Campton Headwaters View of Elburn

You can see stunning views of Elburn from the new Campton Township Headwaters Conservation Area. Congratulations to Campton Township officials on their new park, trails and amenities.

People don't always realize that approximately 25% of Elburn proper is within Campton Township. Elburn homeowners on the north side of town pay additional property taxes that support open space purchases in Campton Township. This particular acquisition was an excellent choice.

The entrance to the new headwaters park is located on Beith Road, 1/2 mile east of Anderson. The sunset vistas from this spot are going to be exceptional. Be sure to check it out when you get a chance.

You Can Bet on Us!

CNN Money magazine has a new story out called "The $25 Trillion Land Grab." In the article, the authors analyze Professor Robert Lang's ten US "megapolitan" regions. They predict that each of these regions are poised for a development boom that will dwarf America's post-WWII buildout.

Our "megapolitan" region is called the "Great Lakes Horseshoe." And, right there under "Real Estate Bonanza," the little village of Elburn is identified as the "best residential real estate bet" in the entire region.

The caption also states that Elburn, Ill. is "a tiny Chicago suburb set to boom after a commuter rail extension is completed by year's end."

My initial reaction to the story is that this isn't the kind of publicity Elburn really wants. We are the town that values better over bigger, quality over quantity, and sensible growth over sprawl. We are one of the only towns that talk openly about greenbelts, growth boundaries, resident life cycles, making interconnections and seeking equal access to social resources.

We don't want to be a "boom" town. In fact, we would prefer to remain a "hidden jewel." That is, a community people find by accident, then stay for the quintessential "Americana" quality of life.

But, upon further reflection my reaction to this article is a little deeper than that. I ask, if Elburn is truly the "best residential real estate bet" in the entire "Great Lakes Horseshoe," can the rest of western Kane County be far behind?

And, if that is the truly the case, then what should we do to take advantage of our regionally recognized status? There are four things that jump into my mind immediately.

First, we must do a better job working together to foster a regional consensus of our shared planning goals. Second, we must do a better job capturing the "real costs of growth" in our annexation and development agreements.

Third, we must resist the temptation to offer retail tax rebates to commercial entities that would build here eventually without them. And, finally, we must stop "shooting ourselves in the foot," by prematurely annexing farmland that isn't even under consideration for development. We naively think this is going to protect us from our neighbors, but all we are really doing is making the growth go faster.

If we are development's "best bet" in the region, then we should remember to "play that card." We should stand strong as a favored region, and not let contentious "growth issues" divide and conquer us. And, we should make the development process itself pay dearly for priviledge of building where their "bet" is a sure thing.

That's what we should do. But, making local decisions that might benefit our neighboring communities just isn't in our nature. Or, is it?

Guess Who's Joined the Blogosphere?

Guess who's joined us in cyberspace? Yes, it's none other than our distinguished Congressman and US Speaker of the House of Representatives J. Dennis Hastert.

In Denny's first blog he talks about the challenges we have faced enduring a rough hurricaine season, and about the need for oil companies to build new refineries in America.

He also talks about Conoco Phillips' agreement on a new natural gas pipeline with the State of Alaska, and the need for Exxon Mobil and BP to do the same. Personally, I have my own bone to pick with some people at BP, but that's another story.

So, I offer congratulations and an "cybergenic" welcome to Speaker Hastert's new journal. You might want to bookmark this one. It's really him, with no spin and "straight from the heart." For bloggers, it doesn't get any better than this.

It's Official!

This afternoon we cut the offical ribbon at the American Bank and Trust, our stately new bank on Main Street.

I mentioned at the event that I'd been in recently to the bank to cash a check, and that one of the new tellers had asked to see my identification. I told him that I was sure I was old enough to cash a check.

But, more importantly, I also related that there is one thing we talk about all the time at Village Hall. And, that is to make sure that in everything we do that we are helping to make Elburn into a "Better, and not just Bigger" community.

Growing "bigger" is easy, growing "better" takes commitment, effort and thought.

Our new American Bank bank definitely makes Elburn "better!" This building makes a dramatic statement right on Main Street that we care about our downtown. It is a wonderful facility to be admired, enjoyed and shared by everyone in our community for many years to come.

The ribbon we were holding was also woven together with five dollars bills. Those dollars were graciously donated after the ribbon cutting to the Elburn Food Pantry. The reason I look so intent is because I'm trying not to cut through the money.

Leave It to Beaver!

A friendly beaver has decided to build a new lodge in the spillway between our two Prairie Highland ponds. Since being mayor, I have had to learn about many different insects and animals that share our village habitat. Some of these have included mosquitoes, geese, coyotes, rabbits, chipmunks, possums and an occassional lost emu.

But this is the first time that I am aware of a beaver building a home in one of our subdivisions. I wonder of he needs a certificate of occupancy?

A beaver, which is actually a large rodent, can be a real nuisance in a tree rich neighborhood. They are nocturnal and can easily drop several trees in a single night. Click on this link if you would like to know more about beavers and their destructive behaviors.

We are going to have to catch this beaver and find him a new home. But, before we do, I'll try to get a picture of the little rascal for the blog. Stay tuned!

I'm Lovin' It!

PROCLAMATION

Whereas, Wednesday, October 26th, 2005 happens to be my 52nd birthday, and

Whereas, the Elburn McDonald's has also determined that day to be a day to "Treat Yourself!" at McDonald's, and

Whereas, I wish to share the celebration of my birthday with all of the residents of the Village of Elburn.

Therefore, I do hereby proclaim that all McDonald's hamburgers shall be sold for 49 cents each, and all McDonald's cheeseburgers shall be sold for 59 cents each on my birthday in Elburn.

In addition, the aforementioned proclamation shall be duly enforceable within the Village of Elburn for "One day only!"

Furthermore, a limit of 5 sandwiches total per customer per visit shall be deemed an adequate expression of birthday joy.

I do solemnly affix my blogging seal,

Mayor Jim Willey

Farming on the Edge

Check out a recent study by the American Farmland Trust called "Farming on the Edge." Here are some of its major findings: America is losing two acres of farmland per minute. We are losing our best land the fastest, and our capacity to produce food is increasingly in the path of development.

Now here is a surprising finding: Wasteful land use is a much bigger problem than growth itself. The study reveals that over the past 20 years our acreage per person for new housing has almost doubled. It also states that since 1994, 10+ acre lots have accounted for 55 percent of the total land lost to development.

Which leads me to conclude that managing sprawl may actually have the potential to save more farmland than managing growth.

So, when someone tells you they are going to "save the farmland" by developing only 5+ acre lots with individual wells and septic systems, you really have to wonder if they have done their homework.

Large lot development "chews up" our farmland the fastest. Yes, it's an attractive life style for those who can afford it. But, developing in this singular fashion doesn't save farms, it consumes them.

The Eagle Has Landed,...on Main Street

The eagle has indeed landed on Elburn's Main Street. The new American Bank and Trust building is open for your business. The building itself is a dramatic addition to the heart of Elburn's central business district.

Inside a professional group of attentive bankers are ready and willing to serve the financial needs our growing community. They even have a cash dispensing machine that reminds me of the "WOPR" computer from the movie "War Games."

Several people have remarked how quiet it is inside when the UP freight trains rumble by the southern frontage of the bank. That is an especially nice feature of this well planned building.

I understand that an official ribbon cutting for the new American Bank will be held on Thursday, October 27th at 1:00 pm. Until then, stop by and check out this wonderful addition to Elburn's downtown.

Someone Gets It!

According to the Elburn Herald, a concerned resident spoke out at a recent Kaneville Township meeting. This resident stated that he didn't mind if his house was incorporated, but please don't incorporate my sod farm.

Now this person is someone who gets it. His name is Mr. Bill Dunteman, and he expressed perfectly a piece of advice this blogger has expressed publically for the past six weeks.

Mr. Dunteman went on to say that if Kaneville incorporates his farm they would be "leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table that could go to the school district."

Tens of millions of dollars is a whole lot of money for future taxpayers to have to recoup in property taxes. And, Mr. Dunteman is correct. That predicted level of loss could occur from the development of a single large farm or two.

"Incorporate homes, don't incorporate farmland" is simple and sound advice. I applaud the residents of the future village of Kaneville for listening to Mr. Dunteman, and agreeing to discuss their proposed boundaries for incorporation further.

Annexation Won't Save Farms

If we could truly save the farmland with annexation and zoning, wouldn't we have done that already?

If the answer to protecting our farms and borders was really that simple, I believe that Kane County municipalities would have annexed and zoned the farmland years ago.

In the article "Protecting Farmland on the Edge: What Policies and Programs Work?" the author states, "The greatest threat to farmland,...is the rush,...to annex land."

He also states that "local governments should not rely on zoning to protect farming," and that "low-density residential development in rural areas displaces farming as surely as other (forms of) development."

Finally, he concludes that low-density rural development is "the worst kind of sprawl."

I happen to agree with him.

Mayor's Blog Goes to Harvard

A story written by staff writer Jason King and first published in the Daily Herald was recently picked up by the John F. Kennedy School of Government and republished on the internet as part of their "Government Innovators Network."

The story is titled "Mayors find new way to reach constituents-Leaders find internet blogging effective, fun way to communicate." It mentions this blog, as well as a blog written by Mayor Bill Gentes of Round Lake, IL.

As a young man, I earned four college degrees from three different Illinois universities. But, the mayor's blog went to Harvard. Now, that's just cool!

Fishing in Elburn is Great!

When my nephew "Mikey J" comes over for a visit, we just have to go fishing. So on a windy and cold afternoon, we got to "drown some worms" together at the Prairie Highland pond.

My best "kid" fishing rig is a small fluorescent jig tipped with a wax worm. By adding a bubble float for weight, this rig casts nicely into a brisk breeze. Within just a few minutes, we landed this nice "bigmouth" bass. Our "bug-eyed" buddy had a short "out of water" experience, and then went right back in the pond to grow bigger.

Mikey says "Fishing in Elburn is great!" I agree!

Elburn's Newest Well Is Now Online

Last week, Elburn's Well #5 was placed online. This high capacity well becomes our third of three operational wells. It is brand new and located directly underneath the Blackberry Creek water tower. We are currently in the process of balancing the water levels in Elburn's three water towers. We are also adjusting our two pressure reducing stations to compensate for adding an additional well to the system.

Our three water towers hold over 1.3 million gallons of water "in the air." This creates a constant water pressure for our village and provides us with important water capacity reserves to fight fires.

Our two pressure reducing stations, located underground just south of the railroad tracks at both Main Street and Third Street, divide our town into two separate pressure zones. One pressure zone is located north of the Union Pacific tracks, and the other is located to the south. Each zone can feed the other in an emergency, but without using these reducing stations the static water pressure in the Blackberry Creek subdivision would be extremely high.

We "flatlanders" often think of our little town as being pretty level, and yet there is an 80 foot drop in elevation from Route 38 to Keslinger Road. The lower the elevation of the land, the higher the associated water pressure. Thus, the two pressure zone approach provides for a more even water pressure across our entire village.

Soon we will be working on Well #4. This is the municipal deep well located near Village Hall. We intend to install a new pump and motor in this well, which should increase its capacity, too.

Our trace radium removal project is also moving towards completion rapidly, and our hopes are high that this critical project will be completed by the end of this year.