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\ Since 1875 mum mi ntii NIWIMNIMMr 2 Sections 38 Pages 25' • * ^ Wednesday August 15, 1984 Number 106 Volume 108 Proposed tax levy to remain constant By Anthony Oliver Plaindealer staff writer The proposed McHenry property tax levy may herald slight increases and decreases in some funds, but will remain essentially the same as last year, according to William Busse (2nd), chairman of the Finance Committee. Busse submitted the 1985-86 levy ordinance for the review of the councilmen at Monday night's regular meeting. "The ordinance determines the revenues to be raised through property taxes," Busse said. The total levy amount of $1,074,500 includes the special service area for Northern Illinois Medical Center and is not a direct cost to city tax­ payers, it was noted. Busse pointed out that the levy ordinance did increase amounts for retirement, a move that was recommended in a recent audit compiled by Yapelli, Ket- chmark and Associates. The levy amount was increased from $144,000 to $215,000 in order to get the fund back to solvency. The deficiency that prompted the action was caused by in­ creased retirement benefits in both Social Security and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (EMRF). Busse commented that the higher tax rate probably would not have to be maintained once the fund was back in the black. "I have reservations about niang the IMRF," said Mayor Joseph Stanek. "I would like to hold that option open for abatement." Busse also said the proposed ordinance called for a decrease in the Insurance Fund, from $110,000 to $90,000, which would still allow the city to maintain adequate coverage. Stanek cautioned the council that the city had not been reserving money for capital outlays and should consider doing so. "This is very conservative. If we can abate taxes we will," Busse said. Aid. Ray Smith (3rd) voiced dissatisfaction with the main­ tenance of the parkways on Green Street where the utility work was done recently. Many of the parkways along the road were damaged when repair work on the utility line was done this summer. The contractor reseeded the park­ ways, but some were overgrown with weeds. Smith said the city had agreed to maintain the parkways (cutting the weeds) until it was determined whether the seed would take root. The contractor maintains that he still has time according to the contract to see that the property is restored. Stanek noted that if the city were to sod the parkways im­ mediately, it would effectively end the contract with little hope of resolving the problem. In the end, it was decided that the city would do a better job of maintaining the parkways and if efforts failed with the con4 tractor, would do the job itself. In other business: -The council voted to post signs prohibiting construction vehicles from using Kensington, Dartmoor, Greenbrier and Winding Creek, as entrances to sites in the southwest sub­ divisions. -The Park Department was directed to take measures to prohibit toddlers from wan­ dering from the beach area to deeper water. The department is looking into two sturdy piers on either side of the shallows at Petersen Park and a bouyed line between. It was noted that standard lines and bouys were not satisfactory. --The council voted to pursue delinquent sewer accounts in the Lakeland Park area by legal means if necessary. Some of the residents have only city sewer services because of the private water company. The delinquent accounts amount to about $6,000, according to Aid. William Bolger (1st), chairman of the Utilities Committee. -The council voted to proceed with plans to bring electricity to the barn at Knox Park and in­ crease water service by ad­ ding two lines. Youth in serious condition following motorcycle crash By Angela Burden Plaindealer News Service A Wonder Lake youth was listed in serious condition Tuesday at the Northern Illinois Medical Center, with injuries he sustained in a head-on motor­ cycle crash last week. Douglas Leman, 13, of 3502 Church Street, was taken by Wonder Lake Rescue Squad to the hospital at about 3:40 p.m. August 8. According to the McHenry County sheriff's police, two vehicles were riding on dirt-bike trails in a private field near Hancock Drive and East Wonder Lake Road. The second motorcycle was operated by Scott A. Kimble, 15, of 7617 Oafcwood Drive, Wonder Lake, who reportedly escaped injury. Police said the Leman machine was eastbound and the Kimble vehicle was westbound and both hit head-on at a point about 200 yards southeast of the intersection of Hancock and E. Wonder Lake Road. According to the accident report, Kimble told sheriff's police he saw the approaching Leman vehicle but he could not swerve because of trees along both sides of the trail. No statement was available from Leman because of his injuries, police said. A passenger on the Kimble machine, Eric R. Mickelsen, 13, of 3110 Park Drive, Wonder Lake, received less serious injuries and was taken by Wonder Lake Rescue Squad to Memorial Hospital, Woodstock. A look inside. Fish Boil Mammographic Unit Regular features » So I Hear <• Obituaries Crime of the Week New Circulation Number Page 8 Page 10 Page 4 Page 7 Page 5 385-0178 A Wonder Lake area activity on the lake day Wonder Lake Dam ly spends a quiet moment watching the a parade, which culminated the two- tion. The festival, which included a Plaindealer photo by Donna Pertulii pig roast and boatride tours, was held in observance of the 55th anniversary of the Wonder Lake Dam. By Anthony Oliver Plaindealer staff writer A proposed test site lor a new municipal waste treatment process has some members of the McHenry City Council ex­ cited ' about the possibilities. Not only would the city be in qn the ground floor of what could be a revolution in waste treat­ ment, but the move could be a very lucrative one, financially. "This proposal has a lot of merit and should be given serious consideration," said Mayor Joseph Stanek. "As a .layman, I do recognize the problem with waste. .l>ut these are resources that an be con­ verted. In a conventional land­ fill, you are uncertain of the safety of gas and leachate and it takes 15 to 50 years to degrade." . "I feel this affords the op­ portunity of recycling and resource recovery," Stanek added. He also pointed out that area landfills were in the site offers many possibilities process of closing. Antioch has closed and both the . Lake, and B#tfngton i are due to close in the near fut Representatives of GAS, Inc. (Great American Salvage Corp.) have proposed that the city cosponsor a test site for the process called "Lanfilgas," Basically,the process includes recycling available materials, rapid decomposition of non- recyclables and production of methane gas, which can be converted to electricity and sold to utility companies. The city stands to be cut in on a percentage of revenues derived from the sale of elec­ tricity and tippage fees or a minimum annual payment, whichever is larger. According to. information presented by Robert Price, a GAS, Inc., executive, the company also seeks to deter­ mine the feasibility of: -Obtaining a city owned site adequate for the construction of a recycling and processing facUity b«a«f on the Lanfilgas process. The site needed would be about 100 acres and would serve a population of 125,000. -Obtaining the land for the site at no cost to the city. -Obtaining precommitments for financing the land site based on successful commercial demonstration of the Lanfilgas process. -Examining the advantages and disadvantages of other options available to the City of McHenry. - O b t a i n i n g i n t e r - c i t y agreements on refuse processing. In the last item. Price ex­ plained that the Cityof McHenry would have a specific capacity reserved for it. If the city wanted to enter into an agreement with another municipality to use some of that capacity, it could. Looking to the future, if the Voter registration drive to begin By Cliff Ward Plaindealer News Service Illinois Republicans are taking a page from the Democratic playbook and will be conducting an aggressive Voter registration drive statewide. In McHenry County, State Sen. Jack Schaffer, R-Cary, is -the man picked by Republican Central Committee Chairman A1 Jourdan to bring more potential voters onto the precinct rolls. "Chairman Jordan noticed I wasn't on the ballot and decided to put me to work," Schaffer joked. Voter registration, however, is a job Schaffer is not taking lightly. "Hey, you can't play the game unless you're registered, and it's a very important game," he said. Although he described the effort as non-partisan, Schaffer admitted the ^ GOP would probably be the beneficiary of increased registration in the county. There may be as many as 18,000 to 20,000 people in McHenry County, traditionally a bastion of the Republican Party, who are eligible to vote, but who are not registered, he said. The statewide push, which Republicans hope will add 125,000 GOP voters to the rolls, is intended to help offset the large registration increase among minorities, who traditionally vote Democratic, in Cook County after the Harold Washington and Jesse Jackson campaigns. The Republicans are using a computer match to identify unregistered voters in neigh­ borhoods identified as primarily Republican. Schaffer said the campaign here would depend a great deal on precinct committeemen, who, by law, are registrars, working their individual areas to register potential voters. The campaign will also utilize some direct mailing and the traditional media, he said. Hie 1980 U.S. Census showed nearly 8.2 million people of voting age in Illinois. But, ac­ cording to the State Board of Elections, only about six million of them were registered to vote in the primary elections last March. Jury selection begins in Whitt murder trial 8y Angela Burden Plaindealer News Service The murder trial of 18-year- old Patrick E. Whitt of McHenry started today with selection of jury members before Judge Michael Sullivan in 19th Judicial Circuit Court. • Whitt stands accused in connection with the April 1 death of David M. Garrelts, 28, of 4110 E. Lakeshore Drive, Wonder Lake. At a preliminary hearing on the three-count charge in April, probable cause was found against Whitt, who allegedly struck his victim with a baseball bat. Testimony in the preliminary hearing against Whitt indicated the victim was drunk and refused to leave a home at 2609 Emerald Court, McHenry, the residence of Garrelts* former girlfriend., • According to testimony, when Garrelts apparently refused to leave the residence, Whitt struck him on the back of the head with the small end of the bat and when the blow appeared not to affect the victim, Whitt reportedly struck him a second time with the large end of the bat. The incident was investigated by McHenry County sheriff's police in the early hours of March 30, when they were called to the McHenry residence. study proved successful and Lanfilgas is judged com­ mercially feasible, the City of McHenry would have tile option of entering into an agreement with GAS, Inc., which provides a percentage participation in gross revenues derived from power produced at a GAS, Inc-McHenry plant. The city could expect three percent of the gross revenues, after adjustment for state and federal excise taxes, and all county and city taxes. The agreement also calls for the city to receive a three percent cut of "tippage" fees, the fees charged to waste haulers to dump at the facility. Other proposed conditions include: -The right of GAS, Inc. to purchase the site from the city after seven years of leasing. -A cap to tipping fees charged the city for five years. The cap would be pegged to the fees existing at the time the facility began operation. --Leasing of the McHenry facility site from the City of McHenry by GAS, Inc., if the site is obtained at no cost for funds to the city. Hie lease rate will be set to return the local cost of the site to McHenry, plus a fee of three percent per annum of the total capital cost of the site. -A minimum payment of all Continued on pogo 7 J&L dropped from lawsuit J&L Oil Company of McHenry was recently// removed from a list of businesses Attorney General Neil Hartigan had named in a lawsuit for allegedly overcharging sales tax. According to Ifartigan's Chicago office of media relations, the motion to dismiss was filed August 7 in 19th Judicial Circuit Court, Wood­ stock. Victor Cacciatore of the attorney general's office reportedly moved to dismiss the suit, which was allowed by Judge Henry Cowlin. J&L Oil Co., doing business as J&L One Stop Food Market, 810 West Rand Road McHenry, was originally one of 10 retailers named in a suit alleging sales tax overcharges and for con­ tinuing to charge state sales taxes on food and drugs abolished Jan. 1. »