Path cleared for community center
But park district still taking ‘slow’ approach toward construction
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| The former Jailhouse restaurant and bar was demolished Tuesday. Last spring, the Prophetstown Park District bought the property for $110,000 and later voted to spend $6,500 on demolition and $4,230 for asbestos removal. The district plans to build a new community center on the site. (SVM file photo) |
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PROPHETSTOWN – The Prophetstown Park District demolished an old restaurant and bar Tuesday, making way for a planned community center.
The project has opposition.
Last spring, the park board voted to buy the Jailhouse restaurant and bar for $110,000. That action surprised some residents.
In November, the board voted to spend $6,500 on demolition and $4,230 for asbestos removal – mostly paid for from an auction of Jailhouse items such as tables and chairs.
Some residents question whether the town needs a community center. And they argue the board should have reached out to residents before making such a big decision.
The board, however, says it legally advertised all meetings at which it discussed the issue and took action. They contend the town needs a place for non-sporting activities such as social functions and art classes.
Last fall, Amanda McNeill and other residents launched a petition drive to let voters decide whether to disband the park district. They said the Jailhouse purchase prompted their effort.
They didn’t receive enough signatures in time for a December deadline to get on the March ballot. Now, they aim to have the referendum in the November election.
The park board, meanwhile, hasn’t taken the battle lightly. In October, it hired Sterling attorney Tim Zollinger to draft an opinion on the legal implications of disbanding the park district.
Zollinger had a tight deadline. He got the job on a Monday and had to draft an opinion in time for the board meeting 2 days later.
“He dropped everything and worked on it for a day,” said Tommy Barton, the district’s executive director.
Zollinger was paid $1,000 for his work.
McNeill said this was an example of the board’s “reckless” spending.
“The first part [of the opinion] was what we had from the Illinois Compiled Statutes. Anyone can look at that on the Internet. It’s not rocket science,” she said.
McNeill feared the community center would become a “white elephant.”
“We’ll end up with a big expensive building because it will be underused because no one will be able to afford to rent it,” she said.
Rod Copeland, a Prophetstown attorney who backs the petition, said he didn’t dispute anything in Zollinger’s opinion. But he didn’t think it was necessary to hire a lawyer.
“They were so worried the petition would be successful,” he said. “I don’t care whether the park district is abolished or not. But if the petition is what we have to do to get their attention to not spend money and not go into debt, that’s what we should do.”
The petitioners need 400 signatures to trigger a referendum on the district’s dissolution. So far, 35 have been collected, McNeill said.
Over the next year, park district officials plan to visit community centers in towns such as Amboy and find out more about how the centers are used and operated. They said they also plan to involve the community in developing a plan.
“We don’t want to build anything for at least another year. We’ll take it slow and present it to the community,” Barton said.
Construction won’t start until at least 2013, officials said.
The park district, which includes parts of Whiteside and Henry counties, has a recreation center in Prophetstown, a city park, and baseball fields and a concession stand in Lyndon.
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