MCC wants to use eminent domain to buy land

McHenry County College is planning to use eminent domain to acquire property adjacent to the college after it failed to reach a purchase agreement with the owners.

The college made a $750,000 offer in April to buy 20 acres at 9010 Northwest Hwy., on the northeast end of the Crystal Lake campus, which college officials say is crucial to the college’s expansion plans.

The counteroffer from the sellers was $1.5 million, and the board felt it would have been futile to continue negotiations, said college spokeswoman Christina Haggerty. The board voted last week to reject the counteroffer and initiate condemnation proceedings for the property, which is farmland with a 2-story house on it. It is unclear if the house is occupied, she said.

The property belongs to GHM Trust and was initially listed at $3.1 million, but two independent appraisals put the value at $700,000 and $750,000, college officials said.

Any land acquisition by the college has to be approved by the Illinois Community College Board.

“The board felt very firmly that they could not take $1.5 million to the state board,” Haggerty said.

The state board “would have severely questioned the reasonableness of paying double the value of the property” based on the appraisals, said Ed Smith, the state board’s senior director for financial compliance and program accountability.

Complicating matters, the 20 acres is listed as an asset in the ongoing bankruptcy case of William J. Gilger, one of the members of GHM Trust.

“(The land) must first be released through a hearing in bankruptcy court. If and when that happens, the college may proceed with an eminent domain case in the county court system, at which time a jury would decide the value of the property based on evidence provided by both parties,” Haggerty said. The issue could take up to a year to be resolved, she said.

Gilger and his attorney, Bradley Koch, did not return calls for comment.

The college has spent $12,000 in legal fees so far, Haggerty said.

The college doesn’t have specific plans for the property, but is working on a facilities master plan to address expansion, Haggerty said. “If the county is growing, and the number of individuals we need to serve is growing, then the college needs to align with that growth,” she said.

McHenry County College has 7,400 students, which represents a 30-percent increase in enrollment in the last two years, college officials said.