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•c. The City Council met in what appears to be the beginning of the end of the 17-month struggle between the City and Residential Development Group (RDG). This is not to say, though, that all the problems have been solved. They haven't. The first thorn to be reckoned with concerned a paragraph in the revised agreement which says that in the event of any lawsuit, RDG will pay all of the City's costs~the lawyer's fees, reproduction costs, court fees, etc. "This is the ultimate cop- out," said RDG Vice-President Jim Berg. "You're willing to defend your position, but you're not willing to pay for it." Alderman Wieser said that the paragraph should stand because the development will be a financial boon to RDG and they should be willing to pay for defending it. "We should have the right to offer support, not be compelled to do so," said RDG President Don Gerstad. "We have as much interest in seeing the agreement work out as the City, or we wouldn't have spent 17 months working out the problems," he said. "I just do not feel that it is proper," Gerstad said, "to put in a blank check to say that RDG will pay for everything. It is asking more than you've asked of anyone--ever." City Attorney Narusis said that it was a question of who do you want to write the check. Narusis said that he had been told that there would be litigation. "We'll defend our position, we want you to pay for it," Wieser said. Wieser was concerned that there are other taxpayers in the City who will have to pay the cost of any litigation that comes up. Berg countered saying that the people who will be living in the development, and will be City taxpayers, will also have to bear the brunt of all the contributions that the developer is required to make as well as paying taxes. Alderman Pepping suggested the wording be changed so that the idea would be to share the cost of litigation. Narusis said that the City's interest might be different than the developers. He explained that the City also has concerns over the areas surrounding the development such as sewage and storm water drainage and the like. Narusis said that the developer might only be con­ cerned with thfe development and may elect not to defend it. Mayor Stanek, repeated Wieser's concerns, asking if the taxpayer should pay to defend a developer who was not in the community. But not everyone on the Council was in favor of making RDG foot the bill. "I don't see where we should require them to pay our fees," Alderman Harker said. "We've had to defend developments outside of the City before. We made a decision and had the guts to stand behind it." Alderman Datz said, "If we're going to be part and parcel of this contract, we have to assume some responsibility. If we're not going to, we might as well forget it." Alderman Adams voiced a concern over Curran road and the Crystal Lake blacktop, which, after annexation would be the City's responsibility for maintenance and upkeep, in­ cluding snow removal. Adams was concerned that these roads, especially Curran road. Ask Zoning Change Plan Child Care Center would be a major cost to the City and wanted to get some of the money for improvement and upkeep from RDG. "I've lost every battle here and there is only so much that I can bleed," Gerstad said. "Every time we come, something new comes up. This has never been mentioned before. If you want us to pay for this, let's think about reducing some of the contributions we're making," he said. Wieser said that again the City has to think of the "people who will have pay the freight." Stanek suggested that RDG pay for a two-inch overlay on Curran road when the con­ struction reaches out that far. "No," said Berg. "We own a small portion of Curran road (about 3,000 feet)," Gerstad said "Are we only going to do a small strip on the middle of it?" Gerstad said 'that the ad­ ditional right-of-way on these streets would be dedicated to the City at such time as RDG actually owns the land. The present owner of the land will not deed the land to RDG right away because of a possible detrimental tax result. Alderman Wieser disagreed saying that the land could be given to the City with no effect on taxes. The City maintains that the road cannot be widened or improved at the present right- of-way width of 60 feet RDG disagreed saying that only about 48 feet were necessary to build a four-lane road.. The four-hour meeting began with a relatively minor Rebate in the revised agreement which was over a paragraph which said that the City shall not revise the Preliminary Master Sanitary Sewer plan without written consent The debate centered on whether or not the City would limit itself to the preliminary plan Berg said RDG was most concerned with the direction of flow, a change of which would require lift stations and ex­ pensive engineering Berg said that RDG was not concerned with the sizing, locations, etc. of the sewers. City Engineer Hjalmar Sundin said that there was not much latitude on either side as far as the flow of the system was concerned The natural flow, he said, would limit the choices The plan proposed by RDG had already cleared the City Engineer's office and Sundin attested to this. Sundin added that the proposed population of the development would fit the present system The sentence was changed to say that RDG will not change the direction of flow without the City's permnission There was a small debate concerning the $100,000 donation "to be used solely for the construction of a municipal building " The discourse was over the phrasing of "for the construction of," and was later changed to read simply, "for a municipal building " Berg quipped, "I'd like to strike the whole paragraph." (Continued on page 22) Little Miss Peanut Contest Opens Jennifer Mauer, Little Miss Peanut of 1978-79, and Tom Williams, chairman of this year' contest, take a first hand look at the Kiwanis club project under construction at McHenry's Center street park. A successor for the present Little Miss Peanut, in a contest also Kiwanis- sponsored, will be selected Wednesday, June 20, at 7 p.m. in the American Legion clubhouse on Ringwood road. Youngsters between the ages of 6 and 8 years will vie for the title. They must reside within McHenry High School District 156 or Johnsburg School District 12 boundaries to be eligible. The first 25 to enter on or before June 16 will be judged on poise, pertness and personality. The entry coupon appears elsewhere in this issue. STAFF PHOTO-WAYNE OAYLOHD Proud Community Attends First Commencement June 9 A capacity crowd of 1,200 attended Johnsburg high school's first commencement. "The truth is, this quality of compassion has been transforming the w o r l d . . . . T h e m o s t remarkable thing about it is what it can do to •• and for -• the person who feels it deeply. Saturday afternoon, held in the gymnasium ' They heard both the superintendent. Dr. Duane Andreas, and the principal, William Hayes, pay tribute to a community whose cooperative efforts during the planning and building program resulted in the culmination of a dream, marked Saturday by the first commencement Society's concentration on "you" and the end result of "finding ourselves secluded in a big "me" provided the focus for Judy Vyduna's talk at Johnsburg high school's commencement exercises Saturday. Miss Vyduna. the class valedictorian, pointed to the common problem of feeling confused, unsure, helpless, lonely and misunderstood. Then she asked her audience if the reason might be because If we don't take risks there is a chance that a good part of life will pass us by before we realite what our purpose in life really is". the individual is "thinking (Continued on page 22) Johnsburg Honors Top Students . VOLUME 103 NUMBER 91 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 1979 1 SECTION 24 PAGES 20' i -- R D G V o t e J u n e 1 8 Flag Day June 14 In what could, at best, be called an apathetic showing, in a crowd of about 25 people, four McHenry area residents brought their complaints before RTA board member Jerry Boose in a twenty-minute meeting Thursday night. The meeting was originally called to gather McHenry area residents' reactions to the proposed elimination of the evening 809 route. But McHenry residents did not react to the proposal. Glenn Bacon, 1924 Darrell road, McHenry, said that in eight months last year, he paid $165 in taxes to the RTA. Bacon said that the RTA kept two- thirds and refunded only about one-third. The RTA is supposed to refund that part of the taxes collected which is used for farming. In other words, taxes on gas that is used for farming are to be refunded to the far­ mer. Bacon said that his car uses about 10 percent of the gasoline he buys and should have had more money refunded. Boose said he would take the complaint back to the board. Alderman Ed Datz, 1202 Oak- wood, McHenry, made his complaint in the form of a question. Datz wanted to know who to talk to about having the bus stop and transfer point in front of City Hall moved. "People are using the foyer as a waiting room and the fire extinguishers have been popped off, there has been vandalism in the downstairs rooms and cigarettes have been crushed out on the carpet in the foyer," Datz said Richard Klemm, chairman of the McHenry County board, repeated for the record the" two resolutions made by the County Transportation committee that the local para-transit plan, which has received approval from RTA, be instituted without further delay, and that smaller van type vehicles replace the 46-passenger coaches currently in operation. Boose said the delay in in­ stituting the plan was "ap- 'palling "Boose also said the smaller van type vehicles could be here by August. "£art of the problem is procurement," Boose said. Boose pointed out that not all of the vans will go to McHenry county because the same problems exist in the other collar counties. Hugh Kirk, 119 River road, McHenry, said he is against the RTA because it is too ex­ pensive Boose agreed and said that was the reason for eliminating the night route He said that no decision has been made con­ cerning where the money that will be saved will go. Kirk suggested consideration of the repeal of RTA such as was done in the case of Prohibition when it failed to work Boose said that the county has "very competent legislators who have tried everything." The legislature, he said, manages to stop all such legislation in committee. "The democratic system is hell l>ent on hanging on." Boose said THE MCHENRY PLAINDEALER SERVING THE CHAINO-LAKES REGION SINCE 1875 ...that there be public gatherings and activities at which the people can celebrate and honor their country in an impropriate manner"....June 14-July 4 --a 21-day salute to l l { o n o r A m e r i c a . 'Congressional declaration). STAFF PHOTO- WAYNE GAYLORD •I There are times of the year when an abudance of> hap­ penings that usually would provoke comment pass, not unnoticed, but without the expressed word. The busy days of late Spring constitute one of these times. Graduates have left the hallowed halls of their alma maters. Fortunately, the hustling world around us has not so changed tradition that commencements remain very "Important occasions. This is as it should be Those of, us old enough to remember back a few decades may find it interesting to compare the societies of 1979 into which these young people step with the societies of other times. Some may go back in memory to the 'twenties, which may have been the most carefree years if we can believe the descriptive "roaring" for the almost decade that preceded the stock market crash of '29. It was immediately following World War I, and we are told young America was caught up GR ETCH EN HEIDI.EK for the issuance of a Con­ ditional Use permit for a child care center as' defined under Section 15 of the McHenry county zoning ordinance. The property is located in McHenry township on the east side of Ringwood road, south of its intersection with West Shore drive and consists of ap­ proximately one-third acre. The hearing on this petition will be held June 14 at 2 p.m., at the McHenry city hail, 1111 North Green street, at which time all those who may be interested may appear and be heard. Open Contest To Name Miss Wonder Lake The newly formed Wonder Lake Area Jaycees will sponsor a contest to select Miss Wonder Lake. The winner will be en­ tered in the Miss McHenry County contest later in the summer. Girls are eligible who are single and never married, between the ages of 16 and 21 who have resided in the county and the Wonder Lake area for at least six months. The deadline for entering is June 20. Interested girls should call Pat Letizia, 6809 Barnard Mill road, or John Freund, 7611 Hancock STEPHANIE KARWACK1 LYNN 1.1 PO JILL WELTER A petition has been filed for hearing before the McHenry County Zoning Board of Ap­ peals by petitioner McLake Co. in the spirit of a period they believed to be "the end of all wars". 'Thirties graduates stepped into a world when even rose- colored glasses failed to brighten the picture. There was little money, few jobs, and more than a few local high school graduates took ad­ vantage of government programs to attend advanced courses in spare rooms at East campus. Then came the 'forties, and the sad truth that wars were not at an end became more than a rumor. World War II struck fear in the hearts of young men and their parents alike. Some managed to be deferred for college, but many answered the draft call or volunteered. It was not the happiest of times, although one bright spot was the improving economy that followed. From that point on, young graduates have • found them­ selves keeping up with the growth problems that continue today. The advent of TV and its (Continued on page 22) r JUDYVYDUNA NANCY PRESTON (iERRI KOCHER J ACKIE WOLF CiLEN MOEHL1NG i KAREN SZUMLAS