Residents critical of Campton Hills board's open space reversal
Residents who voiced their opposition in July to Campton Hills trustees continued Tuesday to push to have the county's forest preserve control and manage 275 acres of open space in the village's largest subdivision of Fox Mill.
"Fox Mill has been through the wringer on litigation - all frivolous - for years and there's no reason to start another legal fight," Fox Mill resident Bob Skidmore told trustees Tuesday night.
Alarmed by rumors the village board was still pursuing control over the open space, residents chided the board last July, saying the money spent on lawyers could be put to better use.
Trustees responded at a town-hall meeting a week later, saying they were not interested in reopening a lawsuit seeking control of the land.
Last week, Trustees Laura Anderson, Mike O'Dwyer, Jim McKelvie, and Michael Tyrrell voted to spend up to $6,000 to have the Palos Heights law firm of Montana & Welch pursue an agreement with the Kane County Forest Preserve District to have it maintain the land. Trustee Mike Millett was absent and Susan George abstained.
Tuesday, trustees removed "discussion of the Fox Mill update" from their agenda.
When Fox Mill was first built decades ago, the development agreement planned for a governmental body to own and manage the land. The forest preserve passed at the time, and the duty later fell to the homeowner's association, which collects $1,200 from each Fox Mill household to manage and maintain the land, as well as perform other duties.
Fox Mill residents - along with Village President Harry Blecker - have said the arrangement is working just fine, so there is no reason to change it. Blecker on Tuesday reiterated his intent to veto the move at the village board's next meeting on Oct. 18, saying it was "unnecessary" and trustees shouldn't "convert their private views into public expenditures."
Four of six trustee votes are needed to override the veto.
Patsy Smith, former village president, said it was "premature" for the board to hire another law firm because the forest preserve wasn't interested. Smith added that board members who live in Fox Mill - Andersen, George and O'Dwyer - have a conflict of interest in voting on the matter.
Added resident Patrick Walsh, who also is an attorney: "In my experience, only the most dysfunctional (boards) require separate counsel."