New Kane County committee vote on Fabyan Pkwy. site leaves members confused

Kane County Board members took the unusual step Wednesday of making a decision they already made two months ago, a move officials said was the latest sign of lingering tensions between board Chairman Chris Lauzen and Coroner Rob Russell.

The tension stems from the board's administrative committee decision in August to explore the value and possible sale of 28 acres of dormant county land along Fabyan Parkway in Geneva. It is home to county vehicle maintenance, the old jail and document storage.

Some board members want to move those functions and sell the property to provide cash to build new facilities for the coroner and the county's building maintenance staff.

Despite a suggestion from Lauzen that the county would be better served by exploring a shared coroner's facility with other counties, board members pushed forward with a request for qualifications from potential developers for the Fabyan site.

But that hasn't happened and the request for qualifications returned to the committee Wednesday for further review, spawning confusion for several board members.

"My interpretation of what we voted on was to move forward," board member Becky Gillam said. "RFQs don't usually come back to committee to be voted on. Staff knows what they are doing. I don't know why we need to approve it."

Representatives from the county's purchasing department and the outside project management firm the county contracts with both said requests for qualifications have never required review or approval by county board members. Despite that, the committee once again directed the staff to move forward.

In an interview, Russell said he believes the unusual actions of the committee stemmed from efforts behind the scenes to delay efforts to build a new coroner's facility until after the November election. Lauzen directly supports several new candidates for the county board.

"I hate to make assumptions, but it seems like the process is being purposefully slowed down," Russell said. "And I think everyone who's been following what's been going on knows why that is."

Lauzen wasn't available for comment. However, in July, he said the county may reap about $1 million from the land sale and that may not be enough to build a new morgue, which is why some sort of shared facility with other counties should be explored.

The possible sale of the Fabyan property brought another former Lauzen foe into the mix Wednesday.

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns made a surprise appearance at the committee discussion. Burns had a heated race with Lauzen for the chairman seat in 2012. On Wednesday, Burns expressed concern Geneva was not invited into the discussions about redevelopment that would put a major swath of land back onto the local tax roll.

"I would like to request formally and forcefully that the city of Geneva participate in this development process from this day forward," Burns said. "We insist, respectfully, that we have a seat at that table moving forward. This is a unique and rare opportunity to develop a site that has been an albatross and turn it into an asset."

The committee members agreed Geneva would be included in all future discussions.