Special Meeting of Dorr Township

A Special Meeting was held tonight at Dorr Township for the purpose of examining an inter-governmental agreement between the Township and its Road District, which is a separate taxing entity. You've probably noticed that on your tax bill. You do look carefully at your tax bill, don't you?

The agreement seems to be mostly a matter of dotting the i's and crossing the t's, since the Township owns the property where the Road District is located. Several years ago the Road District paid the Township $10,000/year rent, but then that stopped.

The trustees weren't able to finalize the agreement tonight, because the Action item was omitted from the agenda.

The trustees then launched into a long discussion related to the expansion project at the Highway Garage (Road District). Mark Rohde from Legat Architects explained the work that Legat has been contracted to perform. Trustees Andersen and Evanoff were behind the curve, because they hadn't been furnished copies of the proposal before the meeting, and they were clearly surprised at the cost of projects for a wash bay and a salt storage facility.

The Road District hasn't been able to wash its vehicles on its property for a year, said Tom Thurman, Highway Commissioner. Apparently, the Environmental Division of the McHenry County Department of Health had paid them a visit and didn't like road salt being washed away. Now the Road District is faced with spending in the area of $150,000 to construct a wash bay. Long gone are the days of just hitting the dirty trucks with a garden hose and a nozzle.

A glitch has also come up with the property where the new home of Dorr Township might be, at 747 South Eastwood Drive. The Township has made an offer on the south end of the building, which is actually a condominium building. When the Township Attorney was investigating the status and history of the commercial condominium association, he found that there is a second building in the association; the second building houses AutoTech and the stores to the north of AutoTech.

The Township is working against an April 21st date to complete its due diligence and decide whether to go through with the purchase or pull out. It is not uncommon in real estate deals for buyers to request extensions, and normally a seller will grant them. Attorneys use form letters and fax them back and forth. In this case the Township Attorney might request a five-day extension and state why; then the Seller's attorney will, if the Seller agrees, sign the Acceptance portion and fax it back. There could be numerous extensions, as long as both parties are working toward closing.

Important dates are coming up for Township residents (electors).

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 7:00PM Annual Town Meeting at 12322 Davis Road, Woodstock.
Thursday, April 14, 2011 7:00PM April Regular Meeting, 140 Newell Street, Woodstock