HUNTLEY – Huntley village officials are celebrating an old saying in life – what a difference a year makes.
Last September, Dean Foods shut down its milk processing plant just south of the downtown square after more than half a century of operation. Now, five months later, the village got a Valentine’s Day present when Country Delight Inc., announced they have purchased 10 acres of the 15-acre Dean Foods property and are proposing to use them for the storage and distribution of milk and dairy products. They also stated that they plan to expand their distribution lines later and begin production of their own, according to village planning documents.
The purchased area is bound by Mill Street on the north, Dean Street on the west, Martin Drive and Grove Street to the south, and the Union Pacific railroad line to the east.
The proposed purchase does not include the five-acre transportation facility site, which is located on the north side of Mill Street. Country Delight, however, has been transporting milk for Dean Foods for the last few years on this five-acre site under a special use permit that allowed the outside storage of vehicles. This was part of a previously approved site plan that was only partly implemented by Dean’s, documents show.
Now, Country Delight needs a special use permit for outside vehicle storage on the south 10 acres. Its application for that was moved forward on February 14 during an informal initial review prior to the upcoming formal review by the village’s plan commission and village board. In another recently published report, Country Delight is proposing to store about 100 large trucks on the parking area south of the plant.
“It is a pleasure to hear about your plan for this property, Village President Chuck Sass told three Country Delight officials that attended the February 14 meeting. Other village board members echoed his comment. “We’re ready to go,” a company official responded.
During the week of January 28 of this year, a large portion of the roof on a maintenance building south of the plant on Dean Street collapsed. Village documents say Dean’s has fenced off this area and is consulting with a structural engineer to determine if the building can be repaired or if demolition will be required. Country Delight has identified several tentative improvements in the near future – painting the plant building exterior, renovating office areas, replacing broken dock doors, and as yet-unspecified improvements to parking lots and landscaping.
All of this has the potential of maintaining the village’s reputation as an important dairy processing town.
