McHenry Co. board OKs extension for sports complex funding

Despite passionate and vocal opposition from more than 100 residents who filled McHenry County Board chambers Tuesday, board members agreed to extend a deadline for developers to issue federal stimulus bonds needed to fund a planned $40 million sports complex north of Huntley.

The board voted 15-8 in favor of the extension, which gives McHenry County Sportsplex LLC until Dec. 31 to use $18 million in bonding authority granted by the county in April. The bonds will help fund a proposed 165-acre complex at Routes 47 and 176, in the village of Lakewood, that would include dozens of athletic fields and a 125,000-square-foot indoor sports facility.

The loans are not coming from the county itself, nor will the county be on the hook if the developer defaults. Instead, the county is granting the developer access to privately issued bonds subsidized through the federal economic stimulus bill to keep interest low.

Because Lakewood officials already have approved the sportsplex, opponents saw Tuesday's county board decision as one of their final opportunities to block it. They say the facility will bring too much traffic, noise and light pollution to the area with no real guarantee of success or long-term economic benefit.

"It's going to cause a lot of expense to the people in the Lakewood area and leave a big, vacant eyesore," county resident Jim Vaccaro said.

Others encouraged the county board to postpone a decision and demand more analysis of the plan's financial prospects.

"The fact remains that independent research into the projected attendance and the projected revenues has not been done," said opponent Len Tripoli.

Lakewood Trustee Julie Richardson disputed that, saying village officials did their homework before approving the plan.

"The project has been independently vetted," she said. "We are convinced that this is something that will be not only good for the village, but for the entire county."

County board member Marc Munaretto, who chairs the board's Finance and Audit Committee, noted that the board already approved the bonds and Tuesday's vote was only giving the developer more time to issue them. Rejecting the extension, he said, would not kill the project, just delay it.

"This is still America," he added. "If someone is willing to plunk $40 million down on a piece of property and gamble whether they win or lose, that's still their right."