The McHenry County Board is likely to extend its contract to sell property to a shopping-center developer, even though the McHenry County Fair Association said it wanted to buy the same land, including 15 acres it leases for the fairgrounds.
The county’s $2.25 million sales contract with Mid-West Acquisitions of Chicago for 19.6 acres at Country Club Road and Illinois Highway 47 in Woodstock expires Thursday. The fair’s grandstand area, harness-racing track, 4-H booth and rabbit barn occupy about 15 acres.
The other 4.6 acres include the adjacent county Highway Department buildings.
Mid-West wants to build a 160,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by a Jewel Food Store. Mid-West received preliminary approval from the Woodstock City Council in 1997, but a few weeks later a newly elected City Council put additional conditions on the development.
Mid-West balked at the new demands, which included a road to take traffic off Illinois Highway 47, and sued the city. The county later joined Mid-West in the lawsuit. The property has been in legal limbo since.
The county recently had the property reappraised and was still ironing out details of the new contract, including price, said County Board Chairman Michael Tryon.
“We’re still in negotiations,” Tryon said. “It’s an interesting dilemma for the county to be in. We want to sell the land in a manner that benefits the majority of taxpayers. Mid-West is also in position to close on the property [under the current contract] by Aug. 31.”
Fair Association President Dick Menzel told the board’s Finance Committee the association would consider buying some or all of the county-owned property.
The week before, the County Board had voted to extend its lease with the fair association by a year, provided the contract with Mid-West Acquisitions also is extended.
Menzel said the fair board believes it needs at least 75 acres to put on a decent fair. If it loses the 15 acres it is leasing from the county, it would have about 60 acres. It also would have to replace the grandstand and buildings on the county-owned property. Such changes will prove challenging for the fair board, but members appear determined to continue the annual expo.
Menzel said if the county-owned property becomes unavailable, the fair association might try to buy 15 acres east of the fairgrounds.
Finance Committee Chairman John Heisler said he knows few details of the proposed contract extension and is interested in discussing a possible sale to the fair association.
“From what I’m getting from the lawyers, there’s no haggling as far as price,” Heisler said.
Property near the new Farm and Fleet store near U.S. Highway 14 and Lake Avenue is being offered for about $285 a square foot, Heisler said.
“I think the county is looking for something around that price, so I don’t think we’re out of line,” Heisler said.
Even if Mid-West meets the county’s price and other terms, as he expects, Heisler said he still would like some discussion concerning the fair association.
“Probably those discussions would be viewed as sour grapes, but I would like some discussion of it,” he said. “We’ve never discussed the fairgrounds in the open. But [the fair association] may be too late. The ball is rolling and it’s picking up steam” toward an agreement with Mid-West.
The fair association feels it was slighted by the county, when, in 1995, the county dealt with Mid-West without first notifying the association or giving it a chance to make an offer.
Fair Treasurer Bo McConnell said the county treated the fair association badly and “broke an unbreakable lease” by doing so.
