Campton Township seeks voter approval for open space bond issue
Those pitching to improve open space and obtain even more often have a good chance with the voting public on Election Day.
We like our open countryside and forests, and we grimace when development is eyed on open land west of Randall Road.
Campton Township finds itself in that position as the April 1 election looms. Even though township voters have embraced past open-space questions, there is always a concern they might “skip it” this time.
Joe Garbarski, executive director of the Campton Township Open Space Foundation, sent a letter to Campton residents last month to encourage support of a $17.2 million bond to be paid over 10 years as a way to “protect and maintain our local open spaces for future generations” as well as seek additional open space to bring the township total to about 2,000 acres.
The letter could have shouted more about the reality of the bond-tax math equation and what voters would pay if the proposition passes, compared to previous years for the $58 for every $100,000 of a home’s assessed valuation.
A nearly 50% decrease in the bond payment levy in 2024 will show on 2025 tax bills because of past retired bonds. If the new bond issue is approved, the total tax levy to pay off new bonds and the remainder of old bonds will be less than the tax levy for bonds paid in 2024.
If the ballot question passes, it would result in $362 a year for a $500,000 home; far less than the $686 per year that township residents were paying in 2024, and $7 fewer than what they will pay this year.
It makes for a powerful selling point for open space. In many ways, it means the basic premise of wanting to keep Campton Township and others around it showcasing green space, rolling hills, farmland and wildlife habitats, hasn’t changed in decades.
In the late 1970s, I wrote about the growth in Central School District 301. There were plenty of viewpoints, arguments, animosity and shared desires to live in western Kane County for folks moving into new subdivisions and those who had lived here for generations as farmers.
Ultimately, they all wanted the same thing: open space.
It was a dramatic change for those leaving cities closer to Chicago, as well as for those here watching people from various cities moving in.
In the end, the desire for open space continued to be a main focus. Campton Township’s Open Space Program has passed ballot questions in 2001 and 2005 (combined totaling nearly $47 million). Township records show a savings of $16.7 million through refinancing the bonds between 2011 and 2020.
When the math works out right, the desire for open space is a powerful thing.
Walking the Mount’s planks
In case you have walked the wooden planks along the south end of the walking trail at Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles the past week and are wondering what is going on, here’s your answer.
Workers at the park on the west side of the Fox River and those on the east side near Langum Park are part of crews boring in a new natural gas pipeline under the river.
The pipeline is extending through that part of Mount St. Mary Park, making it important for workers to keep people off the nearby track.
In its place, a bunch of wooden boards have been laid down. So, we revert back to the old days in St. Charles where any type of walking in downtown areas, or near schools or churches was navigated along wooden planks.
• dheun@sbcglobal.net