GENEVA ? The Kane County Board again will take up whether to push ahead with the master plan to govern the transformation of the Settlers Hill Landfill area into a recreational destination.
Tuesday, the Kane County Board?s Development Committee recommended the full County Board approve a study to estimate the financial costs and benefits to Kane County from proceeding with plans to turn the defunct garbage dump into a recreational hotspot.
Since 2011, a county task force, including members of the Kane County Board, the cities of Geneva and Batavia and the Kane County Forest Preserve District, has worked to create a picture of what could lie ahead for the Fabyan Property, a more than 700-acre piece of land centered on Settlers Hill and bordered by Route 38, Fabyan Parkway, Kirk Road and Route 25.
Among other items, proposals for the site include trails for cross-country running and mountain biking; a hilltop observatory; an 18-hole golf course; a winter recreation area, including an ice skating pond; and an outdoor music venue along Kirk Road.
The plan also calls for a resort and convention center, among other amenities.
According to a memo circulated to the Development Committee on Tuesday, the County Board could vote on the master plan as early as October, and construction of amenities could begin in 2013, with others following in 2014 and 2015.
However, the proposal has endured criticism, particularly from those living nearby, who have centered their objections on the potential effect it could have on the woods at the Fabyan Forest Preserve, included on the west end of the project area.
Some on the County Board also have questioned whether the county has worked closely enough with Waste Management, who manages the closed landfill, to justify moving ahead with the project.
To ameliorate those concerns, the County Board received a letter from Waste Management discussing the waste hauler?s thoughts on the project.
The five-page letter, dated Aug. 13, centers on Waste Management?s concern that any recreational use allows the company to access the site to control pollution and manage methane gas from the landfill.
The letter does not take a position on the project.
County Board member Mike Donahue, R-Geneva, said he doesn?t believe Waste Management?s concerns will prevent the county from proceeding.
?Nothing contained in this letter would alter or modify the status of the plan,? Donahue said.
Others on the committee took a different approach.
?This letter is definitely far from a rubber stamp,? said County Board member Drew Frasz, R-Elburn.
Frasz and fellow County Board member Barb Wojnicki, R-Campton Hills, urged the board to hold off on voting until more public comment could be gathered.
Donahue agreed to schedule a public hearing at a date to be determined, although he noted the project already has received ?a substantial amount of public input.?
Donahue, however, said the board should approve a fiscal impact study for the project. The board earlier opted to postpone action on the $39,000 study until hearing from Waste Management.
Wojnicki opposed approving the fiscal study until an environmental impact study could be completed. Donahue, however, said the proper order for the project is to examine the financial impacts first and determine a scope and budget for the next steps.
?I?m not sure it?s in the best interests of the county to push this into next year, with a new administration,? Donahue said. ?We may need to start over.?
The County Board could vote on the fiscal impact study at its next meeting Sept. 11.
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