Algonquin leader wants to answer questions about Longmeadow Parkway project

Algonquin Village President John Schmitt wants to set the record straight about Longmeadow Parkway.

Despite the copious amount of information made available about the $135 million project, Schmitt said, he believes there are many residents who still wish to ask questions or become better informed.

Hoping to generate a meaningful discussion about the parkway extension, Schmitt scheduled a special town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The meeting at the Algonquin Village Hall, 2200 Harnish Drive, will include an introduction by Schmitt, followed a question-and-answer session. A Kane County representative involved in the project is also expected to attend.

"There needs to be some dialogue on this thing," Schmitt said. "We're getting ready to build this thing, and we're still looking for input."

The project, which includes a toll bridge over the Fox River, would create a 5.6-mile road extending through Algonquin, Carpentersville and Barrington Hills.

"This is desperately needed, and we have to get it done, and we're going to support it," Schmitt said, noting the millions of dollars already invested in the project. "But we need to make sure we're listening to and hearing all the concerns of the residents. If there's a concern we haven't heard yet, we'll address it."

Longmeadow opponents are continuing to denounce the project. The Stop Longmeadow group has garnered more than 700 signatures in a petition on Change.org called "Protest Tax Waste".

Additionally, 70 percent of voters in Dundee Township told Kane County officials to stop the project during last month's election. But Schmitt said the wording of the advisory referendum, which suggested the project would negatively impact the community, was inaccurate.

"Just like everything else, the misrepresentation makes it invalid," he said. The parkway, he said, would bring more commercial activity to the area, raise property values, relieve traffic congestion and offer a better transportation corridor.

"We're not trying to do anything that is going to negatively impact their homes or their lives or their property values," he added. "This will enhance the area."

Thursday's town hall meeting will give residents a chance to ask questions and offer suggestions for improvements. In several instances throughout the planning process, Schmitt said, residents' feedback has played a significant role in making changes or finalizing details of the parkway.

"We want more of that," Schmitt said. "We want to make sure that when this is finished in a couple of years, this is going to be what everybody expects and wants."