Lake County forest district might ask votes for $155 million next year
The Lake County Forest Preserve system could ask voters for about $155 million to fund an array of projects and needs, according to an initial recommendation.
The suggested amount is preliminary and may change as forest preserve district officials determine how much to seek through a November 2024 referendum.
As recommended, nearly $90 million of the total would be directed to habitat restoration and dozens of projects with $65 million targeted for land preservation and acquisition.
It will be the forest district's first referendum since 2008, when two-thirds of voters agreed the district should borrow $185 million. That money has been spent or is spoken for, and in six years, expenses will exceed revenue, Executive Director Ty Kovach told commissioners this week.
About 80% of the 2008 proceeds were used to acquire land as the district stocked up in a buyers' market triggered by the Great Recession. But some of the acquisitions haven't been opened for public use.
The emphasis this time will be on projects and initiatives to reduce operating costs and to complete projects such as the Millennium Trail and Greenway. Taking care of existing facilities, improving ecosystems and distributing resources equitably across Lake County are other goals.
Among dozens of big projects on the to-do list are: building a key regional trail connection at Waukegan Savanna; habitat restoration and a complete revamp of public access at Greenbelt Forest Preserve near North Chicago; a bridge and Des Plaines River Trail connection at Lake Carina near Gurnee; repurposing the beach area at Independence Grove near Libertyville; completing Phase 1 of master plan work at Lakewood near Wauconda; and public access and improvements at Lake Marie near Antioch.
Land acquisition funding would be used to preserve habitats, provide flood protection, add trails, improve river and lake access, expand existing preserves and create large refuges, according to the recommendations. Any new acquisitions would be a minimum of 100 acres, Kovach noted.
Forest commissioners last month agreed to put a referendum on the November 2024 ballot. Determining a specific amount and crafting public messages of how the money would be spent are ongoing.
District officials say good public ratings are a factor in proceeding with the first of an expected a trio of referendums in coming years.
If voters approve, the November 2024 measure would raise about half of what's needed for all the projects in the district's 10-year plan. The rest would be sought through another referendum.
Before that and pending a change in state law, voters may be asked to increase taxes to operate and maintain future projects, officials said.
"We don't have capacity to put stuff on the ground and actually operate it," Kovach said.
Projects on the current referendum list can be supported with existing resources, he added.