Lake Michigan water plan stirs debate
They won't know until the end of July whether requests for Lake Michigan water will be approved, but several Lake County communities involved in the $252 million plan face some tough decisions in advance.
For starters, the nine communities that have been working with the county as the Northern Lake County Lake Michigan Water Planning Group are each being asked to contribute $25,000 by early August for continued legal, engineering, public education and other work involved with the process.
"We've done as many of the technical things we can do at this point with the resources we've been given," said Peter Kolb, Lake County public works director.
That payment would be the first installment on up to $50,000 being sought from Antioch, Fox Lake, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Wauconda, Lake Zurich, Volo, Hawthorn Woods and Old Mill Creek in an aggressive timetable that includes the possibility of taxpayers being asked in a referendum next April to help pay for the project.
Individual communities will have to determine which of several options they feel is best. There could be philosophical debates over whether voters within the area to receive the water should have a say.
Establishing special service areas, which do not require voter approval, could be another avenue for financing, for example.
Picking one will become an important consideration for elected officials, as the owner of a $300,000 home could pay $426 more a year in taxes and fees for Lake Michigan water, according to preliminary estimates.
What happens if one or more communities opt out before the financing is sought is one of many questions and details to be answered before 57 miles of pipes can be extended west and south from a Lake Michigan intake operated by the Lake County Public Water District in Zion.
"What we want to know collectively is, 'What do you think and how do you feel?'" Kolb said.
During a briefing Tuesday, consultants gave an overview of the process and presented some possible financing alternatives to consortium members.
A general obligation bond, approved by voters at referendum and issued by a governing agency to be formed, would provide the lowest cost of financing.
But a referendum could be "compromised by non-project considerations," such as the economy, the group was told. Members are being asked to select a preferred financing structure by the end of July. The $25,000 payment is scheduled for Aug. 9, and the governing agency for the project would be formed on Sept. 15.
Whether there is a consensus to proceed that quickly so the project could start next year is to be determined. Members have been told there is a limited opportunity to secure Lake Michigan water.
"There's a lot of ideas and a lot of good ideas but we have to nail some of these things down," Fox Lake Trustee Greg Murrey said during the briefing.
The county and most of the communities already have made their pitches for Lake Michigan water to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which manages Illinois' water allocation process. A denial would make the issues moot.
"If there's no allocation, we stop," Kolb said.