Itasca mayor candidates have differing views on golf course land
Both Itasca mayor candidates oppose a plan to construct data center buildings on a golf course property but disagree on whether the land should be redeveloped at all.
Incumbent Jeff Pruyn, who has served as mayor since 2009, is seeking a fourth term. He is being challenged by newcomer Thomas Pawlicki, a retired investment banker.
During a recent endorsement interview with the Daily Herald, Pruyn and Pawlicki weighed in on a proposal to construct three 100,000-square-foot data center buildings on land that belongs to Itasca Country Club. Club CEO Larry Swets wants to use about 34 acres - roughly one-quarter of the club's property - for the data center complex along North Prospect Road
However, the plan would need village board approval. And when the proposal was reviewed in January by a village board committee, it was met with resistance from residents and trustees. No formal application has been submitted for the plan commission to review.
Pawlicki said he was motivated to run for mayor because he strongly opposes the data center proposal. He lives near the golf course and gathered more than 300 signatures on a petition opposing the project.
Pruyn said he believes that having single-family homes - not data center buildings - on the golf course land would benefit the village in the long run.
"I think we need to find more heads and beds," Pruyn said. "So we need to find areas here to put in residential housing. We do need some more population growth to support the development that we all want."
Pruyn, 56, acknowledges that Itasca Elementary District 10 opposes expanding residential housing. He's seeking to find a compromise that works for the district and the village's development plans.
Pawlicki, 73, says he's opposed to the idea of having houses on the golf course land. He said adding residents would overwhelm village resources.
"I don't see where building the homes helps us whatsoever," Pawlicki said. "This would cause problems in the police and fire department. We only have one ambulance ... and we would have to build another school."