Grafton Twp. cancels $3.5 million loan for new hall

While the fight over plans to build a new Grafton Township hall has played out in the courts, the township has continued to accrue interest on the $3.5 million loan that was supposed to pay for the building.

That interest will stop accruing for the time being after the township board, in a rare move that united warring factions, voted Monday night to cancel the loan with Harris Bank.

Although they disagree over whether to build new offices in Lake in the Hills, township officials backed the loan cancellation to save on interest payments while the lawsuit is pending.

"I think it's pretty simple," township attorney Joe Gottemoller said. "It basically stops the bleeding because you can't use the money right now."

Harris Bank agreed to cancel the loan if the township returned the $3.5 million and an estimated $141,600 in interest.

The township has not been able to start work on the new building because opponents of the plans have obtained court orders blocking construction. Supporters of the building have appealed those decisions.

Trustees who support construction said they will continue to defend the building in court - though all four joined supervisor Linda Moore, who opposes the building, in canceling the loan.

"The judge has got our hands tied," newly elected Trustee Gerry McMahon said. "There's no other alternative."

Moore, who was elected in April on a platform of stopping a new township hall, expressed little surprise at the unanimous vote.

"We'll no longer be paying 400-odd dollars a day in interest for something we have no bricks and mortar for," she said.