More discussion about the city owned property on Mennonite Rd. which council might foolishly sell off!
 From the Aurora Advocate
On June 14, a subcommittee of City Council turned in a recommendation to sell the city-owned Chesnes house on East Mennonite Road and 22 of the 95 acres it sets on.
About two weeks later, Mayor Lynn McGill came up with a completely different proposal for the property.
At City Council’s June 25 meeting, the subcommittee’s report was discussed and the mayor divulged his vision.
McGill does not want the city to sell the house. He said he wants to see it refurbished and the land around it cleaned up and turned into a place where “people of Aurora can come together.”
“If you sell the 22 acres and get, say, $800,000, you sell the core of the property,” he said. “You take the lake, the barn, the house and everything that’s developed. That’s like taking life away.
“The $800,000 would be spent on something else and it’s gone. The property is forever. Obviously I don’t want to get rid of it.”
McGill would like to see the city rename the house “the Hettinger Living Arts Center” in honor of longtime Councilman and former Mayor George Hettinger and his late wife, Arlene.
By “arts,” McGill said he means “art of sharing, art of giving, art of communicating, art of togetherness.”
“One thing the city needs is a place where people can come together,” he said. “We need to know each other and this would give us a wonderful opportunity to do that.”
To finance his Hettinger Living Arts Center proposal, McGill would like to see Council place a 1-mill levy on the May 2008 ballot.
He said he isn’t looking for it to go on the November 2007 ballot because the schools likely will put a bond issue before voters.
He said it would be a continuous levy and generate about $610,000 a year, costing the owner of a home valued at $100,000 an additional $30 a year.
“We cannot do it out of our current budget or any capital budget,” said McGill. “We’re going to have to ask our people to support it because it’s for everyone.”
McGill’s vision outlined
To get the house, or as McGill would like to call it “the lodge,” refurbished, an extensive amount of work must be done.
“We could do extensive work and add to the building,” he said. “There could be restrooms and an elevator, and it could be made handicapped accessible.”
McGill said the renovations would cost in the neighborhood of $700,000, and added plenty of rooms could be turned into classrooms and meeting rooms.
McGill proposes the house could be used by non-profit groups such as the garden club, Study Club, Aurora Conservation Council, historical society, the parks and recreation department, art groups and the school district.
McGill’s plans outside the house include an ice skating rink, swimming area, bathhouse, gardens and cultivation of crops.
The mayor said the 4-acre lake would have to be fenced off and a certain area could be designated for swimming, with sand, slides, diving boards and other water features.
“We don’t have a community pool here,” McGill said. “But this could be something no one else has. It could be a lake people could swim safely in.”
To accompany the “pool,” a bath house with showers and restrooms could be built near the lodge. For wintertime fun, McGill would like to see an ice skating rink.
“It would be so nice to come inside the lodge after skating and have some hot chocolate and light refreshments, toast marshmallows and communicate around the fireplace,” the mayor noted.
The land around the lodge could feature gardens and farm land. He said Boy and Girl Scouts could play a big part in his vision.
He added they could work with the garden club to maintain the gardens and would have their own camping land and places to offer programs.
“We have more than 500 Scouts and there would be a lot more if we had a facility like this to use,” said McGill. “They know they can build character, and this would help.”
The land north of the lake would be used for farming. Peach and apple trees could be planted, along with a strawberry garden and grain fields. Community garden plots could be offered.
McGill said the Scouts could be taught how to farm organically, and could share their produce with the elderly and low-income residents.
“The land is very tillable. The city could till it, the Scouts could plant it, hoe it, take care of it. Do it just like a farmer does,” he said.
With produce and vegetables growing on the land, McGill said Aurora could host various festivals and possible corn roasts.
McGill summarized he has always opposed selling the house, but wasn’t sure what the city could use it for. “I couldn’t sleep one night and this vision came to me,” he said.
Council reacts to plan
Council President James Fisher, who chaired the Chesnes house subcommittee, called it “unfair” for the mayor to bring his plan forward after the panel made its recommendation.
“I know he has a lot on his plate, but to wait until the 11th hour to bring this forward is unfair,” he said at Council’s June 25 meeting.
Ward 3 Councilman Carl Rausch said he appreciates the mayor’s vision, but he believes it is not what the residents want.
“From people I’ve talked to in my ward, they’d rather have a community indoor pool, something they can use year-round,” he said. “With the schools asking for money, I think from a taxpayers standpoint they should come first.”
Other Councilmen, including George Horvat, Tom Dreher and Dennis Kovach, said the mayor deserves the chance to at least try and come up with the money to fund his proposal.
Dreher said it should be up to the residents to decide if the vision is something they want to support. A possible sale could be discussed at the July 9 finance committee and Council meetings.
No sale great!