Hoeft, Johnson discuss village updates

The Birch Room in the Fountain View portion of the Prairie Lodge was filled to capacity for the Town Hall with Huntley Village President Timothy Hoeft and Village Manager Dave Johnson.

The duo spent more than 90 minutes with a presentation and fielding questions from the Sun City residents.

In his opening remarks, President Hoeft stated that, “we do plan for everything we do” for the Village.

Johnson used a PowerPoint presentation to give visual support to his presentation. He pointed out that “the Village population has grown from 5,730 in 2000 to more than 29,560 in 2020. And that is a growth of 515%.”

“Cider Grove part 2” and the “M/I development of the Kudlach property” will bring 350 new homes to the Village reported Johnson.

The cost of water was addressed by Johnson.

“The water and sewar rate in Huntley, per 6,000 gallons, is $111.24,” he said.

He also said that the 6,000-gallon rate “in Woodstock is $132, in Crystal Lake it’s $157 and in Algonquin it’s $180.”

One reason for the lower Huntley rate is “that we have a much newer infrastructure than these other towns.”

A question was asked regarding the effect of Amazon on the water supply. Johnson replied that “Huntley has 5 deep wells” and that “much of the water goes to sustaining landscaping.” “A new well may be needed” but it “would not be on-line until 2024 at the earliest.” He also reminded the audience that “Whisper Creek Golf Course uses water from the Huntley Waste Water Treatment plant.”

“Plans have been submitted for the redevelopment of the Outlet Center,” said Jonson.

He reported that “a three-building business park” is expected to break ground in 2022.

According to Johnson, “one building will have 177,000 square feet and another will have 245,000 square feet.” The third building size was not mentioned.

Johnson reported that “the Horizon property, which is 45 acres west of Route 47 along Dhamer, is being rezoned for a business park.” And that the Village is still “looking for commercial development, north along Route 47 from the BMO-Harris bank.”

“The Hampton Inn Hotel is now scheduled to open in early 2022” per Johnson.

He showed an aerial view of the Amazon development and reported that “building number one is a receiving center with 630,000 square feet” and that “building number two is a fulfillment center with more than 1,200,000 square feet.”

Johnson revealed that “no requests for incentives” were made by Amazon and that “Amazon is making a $100 million dollar investment” in Huntley.

On Amazon, Hoeft stated that, “all negotiations with developers is up-front with none done after the contracts are signed,” and that helps prevent changes and increased costs. He also stated that he “can’t allow developers to affect the property values of existing homes” near any new developments.

Along those lines, Johnson commented that “developers say that Huntley is the most difficult town to deal with because of our strict policies.”

Johnson stated that the Village is “aware of traffic concerns in Sun City,” and that there should not be any tractor-tailor traffic” in Sun City. And that the Village will do “traffic analysis once Amazon opens for business.”

Hoeft joined the discussion on the Regency Square property. He reiterated and affirmed Johnson’s statement that “no plans have been submitted for Regency Square” and that any plans submitted “will be open for the public to review.”

Downtown Huntley redevelopment is under review.

Johnson reported that the Village “plans to purchase the old firehouse” on Dwyer, from the Fire Protection district. “Billitteri Enterprises may repurpose the building” with a restaurant and apartments.

Johnson revealed that discussions are underway with a “qualified developer to convert and rehabilitate the Catty building and property.”

The Village cemetery “will be expanded to the west side of Dean Street” and that “Saint Mary church is developing plans for a new cemetery on Church property” reported Johnson.

Discussions have been restarted regarding “intercity passenger rail service between Chicago and Rockford with a stop in Huntley.” Johnson added that it’s a “275-million-dollar project” with no firm dates attached.

Hoeft and Johnson restated that “quality of life” and “resident input” were important factors in the evaluation of all development plans reviewed by the Village.

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