Property bought for group home

A long-held dream to provide developmentally disabled adults a place to live independently in a group home is close to being fulfilled in Geneva.

Alderman William Barclay, vice chairman of the Geneva 708 Mental Health Board, said Monday the board had found a willing seller, at 1980 South St.

The five-bedroom, 42-year-old home will cost $399,900. The mental health board has more than $380,000 set aside and will ask the Geneva City Council to loan the remaining money, to be repaid next fiscal year. Closing is set for Dec. 21.

When the mental health board formed in the mid-1980s, it surveyed the town to see what residents thought was needed, Barclay said. A home for developmentally disabled adults topped the list.

Barclay said there are 31 disabled Geneva residents who are either living in out-of-town group homes or are on waiting lists to get in a home. Many in the second category are living with their aging parents or a sibling.

The mental health board began putting money aside for a home in 1989 -- usually 10 percent of its annual receipts.

The board decided to buy now, rather than waiting to save a little more, to take advantage of a slow home sales market.

The purchase was announced during a portion of Monday night's city council meeting, where grants were given to local nonprofit agencies to provide for mental health services.

A 708 board is a seven-member panel that administers the Community Mental Health Act. It levies a tax separate from the city's property tax. The legislative bill establishing the act was No. 708.

The mental health board is looking for an agency to take and run the group home. It has been talking to the Association for Individual Development, which runs other group homes in Kane County, including one that just opened in St. Charles.

This would be the first group home in Geneva.