In addition to voting on their preferred party’s candidates in Tuesday’s primary election, some Fox Valley-area voters will also have the opportunity to weigh in on two major bond measures for the city of Geneva and Yorkville School District 115.
Approval of the Yorkville D115 measure would allow the school district to issue $275 million in bonds to pay for two new school buildings and a significant addition to the district’s high school building, among other renovations. A measure in Geneva seeks to ask voters whether the city should issue $59.4 million in bonds to pay for a new police station.
The measures will be put to voters in Geneva and Yorkville D115, respectively, in the primary election happening on March 17, for which early voting has already begun.
Here’s what you need to know about the bond measures.
Yorkville School District 115’s $275 million facilities referendum question
The question voters will see: “Shall the Board of Education of Yorkville Community Unit School District Number 115, Kendall and Kane Counties, Illinois, build and equip two school buildings; build and equip additions to the Yorkville High School Building, including construction of an academic wing, a performing arts center, and a fieldhouse; alter, repair and equip existing school buildings and facilities, including construction of additional classrooms and teacher and student support spaces, and improvements to safety, infrastructure and mechanical systems; improve school sites; and issue bonds of said School District to the amount of $275,143,683 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?”
On Tuesday, Yorkville D115 is seeking voters’ approval of the district issuing $275 million in bonds to pay for two new school buildings and a significant addition to the district’s high school building, among other renovations.
The district got here after years of rising student enrollment and a growing overcrowding program that have prompted the district to consider how it will continue to accommodate its student body.
The Yorkville area has added almost 10,000 new residents since 2010, according to the most recent available figures from the United States Census Bureau. That growth has extended to District 115, where enrollment has been steadily ticking upwards in recent years, according to figures from the Illinois State Board of Education. The district currently serves just over 7,000 students — who come from Yorkville, and from nearby Bristol, Montgomery, Oswego, Plano and Newark.
According to district Superintendent Matt Zediker, the last building the district constructed was in 2009. But Yorkville District 115 grew from about 5,000 students in 2010 to roughly 6,000 around a decade ago, and currently sits at around 7,000.
So now, the district is looking to build a new elementary school and a new middle school and make significant additions to its high school.
The district initially considered a version of this project that was smaller in scope, but ultimately settled on this pitch for the renovations following a survey of the community this fall.
Zediker has said a top priority the district heard from the community was reducing the number of times students move between school buildings throughout the school day in order to reduce safety concerns, particularly when it comes to high school students walking back and forth across Game Farm Road throughout the day.
The proposed additions to the high school, for example, would mean all high school students are brought into a single building, officials have said. The renovations to that building would include an auditorium, a fieldhouse and a new academic wing.
And, because of the proposed new elementary and middle schools, all grade schools would serve kindergarten through fifth grade, and all district middle schools would serve grades six through eight.
The district would also turn Circle Center Grade School into an early childhood center. The plans also include tearing down Yorkville Grade School — which Zediker has said is one of the smaller district schools — to use for green space and parking. And Bristol Grade School may be sold or repurposed.
Zediker has said that the district is expecting about 800 new students over the next five years. The planned additions are meant to house growing student numbers for the next 12 to 15 years.
In addition to the $275 million the district is seeking to obtain via bond issuances, it is also planning to use $20 million in reserves to fund the renovations, officials have said. The referendum dollars can only go toward capital improvements, not to operational expenses.
Residents can calculate the estimated property tax impact of the ballot question on their home at this link: https://ssccust1.spreadsheethosting.com/1/08/b1686179bb92c40f/Yorkville%20115%20Referendum%20Bond%20Tax%20Calculator%20122325/Yorkville%20115%20Referendum%20Bond%20Tax%20Calculator%20122325.htm.
Should the referendum question be approved, the district is aiming for construction to start this fall, with the goal of students starting classes at the new elementary and middle schools in the fall of 2028.
If it’s not approved, however, the district still may revisit the matter — namely, by putting a modified referendum question on the ballot in November.
Geneva’s $59.4 million police station facilities referendum question
The question voters will see: “Shall the City of Geneva, Kane County, Illinois, improve the City’s public safety facilities and the sites thereof, including, but not limited to, constructing and equipping a new police station, and issue its bonds to the amount of $59,400,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?”
On Tuesday, Geneva residents will be asked whether they support the city issuing $59.4 million in bonds to help pay for the construction of a new police station on a city-owned property adjacent to the city’s Public Works site on South Street.
The city had originally been planning to put a public safety facilities bond referendum question to voters in last April’s election, but the measure was ultimately pulled from the ballot after the city discovered a calculation error that would have doubled the projected property tax payment.
But the City Council later revisited the idea, and in December moved to officially put the question to voters. The city has since offered tours of the current police facility, and held community meetings to inform residents in advance of the election.
Geneva’s current police station is located just off the Fox River at 20 Police Plaza. The building previously housed the police department, fire department and Tri-Com Central Dispatch, but the latter two entities have since gotten their own facilities.
Earlier this year, the city adopted a facilities master plan, which identified a new police station as a top priority. The city has pointed to issues like a lack of office space, flooding, sewer back-ups and a partial roof collapse at the current police station.
Issuing $59.4 million in bonds would enable the project to include an indoor firing range and indoor parking for all vehicles at the new police station, officials have said previously. Any excess funds from the bond sales not used on the new police station could be used on other public safety projects — like Fire Station 2 on the city’s west side, which has also been identified as a priority project for the city.
The city has indicated it would sell the property at 20 Police Plaza once the new police station is completed.
The city has also created an online calculator on its website at www.geneva.il.us for residents to determine the estimated property tax impact they would see if the referendum question is approved, based on the value of their homes.
How to vote in Tuesday’s election
Early voting for the March primary in Kane County started on Feb. 5 and continues through March 16. Beginning March 2, early voting became available at 23 sites in Kane County, including on nights and weekends at some sites, according to the Kane County Clerk’s Office.
A list of all early voting sites, dates and times is available on the Kane County Clerk’s Office website: https://clerk.kanecountyil.gov/Elections/Pages/Early-Voting.aspx.
Drop boxes for mail-in ballots are also available at the Kane County Clerk’s Office locations in Geneva and Aurora and at Elgin City Hall. Voters can also cast their ballots at any polling location in the county on March 17, the day of the primary election.
Kane County voters can enter their last name and address to find all the candidates and local referendum questions they will see on their ballot using the clerk’s website at: clerk.kanecountyil.gov/Elections/Pages/Voter-Search.aspx.
Early voting is also currently available in Kendall County at the Election Office of the Kendall County Clerk in the Kendall County Office Building at 502 S. Main St. in Yorkville. In addition to during weekdays, the Clerk’s Office is offering weekend and early evening hours in the lead-up to the election. On the day of the election, Kendall County voters are to vote at their assigned polling place listed on their voter ID cards, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In DuPage County, early voting is available at locations including the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.; the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton, Downers Grove Village Hall, Bartlett Community Center and the Addison Township Office. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Will County residents, too, can vote early in Tuesday’s primary at the Will County Clerk’s Office, 302 N. Chicago St., Joliet. In addition to weekday hours, starting March 7 the county began offering weekend and early evening hours for voters.
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