge Michael Caldwell issued the ruling after township trustees last week began anew the process of approving measures to secure funding and land for proposed facility at Grafton Farm Drive and Haligus Road in Lake in the Hills.
The trustees, their attorney said today, believed that was what Caldwell wanted when, in his May 4 ruling halting the project, he said the township would have to return to "base one" to get it going again.
"You said to start over at base one again, which is what happened," James Kelly, an attorney representing township trustees backing the project, said before Caldwell this morning.
The judge, however, said the trustees were misinterpreting his initial decision, which blocked the project because officials did not give residents proper notice of their intentions.
"If you're just starting with regular meetings with trustees, that's not base one," Caldwell said. "That was not my intention. When I said base one, I meant going back to the (residents) at an annual meeting."
Newly-elected Township Supervisor Linda Moore, an opponent of the new building, said she "appreciated" Caldwell's ruling and hopes the issue can be settled by voters at either a town meeting or, better yet, through referendum. The earliest date for a referendum also would be the next primary election, currently set for February 2010.
"I would like to see the will of the people represented before we take a large step forward," she said.
Project backers now are resting their hopes on the Second District Appellate Court, which is expected to issue a decision within two months on their appeal of Caldwell's May 4 decision.
In the meantime, further muddying the waters is the status of the township attorney position. Last week Moore removed Kelly as the township attorney and attempted to appoint the Crystal Lake law firm Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle in his place. Trustees, however, refused to endorse the move, leaving the township without legal representation.