District 205 Stalling on Negotiations for Crucial Stormwater Management Site: City Council

Elmhurst aldermen voted unanimously Monday to push for a decision on buying a piece of land crucial to the city’s stormwater management plan but seemingly impossible to get, as city council members say the school district that owns it has stalled on negotiations for the purchase for three years now.

The city wants to obtain a gravel lot at Bryan Middle School owned by Elmhurst Unit School District 205, the Pioneer Press reported, because the lot could provide flood relief for more than 100 local homes.

Alderman Chris Healy said that as negotiations with District 205 have continued, the school board has furthered its demands beyond the purchase price of $1.1 million for the lot. The area at Bryan Middle School is currently being used to store equipment and material for the school, and District 205 is asking for alternate land for storage at the city’s public works garage on Riverside Dr.

They also are asking for $350,000 for improvements to that site, alongside the $1.1 million for the primary land.

“This is a really important project and we need to get going on it,” Alderman Jim Kennedy told the Pioneer Press. He, along with other aldermen, voted Monday to direct city manager James Grabowski to make a final offer to District 205 for the land and to recognize a firm date for a final decision: Dec. 1.

Because of District 205’s stalling, the Press reported, city staff looked for other land that could serve the same purpose at Bryan’s land could and found a Plan B: a piece of vacant land across Butterfield Rd. from Bryan and on the grounds of Messiah Lutheran Church.

While the city has now a purchase contract of $825,000 for that site — significantly less than the $1.1 million piece of land on Bryan — Kennedy said it could be more expensive to build temporary stormwater detention on the site and ultimately add up to more dollars.

Still, he said, it was important to push forward.

District 205 Board President Shannon Ebner said in a statement Tuesday the district has been negotiating actively with the city for the Bryan land.

The full statement follows:

The school district views its primary mission to provide high quality educational opportunities for District 205 students. Additionally, it is currently in the process of developing a long-term facilities master plan for the District. However, it recognizes the importance of the stormwater issue to many Elmhurst families, and has, therefore, agreed to work with the City of Elmhurst, when and where possible, to help alleviate flooding for homeowners.

It has entered into one agreement at the Madison Early Childhood Education Center, and has been negotiating in good faith an agreement for the Bryan Middle School site. Negotiations on a stormwater management agreement for Bryan began less than a year ago, after agreement was reached on the Madison school site. In late June, the District delivered a comprehensive agreement to the City regarding the Bryan stormwater management project. In August, two months later, the City presented its first partial response, which was followed by different, and again only partial, responses in September and early October. The City also advised that it had contracted for an alternative site if an agreement cannot be reached on the Bryan site.

Ebner said in her statement that if the district receives another proposal from the city this week, it should be able to give initial consideration to the proposal at the Board of Education’s Oct. 26 meeting next week.

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