$290,000 spent on house in order to make way for parking

Geneva is buying a house at 526 S. Fourth St., just north of the Metra train station.

The city council Monday agreed to spend $290,000 for the three-bedroom house from the Helen Liesendahl Trust. The resident of the house, Richard Liesendahl, died in 2010.

According to a memo about the purchase, the city intends to use the site for public or commuter parking.

The money is being taken out of the city’s general funds reserves. The purchase was not in the 2013-14 budget.

The only questions raised Monday by an alderman came from Dean Kilburg, who asked if this year’s property tax bill would be prorated, and if there were any liens against the property. The taxes will be prorated at closing, and there do not appear to be any liens on the property, judging by Kane County Recorder of Deeds records.

The Geneva Township assessor’s office assigned an indicated fair value of $205,392 for the property, and an equalized assessed value of $68,457, not including any exemptions.

The house was built in 1924.